When Wil the IRS Enforce the Law on Church Endorsements?

At this point, your safest bet is to take any religious endorsement of a political candidate in reverse: vote for whoever is running against the endorsee.

Ken at Down with Tyranny:

Yes, ladies and germs, it's that time in the election cycle when the right-wing cahootsniks of the various law-snubbing faiths of American Religion Inc. do their darnedest to flaunt and flout every law and regulation on the books governing church participation in politics, one of the basic facts of the separation of church and state we theoretically insist on, in part as part of the exchange by which religious institutions enjoy their tax-free status.

Each time out we hear the most egregious of the horror stories, and vows to take it up with the IRS, which has jurisdiction over those tax exemptions. But nothing happens, because, after all, who is there in authority who's going to tell any church of any size, "Hey, you guys can't do that"?

With Cardinal Dolan having demonstrated his sway over both organized Republicans and Democrats at the recent nominating conventions, it seems fitting that the opening salvo of the 2012 religious-election-abuse season should be fired within the cardinal's very own archdiocese. Credit Americans United for Separation of Church and State with at least making an issue of it.

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United, is one of the good guys in American religion, a minister (United Church of Christ) who actually believes in the practice of religion consistent with basic American values -- as set out, you know, in the Constitution. His organization has put out the following press release.

 Read the whole thing.