To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization described in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c)(4), an organization must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare.

The promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. However, a section 501(c)(4) social welfare organization may engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity.

While MoveOn.org may take on “social welfare” issues as timely, it could be argued MoveOn’s very genesis was to counter the impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton in 1998, thus their mantra “move on”.

But since “promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office”, an email sent out by MoveOn.org this morning is another example of their blatant line-crossing.

Dear fellow MoveOn member,

Donald Trump could really win this election.

And, even if he doesn’t, the whole Republican field just keeps getting crazier.

Threatening to commit war crimes by intentionally bombing women and children.¹ “Closing” sections of the Internet.² Keeping Sharia law out of a city near you.³

These are the policies Republicans support. And in poll after poll, the candidates who take the most extreme, racist, right-wing positions go up.

If any of these candidates end up in the White House in 2016, America is in deep, deep trouble. Just by commanding the national stage, Republicans are already pushing dangerous ideas into public discourse and fueling a climate of violence and vitriol.

That’s why I’m asking you to make a year-end gift to one of the most powerful—and effective—progressive groups in the nation: MoveOn.

Your gift won’t just help defeat Republicans in 2016—you’ll also help fight against the pernicious ideas that their campaigns are propagating and help elect progressives who will stand up for our values.

Click here to make your year-end gift to MoveOn now.

Maybe you’re one of the people out there who thinks that the 2016 election will be an easy win for Democrats. You might think that because Republicans are so crazy, they can’t possibly win the general election. If so, think again.

In 2014, Republicans won their biggest House majority in Congress in almost 100 years—most of them every bit as conservative as the current candidates for president.⁴ Republicans control 32 governorships, including in deep-blue states like Maryland, Illinois, and Massachusetts.⁵ And, under President Obama, Democrats have lost more than 900 state legislative seats.⁶

That’s why anyone who thinks the next election is going to be easy is kidding themselves. Even if Donald Trump wins the nomination.

Will you chip in $3 and make sure MoveOn goes into 2016 prepared for a presidential election year?

Click here to chip in and help MoveOn expose and defeat Republicans in 2016.

Maybe you think the stakes aren’t that high if Democrats lose. If so, I hope you’ll reconsider. Here are some reasons why:

There’s been a terrifying spike in hate crimes largely targeting Muslims. Given the fear mongering of leading Republican presidential candidates, a Republican president will double down on xenophobic, anti-immigrant policies.

The GOP’s war on women continues in full force. (And you better believe that a Republican president will defund Planned Parenthood.)

Speaker Paul Ryan’s ultra-conservative House of Representatives is gearing up to make deep cuts to social programs, to slash Social Security, and to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. A Republican president will join with Ryan in a big push to make these extreme policies the law of the land.

We’ve avoided going to war—for now. But if Republicans in Congress had their way, we’d be on a road to war with Iran already.

We have Obamacare—for now. And we’re making progress on the environment—for now. But a Republican president will work every day to undo all of that.

Your year-end donation to MoveOn is a small price to pay to fight against right-wing policies that would put us on a path to economic and social misery.

Click here to chip in $3 or whatever you can.

If you want to put your money to good use in 2016, now’s the time. Laying the groundwork requires early planning. So every donation that comes in now will go a long way.

And MoveOn’s past get-out-the-vote operations have been as effective—and as innovative—as any I’ve seen out there.

Not only that, but MoveOn backs strong progressives who will fight for the little guy. That means you can put your money to use—and help win—without giving to Democrats who act like Republicans.

The other guys are funded by billionaires. MoveOn Political Action is funded with an average donation of $25. This is truly a people-powered movement.

Ready to help make sure MoveOn hits the ground running in 2016?

Chip in now.

Thanks for all you do.

