According to Americans United…
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Dallas church whose pastor has been posting videos of himself endorsing Texas Gov. Rick Perry on the church’s website.
Americans United says Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church has run afoul of federal tax law. AU notes that Jeffress has the right to offer a personal endorsement of Perry but that he may not put these endorsements on his tax-exempt church’s website.
“Pastor Jeffress is trying to do an end-run around the law,†said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “The IRS should put a stop to it.â€
On Oct. 8, Jeffress appeared at a Religious Right gathering in Washington, D.C., called the Values Voter Summit to introduce Perry. During the introduction, Jeffress praised Perry as the best GOP candidate and explained why he believes Perry deserves support.
…. continued here.
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Naah, I figure the more we move Perry up and force him to the wingnut side, the better off we are.
Actually, that would be exactly the assist that Perry would be looking for.
In fact, I suspect that this was done in a very calculated manner. They reminded primary voters that Mitt is a Mormon, and if Obama were to take the bait and have the IRS audit Jeffress, instant persecution martyrdom.
These incidents are on the rise, and actually a lot of the pastors are frustrated that the IRS will not intervene. The Alliance Defense Fund is really chomping at the bit to take it to the Supreme Court where they’ll either get the conservatives to rule their way, or will come off as heroes to fundagelicals.
Watch for Jeffress to flail more noisily
I hate to tell all the Perry backers this, but they are backing the wrong pony. He’s been a shitty governor. He only gets by because he’s good at playing the Texas Political game. That shit won’t work nationally. One reason is that there’s very few strong Democratic contenders in this state. So his main opposition has been other Republicans. And they won’t fully attack him on his GOP backed policies.
Nationally, everyone is going to take a shot. And look at his slip. This isn’t an accident. This is him losing his relevance. And it is just going to get worse for the guy.