Townhall and Heritage Split

Washington Times reports Townhall.com, one of the nation's most active conservative Web sites, announced yesterday that it has split from parent company the Heritage Foundation, a District-based conservative think tank.

It's a deliberate strategy for Townhall -- home to 68 columnists and destination reading for 1.5 million people a month. As an independent entity, Townhall no longer will be subject to Internal Revenue Service regulations that prohibit "educational only" groups from mobilizing followers or taking a distinct political stand....

"Townhall has come to bump the ceiling of its own potential. Under Heritage, we could educate people all day long, but we couldn't tell them what to do," Mr. Bond said. "Our audience has grown huge, and the technology exists to harness the power of people with shared ideas -- as long as you get outside those IRS restrictions."

The site also has become an online gathering spot for 300,000 "registered activists" and 115 "coalition partners," including the National Review, the Weekly Standard, the Reagan Ranch and the Media Research Center.

Steve Clemons blogged For TownHall.com to feel constrained by the IRS requirements governing the Heritage Foundation, one gets a sense of how political their objectives are. I applaud them for taking this step because I believe that the norms governing non-profit public affairs organizations should be strengthened.

There are more than 1,500 think tanks in Washington -- and most are small boutiques run by a single person with volunteer interns. They are probably the least known and least understood part of civil society in America, particularly inside the beltway, but these organizations play an important role in influencing policy and legislation. But lobbying money and various task-oriented consulting funds are pumping through 501c3 and 501c4 organizations with little attention being paid to this growing trend.

Josh Marshall blogged It's an interesting development, clearly in response to mobilizations taking place on progressive blogs.