By Zack Smith, The Daily Signal - Surely, in today’s America, the federal government can’t punish pastors for preaching from the pulpit about how to apply God’s Word to everyday life... And yet, for 70 years, the Internal Revenue Service did just that... It used a provision of the Internal Revenue Code called the Johnson Amendment—inserted in 1954 by then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson to stymie his political opponents—to chill free speech in churches... The amendment uses nebulous language designed to prevent nonprofits from expressing views on political issues and candidates.