Legality Of Leftist Funding Of Anti-War Protests Questioned

CNSNews.com ^ | March 17, 2005 | Kathleen Rhodes

[MisterRepublican]

The 2004 presidential election may be in the history books, but the left-wing protests and incendiary rhetoric that targeted President Bush in last year's campaign have not died down.

As attacks on the administration's policies continue, so does scrutiny of the finances of such groups, which some say pose significant questions as to whether their activities comply with tax law.

Anti-Bush groups like the International Action Center boast of their support for the "courageous Iraqi resistance that has derailed the U.S. Empire."

The IAC, which plans an anti-war demonstration in New York City Saturday, has also conducted mock trials and "convicted" President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair of "war crimes."

Those activities are significantly bankrolled by a non-profit group called the People's Rights Fund, whose tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service precludes it from engaging in "substantial use of inflammatory and disparaging terms."

The IRS's 501(c)(3) provisions, which govern thousands of non-profit organizations across the country, also warn groups involved not to "express conclusions on the basis of strong emotional feelings" at the expense of "objective evaluations."

It's these tax laws, among others, that have caught the attention of Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative group that monitors the activities of non-profits.

"You can have debates, you can do policy papers. It doesn't consist of a bunch of people running down the street shouting obscenities and all these other things," said Boehm. "That's not [non-profit] activity and it never has been."

Boehm told the Cybercast News Service that the tax code restrictions apply, even when groups like the People's Rights Fund provide financing and otherwise stay behind the scenes.

[mallardx]

this begs the question "is anybody going after these nonprofits" to get their protected status revoked?

[Fenris6]

Didn't Terresa heinz Kerry also fund several protest groups though her foundations?

[Pyro7480]

Discover the Network: A Guide to the Political Left

[heterodoxy]

I was wondering the same thing about Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and other organizations that do nothing but spew hateful and inflammatory rhetoric.

[Textide]

Wow! Great site, thanks for posting the link.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The laws that apply to me and you and conservatives don't apply to liberals.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

I see the dems/libs as the worst or dark side of mankind.
The values ( if you can call it that ) of the dems/libs is a example the dark side of mans human nature.
I see the dems/libs as a boil coming to a head and ready to burst by their own self destruction and demise, and once the boil comes to a head, and pops, then, it will clear up and the body can heal.

[dbehsman]

"I was wondering the same thing about Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and other organizations that do nothing but spew hateful and inflammatory rhetoric."


Please name some examples, and some links to sources to boot.

[nw_arizona_granny]

ping