The from the totally unfair file:

The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California’s
largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its
tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004
presidential election.

Rector J. Edwin Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena told
many congregants during morning services Sunday that a guest sermon by the
church’s former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, on Oct. 31, 2004, had
prompted a letter from the IRS.

In his sermon, Regas, who from the pulpit opposed both the Vietnam War
and 1991’s Gulf War, imagined Jesus participating in a political debate with
then-candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry. Regas said that “good people
of profound faith” could vote for either man, and did not tell parishioners
whom to support.

But he criticized the war in Iraq, saying that Jesus would have told
Bush, “Mr. President, your doctrine of preemptive war is a failed doctrine.
Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has
led to disaster.”

On June 9, the church received a letter from the IRS stating that “a
reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church ? ” The
federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches,
from intervening in political campaigns and elections.

The letter went on to say that “our concerns are based on a Nov. 1, 2004,
newspaper article in the Los Angeles Times and a sermon presented at the All
Saints Church discussed in the article.”

The IRS cited The Times story’s description of the sermon as a “searing
indictment of the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq” and noted that the
sermon described “tax cuts as inimical to the values of Jesus.”

Article continues

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So the IRS is concerned when someone preaches against the war. How about
preachers that kick parishioners out for not supporting George Bush? You might
remember this story:

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – A Baptist preacher accused of running out nine
congregants who refused to support President Bush resigned Tuesday.

?I am resigning with gratitude in my heart for all of you, particularly
those of you who love me and my family,? the Rev. Chan Chandler said during
a meeting at East Waynesville Baptist Church.

Congregants of the 100-member church in western North Carolina have said
Chandler endorsed Bush from the pulpit during last year?s presidential
campaign and said that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic nominee
Sen. John Kerry needed to ?repent or resign.?

The article goes on to later address the IRS issue:

Chandler?s resignation came a day after a national group that lobbies for
church-state separation urged the Internal Revenue Service to investigate
the tax-exempt status of the East Waynesville Baptist Church.

IRS rules bar clear-cut politicking by tax-exempt groups. Last October,
days before Bush won a second term, the IRS said it was investigating about
60 charities and other tax-exempt groups ? about a third of them churches ?
for potentially breaking rules that bar them from participating in political
activity.

The outcome of those investigations is not known. The IRS is barred from
naming the organizations it investigates or announcing case results.

See full article here
(MSNBC)

This story was reported on May 10 of this year. Six months later and there is
nothing indicating the IRS has taken action against this church. It is sounding
more like the IRS is flexing their muscle for partisan gain than the people they
are after.

For people that continue to think the Republican party has not done there
effort to steal elections in this country and destroy our democracy, think
again. Every day we hear of more and more proof of the corruption the GOP will
engage in to win control.