* Patrick L. O’Daniel is a shareholder with the law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C. and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The author is grateful for the contributions of Mike Cook, who patiently listened and commented on the ideas expressed in this article, and Wendy Lyon and Noe Barrios for their research assistance.
1 I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) (1986). This provision will be generally referred to throughout this Article as “the prohibition.”
2 Throughout this Article, citation to materials housed in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum (LBJ Library) in Austin, Texas, will conform to the citation format suggested by that library. Copies of those materials will remain on file with the Boston College Law Review until September 2003.
3 “Whatever was required to be done, the Circumlocution Office was beforehand with all the public departments in the art of perceiving—HOW NOT TO DO IT.” Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit 104 (The New Oxford Illustrated ed. 1953) (1857).
4 Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers 157–74 (The New Oxford Illustrated ed. 1974) (1837).
5 The following is a description of the Blues and the Buffs from The Pickwick Papers:
It appears, then, that the Eatanswill people, like the people of many other small towns, considered themselves of the utmost and most mighty importance, and that every man in Eatanswill, conscious of the weight that attached to his example, felt himself bound to unite, heart and soul, with one of the two great parties that divided the town—the Blues and the Buffs. Now the Blues lost no opportunity of opposing the Buffs, and the Buffs lost no opportunity of opposing the Blues; and the consequence was, that whenever the Buffs and Blues met together at public meeting, town-hall, fair, or market, disputes and high words arose between them. With these dissensions it is almost superfluous to say that everything in Eatanswill was made a party question. If the Buffs proposed to new skylight the market-place, the Blues got up public meetings, and denounced the proceeding; if the Blues proposed the erection of an additional pump in the High Street, the Buffs rose as one man and stood aghast at the enormity.
Id. at 157–58.
6 See, e.g., Martha Sawyer Allen, Groups Urge Voters to Follow Their Faith on Election Day, Star-Trib. Newspaper of the Twin Cities, Nov. 4, 2000, at 5B; Esther Talbot Fenning, Churches Take Different Approaches to Politics, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 3, 2000, at 3; Stephen Huba, Churches Immersed in Politics, Cincinnati Post, Nov. 4, 2000, at 7A; Ben Macintyre, Hallelujah! Clinton’s Out to Serenade the Black Vote, Times of London, Oct. 30, 2000, at 1; Gebe Martines & Kim Kozlowski, Religion, Politics: Unprecedented Mix Hot Election, Detroit News, Nov. 2, 2000, at 1; Bruce Nolan, Religious Leaders Take Varied Tacks on Election Advice, Times-Picayune, Nov. 4, 2000, at 16; Emma Sapong, Clinton Addresses Congregation, Buffalo News, Oct. 30, 2000, at B1; Jodi Wilgoren, Just Before Election, Politics and Religion Mix Easily at a Michigan Church, N.Y. Times, Nov. 6, 2000, at A19.
7 This cycle has already been described as one of immense importance and historic interest because of the closeness of the presidential race whereby the Democratic candidate, Vice President Al Gore, was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush. Another notable race involved the election to the Senate for the State of New York of the First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton, over her Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Rick Lazio.
8 Ralph Z. Hallow, Gore Used Race as His Ace in Cards Played in Election, Wash. Times, Nov. 9, 2000, at A1; Glen Johnson, Black Voters Key to Final Gore Push, Boston Globe, Nov. 6, 2000, at A1.
9 Steve Miller, Hillary Courts Blacks at Church Services, Wash. Times, Nov. 6, 2000, at A1.
10 Dennis M. Mahoney, Falwell Stumps for Bush at Church, Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 6, 2000, at 3C.
11 Ken Foskett, Gore Whips Up Passions of Faithful for Big Turnout, Atlanta Const., Nov. 6, 2000, at A11.
12 Bob Kemper & Naftali Bendavid, Rivals in Frantic Race to the Finish Bush, Gore Spend Last Campaign Hours in States Key to Victory, Chi. Trib., Nov. 6, 2000, at 1.
13 Sandra Sobieraj, Gore Team Campaigns Through Midwest, Assoc. Press, Nov. 6, 2000.
14 Richard N. Ostling, Some Clergy Deliver Political Words, Assoc. Press, Nov. 5, 2000.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Sean Scully, Democrats’ Visits Could Cost Churches Tax-Exempt Status, Wash. Times, Nov. 3, 2000, at A11.
18 Bill Sherman, Voter Guides Raise Moral Issues, Tulsa World, Nov. 2, 2000, at 12.
19 Greg Hitt, Churches Feel IRS Pressure to Stay Out of Election, Wall St. J., Oct. 12, 2000, at A28.
20 Jane Ann Morrison, Lieberman Speaks at Local Churches, Las Vegas Rev.-J., Nov. 6, 2000, at 1A.
21 Office of the Press Secretary, Remarks by the President to African American Religious and Community Leaders, M2 Presswire, Nov. 1, 2000.
22 Ana Mendieta, Bush Endorsement Ripped, Chi. Sun-Times, Nov. 1, 2000, at 34.
23 Derrick Z. Jackson, Will Blacks Save Gore in Florida?, Boston Globe, Nov. 1, 2000, at A19.
24 Sean Scully, Cigarette Swap for Voting Skews Race, GOP Says, Wash. Times, Nov. 7, 2000, at A7; see also James Jefferson, Ark. Governor Criticizes Own State, Assoc. Press, Nov. 6, 2000 (quoting Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as saying, “[t]hey’re lining up buses at minority churches, loading them up and hauling them to the polls as soon as church is over.”).
25 Toby Eckert, Gore Tries to Boost Turnout of Blacks: Spends Two Days in Church Appeals, San Diego Union & Trib., Nov. 6, 2000, at A1.
26 Fred Kaplan, Black Vote Seen as Key in N.Y. Senate Race, Boston Globe, Oct. 30, 2000, at A12.
27 See, e.g., Bob Lewis, Va. Campaigns Reach Frantic Finish, Assoc. Press, Nov. 6, 2000 (describing Senate candidate Chuck Robb’s “whirlwind tour” of eight predominantly black churches); Adam Nagourney, With Time Short, Mrs. Clinton Preaches to the Democratic Faithful, N.Y. Times, Nov. 6, 2000, at A33 (“In a day of gospel and politics, Hillary Rodham Clinton preached and prayed her way through seven churches in seven hours yesterday . . . .”); Jeff Zeleny & Susan Kuczka, Frantic Voter Push Sees Candidates Knocking, Praying, Chi. Trib., Nov. 6, 2000, at 2 (describing schedule of one candidate “who attended nine church services in a 12-hour stretch that started at 7:30 a.m.”).
