Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – The IRS said it has received more than 23,000 comments, a record for an agency proposal, ahead of a Feb. 27th deadline for the public to air its views. Opposition to proposed new Internal Revenue Service restrictions on political activity by “social welfare” non-profits is growing, and crossing ideological lines.
With time running short, both progressive and conservative advocacy groups are raising serious objections to new rules proposed by the Obama Administration to rein in political activity by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose sources of their funding.
In a rare agreement between Tea Party and liberal activists, organizations across the political spectrum say new regulations drafted by the I.R.S. to curb a surge in political spending and activity by nonprofits are far too broad. They fear that enforcement of the regulations would chill more neutral civic initiatives such as voter registration efforts and candidate forums.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other left-leaning organizations are voicing objections to Obama administration’s plan to more specifically define what constitutes impermissible electioneering by 501(c)(4) groups, saying it would crack down on all manner of political engagement, not just activity benefiting a particular candidate.
A strong backlash from conservatives was anticipated, but groups associated with more liberal causes are also calling on the I.R.S. to substantially rethink or withdraw the proposal, criticizing it as overreaching, impractical and undemocratic.
“These rules are a mess, and nobody thinks they are good,” said John Pomeranz, a lawyer who advises numerous liberal-leaning non-profits on election-related activity and lobbying.
The American Civil Liberties Union, with other left-leaning groups such as the Alliance for Justice, plan to formally file objections.
Abby Levine, a lawyer with the alliance, said putting the new rules in place could make it impossible for social welfare groups referred to as 501(c)(4) groups to participate in politics because of the attempt to crack down on organizations now skirting the law.
“We could stop these abuses, but stopping all organizations to me is not a useful solution,” she said. “Anything that makes it harder for people to get involved is disturbing.”
Congressional Republicans have vociferously opposed the changes, introducing legislation this week to require a one-year delay in implementation and calling on the White House to abandon the rule, which GOP leaders claim is aimed at quelling 
conservative groups.
Campaign-finance watchdog groups are backing the reform, calling it a first step in regulating the flood of “dark money” into the campaign process.
The New York Times recently published an information graphic showing how IRS rules on nonprofit politicking have been interpreted by courts, and the tax agency since the early 2000’s.
Critics of the rules say the expanded definition of what the groups would have to count as “candidate-related political activity” would cover much of what they now do to promote civic engagement.
While conservative groups and Republican members of Congress say they fear the imposition of the rules this year, other experts doubt the I.R.S. could move that quickly. At a House hearing last week, I.R.S. Commissioner John Koskinen said the rules were “not going to be finalized in the near-term future.”
Top Democrats say the I.R.S. effort is warranted because groups created under the social welfare heading have become the conduit for tens of millions of dollars flowing into campaigns from undisclosed sources.
