Following on these posts, more news today:

The NYT reports that the three groups denied (c)(4) status are Emerge Nevada, Emerge Maine and Emerge Massachusetts, all affiliates of Emerge America, which says on its homepage that its mission is “to increase the number of Democratic women in public office” through training and mentoring. With this sort of express and direct partisan link, it doesn’t seem particularly surprising to raise eyebrows in a (c)(4) application to the IRS.

Crossroads has taken steps to explain that it was not the recipient of the letters.

And Paul Streckfus, at EO Tax Journal (subscription required), unearths an I-told-you-so 2002 letter to the IRS, asking for further clarification of the rules governing 501(c)(4) organizations.