How’s this for a 501c3 organization?
Senator Barack Obama has declared that, if elected, he would be willing to sit down and talk to Iran “without preconditions”…Not only is Obama politically naive but he is a walking security time-bomb looking for a place to explode.
The Jerusalem Connection, run by Christian Zionist Jim Hutchens, advocates on behalf of Israel. Apparently, one of Obama’s many sins is that he’s weak on Iran which makes Israel vulnerable. Ergo, these damaging statements about Barack Obama.
But how is it possible that this group retains its 501c3? Just because they don’t explicitly say “Vote McCain” they’re slid in under the tag and are home free? If so, isn’t there something wrong with IRS regulations? The truth is that this is flagrant political partisanship, something prohibited under non-profit guidelines. Will the IRS make such an organization pay the price? Don’t hold your breath.
Thanks to reader Richard Bartholomew.
From the horse’s mouth:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=163395,00.html
and
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154712,00.html
under the pertinent heading “Issue Advocacy vs. Political Campaign Intervention”, see esp. example 16
So no, they don’t have to explicitly say “Vote McCain” to violate the prohibition.
More on the thorny issue of “issue advocacy” in the IRS FAQ:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=179462,00.html
Which the Jerusalem Connection clearly does (“politically naive”, “walking security time-bomb”).
Even more clear-cut, if that’s possible, is their approvingly reprinting (thereby adopting its POV) a Jeruslem Post article by Joel Pollak (http://support.tjci.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5445) which openly endorses McCain over Obama.
…willing to sit down and talk to Iran “without preconditions”…
A belated apology for putting the Shah in power in 1953 would also be appropriate.
From listening to radio evangelists, I get the impression that Xtn Zionists and Armegeddonites are in a frenzy of aniticipation (for the Rapture, the Second Coming, of course). Current Middle East turmoils seem to fit the future history detailed by Hal Lindsey, et al. If Obama were to spoil it all by negotiating a peace treaty with the King of the East, then they’d have to deal the life’s problems like the rest of us, instead of escaping. What a fate!
Zhu Bajie
Mr. Zhu,
If only they were limited to the “anticipation” that you speak of; unfortunately, they do so much more. You see, these people believe that we humans can create the facts on the ground necessary to bring about the Second Coming. The prerequisites include the Jews in control of “Greater Israel” or “Judea and Samaria”, an ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs if not the defeat of Islam in the Middle East as a whole, etc, etc. The Christian Zionists have been embraced by Israeli and American Jewish leaders at the highest level, evidence proving the fact that friendless bullies will accept anyone as a friend. They conveniently ignore the Christian Zionist eschatology that says when the Messiah makes his return tour, the Jews as a people will have to convert to Christianity or burn with the rest of the heathens.
By the way, Mr. Zhu, your screen name “Zhu Bajie” bears a striking resemblance to a character, the pig demon, from “Xi Yo Ji”, known in English as “Journey to the West” or “The Legend of the Monkey King.” Is this just a coincidence?
PM