28 There has been only one recent reported decision of a church losing its tax-exempt status as the result of political activities. See generally Branch Ministries v. Rossotti, 211 F.3d 137 (D.C. Cir. 2000). This case did not include the kind of pulpit activities described above but instead concerned a newspaper advertisement the church paid for warning “Christians Beware” of then-Governor Bill Clinton. Id. at 169.
29 “Here’s the rule for bargains—’Do other men, for they would do you.’ That’s the true business precept. All others are counterfeits.” Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit 181 (The New Oxford Illustrated ed. 1959) (1854).
30 100 Cong. Rec. 9604 (1954).
31 The only subsequent change to the amendment’s language, enacted decades later, was the addition of the parenthetical phrase “(or in opposition to)” to make clear that the prohibition against electioneering extended beyond merely favorable speech and conduct in support of a candidate. See H.R. Rep. No. 391 (II), Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, 100th Cong., 1st Sess., pt. 2, at 1018 (1987).
32 The Conference Report contains no analysis of this provision. See H.R. Rep. No. 2543, 83d Cong., 2d Sess., at 46 (1954); see also Bruce R. Hopkins, The Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations 392 (6th ed. 1992) (noting that amendment was introduced “without benefit of congressional hearings”). Indeed, one commentator has derisively remarked, “[w]ithin a few seconds, or—if one is a slow reader—a few minutes, one can master all there is to know about the legislative history of this . . . significant conditional restraint on the political freedom of exempt organizations.” Edward McGlynn Gaffney, Jr., On Not Rendering to Caesar: The Unconstitutionality of Tax Regulation of Activities of Religious Organizations Relating to Politics, 40 DePaul L. Rev. 1, 24 (1990).
33 Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson Means of Ascent 387 (1990).
34 Id. at 317.
35 Id. at 316–17. These 201 votes were cast in alphabetical order and several of the persons listed had been dead for some years. Id. at 328–29.
36 At least one scholar has suggested that this election continued to haunt Johnson for the rest of his political life. See id. at 402. It certainly did during the 1954 election, and Johnson remained informed during this time about continuing legal developments affecting Parr. See Letter from Robert Clark to Lyndon Johnson, Feb. 10, 1954, LBJ Library Comparison Docs., 1954 File (giving Johnson the “low-down on the campaign of terror against Parr”). The concern even went so far as to documenting old rumors resurrected by his opponent Dudley Dougherty concerning the 1948 election. See Report, undated, LBJ Library Special Political File (remarks made to the Associated Press concerning Sam Smithwick, a former horse wrangler for Dougherty’s father). The gist of the rumor was:
Smithwick, sent to prison for the slaying of an Alice radio commentator, wrote former Governor Coke Stevenson that he could give the whole story of Box 13, from which an avalanche of late-counted votes defeated Stevenson in the 1948 Senate race. A few days later he was found strangled to death in his cell at Huntsville.
Id. Smith’s death in 1952 had resulted in banner headlines across the state. Caro, supra note 33, at 385–86.
37 For an in-depth overview of Democrat politics in Texas with respect to the 1954 election and Johnson’s Senate race in the context of explaining the history of the prohibition, see James D. Davidson, Why Churches Cannot Endorse or Oppose Political Candidates, 40 Rev. of Religious Research 16 (1998). Briefly, although Texas constituted a one-party state, the Democrat Party was deeply riven into several factions, the most prominent consisting of the conservative Dixiecrats led by Allan Shivers, sometimes referred to as “Shiverscrats,” and the more traditional and more liberal Democrats who were more closely aligned with the national leadership and were led by Johnson. Id. at 22–23.
38 Robert Dallek, Lone Star Rising 449 (1991). Dougherty was an oil millionaire who freely spent his own money on the campaign. See, e.g., Letter from Robert Clark to Lyndon Johnson, Feb. 10, 1954, LBJ Library Campaign Docs., 1954 File (noting that he is “very wealthy” and the Dougherty “ranch lands are studded with oil and gas wells”); Memorandum, George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, Apr. 21, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda Jan.–Nov. 1954 File (noting as Dougherty’s first strength, “[u]nlimited funds (or at least as much money as a man could possibly spend in a campaign)”); Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Harlan Fentress, June 17, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley, June 1954 File (complaining “[m]y opponent will not get twenty percent of the vote but he is spending thousands of dollars”). Johnson, for his part, was irritated by suggestions that he too was a millionaire, as evidenced by his huffy reply to one negative letter:
First of all, I am not a millionaire. Such assets as I have—namely, Johnson City bank stock at $10,000.00; half interest in approximately 275 acres of land with a house on it; and a few small notes owing me by employees and family—constitute my total assets.
I make annual payments on my war insurance of $10,000.00 and on another $10,000.00 I started purchasing in the middle 30’s. I owe an aunt from whom I acquired the farm approximately $3,000.00 and have no other debts. I have less than $1,000.00 in the bank. I own no stocks or bonds or other investments.
Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Brandon Trussell, June 25, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political Files, 1949–1961.
39 See, e.g., Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Allen Duckworth, July 14, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley June 1955 Special Political File, 1954 (“Naturally, I am glad to know that the News is not going to endorse the young man from Beeville.”); Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Dr. R.A. Wansley, July 12, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley File, 1954 (“It was thoughtful of you to send me the campaign propaganda you received from the young man from Beeville.”); Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Adrian Spears, June 30, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley File, 1954 (“It is certainly true that the young man from Beeville has strayed far away from announced intentions of not slinging mud in this campaign.”); Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Ted Andress, June 24, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley, June 1954 File (“Other friends tell me the same thing you do about refusing to dignify the candidacy of the young man from Beeville.”).
40 Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Lyndon Johnson, postmarked Nov. 27, 1954, LBJ Library Correspondence File, 1954.
