05-14-2011, 06:08 AM
RgrF wrote:
How does this concerted attack launched during a US Presidential election not cross the line established for non-profit charitable institutions? I'm old enough to remember when the Church bent over backwards during the Kennedy election to assure the American public that there would be no such interference by Rome, sans that pledge Nixon wins.
Seems their word carries as much weight as that of a local ward alderman or other politician. All this and tax exempt too!
Letter of the law. Just like privately funded "issue ads," statements that don't mention particular candidates are generally unrestricted. You're allowed to be as political as you like from the pulpit, you just can't comment on specific candidates.
When the Church stayed out of the '60 election, it was to help Kennedy, and that was a political decision. It didn't have anything to do with election laws.