Audit the IRS Rally Toolkit
1) A map of the Capitol area where the rally will be held
2) Talking Points on the IRS Scandal
THE IRS TARGETS TEA PARTY PATRIOTS
I. OVERVIEW OF THE IRS SCANDAL & IMPACT ON TEA PARTY PATRIOTS
- Timeline: According to the IG report, the IRS began targeting conservative organizations, especially Tea Party groups, in February of 2010. The IRS agents were directed to target organizations with the words “patriot” or “tea party” in the names.
- IRS Dishonesty: In 2011, the Ways & Means Committee conducted a hearing based on initial reports that conservative and Tea Party organizations were being targeted. At that time, the IRS commissioner lied and said there was absolutely no targeting taking place, even though he had already been briefed about the process and knew that it was his agency’s policy to single out conservative groups and delay or deny their application process.
- Lack of Accountability: Since the public learned about this problem, there has been very little accountability taken by anyone in the Administration or in the Executive Branch. Although Steven Miller, the acting commissioner of the IRS, resigned, he testified before the Ways & Means Committee on May 17th and denied there was any political agenda or any significant wrong-doing.
- Immense Scope of the Problem: We have learned that nearly 500 groups around the country were affected by this policy of targeting conservative organizations. We are continuing to learn about other organizations that were harassed, and we are just now beginning to see that the IRS misused its audit authority to single out individuals associated with TPP, as well as their small businesses.
- Challenges TPP Groups Have Experienced: Because Tea Party Patriots groups were targeted, many were unable to fundraise and Tea Party Patriots local groups and the national group lost membership and donors as a direct consequence of this illegal practice at the IRS.
- Pervasive Culture of Fear: The IRS’s policy of targeting Tea Party groups has had a chilling effect. Dozens of TPP state coordinators have said that they were too afraid to submit their applications after they learned about what other groups were experiencing.
II. AN EXTRAORDINARY ABUSE OF POWER
- It is a well-known truth that the “power to tax is the power to destroy.” Tea Party Patriots groups know this by experience now.
- The Internal Revenue Services is, perhaps, one of the most feared government agencies because of its immense power to audit and repossess people’s assets. The American public has the right to expect their tax laws to be enforced in a transparent and equal way, irrespective of the individual’s personal convictions or group memberships and associations.
- The IRS has crossed a line and set a precedent where individuals and their businesses may be targeted and harassed based solely on their political views or volunteer memberships.
- This large-scale abuse of power is illegal, unacceptable, and unconstitutional. The IRS’s actions are entirely inconsistent with our Founding Fathers’ vision for a government that would be accountable to the people.
III. THE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE TEA PARTY PATRIOTS
- The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, which the Supreme Court has consistently said includes the right of association. Americans have the right to form groups and associations for the purposes of political education and civic engagement.
- Tea Party Patriots is a national organization that exists for the purpose of encouraging grassroots involvement in holding the government accountable. One of TPP’s core beliefs is that our government should be constitutionally limited. The IRS scandal illustrates just how important the Tea Party Patriots’ mission is.
- Although TPP has been targeted and harassed over the past three years by our government, we will continue our work, educating the public about the Constitution and also reining in the scope of the federal government.
3) A sample blog post on the IRS scandal
Sample Blog Post
Audit the IRS Rally
June 19th at 12:00 pm
Washington, DC
It’s time to rein in the government!
On May 10th, America learned that the IRS – perhaps the most frightening of all government agencies – has been singling out and targeting conservative groups, including Tea Party groups. This admission from the IRS confirms what many of us had already suspected. The IRS has, in fact, been delaying our applications and harassing those of us who wanted to form local Tea Party chapter organizations. In some extreme cases, the IRS went after Tea Party local leaders and audited their family members. Over the past month, we have learned more of the shocking details. The IRS audited conservative groups across the country; the IRS asked churches and groups about their prayers; and the IRS stifled free speech and created massive target lists of individuals and organizations to harass.
The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees the right to free speech, which includes the right to political speech and the right to associate and form groups with other like-minded individuals. The Tea Party movement, which began organically in 2010 in response to government excess, has attracted millions of regular Americans. The Tea Party movement is, at its core, the embodiment of the American spirit. The Tea Party movement sprang up in response to the government’s abuses of its powers, and this latest stunt from the IRS confirms for many of us why the Tea Party is so necessary.
Americans expect that our government will enforce its laws and rules – especially its tax laws – with fairness and equal application. Join us in Washington, DC on June 19th at 12:00 pm on the West Lawn of the Capitol for a rally to rein in the out-of-control federal government, starting with the IRS. For more details, visit this page: http://www.teapartypatriots.org/audit-the-irs-rally/
4) Sample Sign messages for rally posters
Sample Sign Waving Messages
Audit the IRS Rally on June 19, 2013
Equal application of the law!