41 Johnson represented early on one of the few prominent elected officials who was recognized as being immune from McCarthy’s braying siren’s call. See Memorandum from Dorothy to Lyndon Johnson, July 8, 1954, LBJ Library Political Financial File (noting a political bulletin that says “the Democratic leadership is all for a vote on McCarthy except Lyndon Johnson who is disturbed by the oil millionaires of Texas who back McCarthy”). Apparently, Dorothy is Dorothy Palmie, Johnson’s secretary at the time. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 289.
42 Don E. Carleton, Red Scare! 266 (1985).
43 Davidson, supra note 31, at 19. Years later, a former aide of Johnson’s indicated “that he was irritated by the activities of Dougherty’s followers—especially H.L. Hunt.” See Deirdre Halloran Dessingue & Kevin M. Kearney, Federal Tax Code Restrictions on Church Political Activity, 38 Cath. Law. 105, 107 (1998) (quoting letter from George Reedy to Deirdre Halloran Dessingue).
44 Davidson, supra note 37, at 21.
45 In one letter, Johnson complained that, “[i]t seems strange that a candidate for the United States Senate from Texas is running on the basis of a platform which does not contain a single plank devoted directly to Texas problems and whose major backer is an organization controlled by New Yorkers.” Letter from Johnson to J.R. Parten, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, June 3, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley, 1954 File. In another letter, Johnson fulminated that “[s]o far as I know, he has no newspapers in the State supporting him and no responsible citizens.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Edwin Weisl, June 22, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. He then noted that Dougherty’s principal supporters, “Human Events, published in Washington, Dr. Rumely’s Constitutional Government, published in New York, Williams Intelligence Summary, published in Santa Ana, California, and Poison Pen Quigley of Minneapolis, Minnesota, seem to be bought and paid for . . . .” Id. Johnson made a similar point in another letter: “[m]y enemies seem to be moving in on me from all directions. The Committee for Constitutional Government, Inc., New York; Walter E. Quigley, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Human Events and Willis Ballinger, Washington, D.C.; Robert H. Williams, News Analyst, Santa Ana, California.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Bob Jackson, July 1, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File, 1954; see also Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Preston E. Johnson, June 30, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley 1954 File (“In the meantime, my opponent has imported some well-known smear artists from Minnesota, Washington, D.C. and New York City who are covering the State with vicious and libelous literature.”).
46 6 Williams Intelligence Summary 2 (May 1954) (on file with author).
47 Id. In the same issue, Williams speculates that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was actually murdered by Stalinist agents; and he writes in support of a California State Senator who is “daring to attack the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’irth and the whole subversive, blackmail cult of which it is a part.” Id. Williams’ writings are riddled with such crude, anti-Semitic remarks. See Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson (undated) LBJ Library Reedy Memos June–Nov. 1954 File. Apparently, nearly 100,000 copies of this particular article were circulated throughout the State of Texas. Report (undated) (on file with author).
48 Wallis Ballinger, The Texas Story, 11 Human Events No. 15 (Apr. 14, 1954). The story emphasized the “moral odor” of the 1948 senate election which it alleged Johnson “stole . . . by a bit of crude politics reminiscent of a New York Boss Tweed.” Id. The attack culminates with a peroration that “[a] vote for Johnson—many Texans feel—will be a vote for more centralization of power and socialism in Washington; for more of the internationalism which is designed to abolish the U.S.A.; and for more covering up of Communist infiltrators.” Id. This story was reprinted by the CCG organ, “Spotlight.” See Spotlight, D-269 (on file with author). As with the Williams article, this piece was “circulated through the State.” Report (undated) (on file with author).
49 Indeed, at least one aide complained about the inordinate amount of attention focused on Dougherty. Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, June 4, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memos June–Nov. 1954 File (“Personally, I have the feeling that we are all spending too much time talking amongst ourselves about Dougherty. We’ve got to find some new goals and start working for them.”). George Reedy was a principal aide on Johnson’s staff. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 352.
50 See, e.g., Letter from Booth Mooney to Ray Zauber, July 2, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (explaining that Johnson would not respond to charges from a disgruntled job seeker because “he is following a policy . . . and I think a wise one . . . of ignoring the young man from Beeville and his cohorts”). Mooney was originally a campaign manager for Coke Stevenson in 1948, but he eventually became a staff member for Johnson. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 421.
51 Dallek, supra note 38, at 450–51.
52 See, e.g., Memorandum from J.J. Pickle to Lyndon Johnson, May 11, 1954, LBJ Library Austin District & County Files, 1951–54 (describing Dougherty’s talkathon appearance and campaign swing through Bryan and College Station); Letter from J.J. Pickle to Lyndon Johnson, May 11, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (reporting on Dougherty’s cancellation of his appearance in El Campo due to being hospitalized for “almost [having] a nervous breakdown”). J.J. “Jake” Pickle was a long-time Johnson aide who eventually became a congressman and represented Johnson’s old district. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 187. In a twist of fate, Pickle would eventually become the second-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means committee overseeing tax policy.
53 Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Lyndon Johnson (July 30, 1954) (on file with author).
54 According to an undated report found in Lyndon Johnson’s files describing the “‘Dougherty Team’ of smear artists and poison-pen experts,” Igor Cassini was a “Russian-born Count who writes a column of society chit-chat for New York newspapers.” Report (undated) (on file with author). Apparently, he appeared under the pseudonym Cholly Knickerbocker and also hosted a society television program. See Mark Eldon Young, Lyndon B. Johnson’s Forgotten Campaign: Re-election to the Senate in 1954, at 3 (1993) (unpublished M.A. report, University of Texas) (on file with University of Texas at Austin Library); Letter from Igor Cassini to Richard Berlin, July 26, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (headed “Office of ‘Cholly Knickerbocker’”).
