Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) spoke out against newly proposed IRS regulations Thursday, arguing that they would squash free speech.
The new IRS regulations proposed by the Obama administration will immediately muzzle conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations and their individual employees. The regulations implement a 60-day blackout period during election years in which conservative 501(c)(4) organizations would be banned from mentioning the name of any candidate for office, or even the name of any political party.
To make matters worse liberal lobbying groups like labor unions and trade associations are exempted from these new regulations.
"Rather than reform the IRS and root out any hint of corruption or targeting of political opponents, they're now proposing to codify it. Fearful of losing the Senate, they've decided to double down. Instead of getting the IRS out of the business of policing speech, they want to make it the final arbiter of political speech," McConnell said.
McConnell also urged IRS Commissioner Koskinen to stand against the regulation "thuggery" and to publicly announce that the IRS will cease to "engage in any more government-sanctioned crackdowns on speech."
