Following the recent resignations of NPR President and Chief Executive Vivian Schiller and NPR Foundation Senior Vice President Ron Schiller, the heat is on. James O’Keefe’s sting reminded Middle Americans how NPR unapologetically bashes conservatives and Christians at every turn, while continuing to carry water for the Democrats that fund their existence. No wonder those who had barely begun to countenance the idea of defunding NPR following Juan Williams’ firing are now boldly (and publicly) calling for the feds to pull taxpayer monies immediately.
But as revealing as O’Keefe’s sting proved to be, there has long been another aspect of NPR operations that, although equally egregious, seems to escape many Americans: Namely, the fact that NPR has not-for-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, which means they not only live off the public dole, but do so without paying taxes on the money the public is forced to give them. (It also means that when Democrat fat cats like George Soros dump tons of money into NPR’s coffers, those fat cats get to deduct the donation or at least a portion of it, from their taxes.)
Moreover, although NPR holds the same tax-exempt status as a Church, and the Church is barred from espousing political speech, NPR regularly lambasts Republicans: especially conservatives.
Thus, while both entities hold a 501(c)(3) status, of the two only the Church is required to remain apolitical or lose its tax exemption. (Apparently, the IRS has no problem with the way NPR throws its hat in with the Democrats as each election cycle rolls around.)
When did this double standard arise in our?
Not surprisingly, it arose in 1954 when Democrat Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson’s re-election was being opposed by “Christians and anti-communists, some of whom were speaking their minds freely from…pulpits.” To solve this problem, Johnson successfully pushed to have the IRS tax code changed so that not-for-profits were required to maintain apolitical speech in exchange for their tax exempt status.
In classic Democrat fashion, Johnson used the coercive powers of an expansive state to interfere with the practices of the Church in the guise of protecting the separation of Church and state.
Once “The Johnson Amendment” was codified, pastors in pulpits across the country were essentially banned from expressing their moral opposition to Johnson and other candidates who used Sunday School language on the campaign trail, but lived and talked another way behind the scenes.
How angry does this make those of you whom NPR’s former Senior V.P. Ron Schiller derided as “gun toting…fundamentally Christian…middle [Americans]?” I hope it makes you angry enough to call your Congressman or Congresswoman and demand not simply that NPR be defunded, but that its tax exempt status be taken away, never to return again.
If Churches lose their tax exempt status for pointing out that supporting a pro-abortion candidate is incongruent with God’s commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” then NPR should lose theirs for the decades of support they’ve openly given to every Democrat candidate who will shamelessly repay them by keeping them on the federal dole.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.