55 A transcript of the offending television interview was appended to a letter sent by Johnson to Edwin L. Weisl, a Wall Street attorney and long-time fundraiser for Johnson. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 162, 251, 308; Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Edwin Weisl, July 5, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. The transcript contained several inflammatory remarks from Coke Stevenson concerning the 1948 election to the effect that “I don’t believe that the public ought to reward a man by re-election to the United States Senate who was never honestly elected to begin with.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Edwin Weisl, July 5, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. Cassini replied, “[w]ell, in that case he certainly, he has no right at all to be there, because I understand there were some peculiar things that happened during the last election.” Id. This transcript was sent in response to an earlier letter, whereby Weisel promised to Johnson that he was “taking this up immediately with his [Knickerbocker’s] superiors and I am sure that no recurrence will happen.” Letter from Edwin Weisl to Lyndon Johnson, June 24, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. Clearly, Johnson was incensed by the interview, as is apparent from an earlier letter he sent to Weisl asserting, “I don’t know why Cholly Knickerbocker would voluntarily inject himself into Texas affairs, but he has.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Edwin Weisl, June 22, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. Johnson went on to add, “I assume he doesn’t know that Dougherty is a chronic alcoholic, a crackpot, and a screwball of the first order, who happened to inherit 16 thousand barrels of daily oil production.” Id. He also complained about other out-of-state organizations, including CCG, “flooding the State with scurrilous literature.” Id.
56 See Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Harlan Fentress, June 17, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (“Coke can get a much better headline on the front page by saying he is not vindictive but is going to make a radio speech against me than I can by making a speech on the Senate floor on an important Texas problem.”). This sensitivity extended to tracking down information about a satirical radio commercial Dougherty was airing called “The Darling of Duval County.” See Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Howard Davis, July 23, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (“I am glad to have this information about the singing commercial”); Letter from Adrian Spears to J.J. Pickle, July 23, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley, July 1954 File (“I also checked with station K.O.N.O. with reference to the jingle being played on behalf of Dougherty, and the words are enclosed herewith on a separate sheet.”). The words were as follows:
(To the tune of “Red River Valley”)
Last time Lyndon ran for the Senate
He was trailing behind for a while
But the votes of Duval’s dear departed
Helped pull him ahead that last mile
He’s the darling of Duval County,
He’s Duval’s bright, shining star.
F.D.R. couldn’t put Lyndon over
The man who did that was George Parr.
From the Senate they say Lyndon’s leading
Ole Boss Parr will be shedding many a tear,
Cause they cleaned up the polls in his county,
And he can’t help Lyndon this year.
Lyndon’s still the darling of Duval County,
But this time the voting is strict.
They can’t count those votes from the graveyard,
And ole Lyndon is sure to be licked.
Id.
57 Letter from Igor Cassini to Richard Berlin, July 26, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. Berlin duly forwarded the letter to Johnson. See Letter from Richard Berlin to Lyndon Johnson, July 28, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
58 Memorandum to Lyndon Johnson from “Walter,” June 30, 1954, LBJ Library Memoranda 1954 File. “Walter” is apparently Walter Jenkins, a longtime aide of Johnson’s. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 186–87.
59 Memorandum to Lyndon Johnson from “Walter,” June 30, 1954, LBJ Library Memoranda 1954 File.
60 Young, supra note 54, at 32. Apparently, Johnson became acquainted with Clark, who was the brother of United States Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark, during the 1948 Senate campaign. See Caro, supra note 33, at 289.
61 Letter from Rev. Lewis L. Shoptaw (undated) (on file with author).
62 Id.
63 See Memorandum from Walter Jenkins to Lyndon Johnson, July 2, 1954, LBJ Library Memoranda 1954 File (estimating that, “Dudley may get 50,000 votes for himself. Then he might get another hundred thousand because of his family and his father’s contributions to the Catholic Church. Then he may get another 150,000 from folks who don’t like Lyndon”). As noted by Cecil Burney, a Corpus Christi attorney and longtime Johnson supporter, corresponding with Pickle, “[a]s you know, the Dougherty family has contributed more to the Catholic Church than any other group in the State.” Letter from Cecil Burney to J.J. Pickle, July 9, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 440. Burney discounts in the letter the report from a John Galvan of Corpus Christi that Johnson would have “great trouble carrying” the San Antonio area, because Galvan’s “opinions are influenced by his Catholic background, . . . [he] is very closely affiliated with the Church, and half the time when I see him, he is accompanied by a Priest.” Letter from Cecil Burney to J.J. Pickle, July 9, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. However, there clearly was some concern about the influence of Dougherty’s family given their prominence in the Texas Catholic community, which was centered in San Antonio. The San Antonio-based, state-wide, bi-weekly Catholic newspaper, The Southern Messenger, published at this time a number of stories favorable to Dougherty and his family. See, e.g., Conservation of Water Urged by Dougherty, Southern Messenger, June 10, 1954, at 4 (describing Dougherty’s water-conservation position); Dudley Dougherty Seeks Senatorial Seat, Southern Messenger, Feb. 11, 1954 at 4 (announcing Dougherty’s bid to run for the Senate); James Dougherty School of Nursing Cornerstone Blest, Southern Messenger, Feb. 25, 1954, at 1 (describing event); James R. Dougherty School of Nursing, Corpus Christi, Laying of Cornerstone by Bishop Garrigan Feb. 22, Southern Messenger, Feb. 18, 1954, at 1 (announcing upcoming laying of the cornerstone of the James R. Dougherty School of Nursing); Late J. Dougherty Honored in Austin, Southern Messenger, Jan. 28, 1954, at 4 (describing Dougherty’s father, Judge James R. Dougherty, as a “distinguished attorney and business executive,” who “was a leading Catholic layman and was well know for his philanthropies,” on the occasion of the unveiling of a portrait in the State Bar Association building which was constructed as a memorial to him). There are no articles in this paper during this time period concerning Johnson or his positions.
64 Memorandum from J.J. Pickle to Lyndon Johnson, June 15, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
65 Id.
66 Id. This position concerned Johnson in that Dougherty had made general allegations that Johnson “doublecrossed the Latin Americans.” Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Ed Ray, June 2, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley June 1954 File (letter to the editor complaining of the endorsement of Johnson by the San Antonio Express). Johnson’s staff was amazed by this charge and considered it “nonsense.” Letter from George Reedy to Ed Ray, July 9, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File (letter suggesting possible responses to letter from Dougherty). It is understandable that Reedy found such charges “nonsense” given Johnson’s very advanced and sympathetic views concerning immigration at this time. In one contemporaneous memo, Reedy criticized hard-line attempts to restrict immigration from Mexico:
[I]t is obvious that the border can never be completely sealed off to any truly significant extent. It is too long; there are too many places to cross; the temptations to cross are too great. As long as there are provinces in Mexico where people are suffering from an intolerable economic situation and as long as there is work to be done in the Valley, there will be border crossing.
Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, Jan. 13, 1954, LBJ Library Memos, Jan.–Nov. 1954 File [2 of 2]. In another memorandum, Reedy criticized proposed legislation that would make it unlawful for anyone to employ an alien “knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe” that the alien entered the country illegally. Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, July 14, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File. Reedy argued that the passage of this law would mean that “Americans of Latin descent would almost have to carry citizenship papers or other proof of citizenship with them at all times. If the law is to be enforced, it would require an enormous expansion of police agencies and constant searches and seizures on the part of immigration authorities.” Id. Given that border patrol activities “have already aroused considerable resentment,” bestowing these additional powers on the border patrol would probably mean that they would “acquire the same low standing in the community prohibition agents had during the 20’s.” Id. Summing up these legislative proposals, Reedy found them unworkable because:
The actual facts are that there is wide-spread economic misery and suffering in many provinces of Mexico and the people in those provinces are desperate for work at any wage. The Rio Grande is very easy to cross. On the American side of the Rio Grande are many employers who badly need labor. Most of the employment that is open is seasonal employment in which the employer needs a lot of labor for a short period of the year and cannot afford to go through too much red tape in getting it. Under these circumstances, repressive and punitive legislation will only provoke resentment.
Id. Such prescient advice is as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.
67 Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Dan Quill, June 21, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File 1951. George Reedy, a principal aide on Johnson’s senate staff, suggested possibly swaying the Archbishop by passing on to him a memorandum Reedy had prepared concerning anti-Semitic remarks made by Robert H. Williams, who had endorsed Dougherty in his Williams Intelligence Summary. See Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson (undated) LBJ Library Reedy, Dudley Dougherty File (noting that, “[i]t is possible that Williams might also arouse Archbishop Lucey’s ire”).
68 Memorandum from J.J. Pickle to Lyndon Johnson, June 23, 1954, LBJ Library Austin District & County Files, 1951–54 [1 of 2] (“Archbishop Lucey paid you several compliments yesterday morning and stated he was for you.”).
69 Id. (“I believe this can be a great deal of help to you and I hope you will get the letter off immediately.”). It is unclear whether Johnson followed this advice.
70 Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Harry Provence, July 6, 1954, LBJ Library, Dudley Dougherty July 1954 File.
71 See Letter from Herman Edelsberg to George Reedy, June 22, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy, Dudley Dougherty File. One enclosure documented that Williams had his commission terminated by the army and had been criticized by many major newspapers because of his anti-Semitic propaganda activities. Report (undated) (on file with author).
72 Rowe was a “brilliant attorney” who had worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the Roosevelt administration as a White House assistant to James Roosevelt, the President’s son. Dallek, supra note 38, at 289.
73 In an earlier meeting with Rowe, Edelsberg promised to “check their leaders in Texas and see how far the Williams stuff has gone. After that, he will know what they can best do to be helpful and will let us know.” Memorandum from Walter Jenkins to Lyndon Johnson, July 1, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
74 Letter from Dorothy to Lyndon Johnson, July 8, 1954, LBJ Library, 2 Political Financial 1954 File.
75 Id.
76 Dallek, supra note 38, at 451.
77 Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Lyndon Johnson, July 30, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley July 1954 File. Dudley’s defensive tone concerning his Catholic religion is understandable given the prejudice against Catholics at that time. Some of Johnson’s campaign tactics, described supra notes 53–75 and accompanying text, gives some indication of this prejudice. Probably the most notorious instance, prior to John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960, was the opposition faced by Democrat Al Smith in his presidential campaign against Herbert Hoover in 1928. During that campaign his opponents circulated construction photographs of the Holland Tunnel, claiming that it was a transatlantic passageway to bring the Pope to Washington. Rumors circulated that the Pope was going to move into Washington, D.C. right after election day, that he already lived there in an underground bunker, that Smith would nullify all Protestant marriages and he would strip Protestants of their bibles. See Robert A. Slayton, Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith (2001).
78 Letter from Dudley Dougherty to Lyndon Johnson, postmarked November 27, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley Nov. 1954 File. Johnson wrote a gracious letter in response, assuring Dougherty that he did not “hold a grudge against those persons who have opposed me politically” and he felt “no enmity toward you.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Dudley Dougherty, Aug. 4, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley Aug. 1954 File.
79 Carleton, supra note 42, at 93.
80 Margaret Hunt Hill, H.L. & Lyda 241 (1994). Apparently, Hunt signed each of his articles “Constructively, H.L. Hunt” and believed that this would counter criticism that he was “too conservative” because, “[h]ow can you be accused of being too constructive?” Id.; see also Stanley H. Brown. H.L. Hunt 183 (1976) (describing Hunt’s motivation for starting Facts Forum and its early activities).
81 See Theodore H. White, Texas: Land of Wealth and Fear, 10 The Reporter 30, 31 (June 8, 1954) (describing Hunt as commanding through Facts Forum “a national grassroots organization whose influence almost every Washington Senator has felt”).
82 Hill, supra note 80, at 241. At its peak, the radio program reached 222 stations and the television program appeared on 58 outlets. The periodical, Facts Forum News, had a circulation of 60,000. In addition, there appeared a newspaper column that was carried by 1800 newspapers. Carleton, supra note 42, at 93.
83 Hill, supra note 80, at 214.
84 Facts Forum News (Dec. 1954), at 27 (on file with author).
85 Id. Hunt did acknowledge “FACTS FORUM has been charged with running Senator McCarthy for President,” but denied any direct involvement, noting that it “does not support candidates, and treats McCarthyism like all other issues, and as in other issues does try to get the public to find out more on the subject.” Id.
