Freepreach.org - Protecting the Free Expression of All Religious Traditions
Bias Charges Unavoidable
Anthony Picarello
It's a recurrent problem inherent in the system: every time the IRS enforces against a house of worship that is critical of the incumbent administration, the investigated group alleges bias -- religious, racial, or both. White evangelicals complained during the Clinton Adminstration, African-American churches are complaining now during the Bush Administration.
Though it doesn't involve a church, the IRS's new investigation of the NAACP for its political advocacy illustrates the broader point.
Little wonder: whether or not the allegations of bias are true in any particular case, the vague and discretionary character of the law easily allows for this kind of abuse. And enforcement always involves the semblance of bias when it is directed at the incumbent's opposition. Why doesn't the IRS just get out the business of monitoring and punishing core, protected, religious and political speech?