Dan Coats: “Thomas Jefferson once said: The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by…”

“Thomas Jefferson once said: The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society. The foundation of this society, this great society based on democracy, is the principle of self-determination and the belief that every American is equal under the law and guaranteed liberty. This principle is ingrained in the character of our Nation, and it is enshrined in our Constitution. Of the many things that set us apart from other nations, there is none greater than the First Amendment to the Constitution--the freedom of religion, the freedom of the press, freedom to assemble and to petition our government, and the freedom of speech. Under the First Amendment, Americans have the right to organize around the issues and values they believe in, and they have the right to disagree with their government. This liberty is part of what energizes our democracy, and it is essential if this democracy is to prevail. That freedom has come under attack recently by our very own government when the Internal Revenue Service targeted conservative groups, including at least one in my home State of Indiana, for extra scrutiny based on their political leanings. The IRS must be nonpartisan. It has to be. It is not a partisan watchdog. Why did the enforcers of our Tax Code target groups with applications that included the words ``tea party,'' ``patriots,'' or ``9/12 Project''?…”