The ADF goes on to lie:

The Alliance Defense Fund said Friday that the regulations amount to an unconstitutional limit on free speech and government intrusion into religion.

"It certainly does have a chilling effect," said Mike Johnson, senior counsel for the fund. "I think that there is a lot of fear and intimidation and disinformation about the parameters that do exist."

How this is a freedom of speech issue I can't even begin to imagine. These pastors can say whatever they want; they just lose their tax exempt status if they do. If they actually feel that it's necessary to support a candidate as part of their spirituality, they can just forgo their tax-exempt status.

Which comes first, money or spirituality?

Personally, I'd be in favor of doing away with church's tax exempt status entirely except for the actual charity work that they do (and converting people doesn't count). But that's an entirely different question here.

Of course, that's assuming that they actually think that supporting a candidate on Sunday morning is necessary for the spiritual growth of their church-goers. Something tells me that they don't, that they just think getting rid of the IRS's requirements would encourage more pastors to support (mostly) Republican candidates, helping to mobilize their base.

Fortunately, there are sane voices in this discussion:

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, "This is a truly deplorable scheme. Federal tax law rightly requires churches and other tax-exempt groups to use their resources for religious and charitable purposes, not partisan politics. When the faithful put their hard-earned dollars in the collection plate, they don't expect it to wind up pushing some politician's campaign.

"The Religious Right leaders who lust for political power in America will apparently stop at nothing, not even the sacred character of the church," Lynn continued. "The vast majority of clergy do not seek to turn their incense-filled sanctuaries into smoke-filled political backrooms.

If a large part of the Republican base (conservative Christian churches) gets tax-exempt status free of the basic requirements that go with it, then a big part of the Democratic base, like the queers, also should. It seems only fair.