Press Releases
Entries in Presidential Primary (346)
Interfaith Alliance: Violating IRS Rules Puts Churches at Risk
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2008) – The Interfaith Alliance criticized the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund for encouraging pastors to violate tax laws regarding intervention in political campaigns. According to today’s Wall Street Journal, the ADF wants pastors to give sermons about political candidates a month before the November elections in an attempt to trigger lawsuits over those tax provisions. IRS rules allow religious leaders to preach about political issues; however they are not free to make candidate endorsements in their official capacities. The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of the Interfaith Alliance, issued the following statement:
"Houses of worship belong to divine authority – they are not the property of either political party. The Alliance Defense Fund’s call for pastors to break the law represents the height of irresponsibility. They are putting churches across the country unnecessarily at risk to costly and time-consuming investigations that could result in harsh financial penalties. Putting churches in legal and financial jeopardy seems a bizarre way of defending religious freedom, which the ADF claims to defend.
But there is an even greater issue at stake in this campaign than violating the law. When religious leaders endorse candidates from the pulpit, they weaken both the sanctity of religion and the integrity of democracy. The IRS allows – and the Interfaith Alliance encourages – religious leaders to speak out on the important political issues of the day, but when clergy endorse specific candidates or parties in their official capacity, they abuse their pastoral authority."
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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org.
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Wall Street Journal
Pastors May Defy IRS Gag Rule
Legal Group Urges Ministers to Preach About Candidates
By SUZANNE SATALINE
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121029464937179517.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_leftbox
May 9, 2008
Pastors May Defy IRS Gag Rule
Legal Group Urges Ministers to Preach About Candidates
A conservative legal-advocacy group is enlisting ministers to use their pulpits to preach about election candidates this September, defying a tax law that bars churches from engaging in politics.
Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional. Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged partisan activity.
The action marks the latest attempt by a conservative organization to help clergy harness their congregations to sway elections. The protest is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, a little more than a month before the general election, in a year when religious concerns and preachers have been a regular part of the political debate.
It also comes as the IRS has increased its investigations of churches accused of engaging in politics. Sen. Barack Obama's denomination, the United Church of Christ, has said it was under investigation after it allowed the Democratic presidential candidate to address 10,000 church members last year. Last summer, the tax agency said it was reviewing complaints against 44 churches for activities in the 2006 election cycle. Churches found to be in violation can be fined or lose their tax exemptions.
The section of the tax code barring nonprofits from intervening in political campaigns has long frustrated clergy. Many ministers consider the provision an inappropriate government intrusion, blocking the duty of clergy to advise congregants.
Alliance fund staff hopes 40 or 50 houses of worship will take part in the action, including clerics from liberal-leaning congregations. About 80 ministers have expressed interest, including one Catholic priest, says Erik Stanley, the Alliance's senior legal counsel.
"The government should not be telling the church what it should or should not be saying," says the Rev. Steve Riggle, senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Houston, who hopes to take part in the Alliance effort. Mr. Riggle says he told his congregation from the pulpit, before the Texas primary in March, that he was supporting former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for president. "As a pastor, a private citizen, I can speak for myself. The IRS cannot quench my voice," he says.
In recent years, attempts by members of Congress to change the law have failed. "Tax exemption is a benefit, and it comes with conditions," says Rob Boston, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit that has filed more than a dozen complaints in the past year with the IRS, accusing nonprofits of tax-code violations. "So if any pastor out there feels he is gagged or can't speak on partisan politics...forgo the tax exemption and say what you want."
In 1954, Congress made it illegal for nonprofits, including churches, to endorse or publicly oppose political candidates or to intervene in candidates' elections, although they are free to take sides on issues. Only one church has challenged this, unsuccessfully. The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia ruled in 2000 that the IRS didn't violate constitutional rights when it revoked the tax-exempt status of Branch Ministries of Binghamton, N.Y., which had bought newspaper ads opposing Bill Clinton's candidacy.
Some legal scholars are hoping for a new test case. Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame, says a church might make a successful claim that the federal government is burdening the free exercise of religion and cannot do so without a compelling state interest.
NH INSIDER
in Press Releases, Presidential Primary, Party Politics, Taxes, Religion, ethics, Candidate Endorsements
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RNC Launches New Web Site & Video
WASHINGTON – The Republican National Committee (RNC) today launched a new Web site encouraging voters to ask Barack Obama questions about the important issues facing America.
