Kweisi Mfume.

The AP story about NAACP President Kweisi Mfume stepping down caught my eye; after all, he’s been head of the organization for nine years and shepherded it through some tough times. The more interesting aspect of the article is actually about halfway down…

Last month, the organization’s chairman, Julian Bond, announced that its tax-exempt status is under review by the government in an investigation he contends stems from a speech he gave that criticized President Bush. Bond said IRS agents were investigating his keynote address July 11 at the NAACP’s annual convention in Philadelphia.

For an organization to keep its tax-exempt status, “leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official organizational functions,” according to an Oct. 8 letter to the NAACP from the IRS office in Louisville, Ky.

Did anyone hear about this? I know Bush blew off the NAACP when he was on the campaign trail when the crybaby said the organization was hostile to him. Since his feelings were hurt, I guess he needed to sic the IRS on their asses for payback. Nice.

To be fair, Jerry Falwell’s (god, do I have to bring up this bastard’s name again?) use of the his tax-exempt Jerry Falwell Ministries’ web site for political action got him in hot water with the IRS too; he made the stupid mistake of actually endorsing GWB on the web site. Think he’d know to not to run afoul of the IRS after having done so in 1993 for politicking.