On Wednesday, Mitch McConnell told Fox News' Megyn Kelly that the Obama administration is "initiating a new rule through the Treasury Department in the IRS to quiet the voices of outside groups." According to McConnell, the new rule would redefine what groups like the Tea Party could advocate, during a political campaign "to silence the voices of their critics going into this important fall election by using the Treasury Department regulations." This Obama strategy apparently grew out of one of the many lies both IRS witnesses and Democratic members of the Congressional Oversight Committee used to explain away delays in granting conservative groups 501 (c) (4) status. The logjam, the narrative ran, was not politically motivated but the result of the ambiguous nature of the requirements for tax exempt status. As described in the Federal Register for November 29, 2013, the purpose of the new rule is to clarify the standards, thus enabling the IRS to grant 501 (c) (4) status more...(Read Full Post)