CanWeAsk.com provides Americans with an opportunity to submit text or video questions for Barack Obama regarding the issues he has failed to address or refused to answer, including:
- Why, as an Illinois state Senator, did he vote “present” over 130 times instead of “yes” or “no” on difficult issues like abortion, crime, and guns?
- On fiscal responsibility, how he intends to pay for over $660 billion in his new spending proposals and whether he can do it without raising taxes on families and small businesses?
- Why he voted against funding for our troops after promising not to use them as pawns in a war funding debate?
- Why did he tell donors in San Francisco that the economy has driven small town voters to “cling” to guns and religion?
CanWeAsk.com features a new RNC Web video titled: “Yes We Can.”
The video highlights unanswered questions about Barack Obama’s positions and policies. To view theWeb video, “Yes We Can,” clickhere.
To view additional RNC videos, click here.
NH INSIDER
in Press Releases, Presidential Primary, Party Politics, National Security
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Obama Campaign to Kick Off National Voter Registration Drive in NH
NASHUA, NH—The Obama campaign announced today that grassroots volunteers will hold a Vote for Change kickoff event on Saturday, March 10th in Nashua. Vote for Change is a 50-statevoter registration and mobilization drive aimed at getting millions more Americans registered to vote and involved in the democratic process ahead of the November election.
Visit http://my.barackobama.com/voteforchange to find out more about the 101 Vote for Change kickoff events that will be held nationwide on May 10.
WHO: Obama volunteersWHAT: Vote for Change Kickoff Event
WHERE: Nashua Library
2 Court St.,
Nashua, NH 03060
WHEN: Saturday,May 10, 2008
10:00 a.m.
NH INSIDER
in Press Releases, Presidential Primary, Voting Rights, Party Politics
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Political Chowder - Topics this week: constitutional amendment and racism
TOPICS
A duke out at the OK corral on the House version of the Constitutional Amendment going to the floor next week.
The Democratic Primary Shows Race matters. Race, Racism, and White Privilege
All this and more, Sunday @ 11a.m. on Political Chowder
Part One - Amending the Constitution
Attorney Gary Richardson - NH State Representative (amendment author)
Attorney Jim Allmendinger - NH NEA
Part Two - Race and Racisim...the conversation we are afraid to have.
Professor J. Martin Favor - African American Studies, Dartmouth College
Lynn Clowes - Director of Cultural Competency, NH Minority Health Coalition
(all shows are archived)
Chowder in the Morning with Arnie 1110 AM WCCM 6-9am daily
and check out:
www.WOI.org Iowa Public Radio every Wed at 1pm EST for
Talk @ 12 (ie Talk in anticipation of 2012) with
Prof. Steffen Schmidt and Arnie Arnesen ...podcasts available - see below
Current Podcast Items
- Talk@12 5/7/08
- 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT
- Politicalscience professor Steffen Schmidt and New Hampshire radio host ArnieArnesen discuss the latest round of democratic primaries in Indiana andNorth Carolina.
- Listen:
NH INSIDER
in Press Releases, Presidential Primary, Party Politics, Union Issues, Education, State Budgets, State Affairs, Taxes, Religion, ethics, Campaign Finance
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TIA - New Evangelicals Manifesto
Evangelicals agree with leading religious freedom advocate - religion and politics do not mix.
Today a group of evangelical leaders released their evangelical manifesto challenging the Religious Right’s stranglehold on the term and meaning of “evangelical” and questioning the role of religion in politics.
Below, please find a statement from Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, himself born into the evangelical Baptist tradition, who is the President of the Interfaith Alliance.
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Statement of Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy On the ‘Evangelical Manifesto’
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2008) – Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy released the following statement on the ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ unveiled at a press conference in Washington today:
“The release of today’s ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ proves that not only do the leaders of the Religious Right not speak for all Americans, they don’t even speak for all evangelicals.
As someone raised in the evangelical tradition, I was pleased to see this ‘manifesto’ because it puts forward a broader definition of the term than we have seen over the last few decades. However, there are certainly items in the document that I take issue with, such as its narrow concept of religious diversity.
This manifesto should be read as a strong criticism of the Religious Right’s so-called leadership, who were clearly not involved in the drafting or signing of this document. I have often said that these leaders are more concerned with their own personal influence and power than advancing a constructive agenda protecting faith and freedom.
I appreciate the tone of this document, especially the call to remove religion from politics, though it does not and should not remove the right of people of faith to voice their concerns on issues of national importance. We will have to wait and see what, if any, impact this document has on the Religious Right.”
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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org.
NH INSIDER
in Press Releases, Presidential Primary, Party Politics, Religious Freedom, Religion, ethics
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