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Lois Lerner, the former head of the IRS, was forced into early retirement because of this issue. Holly Paz also disappeared off the rolls of the IRS over this issue.

The current head of the IRS is under fire for lying that this issue has been resolved.

Why am I bringing up ancient history about the IRS targeting of conservative groups several years ago? After all, those issues have been resolved. Right?

Not hardly!

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This month marks the sixth anniversary of the Albuquerque Tea Party’s application to the IRS for a 501c4 tax exempt status. To date, the IRS has still not responded to that application – even though the current head of the IRS has said that the issue has been resolved. Not so.

To make matters worse, the courts, assuming that the head of the IRS was speaking truthfully, threw out several sections of the lawsuit that the Albuquerque Tea Party and some 40 other conservative groups has outstanding against the IRS.

That decision is under appeal and should be decided by the court this spring.

The normal 501c3 or 501c4 application process involves filling out several pages of IRS documentation, then waiting three to six months for an adjudication by the IRS.

The Albuquerque Tea Party filed their request in December 2009. Several months later, the IRS demanded more documentation concerning the activities of the Albuquerque Tea Party since that application date. This was done.

Then several months later, the IRS again asked for an update on all activity/all board minutes/all brochures/all newsletters/all correspondence since their last letter to the Albuquerque Tea Party. This was done.

In total, the Albuquerque Tea Party was forced to send the IRS over 1,000 pages of additional documentation.

Then, we waited, and waited, and waited.

Inquiries into our status were dismissed out of hand by the IRS. And today, six years later, we are still awaiting a resolution.

The office of Rep. Steve Pearce was kind enough to talk with the IRS last year concerning this issue and was told that because of our lawsuit against the IRS, they would not disclose any information concerning our status.

Catch 22: Drop the lawsuit and they might or might not make a decision; not drop the lawsuit and continue to enjoy our state of limbo!

Regardless of a person’s political persuasions – whether liberal, conservative or progressive – we should all abhor one who uses the power of government to stifle free speech and to use that same power against political opponents.

That simply is not American.

When President Richard Nixon abused these powers, he was forced out of office – and rightly so. Why hasn’t the same happened to our current president?

People will say that no clear link between the IRS and President Barack Obama has been proven. Maybe so, depending on whom you talk to.

Even if that is so, a president who is smart enough to see that the inaction of his IRS to resolve this highly controversial issue, and for a president who has no fear in using his executive powers, it is overwhelmingly clear that he wants this illegal activity of his IRS to remain unresolved.

It is way past time for this issue to be addressed. The IRS needs to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down on our request.