IRS hit from all political stripes on nonprofit rules

By: Lauren French
March 3, 2014 05:05 AM EST

Will a record-breaking amount of criticism force the Obama administration’s hand to soften proposed new rules for political nonprofits?

Opponents sure hope so.

Three months after the administration unveiled a controversial new rule for 501(c)(4) nonprofits, both liberal and conservatives groups are hoping a record amount of comments and a deluge of attention from Capitol Hill will persuade the Internal Revenue Service to at least pare back the proposals before finalizing the new rule.

“No one thinks the proposals are perfect. There is near unanimity among liberals and conservatives that the effort was a bit too broad,” said Stephen Spaulding, a staff counsel with the liberal advocacy group Common Cause, which is generally supportive of revamping campaign finance laws.

(More here.)