86 In an article touching on Hunt’s activities with respect to Facts Forum, Theodore White noted Hunt’s “power any small-town Texas editor can explain by pointing to the flood of Facts-Forum-inspired letters supporting Senator McCarthy.” White, supra note 81, at 31; see also McCarthy, Hunt, and Facts Forum, The Reporter, Feb. 16, 1954, at 20 (“Perhaps the most persistent rumor about Facts Forum is that it is a tax-exempt device to use free radio and television time to promote the political views of McCarthy and his allies in Congress.”). This article ends with the statement, “[t]hese, then, are the widely varied activities of an organization that derives its tax-exempt status from its claims of being ‘nonpartisan’ and ‘educational.’ It may be questioned if Facts Forum meets the test of these claims . . . .” Id. at 27.
87 In one report prepared for Johnson, Hunt is described as having “an affinity for Joe McCarthy” and of using a Dallas lawyer, Dick Tullis, as an “ideological and political errand boy” who “goes to Washington regularly to see Joe Martin, Nixon, McCarthy and other key Republicans.” Report (undated) (on file with author). This report also describes Hunt’s connections with various journalists and alleges that Hunt “has gone so far as to send a $50.00 check to a Dallas News editorial writer as a bonus for an editorial Hunt liked.” Id.
88 Letter from Robert Clark to Lyndon Johnson, May 3, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. The cover letter to these reports also includes Clark’s assessment of Dougherty that he “looks and acts even more immature and boyish on TV than he does ordinarily, and he sounds like a teenager. He has set a fast and costly pace and I suspect his personality weaknesses will prove too strong for him to handle the problems that will come about and he will turn to whiskey and young girls for escape.” Id.
89 Id.
90 Id. Specifically, the report provides:
Mr. H.L. Hunt became interested in Hayden during the past presidential campaign, during which time Hayden was passing out “buttons” and propaganda for McArthur. Since that time Hayden has been in the employ of Hunt and Facts Forum, whose offices are on 7th floor of Mercantile Securities Building, after school. He worked in the research department, checking on the lives, current activities and previous records of people in public life. He was paid 75¢ per hour. He went to Houston in Hunt’s airplane for Senator McCarthy’s talk last week and organized a teenage group to carry posters and banners through the crowd. It is understood that he was dismissed from the employ of Facts Forum on April 30 because he was unpopular with the girls and women who worked there. It seems he is another Orson Wells [sic]—a child prodigy—far advanced mentally for his age, but juvenile in his actions. He is a heavy reader and a deep thinker—he wants to make a career of politics. He assumes the attitude that he must clean up politics, etc., obviously because of Hunt’s direction. It seems that he was unpopular with the other employees at Facts Forum because he likes to show off his knowledge on all subjects and was Hunt’s pet and also because of his childish actions.
Id. Other dossiers in a similar vein were prepared on a variety of different organizations and individuals. See, e.g., id. (report on Jimmie Corder, “a young boy about 13 or 14 years old” who was the Secretary of Texas Youth for America and involved in Facts Forum; the report describes, among other things, his father’s credit record including “[l]ocal bank reports low 4 figure checking account,” “[l]ocal lumber company reports account since 4–53, high $2,135.03, paid satisfactory,” and “[l]ocal paint company reports account for over 1 year, high $148.31, pays 30 days prompt”); id. (report on D. Mapp who wrote an unfavorable letter to the editor concerning Johnson accusing him of stealing the 1948 election from Coke Stevenson); id. (report on Ray Carpenter, an associate of H.L. Hunt and B. Hayden Freeman, who worked for Dougherty on his talkathons in an attempt to generate publicity and is described as “nervous and neurotic”); id. (report on United Chemical Company which is linked to Carpenter and whose secretary appears “mysterious about the whole business” and evidently “has been well coached on what to say to inquirers”); Letter from Robert Clark to J.J. Pickle, May 28, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (report of Dr. Robert Franklin, a cousin of Dougherty’s and a young doctor who circulated a letter among physicians favorable to Dougherty and who is a very active member of a young doctor group among the members of Facts Forum. He is well known at the headquarters of Facts Forum, and full information on him is in their active membership file.” Clark jokes that “the situation, as Corrigan puts it, is being cured.”).
91 This letter was sent to a number of Texas newspaper editors. See Memorandum from Walter Jenkins to J.J. Pickle, Apr. 9, 1954, LBJ Library Memoranda 1954 File (“Here’s a letter that has been sent out by Hayden Freeman of Dallas to editors all over the state.”). The letter recounted the events surrounding the “Duval County ballots” and how Johnson had “used his political influence in Washington to force the federal courts to keep its hands off the Duval County ballot stinkpot.” Letter to the Editor from B. Hayden Freeman, (undated), LBJ Library Special Political File. The letter went on to note that Parr had recently visited Johnson and hinted that the purpose of the visit was linked to the fact that, “[t]oday, the Duval County political cesspool is being given a thorough airing and the so-called Duke of Duval County sits on the throne of a tottering empire.” Id. The letter ends by urging “all Texans to learn more about Dudley T. Dougherty, to study his record, and ponder the evils of the Duval County political cesspool that once more are reaching into the sacred halls of the United States Senate.” Id.
92 In the cover letter to the reports, Richard Clark stated:
[h]ere are reports on investigation of the Mapp, Muldoon and Texas Youth for America letters. Not too much was uncovered but enough to definitely show that Hunt is the main spring of all of it. Contacts have clammed up, so I’m temporarily discontinuing active investigative work. After you have studied the reports let me have any ideas that occur to you. . .  I also believe that Mapp got the material for his letter from Hunt thru Hayden.”
Id. In addition, John Connally, a Johnson staffer and future Governor of Texas, spoke to Bob Windfohr, “about the ‘kid newspaper’ put out at Dallas. He has checked into it with one of Hunt’s men and if Hunt has anything to do with it, his staff does not know it.” Memorandum from Walter Jenkins to Lyndon Johnson, Apr. 30, 1954, LBJ Library Memoranda 1954 File.
93 Williford was described by Hunt’s daughter as follows: “Daddy always had a sidekick, a troubleshooter, who did a lot of things for him that he had neither the time nor desire to do himself. First there was Mr. Bailey and then came Mr. H.L. Williford, a gray-haired, elegantly spoken Southern Gentleman from Memphis, Tennessee, who always dressed in a navy blue suit, white shirt and necktie.” Hill, supra note 80, at 67. Interestingly, Hill describes Williford as “a consummate actor.” Id.
