Posted on 02/14/2014 7:46:15 AM PST by Kaslin
You'll recall that our president recently opined that the IRS targeting scandal contained "not even a smidgen" of corruption. He's also asserted that the wrongdoing was not motivated by politics, recycling the thoroughly debunked excuse that it all just amounted to some "bone-headed" decisions "out of a local office." In fact, it was a coordinated campaign of abuse and harassment managed by officials at IRS headquarters in Washington, DC. New allegations from the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee indicate that in addition to wildly disproportionately singling out, slow-rolling, and denying right-leaning organizations seeking tax-free status, the IRS was also turning the screws on existing conservative tax-free groups through audits:
Before February 2010, the IRS was processing and approving Tea Party cases within three months without Washington, DC intervention. Tea Party cases were flagged due to “media attention” in February 2010, not as a result of any confusion as to how to interpret 501(c)(4) law. Additionally, we now know that the IRS targeted not only right-leaning applicants, but also right-leaning groups that were already operating as 501(c)(4)s. At Washington, DC’s direction, dozens of groups operating as 501(c)(4)s were flagged for IRS surveillance, including monitoring of the groups’ activities, websites and any other publicly available information. Of these groups, 83 percent were right-leaning. And of the groups the IRS selected for audit, 100 percent were right-leaning.
Two big takeaways from that passage, starting with that last sentence: Of the "flagged" groups that had already received 501(c)4 status, every single one that faced an audit was conservative. Every one. I would like to know the time frame and parameters for that determination (where did this pool of "flagged" groups come from, and how long did the scrutiny last?), but on its face, it looks terrible. Corrupt, even. For another chilling example of corruption and government thuggery, read Catherine Englebrecht's story. The first bolded portion above shows that the Obama administration's excuse for their latest round of speech-limiting regulations is as false today as it would have been in 2010. These moves weren't designed to address a crisis of ambiguity or confusion. They're designed to diminish the influence of organizations that overwhelmingly lie at one end of the political spectrum. The initial round of improper targeting arose from "media attention." Indeed, Democratic Senators started publicly pressuring the IRS to crack down on conservative organizations' tax status in...2010, perhaps because they saw a red wave building offshore. The agency's former director specifically mentioned "bitter" complaints from Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) that helped prompt the abusive targeting practices:
In an interview with House investigators, former IRS Acting Commissioner Steve Miller was asked what the problem was in the law that needed to be fixed. He responded, "So I'm not sure there was a problem, right? I mean, I think we were —we had, you know, Mr. Levin complaining bitterly to us—Senator Levin complaining bitterly about our regulation..." Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat, is among the most partisan Members of the U.S. Senate. The letter also details evidence that IRS and Treasury officials believed that the Supreme Court had erred in its Citizens United decision and, instead of respecting the authority of the Court, wrongly took it upon themselves to offset the impact of the law with IRS regulation.
Who, aside from our mendacious president, can possibly conclude that the IRS abuse of conservative organizations wasn't political? In any case, now that Democrats may be on the brink of another election debacle, they're once again urging the IRS to break out their enforcement hatchets. Am I awake?
Senate Democrats facing tough elections this year want the Internal Revenue Service to play a more aggressive role in regulating outside groups expected to spend millions of dollars on their races. In the wake of the IRS targeting scandal, the Democrats are publicly prodding the agency instead of lobbying them directly. They are also careful to say the IRS should treat conservative and liberal groups equally, but they’re concerned about an impending tidal wave of attack ads funded by GOP-allied organizations. Much of the funding for those groups is secret, in contrast to the donations lawmakers collect, which must be reported publicly. One of the most powerful groups is Americans for Prosperity, funded by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch. It has already spent close to $30 million on ads attacking Democrats this election cycle.
Show of hands: Who believes these Democrats want "equal treatment" for both sides? Why aren't they complaining about the influence of money in politics when it comes in the form of massive campaign spending from Democrat-aligned unions -- whose contributions dwarf the Koch Brothers'? If they're so obsessed with fighting "secrecy," why have Democrats moved to exempt unions from their legislative efforts to force outside groups to disclose donors? Is that part of the "equal treatment" regimen? In fact, outside lefty groups with union ties just dropped $600,000 on anti-Republican ads in just two races over the course of two days. Democrats, oddly, aren't howling about that.
The State/media complex is irretrievably and irredeemably corrupt.
They can’t have anyone daring to breach their MSM media blockade.
Even a little light reveals the Democrats to be the monsters that they are.
STATE vs PEOPLE
It’s certainly obvious why weapons confiscation is being pushed by the Democrats.
Yep, not a smidgeon of corruption. Smidgeon would indicate a little bit of corruption.
What I don’t see here are names and quotes.
I guess that when people’s ideas and positions cannot be defended on logical merits, resorting to thuggery is the only recourse.
It worked for Obama in 2012 , the IRS is now the Right Arm of the Demonut Party
5.56mm
Until we see perp walks and orange jumpsuits, this sh*t ain’t gonna cease...
CW-II.
Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.
Politicians should not only be removed for turning an agency of our government to attack any citizen, they should be in prison for doing it.
Draw a “red line”. Keep it drawn. Now... what will you do when they have crossed it? I fear you will have to decide exactly what to do... sooner than later.
Why are the Republicans so quiet about this? Is it because the IRS is targeting TEA PARTY folks?
1) Win in 2014
2) Win in 2016
3) Overturn everything from 2010 on
4) Go nuclear
5) Payback. That means against the MSM and every leftwing group in the country. Bankrupt them with court fees. Use Alinsky tactics on them.
It is said, the way you get back to normalcy after being radicalized is going 100 % in the other direction. There is no negotiation, only attrition.
Just ****ing ignore them.
Run your ads.
Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and RINOs will believe it..
The ruling juntas of the DNC and the RNC should be jailed on RICO charges....but that would require that the law actually be upheld. I have finally given up on that fantasy.
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