Ira Stoll on the Costs of Political Speech for Billionaires

President Nixon tried to get the IRS to audit the taxes of his liberal political enemies. The press, the public, and historians rightfully found that to be an affront to the rule of law and to the spirit of liberty. But now President Obama and his allies at The New York Times are targeting politically active right-of-center billionaires for tax scrutiny, writes Ira Stoll, and hardly anyone seems ready to rise for the principle that one should be able to exercise one's First Amendment rights to engage in speech, association, and petition without having to pay the penalty of a public tax examination.