Why Trump keeps focusing on the ‘Johnson Amendment’
07/22/16 10:51 AM—UPDATED 07/22/16 02:04 PM
By Steve Benen
The number of actual policies included in Donald Trump’s convention speech was vanishingly small, but towards the end of his remarks, the Republican nominee did reference an idea most of the country probably knows very little about.
“At this moment, I would like to thank the evangelical and religious community in general who have been so good to me and so supportive. You have much to contribute to our politics, yet our laws prevent you from speaking your minds from your own pulpits.
“An amendment, pushed by Lyndon Johnson, many years ago, threatens religious institutions with a loss of their tax-exempt status if they openly advocate their political views. I am going to work very hard to repeal that language and protect free speech for all Americans.”
If you’ve been watching Trump closely of late, this wasn’t the first time you heard him mention the “Johnson Amendment.” In his truly bizarre remarks last weekend introducing Mike Pence as his running mate, Trump said, “We call it the Johnson amendment, where you are just absolutely shunned if you’re evangelical, if you want to talk religion, you lose your tax-exempt status.”
Even the new Republican Party platform references the policy: “Republicans believe the federal government, specifically the IRS, is constitutionally prohibited from policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions or beliefs, and therefore we urge the repeal of the Johnson Amendment.”
And it’s at this point, when people start to ask, “What in the world is the Johnson Amendment?” I’ve been covering this obscure fight for a while, so let’s unwrap the controversy.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/why-trump-keeps-focusing-the-johnson-amendment
https://www.irs.gov/PUP/charities/charitable/Avoid%20Political%20Campaign%20Intervention.pdf
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