94 Memorandum from Booth Mooney to Lyndon Johnson, May 5, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954.
95 Id.
96 Id.
97 See id. (“All this, in my opinion, is exactly what he would have been expected to say. I do not know how much of it is true. My opinion of his credibility is not high.”).
98 Id.
99 Not surprisingly, Hunt’s Facts Forum and CCG were suspected of working in tandem. See McCarthy, Hunt, and Facts Forum, supra note 86, at 21 (“Facts Forum tells its members how to get their names on the mailing lists of several well-known national lobbies. One is the Committee for Constitutional Government, headed by Dr. Edward A. Rumely and described by the Anti-Defamation League as a ‘political propaganda organization of extreme right-wing orientation . . . .’”).
100 George Norris Green, The Establishment in Texas Politics 52 (1979).
101 Id. at 52–53.
102 Report (undated) (on file with author); see also Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, May 27, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File (describing Rumely as the “operating head of the organization”). The report described Rumely as a convicted pro-German agent during World War I. Id.; see also Memorandum to Lyndon Johnson from G.W. Siegel, June 1, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954 (describing in detail the background of Rumely and his conviction). It appears that during World War I, Rumely had accepted over $1.3 million from imperial Germany to purchase the New York Evening Mail. He was indicted for violating the Trading with the Enemy Act and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, although ultimately pardoned by President Coolidge after serving only 30 days. Green, supra note 100, at 53. Ironically, history appears in some ways to be repeating itself given the recent pardon by President Bill Clinton of Marc Rich who was accused of engaging in similar types of activities and has generated a firestorm of controversy.
103 Green, supra note 100, at 53. This fact was also noted in the internal report generated for Johnson. Report (undated) (on file with author).
104 Green, supra note 100, at 53.
105 Id.
106 Id.
107 See Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, May 27, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File (“It is highly unusual for the Committee for Constitutional Government to take a strong stand for or against a candidate for public office as they have done in this instance. As a rule, the Committee confines itself to generalities and only makes attacks upon such people as the Roosevelts, Frankfurter and other obvious targets for right-wing sniping.”).
108 See, e.g., Memorandum from George Siegel to Lyndon Johnson, June 1, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954; draft of letter from Representative John W. McCormack to T. Coleman Andrews, Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service, (undated), LBJ Library LBJA Subject File-Taxes Income 1954–1960.
109 Report (undated) (on file with author) (“Dougherty’s organization is patterned after the [CCG] with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Dougherty committee puts out reactionary stuff similar to Spotlight—isolationism, the Bricker Amendment, regressive States Rights, bunkum, anti-internationalism hogwash, and the like.”). The Bricker Amendment was a proposed constitutional amendment that would have severely restricted the president’s ability to conduct foreign policy. See Carleton, supra note 42, at 113.
110 Letter from Lyndon Johnson to T.R. Bateman, May 22, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley May 1954 File (“Yes, I have seen the propaganda issued by the [CCG]. This organization is composed, as I understand, of men who are against just about every piece of progressive legislation that has been enacted during the last twenty years. I know the organization is supported by some of the richest men in the country who are anxious to gain acceptance for their own ultra-conservative political views. It is natural, of course, that they should oppose me.”).
111 Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, May 27, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File.
112 In one letter, Johnson expressed some concern regarding how wide an audience the article may have reached and expressed an interest “in finding out as nearly as I can just how widely it has been distributed.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to R.W. “Chubb” Wortham, June 17, 1954, LBJ Library Correspondence 1954 File (noting, “[s]everal of my friends have sent me copies of this document from various parts of Texas”). In another letter, Johnson stated that he did not think “many of the people of Texas are going to be affected by this kind of balderdash, even though I understand that it is being widely circulated.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Wright Matthews, June 12, 1954, LBJ Library Correspondence 1954 File; see also Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Stanley Joiner, June 10, 1954, LBJ Library Correspondence 1954 File (“My own opinion is that this kind of material which is being circulated over Texas, will not have much effect on the people there.”).
113 Johnson considered the article underhanded and deceitful: “The statements in the Ballinger ar[t]icle are for the most part completely untrue, and the parts of it which even have a basis for truth have been greatly distorted.” Letter from Lyndon Johnson to Dr. Irving Rapfogel, June 14, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. In another letter, he complimented a friend of his for “not falling for the smear and innuendo” it contained. Letter from Lyndon Johnson to H.A. Potter, May 20, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
114 Letter from J. Blake Timmons to Lyndon Johnson, May 17, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (describing under heading of “subject”: “Rep. Ralph W. Gwinn & Comm. For Const. Govt. use same mail list to back state Rep. Dudley Dougherty,” and including a Congressional Record mailing from Gwinn and Ballinger article from CCG with envelopes). Johnson sent a memorandum to Representative Wright Patman to “look this over” and he wanted to talk to Patman “about it at the first opportunity.” Memorandum from Lyndon Johnson to Wright Patman, May 21, 1954, LBJ Library Correspondence 1954 File. Patman was a Congressman who was a contemporary of Johnson’s father and a long-time admirer. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 46.
115 Memorandum from George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, May 27, 1954, LBJ Library Reedy Memoranda 1954 File.
116 12 Facts on File 304 (Sept. 19–Sept. 25, 1954) (reporting Gwinn statement “that he had received $5000 to $6000 from the [CCG] to finance a weekly column he distributed to newspapers. He declared that at least 100 Congressmen draw from privately donated funds like Nixon’s.”). The “slush fund” stories concerned the 1952 Presidential election which reached its dramatic denouement when Nixon secured his place on the ticket by forcefully answering his critics about the fund with his famous “Checkers” speech. See Stephen E. Ambrose, Nixon 276–90 (1987).
117 Johnson accepted no contributions of money or property and did not incur any debt with respect to the primary election. See Candidate’s Statement of Expenses (covering period Apr. 10, 1954 to Aug. 3, 1954), LBJ Library Political Financial File 1954; Letter from Lyndon Johnson to U.H. Lucas, June 15, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley & LBJ Correspondence 1954 File [1 of 2] (“He talks about certain companies backing me, implying they have contributed to my campaign. I have accepted no contributions to my campaign. The four of five voluntary checks sent to me, all by individuals and in small amounts, have been returned to the individuals with a statement that I hope it would not be necessary to accept any contributions.”); see also Letter from Adrian A. Spears to J.J. Pickle, July 22, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File (noting that he has turned down people seeking contributions for local races from Johnson’s campaign “with the statement that Senator Johnson has not received any contributions, is not receiving any, and has no funds to distribute for campaign purposes”).