No more illegal targeting!
Reform the IRS!
Audit the IRS!
IRS: Read the First Amendment!
Rein in the IRS!
Rein in the Government!
First Amendment for all!
Abolish the IRS!
The Constitution Matters!
No more IRS targeting!
Reform the IRS
Reform the Tax Code
We fought for the whole Constitution; Lois abused us and took the Fifth!
5) Sample social media about the rally
Sample Twitter and Facebook Posts Audit the IRS Rally Washington, DC
June 19, 2013 @ 12:00 pm
Sample Tweets for Twitter:
Congress: Keep investigating the Constitutional violations. #DCIntervention
DC is out of control. #IRS is only one example. #DCIntervention
Join us in DC on Wednesday for Audit the #IRS rally! http://www.teapartypatriots.org/audit-the-irs-rally/
#IRS scandal is exactly why fed gov’t needs less authority. #DCIntervention
#IRS scandal = what we’ve been fighting against for 4 years. #DCIntervention
The fed bureaucracy is so large that we can’t hold them accountable for crimes like #IRS scandal.
We will never stop fighting for Americans and justice for victims of IRS.
IRS targeting conservatives must be corrected. #DCIntervention
Fair, equal application of law applies to #TeaParty too. #DCIntervention
Fair, equal application of law applies to teaching Constitution too. #DCIntervention
IRS scandals illustrate why America needs the #teaparty!
No more harassment! No more intimidation from #IRS. #DCIntervention
Tea Party Patriots: protects and defends the Constitution. #IRS: targets and audits defenders of the Constitution
It is time to reform the #IRS. #DCIntervention
The tax code is 73,954 pages. It is time to reform #IRS with fixed system that cannot be used to dictate behavior. #DCIntervention
Sample Facebook Post:
For three years, the IRS unfairly and illegally targeted American citizens based on their very personal convictions, including their religious beliefs and political views. What could be more un-American than that?
It’s time to rein in the government. It’s time to reform the IRS. And it’s time to let our voices be heard. Join us in DC on June 19th at 12:00 pm in front of the Capitol for our rally! More details available here. http://www.teapartypatriots.org/audit-the-irs-rally/
6) A sample press release for those attending the rally
TEA PARTY PATRIOTS RALLY TO AUDIT THE IRS
Tea Party Patriots to host a rally outside the Capitol on June 19, 2013 at 12:00 pm
(YOUR CITY) – Tomorrow the Tea Party Patriots, the nation’s largest tea party organization, will host a rally on the West Lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The rally is in response not only to the IRS’s systemic corruption, but also to the pervasive culture in Washington, D.C. of out-of-control government agencies. Whether it’s the EPA’s overreach or the DOJ’s lawlessness, or the IRS’s flagrant misuse of taxpayer funds for its Star Trek parody films, our nation’s government is out of touch with the American people and completely out of control.
“The IRS has demonstrated the most disturbing, illegal and outrageous abuse of government power, and we are going to Washington, DC tomorrow to voice our opposition,” said (INSERT YOUR NAME) of (INSERT NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION).
(INSERT NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION) will be taking a bus to Washington, D.C. to join the rally to rein in the government. The rally will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, June 19th at 12:00 pm (noon) on the Capitol’s West Lawn. Everyone who is interested in reining in the government’s unchecked power is welcome to join the rally.
“We demand a return to the Constitution’s vision for a limited and accountable government.”
Tea Party Patriots is a national grassroots coalition with more than 3,400 locally organized chapters and more than 15 million supporters nationwide. Tea Party Patriots is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. Visit Tea Party Patriots online at www.TeaPartyPatriots.org.
For further information about the rally in DC, please contact (INSERT YOUR NAME) of (INSERT NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION).
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7) An overview of the relationship between Obamacare and the IRS
The Relationship between Obamacare and the IRS: 4 Frightening Connections
1. Obamacare gives unprecedented powers and authority to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – the same agency that for three years was targeting and harassing conservative organizations.
2. Obamacare includes 47 major changes to the revenue code. According to the IRS Inspector General, these 47 changes “represent the largest set of tax law changes the IRS has had to implement in more than 20 years.”
3. In order to implement all of these Obamacare tax rules, the IRS has requested funding for 1,954 new agents to begin in 2014.
4. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of Obamacare’s expansion of the IRS is the fact that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the IRS are now working together to create a massive online database with personal
information. This database is the largest personal database the government has ever attempted. The database is called the Federal Data Services Hub and is a central portal where individuals’ medical records, citizenship information, criminal records, and all of their tax information on file with the IRS will be collected.
The IRS must be reined in, not given more powers and authority. Obamacare is an unwieldy law that gives a dangerous amount of control and discretion to an agency that has already proven how untrustworthy it is.
