WASHINGTON (AP) — It was called the "Road to Majority" conference, a not-so-subtle reference to winning control of Capitol Hill in the 2014 midterm elections. Some of the biggest names in the Republican Party — several potential presidential candidates among them — offered plans to strengthen the GOP. Breakout sessions included tips on "winning the hearts and minds of young people" and harnessing new technology to win elections.
The political overtones of last week's Faith and Freedom Coalition conference were striking. But organizers insist the event was not focused on politics and say they're not violating laws that prevent tax-exempt groups like theirs, classified as "social welfare" organizations under the tax code, from engaging in direct or indirect political campaigning.
As Congress probes the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, last week's conference at a downtown Washington hotel provided an example of the murky rules and lax enforcement surrounding the expanding network of big-budget nonprofit groups actively working to influence politics and policy.
Such organizations fueled an unprecedented expansion of spending in American politics last fall, using their tax status to hide donors' identities and avoid donation limits while investing more than a quarter of a billion dollars in television advertising, mailings and ground support to help influence elections nationwide.
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