Mother Jones
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Last week, the Internal Revenue Service, led by an appointee of President Obama’s, and the Treasury Department sent shock waves throughout the political world by unveiling a new set of proposed regulations intended to clamp down on secretly funded nonprofits known as 501(c)(4) groups. Big-name 501(c)(4)s include Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, the League of Conservation Voters, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, and the pro-Obama Priorities USA. In the 2012 election season, 501(c)(4) groups spent $310 million, up from $5 million in 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The government’s new proposals are an attempt at stemming that tide of secret spending. In some corners, the proposals were hailed a smart first step; in others, a dangerous intrusion on taxpayers’ free-speech rights. But on closer examination, tax lawyers and election experts say, the Obama administration’s proposals won’t plug the spigot of dark money pouring into US elections. Here are four reasons why.
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4 Reasons Obama’s New Dark-Money Rules Won’t Stop Dark Money
