[tps_header][/tps_header]

[tps_title]2010: Targeting begins

Two years into Obama’s administration, the IRS began targeting conservative groups, scrutinizing “tea party or similar organizations’ [501(c)(4) non-profit] applications.”

All the while, Barack Obama made several public criticisms of targeted groups. Campaign speech after campaign speech, the president verbally lashed conservative groups, calling them “a problem for democracy” and a “threat to our democracy,” and even repeatedly challenging some groups—like Americans for Prosperity—by name. Almost simultaneously, the IRS was applying undue scrutiny to the same organizations politically opposed to the administration in the wake of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. It was this decision which prompted Obama to lecture the Court members against it during a State of the Union address.  Many analysts believe it was this speech that gave the signal to Obama supporters throughout the government to aggressively go after conservative groups.

SPEAK OUT: Click here stop the IRS from infringing on our First Amendment rights

[tps_footer][/tps_footer]