Watchdog group goes after anti-Obama pastor in Ky.

However wrote:

The sad thing is that historically, sermons about good or bad things that those in political authority were doing, or trying to do, were viewed as a good thing. Even calling for a people to sever ties to their sovereign leader, while treasonous, to be sure, to the leader, was patriotic and absolutely legitimate to those who were suffering.
The current IRS ban on churches endorsing or opposing candidates really only prohibits the church from using it's financial resources (untaxed funds) to promote or oppose a political candidate. So while they can't go print posters or buy air time to promote/oppose, the preacher is really free to say whatever he or she wants. Regulating or restricting anyone's free speech is something I'm sure our founding fathers never intended (going by their written works and historical documents) and the IRS code is invalid if it conflicts with the Constitution.

Rainbow Kid wrote:

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The Constitution gives the Congress free reign to tax the population as it sees fit
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Here are the IRS regulations pertaining to 501(c)(3) church exemptions:
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(copied and pasted)
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Political activity
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Section 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to limits or absolute prohibitions on engaging in political activities and risk loss of status as tax exempt status if violated.[26]
Elections
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Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office.[27] The Internal Revenue Service website elaborates upon this prohibition as follows:
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Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
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Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner.
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On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention.
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The Internal Revenue Service provides resources to exempt organizations and the public to help them understand the prohibition. As part of its examination program, the IRS also monitors whether organizations are complying with the prohibition.
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