118 Green, supra note 100, at 54.
119 Letter from J.R. Patten to Lyndon Johnson, May 27, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
120 Letter from Sumner Gerard, May, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
121 Id.
122 Id.
123 Id.
124 Letter from Lyndon Johnson to J.R. Parten, June 3, 1954, LBJ Library Dougherty, Dudley June 1954 File.
125 See Dessingue & Kearney, supra note 43, at 107.
126 Memorandum from George Siegel to Lyndon Johnson, June 15, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954. Siegel quoted the pertinent provisions of Acts 1951, 52nd Leg., p. 1097, ch. 492, art. 243(e) as follows:
If any officer, agent, or employee of any bona fide association, incorporated, or unincorporated, organized for or actively engaged for one (1) year prior to such contribution in purely religious, charitable or eleemosynary activities, or local, district, or state-wide commercial or industrial clubs, or associations, or other civic enterprises or organizations not in any manner, nor to any extent, directly or indirectly, engaged in furthering the cause of any political party or aiding in the election or defeat of any candidate for office, or defraying or aiding in defraying the expenses of any political campaign, or political headquarters, or aiding or assisting the success or defeat of any question to be voted upon by the qualified voters of this State or any subdivision thereof, shall use or permit the use of any stock, money, assets, or other property contributed to such organizations by any corporations, to further the cause of any political party, or to aid in the election or defeat of any candidate for office . . . such officer, agent, or employee, shall be fined not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5000) or, be imprisoned in the penitentiary not less than (1) nor more than (5) years, or be both so fined and imprisoned.
Id. (quoting V.A.T.S. Election Code, art. 14.07(e)).
127 Id.; see also Comment, Church Lobbying: The Legitimacy of the Controls, 16 Hous. L. Rev. 480, 488 n.56 (1979). Businesses now are permitted to deduct, as ordinary and necessary expenses, the costs incurred in lobbying activity related to their business interests. I.R.C. § 162(e) (1986).
128 Memorandum from George Siegel to Lyndon Johnson, June 15, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954.
129 See Dallek, supra note 38, at 166–67 (describing Corcoran, a former Roosevelt White House aide and powerful lobbyist, as one of “the most effective political insiders in the Roosevelt Administration”).
130 Letter from Sumner Gerard to Thomas G. Corcoran, June 17, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
131 Id.
132 See Dallek, supra note 38, at 163–64 (explaining that as a first-term Representative in 1938, Johnson developed “close working relationships with House leaders,” including McCormack).
133 See Dallek, supra note 38, at 194, 512. McCormack went on to become the House Democratic Majority Leader and eventually Speaker of the House from 1963 to 1971.
134 Letter from John W. McCormack to T. Coleman Andrews, June 18, 1954, LBJ Library Tax Law File. An earlier, undated draft of this letter was sent to Johnson’s office. The only changes were a clarification of the last sentence of the third paragraph deleting the words “proper and legal” and inserting “properly and legally engaged in by such an exempt organization,” and the addition of the fourth paragraph setting a deadline for response. See Draft Letter from John W. McCormack to T. Coleman Andrews (undated) LBJ Library Tax Law File.
135 Letter from T. Coleman Andrews to John W. McCormack, June 28, 1954, LBJ Library Political Financial 1954 File.
136 For a description of the historical background to the 1934 amendment see Wilfred R. Caron & Deirdre Dessingue, IRC § 501(c)(3): Practical and Constitutional Implications of ‘Political’ Activity Resolutions, 2 J.L. & Pol. 169, 185–87 (1985).
137 Davidson, supra note 37, at 28.
138 See supra notes 29–30 and accompanying text.
139 Robert C. Albright, Senate Votes Eisenhower Tax Revision Bill, 63 to 9, Wash. Post & Times Herald, July 3, 1954, at 1, col. 1.
140 Memorandum from G.W. Siegel to Lyndon Johnson, July 3, 1954, LBJ Library Pre-Presidential Memo File, Memos to LBJ from Staff 1954.
141 The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and Johnson were close allies. The head of the CIO was Walter Reuther, a long-time friend of Johnson’s. See Dallek, supra note 38, at 314. Early the next year, Johnson would work hand-in-hand with CIO lobbyists to initiate the first minimum-wage increase in more than six years. Id. at 481.
142 Letter from Sumner Gerard to Thomas G. Corcoran, July 9, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File.
143 Homer Dodge, The Johnson Resolution, Spotlight No. D-280 (1954).
144 Letter from Dr. Edward Rumely to Sumner Gerard, July 8, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. In a follow-up, Rumely sent a copy of a typed letter to Senator George Smathers noting the wide distribution of this article and suggesting “this piece introduced into the [Congressional] Record might be distributed at low cost to even larger numbers.” Letter from Edward Rumely to George Smathers, July 13, 1954, LBJ Library Special Political File. The letter contains a handwritten note to Corcoran, “[t]he above is further proof we are dealing fairly with your Texas friend.” Id.
145 This quotation represents the condensation of the philosophy of Podsnappery, a peculiar brand of no-nothingism practiced by the stuffed shirt, Mr. Podsnap, a minor character that appears in Charles Dickens’ last finished novel, Our Mutual Friend. Dickens describes his watchwords and mannerisms as:
“I don’t want to know about it; I don’t choose to discuss it; I don’t admit it!” Mr. Podsnap had even acquired a peculiar flourish of his right arm in often clearing the world of its most difficult problems, by sweeping them behind him (and consequently sheer away) with those words and a flushed face. For they affronted him.
Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend 128 (The New Oxford Illustrated ed. 1959) (1865).
146 Reedy, in correspondence written decades later, indicated that he was “confident that Johnson would never have sought restrictions on religious organizations, but that is only an opinion and I have no evidence.” Dessingue, supra note 142, at 107 (quoting letter from George Reedy to the author).
147 By 1956, Hunt had completely disbanded Facts Forum. See Davidson, supra note 37, at 28.
148 See supra note 79 and accompanying text.
149 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, sc. 4.