A very, very tax-compliant editorial

A spate of publications that rarely endorse a presidential candidate have recently backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as have many that have traditionally endorsed a Republican candidate. Until September, the Dallas Morning News hadn’t endorsed a Democrat since 1940. Until mid-October, the Arizona Republic hadn’t endorsed a Democrat since its inception in 1890.

But the 144-year-old Yale Record, the university’s satire magazine, is not one of those. Nope. Nuh-uh. No sir, no way. Not gonna do it.

In an editorial published on Oct. 26, the humor publication’s editorial board writes: “The Yale Record believes both candidates to be equally un-endorsable, due to our faithful compliance with the tax code.”

The Record claims in the editorial that it has “a strong commitment to being a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization,” which most student organizations are. To remain so, like religious organizations ,,,, the Record would need to follow a requirement set by the Internal Revenue Service that “If any of the activities… of your organization consist of participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, your organization will not qualify for tax-exempt status.”
So, here they go.

"In its 144-year history, The Yale Record has never endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. In fact, we have never endorsed any candidate for president. This is, in part, due to our strong commitment to being a tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization, which mandates that we are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”

This year’s presidential election is highly unusual, but ultimately no different: The Yale Record believes both candidates to be equally un-endorsable, due to our faithful compliance with the tax code.

In particular, we do not endorse Hillary Clinton’s exemplary leadership during her 30 years in the public eye. We do not support her impressive commitment to serving and improving this country—a commitment to which she has dedicated her entire professional career. Because of unambiguous tax law, we do not encourage you to support the most qualified presidential candidate in modern American history, nor do we encourage all citizens to shatter the glass ceiling once and for all by electing Secretary Clinton on November 8.

The Yale Record has no opinion whatsoever on Dr. Jill Stein."

—The Editorial Board of The Yale Record

Last edited by Goose (10/28/2016 4:41 am)