IRS to TP:'State the Reasons You Did Not Have a Candidate Rally...Lone Demon...

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IRS to Tea Party: 'State the Reasons You Did Not Have a Candidate Rally for Lone Democratic Candidate'
May 28, 2013 - 10:23 AM
By Curtis Houck

(CNSNews.com) - The Internal Revenue Service, in a letter dated November 16, 2011, asked the Albuquerque Tea Party why it didn’t host a "candidate rally" in 2010 for the lone Democratic gubernatorial candidate in New Mexico after it had hosted a "question and answer forum" for the Republican candidates.

On the Democrat side, then-Lt. Gov. Diane Denish was running for New Mexico governor unopposed, but five Republicans were running in the primary for the opportunity to face Denish in November.

On page four of the IRS letter, question 8 asked the Albuquerque Tea Party:

"In describing your Event Rallies you stated that you hosted a question and answer forum with the GOP Primary Candidates for Governor of the state, and that not all GOP candidates attended. You stated that since there was only one candidate in the Democratic primary, there was no comparison to be made in the primary."

In Question 8a of the letter, the IRS directed the Albuquerque group to “Describe in detail the GOP Event Rally, including questions asked, and state the reasons you did not have a candidate rally for the lone Democratic candidate."

An IRS spokeswoman declined to comment Friday on the agency’s rationale for asking the Albuquerque Tea Party why it had not held an "event rally" for Lt. Gov. Denish in early 2010 and how that might affect the organization's application to become a 501(c)(4) group.

Rick Harbaugh, president of the Albuquerque Tea Party, told CNSNews.com that the reason his group did not have a forum for Denish was “very simple.”

“When there’s no opposition, there’s no point,” he said, adding that the Republican primary was contentious, given the fact that multiple candidates were running.

There's no discrimination, though.

The Slime Goes On...