ACLJ, in an August 2012 article “U.S. Senators Demand the IRS leave the Tea Party alone“points at Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center as pressuring the IRS to do the wrong thing. 

Fast forward to July 17, 2012 when the IRS responded to an inquiry from
liberal groups Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center by saying that it
would consider changes to the tax treatment of social welfare groups. 
This reply was sent despite the fact that the IRS has given no public
indication of considering such a change, has not requested public
comment, and has not communicated that this is among their current list
of priorities.

Yesterday, we find out the IRS is being used as a partisan weapon.  Anyone in DC knows the reform groups have been trying to use the FEC as a partisan weapon for years.  The Republicans on the FEC have just bought a billboard to advertise and put the legions of “reform groups” on notice that they are not going to let it happen. In an op-ed, they write:

“When Congress created the FEC, it did not design an agency that could
be wielded as a partisan weapon; instead, the agency is required to be
equally divided, with, at most, three of its six members from the same
party. Thus, the FEC is designed to ensure fair and impartial regulation
and administration of campaign finance laws — not partisan or
ideological witch hunts.”

And this:

The agency’s harshest critics disregard the agency’s prime enforcement
directive: Enforce the law as it is, not as some wish it to be.

The IRS admits that it harassed and wrongfully investigated Tea Party organizations, many of which were the foundation for electoral gains and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.  This effort was aimed at conservative political organizations and heads should roll and not just low-level workers in Cincinnati.  This is governmental interference with the integrity of our elections from 2010-2012.  An apology is not going to suffice.

Conservative groups have rejected an Internal Revenue Service apology
for unjustifiably scrutinizing tax-exempt conservative groups during the
2012 election cycle. The IRS apology has seemingly validated
conservatives’ fears of politically motivated regulation.

ABC has the story.

Ezra Klein with the Washington Post channels the sentiment of the Reformers, as the Left searches for a way to explain why the IRS and federal government wrongfully interfered with the free exercise of speech and electoral process from 2010-2012.  According to them, it was wrong to single out the TeaParty because all organizations who exercised their free speech under the law should have been harassed.  This is who the Reformers blame:

The culprit here is partly the Citizens United and SpeechNow
decisions which lifted the contribution limits on wealthy individuals,
corporations, and unions. But it’s also the IRS’s reticence to regulate
the murky world of 501(c)4s — a reticence partly attributable to the
organization’s fear of blow-ups just like this one.

Karl Rove wasn’t the first to try to use the 501(c)4 to solicit
anonymous political donations. But he was the first big player to do it.
And the expectation was that he’d had a clever idea that the IRS would
quickly reject. “A lot of people thought Rove would get smacked back by
the IRS,” says Hasen. “It didn’t happen. And then 501(c)4s exploded.”

Are we really blaming Karl Rove?  How about George W. Bush too!! This episode and the blame the victim attitude of reformers is going to generate a hot fire in the bellies of conservatives and libertarians.  The IRS may be crucified by the Congress, but in the end it will surely survive. However, this anger may spill over to the FEC and the Congress. 

Statement of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler:

Gessler says Governor rubber-stamping partisan bill

Latest at PJ Media.

“In other words, federal law recognizes that past generational experiences can impair a minority’s present day ability to participate in politics. While it is the law, this factor has always struck me of the sort of thing the critics now howl about regarding Richwine. Naturally, they are entirely silent regarding Senate Factor Five, and the ACLU and NAACP will probably use the factor shortly in another voting case.

Eric Holder’s Justice Department won’t because it seems to have given up enforcing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, once again without a whisper of criticism from the race Left.”

 Stockton.

“Until now, Lincoln Unified’s five board members have been elected in districtwide elections. But with a unanimous vote Wednesday night, Lincoln’s board established trustee areas, ensuring each geographical portion of the district a representative following the November 2014 elections. Such a guarantee has not previously been the case.

“The Supreme Court may soon decide the constitutionality of Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which requires that (mostly Southern) states with a history of denying blacks the franchise have any changes in voting procedures cleared by a federal court or the Justice Department.

“The local elections board was concerned when Womack declared to have “first-hand knowledge of individuals having sold their ballots” during the commissioner meeting, according to a letter dated Dec. 11, 2012, to Womack by the board. Selling and purchasing ballots are state felonies and the board “would ask that (Womack) immediately provide (the) board and the district attorney’s office with the names of those individuals who have sold their votes,” according to the December letter.”

Link.

Matt Boyle at Breitbart has the story on New York City’s plan to allow amnestied illegal aliens to vote before they are United States citizens.