Quote:
Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy
Of course! The government issued a report saying the government isn't responsible!
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You almost figured it out COG. The government found the problem and apologized for it and THEN the Republicans jumped on it, even though they had heard complaints for a while. Besides the IRS was run by a Republican appointee when all this happened.
In 1974 Congress enacted legislation to severely restrict administrative and political contacts between the White House and the IRS because of Nixon's abuses of IRS power. When this "targeting" occurred last year it occurred under a
Republican appointee who reported to Treasury so there is little likelihood of direct WH or POTUS involvement. There is more chance of this being a false flag operations planted by Republicans than of Obama having any contact at all
On top of that people who have no understanding of how the IRS works are screaming that Obama was not in control of the IRS and didn't stop this abuse or rectify it when it occurred. Let's look at what really happened with a little reason first. What is the travesty? It is that the IRS
targeted conservative groups wanting to not pay taxes (get ready for it, here it comes)
by asking them extra questions (no, no, no - how horrific) and horror of horrors,
delayed granting their 501(C)(4) status! No audits, no fines, no trials or imprisonment, questions and some delay up to 18 months from the normal 9 to 12 months. And all the organizations involved were eventually approved. How horrible a scandal! Their feelings must be horribly hurt! Extra Questions, this must be a repudiation of the entire Constitution for God sake!!!! Despite the IRS being semi-independent by Congressional mandate, under the Treasury and led by a Republican when this happened, Obama must have known and directed it, then lied. It defies reason.
OK, lets now get a little perspective. These same people howling about unfairness, scandal, impeachment are the same ones who uttered not a peep when the military blamed the blamed the torture in Abu Ghraib on "low level" soldiers and didn't have a problem that Bush, the Commander in Chief (Obama is not the IRS Commissioner in Cheif BTW) didn't "have control of the military while two wars were raging and found it completely believable that Bush and his White House proclaimed ignorance and innocence about all the torture and abuses of prisoners of war. Now that it totally believable, isn't it?
Of course, questions and delays are far far worse than torturing prisoners, but these are the same folks who were unheard from when Bush's White House directed the IRS to target Julian Bond and the NAACP, IN A LETTER, which resulted in a two year audit and harassment for giving a speech that was anti-war and questioned the Administrations policies. But obviously, questions and delays for Republicans are far far worse than audits and targeting for Democrats or torture for foreigners.
IMHO, that is what Republicans are saying (and should be called on it) and proves that this is 98% political and completely disingenuous. Well, I guess at least it proves that questioning conservatives is obviously far worse than torturing prisoners if this is any indication.
[/EndSarcasm]
Now I'm not saying this should happen, it shouldn't. FDR, Nixon, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Bush all had it happen under their Administrations, but after Nixon it is problematic to prove direct links of IRS harassment directly to the WH. This shouldn't happen at all, but at least this time it was only questions and delays and was caught and apologized for by the IRS before Congress or anybody else found it. IMHO that is government working. When was the last time Big Business (as opposed to Big Government) caught their own transgressions and apologized?
Liberals may believe in Big Government, but Conservatives believe in Big Business - neither are regularly believable.
my IRS thread