–Robert Reich

Sources:

1. “GOP Candidates Actually Spend Time Debating Whether to Kill Terrorists’ Innocent Family Members,” The Huffington Post, December 15, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/313?t=6&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

2. “Why Donald Trump Can’t Actually Close ‘Parts of the Internet,’” Time, December 16, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/368?t=8&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

3. “Ben Carson Invokes Anti-Islam Myth Even Fox News Admits Is False,” ThinkProgress, December 16, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/309?t=10&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

4. “McSally Recount Win Gives GOP Biggest Majority Since 1929,” ABC News, December 17, 2014
http://act.moveon.org/go/310?t=12&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

5. “Republicans to hold 32 gubernatorial seats after wins in Kentucky, Mississippi,” ABC Action News, November 3, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/312?t=14&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

6. “Have Democrats lost 900 seats in state legislatures since Obama has been president?” PolitiFact, January 25, 2015
http://act.moveon.org/go/311?t=16&akid=160628.10099719.0g5iz0

Want to support our work? MoveOn member contributions have powered our work together for more than 17 years. Hundreds of thousands of people chip in each year—which is why we’re able to be fiercely independent, answering to no individual, corporation, politician, or political party. You can become a monthly donor by clicking here, or chip in a one-time gift here.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Granted, Reich’s lament that Republicans are resisting Sharia Law in America was an immediate source of wonder and amazement, but he’s not the first to pose such dangerous naivete.

Stop The Great Anti-Sharia Freakout
Three U.S. states have passed anti-Sharia laws since 2010 and now, 17 others are discussing similar bills. While the civil rights of Muslim Americans are being compromised through such legislation, there is ZERO threat of Sharia taking root in the U.S. Law makers should stop wasting our tax dollars pandering to xenophobia during this time of economic crisis.
— MoveOn.org petition, 2011

Reasonable, thinking liberals (there ARE a few) didn’t buy it in 2011, even though the Sharia-America wish-list has been out there awhile.

Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran, the Muslim book of scripture, should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.
— Omar Ahmad, founder, Council on American-Islamic Relations, 7/4/98

The sheer level of partisan politics (the specific naming of a party and candidates) should be an actionable offense. Then again, expecting the Obama administration to enforce the law is a stretch.

And the fact that MoveOn sucks in “gifts” that are donated 100% to Democrat political campaigns is something we hope a Trump administration reviews carefully. Especially when it comes to those “not employed” donors who managed to cough up thousands of dollars, multiple times.

To be fair, there are many so-called nonprofits on both ends of the political spectrum who use that status for personal gain, but few are as blatant a rule breaker as MoveOn.org. We’re sure Lois Lerner was getting around to investigating their mischief, right?

The outright censoring of the movie The Path To 9/11 is a blatant example of how liberals whitewash history, and in particular, how post-Clinton Administration officials could strongarm a television network into altering an artist’s work, later to keep that work from the American people… forever.

It also shows how irrelevant and unnecessary The Fairness Doctrine is when liberals are motivated and work in concert.

Last week, I had the honor of asking Cyrus Nowrasteh, director, screenwriter and producer, a few questions.

BOB —First off, can you tell us about your new project, The Stoning of Soraya M. and do you anticipate any resistance from entertainment companies that may resist broadcasting and/or distributing it?

CYRUS — THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is a true story set in Iran about an infamous stoning. It is based on an international bestseller that received much acclaim. It portrays Sharia Law in action in an Iranian village where a woman is accused of adultery, brought to trial, and executed in the same day. It is a condemnation of the barbarity of such punishments under fundamentalist regimes.

Will it inspire controversy? Of course. The book did so, its veracity questioned along with the author’s motives, but that comes with taking on edgy material. I welcome it.

Since MPOWER, the producers I did this with, have their own distribution company, we’re not reliant on the whims of a studio should President Ahmadinejad or CAIR raise objections. MPOWER won’t pull a “Bob Iger” on this film. They have guts.

BOB — Now, let’s get into some industry weeds.

There were early reports that some of the cast of The Path To 9/11 seemed deceived by the plot (or intent) of the film. If you feel at liberty to discuss this, do you feel as though they didn’t know what they film would be about (seeing how they could read scripts), or do you think they may have begun to feel some heat from their more liberal, intolerant Hollywood colleagues?

CYRUS — Everyone who worked on THE PATH TO 9/11 was given a complete script. It was entitled, however, THE UNTITLED HISTORY PROJECT, for security reasons. We would be shooting a good chunk of the film in Morocco, and didn’t want it to be called anything related to 9/11 while filming in a Muslim country. This ‘cover’ title was the source of much discussion in the media who attributed nefarious, conspiratorial, reasons behind it. It is common for productions to do this so as not to invite too much attention from fans, media, and others while trying to accomplish their work.

