J’accuse!
Over the past nine posts in this series, and in earlier
writings, I have documented a range of disturbing behaviors by Minnesota’s leading
501(c)(4) tax-exempt non-profit political organizations.
Alliance for a Better Minnesota, WIN Minnesota, and
TakeAction Minnesota have assumed leading positions in the state’s political
and public policy scene by virtue of their having elected a progressive
Democrat as governor (Mark Dayton) and Democrat majorities in both houses of
the state legislature.
The behaviors I document involve the highest ranking members
of the state’s Democrat party—including the party Chair, Ken Martin, and the
Executive Director, Corey Day.
I have documented that several non-profits appear to have
exceeded IRS limits on political activity during the 2010 election for
governor. I have documented missing tax
returns, misleading statements, transactions reported to one authority but not
another, inexplicable money transfers, and frequent amendments to and
reclassifications of questionable transactions.
It’s frequently noted that “politics ain’t beanbag.”
Than again, neither is it
Lord of the Flies.
We live in a society that expects its leading
institutions to follow the rules and keep in mind the best interests of all its
citizens.
“To whom much is given, much shall be required.”
By electing one-party Democrat rule,
Minnesota’s voters
(wittingly or not) have conferred near-absolute power on the state’s leading
political non-profits.
But so far in the
2014 election cycle, we have seen the political non-profits
engaging
in the same scorched-earth, less-than-ethical tactics that brought them
such success in the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Minnesotans expect better and, frankly, deserve better.
However, I have lived in this state long
enough to understand that the leading lights of these organizations will
continue to be invited on all the TV talk shows and will never have to answer
any uncomfortable questions regarding their actions or statements.
Members of our legacy media are largely in
agreement
with the progressive direction of the state’s politics.
They will never report on any actions or
tactics that would, at a minimum, call into question the legitimacy of the
larger progressive enterprise, or, at worst, would lead to conservatives and
Republicans regaining a foothold on power.
But that doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to go along
with it.
The actions of Lance Armstrong,
Mark McGwire, and Bernie Madoff forever taint their respective accomplishments.
Likewise, in my eyes, the actions of
political charity will always taint the 2010 election of Mark Dayton as
governor.