Subject: Fwd: IRS and FEC Gag Political Speech Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 18:38:20 -0500 To: From: Bob Armstrong I just replied : DUH ! WHAT DID YOUALL THINK McCAIN-FEINGOLD CAMPAIGN DISTORTION= ACT WAS ALL ABOUT ? to this alert from DrugPolicy.org . How many in the anti-prohibition movement can rationally retain= their belief in the benign "liberal" state ? FREE SPEECH ! ( That must now be a verb . ) --- Original Message --- From: "DPAlliance" To: =A0 Cc: Sent: Mon, 9 Feb 2004 16:03:02 -0500 (EST) Subject: IRS and FEC Gag Political Speech >=A0February 6, 2004 >=A0text version > >=A0IRS and FEC Gag Political Speech > >=A0Emergency - Oppose The IRS And FEC Proposals To Clamp Down On= the Alliance's Right To Communicate With Fellow Reformers > >=A0Fax Congress Now!! > >=A0Two Bush administration agencies are considering new rules that= could prevent the Drug Policy Alliance and other advocacy groups= from contacting their supporters about the political actions of= federal officials who are up for re-election. Communications= just like this one could be banned! > >=A0The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and Internal Revenue= Service (IRS) proposals could provide members of Congress with a= green light to introduce and pass harmful drug policies while= they are up for re-election. The proposals could make it against= the law for the Alliance to run advertisements in a newspaper or= send out email alerts like this one to try and stop harmful= policies. Together, these proposals represent one of the worst= assaults on the freedom of speech and association ever proposed= in the United States. > >=A01) Fax Your Members of Congress. Tell them that you oppose FEC= Advisory Opinion 2003-37 and IRS Revenue Ruling 2004-6 and that= neither the IRS nor the FEC should restrict free speech. DO IT= NOW. If you do not respond to this urgent alert, the= controversial proposals will likely be adopted, endangering the= future of the Alliance and all other political organizations= working for freedom in America. > >=A02) Forward this alert to friends and family. > >=A0BACKGROUND INFORMATION: > >=A0The IRS and FEC are considering rulings that could severely= restrict the free speech rights of the Drug Policy Alliance and= other issue advocacy groups. The proposed rulings are vague in= that they do not clearly state exactly which communications= would be illegal. This means that the federal government could= selectively enforce the rules in order to clamp down on any= speech or advertising it does not approve of or considers= politically threatening. Even though the Drug Policy Alliance= does not endorse or oppose specific candidates for public= office, the proposed IRS and FEC actions could hamper our= efforts to contact fellow reformers like you about candidates'= stances on drug policy reform issues during election campaigns.= Any member of Congress up for re-election could be able to push= their legislation into law without hearing the voice of the= American people. > >=A0The IRS ruling (Revenue Ruling 2004-6) could penalize drug= policy reform and other nonprofit organizations that are= publicly critical of any elected official who is running for= re-election. Non-profit educational organizations like the Drug= Policy Alliance cannot work to defeat or support federal= candidates, but can educate voters on where politicians stand on= certain issues. So long as the Alliance and other organizations= do not explicitly call for the defeat or re-election of a= politician we do not run afoul of the law. However, Revenue= Ruling 2004-6 muddies these regulations to make it illegal for= advocacy group to do anything that the IRS determines to be an= attempt at defeat or support of a candidate for federal office.= The change appears minor but in fact makes the regulations more= vague, giving the IRS a wide scope to call many advocacy-group= actions illegal. > >=A0You can read the complex IRS ruling here. > >=A0The FEC ruling (Advisory Opinion 2003-37) could prohibit the= Alliance and other organizations from communicating any message= - through e-mails, newspaper ads, television commercials or= brochures - that "promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes" any= candidate for federal office. It does this by re-defining the= definition of a "campaign expenditure" to include communications= that promote or attack federal candidates. Because the Alliance= and similar non-profits are prohibited under existing law from= making campaign expenditures, this ruling could make it illegal= for us to send you e-mails criticizing the actions of a Member= of Congress if they also happen to be running for re-election.= Even sending you an e-mail saying that your Senator just voted= the wrong way on a bill could become illegal. For instance,= Senator Biden first introduced his controversial RAVE Act just a= few months before the 2002 elections. Because he was up for= re-election that year, it may have been illegal for the Alliance= to alert you to the bill had the FEC and IRS rulings been in= place then. > >=A0You can read the complex FEC ruling here. > >=A0An essential part of the Alliance's work is to keep fellow= reformers informed about the actions and votes of elected= officials - whether a move by President Bush to crack down on= medical marijuana or a Congressman's bill to mandate student= drug testing. These proposals could severely limit our ability= to do this and work to reform America's 'War on Drugs'. > >=A0Learn More > >=A0Contact the Drug Policy Alliance: > >=A0Drug Policy Alliance >=A070 West 36th Street, 16th Floor >=A0New York, NY 10018 > >=A0For subscription problems please contact >=A0Jeanette Irwin, Director, Internet Communications >=A0jirwin@drugpolicy.org | 202.216.0035 > >=A0In this Alliance Action Network Alert we need you to: > >=A0To view other actions, see actions you've completed, or edit= your profile please visit the Alliance Personal Action Center > >=A0DrugPolicy.org | Take Action | Donate | Privacy Policy > >=A0+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= +++ >=A0You received this message because bob@cosy.com is a member of= the mailing list originating from= alerts@actioncenter.drugpolicy.org. > >=A0Please visit http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/unsubscribe to= unsubscribe from all lists. Visit= http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/managesubscription.asp to= learn about other lists you can subscribe to. > >=A0For problems, please contact Jeanette Irwin at= jirwin@drugpolicy.org. > >=A0Please consider joining the Drug Policy Alliance:= http://www.drugpolicy.org/join --=A0 =A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864 Report on CoSy MidWinter Party := http://cosy.com/y04/MidWinter17.htm Computing Environment : =A0http://CoSy.com/CoSy/ A WTC vision : http://CoSy.com/CoSy/ConicAllConnect/ Liberty : http://CoSy.com/Liberty.htm Restore our Right to Relax : =A0http://ny.lp.org/cgi-bin/petition.cgi?Against_the_Smoking_Ban =A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A02004/02/10 6:29:31 PM