By Robert Romano “The rule is so broadly phrased and so categorical, it would be totally inappropriate for unions. It would seriously affect their ability to function as membership organizations.” That was John Sullivan, associate general counsel at the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), quoted in a Washington Post article about the possibility of new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules currently aimed at 501(c)(4)s eventually targeting (c)(5) […]

By Rick Manning A version of this article appeared at TheHill.com. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) issued a call to action today for Congress to stop the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of President Obama’s political opponents. Jindal noted that the targeting is couched under the soft but deadly cloak of disclosure of names of social […]

By Robert Romano “It is clear that we will not pass anything legislatively as long as the House of Representatives is in Republican control, but there are many things that can be done administratively by the IRS and other government agencies — we must redouble those efforts […]

By Robert Romano There is one mystery that has perplexed political observers after Senate Democrats decided to violate Senate rules allowing the minority party to block presidential appointments. And that was why it was so important to do so to help Patricia Ann Millett to get confirmed […]

By Robert Romano Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is pleading her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself in the ongoing Congressional investigation over targeting by the agency of the tea party. Lerner was set to give testimony before the […]

On: 07/27/2010 21:21:58 In: First Amendment By Robert Romano Harry Reid just does not like dissent. Yesterday, the Senate Majority Leader failed to muster the votes necessary to proceed to the so-called DISCLOSE Act , which would impose burdensome restrictions on corporations and nonprofits that choose to engage in advertising for or against candidates for federal office. In arguing for the bill, Reid blasted Senate Republicans for dissenting against major Democrat policy initiatives , in particular the $2.5 trillion ObamaCare, the government […]

On: 06/20/2010 19:36:43 In: Elections By Robert Romano Last week, after being on the fast track, campaign speech restrictions on corporations and not-for-profit organizations became sidetracked in the House of Representatives by Congressional Democrats, prompting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pull the bill off the floor prior to […]

On: 12/31/2008 09:54:38 In: First Amendment ALG Editor’s Note: As noted in the following featured commentary, campaign finance regulations—including those that require donations to be made public—have had some unintended consequences : Donor Disclosure Has Its Downsides Supporters of California’s Prop. 8 have faced a backlash. By JOHN R. LOTT JR. and BRADLEY SMITH How would you like elections without secret ballots? […]