In the lead up to broadcast a number of actors in the miniseries were approached by the Clinton people to speak out against it. All refused except one: Harvey Keitel. He went on CNN and discredited the film and those he worked with. Of course, this was broadcast all over as proof we were in the wrong. Mr. Keitel, who prides himself on being a Marine and a tough guy, simply panicked when the charges started flying and ran to the media and turned on his colleagues.

Of course, the fact that numerous experts have come out since the film was broadcast and supported its historical depiction has been a bit of an embarrassment to Mr. Keitel.

BOB — When you initially decided to do The Path To 9/11, did you ever imagine creating the one program/movie that didn’t go straight to DVD?

CYRUS — It is outrageous that Disney has bowed to the Clintons and refused to release THE PATH TO 9/11 on DVD. This is a program that was number one in the ratings and garnered 25 million viewers. A smash. The foundation was laid for a huge DVD sale. But Mr. Bob Iger feels it more important to cushy up to his political friends than provide revenue for his shareholders.

FAHRENHEIT 9/11, THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH — all hugely political films — can be easily obtained at any video store. Only THE PATH TO 9/11 is unavailable.

This is outrageous.

BOB — Were you contacted personally by any former Clinton Administration officials, and did they threaten you, and if so with what?

CYRUS — I was not personally contacted by Clinton officials, merely the subject of their attacks. It was their intent to portray me as some right-wing nut in order to discredit me. And their willing allies in the media went along with it.

Jay Carson, who was Clinton’s chief of staff, made it a point to contact people in Hollywood hiring me to work on other projects and try to discourage them from doing so in true ‘McCarthyite’ fashion. Among those he contacted were an A-list director and the President of a major studio.

Some months after the controversy a Clinton strategist told me that I’d better be prepared, that if Hillary became President I would be audited every year. I believed him.

BOB — Have you created a Director’s cut that may hopefully, one day, see the light of day?

CYRUS — Uncut DVD versions of the miniseries have circulated on the Internet, some selling for as high as $500, but Disney’s attorneys have stopped that. Disney owns the film; no version of it can go out unless Disney releases it. They have chosen, under political pressure from the Clintons, not to do so.

BOB — Have you ever wondered what part of the National Archive documents wound up down Sandy Berger’s pants, and how that may have impacted the content of your movie?

CYRUS — Sandy Berger went into the National Archives at the request of Bill Clinton, ostensibly to help them both prepare for their testimony before the 9/11 Commission.

The documents he stole and destroyed contained hand-written notes in the margin that revealed how lax Clinton’s attitude was toward terrorism and Al Qaeda in particular. Driven by a desire to protect their legacy, Mr. Berger destroyed the documents and they are lost to history.

BOB — While working for a television network in Hollywood, I publicly became a Republican and was shunned by many who were previously good friends. The word got out, and freelance jobs that were previously plentiful, dried up. As an outspoken Hollywood conservative, how are you received, both on a professional and personal level, and has your marketability suffered at all?

CYRUS — First off, I was “characterized” as an outspoken Hollywood conservative by the spin machine out to kill THE PATH TO 9/11. If they could discredit me they felt they could discredit the film.

Though I’ve described myself as “conservative” on foreign policy issues (especially those dealing with Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism), I’m fairly “liberal” on social and economic issues. I could most accurately be described as a “libertarian” on these latter issues.

But, honestly, as a filmmaker I don’t like being pigeonholed. I made 10,000 BLACK MEN NAMED GEORGE for Showtime, a movie I’m very proud of. Its hero was an African-American communist who leads a labor struggle. My film, THE DAY REAGAN WAS SHOT (also a Showtime movie) was attacked by conservatives even though it portrayed Ronald Reagan unequivocally as an American hero. For me it’s about the story, the drama — not the politics.

Many people told me this “conservative” characterization would affect my career, and some in town did call my agent and manager and claimed they’d never work with me. But others, from both sides of the political aisle, actually watched the movie and realized that it was all political spin and called about my availability because they liked what they saw. Frankly, I’ve never been busier.

This controversy, in some ways, put me on the map. The town isn’t small enough to ruin people’s careers. Though I don’t doubt that in certain pockets and situations the “reverse McCarthyism” that you refer to goes on.

BOB — Thank you, Cyrus.

CYRUS — Bob, thank you for your interest.