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The Washington Post reported last week
Charities'
Tax Breaks Scrutinized
Widespread Abuses
Prompt Congress to Rethink Laws
Such abuse is also present in the Kansas City area
but is getting no attention from the local press.
The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce uses
the words "social welfare" to describe anything they want to
do politically, and as a 501c(6), they appear to be using Missouri
501c(4) non-profits to hide political money related to the bistate tax
issue in both 2002 and now in 2004. What
did Kansas politics have to do with the bistate issue in 2002?
The Greater Kansas City Chamber's PAC (with money
obtained from the Missouri 501c(4) non-profit, Bistate Arts and
Sports Corporation) sent $20,000 to Steve Cloud in 2002 for his Johnson
County Republicans for Education PAC. Apparently "social
welfare" on the Missouri side matches well with
"education" on the Kansas side. But isn't this mostly
about money, power, influence, and politics, and little about
"social welfare" or education? Haven't tax exempt money
and organizations been hijacked for purely political purposes?
Cloud used this $20,000 from Missouri to endorse
State Rep and other candidates, and the same Republican precinct
committees that his local GOP Club Committee was endorsing. How
many knew that Cloud was behind the common endorsements for precinct
committees from the JCRE PAC and the GOP Club? Cloud combined the
$20,000 from Missouri with $10,000 from his wife to help his JCRE
PAC. Over half the money to JCRE PAC came from Missouri or Cloud's
wife in the reporting periods prior to the elections in 2002.
Wasn't Cloud buying his position as Republican National Committeeman for
Kansas?
Now in 2004 some of the same players, and some new
players, are appearing on the political landscape. The Meadowlark
has previous reported about these 2004 political entities:
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Bistate Arts and Sports Corporation, a Missouri
non-profit
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Bistate Arts and Sports Corporation, a Kansas
non-profit
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Bistate Arts and Sports Committee, a Kansas PAC
and/or committee
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Missouri Bistate Arts and Sports Committee,
unknown legal status
According to documents filed with the IRS, Steve
Cloud on February 17, 2004 formed two new non-profit corporations:
The stated purposes of both new non-profits
according to the IRS 8871 forms is a bit puzzling:
TO CONDUCT
ALL LAWFUL ACTIVITIES PERMITTED UNDER KANSAS AND FEDERAL LAW TO
PROMOTE PUBLIC AWARENESS RELATED TO CERTAIN POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.
What does this mean? Obey the laws and
participate in politics?
According to the Kansas Secretary of State's
Office, a PAC was started in October 2003 with the name, Responsible
Republicans for Kansas.
Responsible Republicans for Kansas PAC
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Chair: Kim Wells, 4412 Nicklaus Dr,
Lawrence 66047
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Treasurer: Jack Ranson, 9324 W. Douglas
Ave, Wichita 66047
So what possible connections are there between
Cloud's new Responsible Republicans for Kansas non-profit corporation,
and the existing Responsible Republicans for Kansas PAC?
According to the Lawrence Journal-World (April 1,
2004):
Kim Wells [is], a former state Republican
Party chairman who led two Dole Senate campaigns
The Meadowlark doesn't know much about Jack
Ranson, but his wife Patricia Ranson is KS GOP Vice
Chair and former state senator. She
was one of Carla Stovall's biggest supporters. She is "a
conservative on all but the abortion issue."
It's possible the Responsible Republicans for
Kansas, Inc. and Responsible Republicans for Kansas PAC are to help
channel money via Cloud from either the Greater Kansas City Chamber of
Commerce, or possibly Wichita's Dr. George Tiller, who spent nearly
$300,000 on Kansas politics in 2002 to influence Kansas elections.
But who would get this money?
Steve Cloud is the chair of both the Johnson County
Republicans for Education PAC, with an address at his IBT corporation
since January 2003, and the chair of the new Johnson County Republicans
for Education, Inc., a Kansas non-profit at Steve Cloud's home address.
This PAC received $20,000 from the Greater Kansas City Chamber in 2002
and likes to change addresses:
Time, PAC reports, and possibly IRS 990s will tell
about the flow of political money. But how much is being hid from the
public using non-profit 501c(4) organizations? Don't we need
better accountability from non-profits? Shouldn't the IRS put an end
to the abuse of non-profits to hide money to affect politics?
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