This morning, I listened as Joe Scarborough tried on his MSNBC TV political entertainment show to equate President Obama’s supposed tolerance of IRS misconduct with Chris Christie’s GW Bridge scandal.
In both cases, Scarborough said, top leaders had created cultures that led to wrongdoing.
As I recall it, at the IRS, some mid-level managers targeted right-wing nonpofits for extra scrutiny of their nonprofit status. This was done, according to Scarborough, because Obama had created a get-your-political enemies culture throughout the federal government, just as Christie apparently did within his office regarding his Democratic opponents in New Jersey.
It seemed a real exercise in heavy stretching on Scarborough’s part to try to equate these two things.
But I think the main point that is being missed here is that there is a real scandal at the IRS, and it is that Congress has cut so much of the IRS’s funding that it can no longer operate. This true scandal has been created by a culture of fiscal austerity denial that has been championed by the Republicans in Congress.
This is why I think so much of the so-called political debate in the media in this country is really political entertainment. The real issues and scandals are overlooked in favor of the more sexy stuff, whether it’s fluff or not.
…Lawrence O’Donnell points out that these political groups, of whatever stripe, SHOULD be getting extra scrutiny. The law exempts groups exclusively for social welfare, but somewhere a long the line a regulation was written to interpret “exclusively” as “primarily” and even that seems to be strecthed.
they would want X-Rays and Drug Tests and proof of citizenship, but by all means, let us just rubber stamp any group that doesn’t want to pay taxes.
You need only go back to the newspaper of the day to find that the IRS (as well as other government agencies) serve as tools for the aims of White House administrations. Democrats rightfully decry the actions of the Nixon administration’s Special Services Staff to make an enemies list which was given to the IRS as well as other agencies. Nixon’s 2nd article of impeachment was about using the IRS for illegal purpose.
But Nixon’s case may be the most remembered by Democrats, he wasn’t the first or the last. FDR used the IRS against his enemies of the day: William Randolph Hearst, Moses Annenberg, Huey Long, Father Coughlin, Andrew Mellon. FDR saved the bacon of congressman LBJ by croaking an audit into illegal political conributions. Jack Kennedy was well ahead of Barry Obama in using the IRS against political dissidents with the Ideological Organizations Audit Project to harrass political enemies. LBJ was noted for threatening businessmen with IRS audits unless he received substantial campaign contributions. During the Clinton administration accusers such as Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers as well as right wing publications were audit targets.In the 90s, too, congress members themselves promoted audits on their enemies directly to IRS.
As to underfunding, The IRS is famous for altering the budget dictated by congress and spending it where they will. How many times have they had a computer modernization plan that was a failure? Does anyone find it odd that the companies that failed get the contracts next time around?
A common thread with all these government agency scandals is that there is little or no responsibility for ethical misconduct. Oh, for a real “Truman Committee”.
Massachusetts Department of Revenue used to have a listing of state politicians that called them for a constituent. This was mandated by the General Court and public record. I wonder if that is still in force? It seemed a good idea.
“Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.” –Karl Kraus
I fear you are not only painting with too broad a brush, in some cases you seem to be just plain spraying.
NONE of the prior presidents before Nixon ever came CLOSE to the abuses of Richard Nixon. It sounds like you need to learn more history, especially about Richard Nixon.
Any public person who is conducting fraudulent or apparently fraudulent financial transactions — especially when they are playing fast and loose with federal tax obligations on those transactions — OUGHT to be audited. In my opinion, Paula Jones DEFINITELY falls into that category, and I’d have to refresh myself about Gennifer Flowers.
I remind you that much of the successful prosecution against Prohibition-era organized crime figures was based on tax fraud. Do you also suggest that that was wrong or political?
In my view, your repetition of the lie that Barack Obama used the IRS to harass his political opponents is, well, a plain and scurrilous LIE. There is ZERO evidence to support that claim. As others have noted here, there is, in my view, good reason to pay more attention to an organization whose very existence is based on objecting to taxation.
All in all, I think this comment is WAY overstated. I encourage you to dial it back.
We might say that all Democratic Party members are good and all Republicans Party members are evil, Should we believe that? Are both parties filled with people of the same makeup? Realistically, we might say there is room for improvement on both sides.
Politics seems to be a contact sport. Actions that push the envelope of law or just good taste should surprise no one of either party. By this time we should know that the lies of either party’s candidates for public office are usually all just part of a formula to get public office and secure their interests.
“We are not about to send American boys 9 or 10 thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
“When the President does it, that means that it’s not illegal.”
“No new taxes.”
My first political campaign was Ted Kennedy vs. Eddie McCormack. I’ve been around and seen that whatever party they belong to, candidates are just people. Some good, some bad in all of them. Maybe like us.
“The goal of modern propaganda is no longer to transform opinion but to arouse an active and mythical belief” –Jacques Ellul