12 | October | 2010

Shutting Up Business. WSJ.

Is there anything else to demonstrate the integrity of a person? Now now. Look at President Barack Obama. Happily cheering on the IRS to go after 501(c)’s because they might be accepting foreign campaign donations. Allowing foreigners to influence American elections. Forgetting how he did the very same thing in 2008.

That didn’t stop President Obama from raising the issue in a Maryland speech last week, saying that “groups that receive foreign money are spending huge sums to influence American elections.” Within hours of the ThinkProgress report, the bully boys at MoveOn.org asked the Department of Justice to launch a criminal investigation of the Chamber. In a letter to the Federal Election Commission, Minnesota Senator Al Franken expressed his profound concern that “foreign corporations are indirectly spending significant sums to influence American elections through third-party groups.” From the man who stole his Senate election in a dubious recount, this is rich.

Their goal.

Democrats claim only to favor “disclosure” of donors, but their legal intimidation attempts are the best argument against disclosure. Liberals want the names of business donors made public so they can become targets of vilification with the goal of intimidating them into silence. A CEO or corporate board is likely to think twice about contributing to a campaign fund if the IRS or prosecutors might come calling.

Hypocrisy. Since it is okay to go after businesses for donations too.

pardon our skepticism given the ferocity of this White House-led campaign against businesses that donate to political campaigns. Faced with electoral repudiation as the public turns against their agenda, Democrats are unleashing government power to silence their political opponents. Instead of piling on, the press corps ought to blow the whistle on this attempt to stifle political speech. This is one more liberal abuse of power that voters should consider as they head to the polls.

Let’s go back and see.

Klein: Palestinians donate $29,500 to Obama. Gazan brothers’ illegal contributions listed in government election filings (Updated 2x). RBO. 2008.

Illegal Obama donors: Middle Eastern Arabs. WND. 2008.

Campaign Disclosures: This Is Not The Rafah Georgia I Knew. UW. 2008

Obama’s Foreign Donors: The media averts its eyes. Pamela Geller. AT. 2008.

Pamela Geller, Big Government: Foreign Contributions, Investigating Obama. Atlas Shrugs. 2010. With screenshot.

Foreign Contributions, Investigating Obama Pamela Geller, Breitbart’s Big Government. 2010.

Examples of foreign donations the IRS never got around to investigating. Quite conveniently.

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