There's one big problem with that: While CREW did indeed file a formal complaint with the IRS over Dobson's endorsements, Americans United never did. AU believed that the IRS was unlikely to consider Dobson's personal endorsements a violation of federal tax law.

I work in AU's Communications Department, so I called Shepard and requested a correction. He changed the last sentence of the paragraph above to make it clear that CREW alone was behind the IRS complaint. I might still quibble with his assertion that the IRS investigation was "sparked by" CREW and AU, when AU never filed a formal complaint, but no matter: We have bigger tall tales to debunk.

On his radio show yesterday, Dobson and his sidekick Tom Minnery spread a number of falsehoods about Americans United in the space of just a few minutes. For starters, Minnery blasted AU for opposing a 2006 FOF scheme that Minnery insisted was designed only to "inform Christians about the importance of voting and be sure that non-partisan voter registration forms are present in churches."

Actually, there was a lot more to FOF's project than that. The group sought volunteers to serve as "county coordinators" and "church coordinators" in eight states who would prod evangelical ministers to talk politics from the pulpit and distribute "voter guides" that compare candidates on various issues. These guides are routinely stacked so that anyone can see that doing anything other than voting for the Republican would be insane.

Why only eight states? Isn't it important that Christians all over America be informed and active? Those eight states - Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee - shared something in common: They just happened to have Senate and/or gubernatorial races that were considered close at the time FOF announced the project and important to the Republican Party's goal of keeping control of the Senate and as many statehouses as possible. Isn't it odd that Dobson's project just happened to dovetail with GOP goals?  

This was nothing less than a church-based political machine, and it fell apart when Americans United blew the whistle and warned churches that participating could jeopardize their tax exemption.

The second bit of blarney during yesterday's FOF broadcast came when Dobson said that Americans United seeks "to keep pastors from saying anything from the pulpit for fear that they'll lose their tax-exempt status."

Wrong again, Dr. D. Americans United has stated repeatedly that pastors run afoul of the law only for endorsing or opposing candidates from the pulpit, holding candidate rallies or fund-raisers in houses of worship or donating church funds to a candidate. We have said over and over again that discussion of issues is permitted.

Finally, Minnery busted out this whopper: that AU takes action only when the pastors involved in partisan politics are "socially conservative."

Actually, AU has reported numerous churches and other religious organizations for endorsing both Republicans and Democrats over the years. Our view is that all houses of worship must follow the law - no matter what their political persuasion might be. Since 1996, we have reported 68 houses of worship and religious non-profits for inappropriate political intervention on behalf of candidates. The split between liberals and conservatives is roughly 50-50.

I suppose I should be pleased that Dobson is so worried about Americans United that he accuses us of things we haven't even done. It shows he is aware that AU is a most persistent foe of his theocratic agenda. Now if we could only get him to actually read the material we put out. He might learn something.