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Beating a Dead Gift Horse in the Mouth
Author: BobR
Date: 06/20/2013 13:25:20
When the IRS "scandal" broke, you could pretty much hear the Republican's licking their lips in anticipation. It was pretty gross, really, all that smacking, and there was so much spittle, we had rainy weather for weeks. The Republicans were certain this was going to bring down the Obama presidency: a government entity generally hated by everyone being used to politically target the president's "enemies".
There was just one problem - there was nothing there. The witch-hunter-in-chief convened hisinquisitions hearings to "get to the bottom of it". The bottom was got (I wrote about this previously). Darrell Issa knew he had nothing, and tried to hide that from the public. One might ask: isn't that the REAL scandal here?... that the person in power claiming "corruption" found none and then refused to update the country with the truth?
That proved to be a bit too much for congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who went ahead against Issa's objections, and released the FULL transcripts of the hearings. Instead of just the cherry-picked comments from the hyper-partisan Tea Party groups who felt "violated" because they wanted tax-exempt status for their political advocacy groups (which is in violation of the tax-exempt statutes) and still got it, we also heard from the self-professed conservative Republican IRS manager who oversaw the "targeting", and declared it wasn't partisan.
So the end result? Not partisan, not targeting, and certainly not a directive from the White House.
That hasn't stopped some in Congress from continuing to pursue this. House Rep Dave Camp (R-MI) has stated:
Hint to Congressman Camp: The Truth is Out There.
Ultimately, though - the gambit worked. A majority of Americans still believe the groups were targeted, and for political reasons, despite the release of the transcripts. The propaganda is overshadowing the truth, and since they aren't able to use it to boot the president, the Republicans are trying to ride this to their ultimate wet-dream: The Flat Tax (also falsely named The Fair Tax, because it is anything but).
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is still lying about this to forward this goal:
Every one of those lines is a lie (except for "I'm Ted Cruz"). Rand Paul (R-KY) is chiming in as well. They're hoping that the anti-IRS sentiment will out-shout the truth coming from the congressional hearing transcripts. It's a long jump, though, from "uga uga - IRS BAD" to a legislative package that grossly restructures the entire IRS.
If the facts supported the allegations, I might be bothered enough to consider their anger to be valid. It's not, though, which makes them lying opportunists. No big surprise there.
There was just one problem - there was nothing there. The witch-hunter-in-chief convened his
That proved to be a bit too much for congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who went ahead against Issa's objections, and released the FULL transcripts of the hearings. Instead of just the cherry-picked comments from the hyper-partisan Tea Party groups who felt "violated" because they wanted tax-exempt status for their political advocacy groups (which is in violation of the tax-exempt statutes) and still got it, we also heard from the self-professed conservative Republican IRS manager who oversaw the "targeting", and declared it wasn't partisan.
So the end result? Not partisan, not targeting, and certainly not a directive from the White House.
That hasn't stopped some in Congress from continuing to pursue this. House Rep Dave Camp (R-MI) has stated:
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) pledged to hundreds of Tea Party activists that lawmakers would get to the bottom of the current IRS controversy.
Camp, whose panel is one of several examining the IRS's targeting of conservative groups, told a rally at the west front of the Capitol that lawmakers would be on the case no matter how long it took.
"It will take time, but we will get the facts, and we will follow them wherever they lead," Camp said. "We will get the truth, and we will hold those responsible accountable."
Hint to Congressman Camp: The Truth is Out There.
Ultimately, though - the gambit worked. A majority of Americans still believe the groups were targeted, and for political reasons, despite the release of the transcripts. The propaganda is overshadowing the truth, and since they aren't able to use it to boot the president, the Republicans are trying to ride this to their ultimate wet-dream: The Flat Tax (also falsely named The Fair Tax, because it is anything but).
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is still lying about this to forward this goal:
Hi, I’m Ted Cruz and this is the Freedom Minute.
The IRS scandal revealed the targeting of conservative groups, tea party groups, pro-life groups, and pro-Israel groups for intrusive questions and harassing.
This is the consequence of an agency that is too big and has too much power.
And now, the IRS is supposed to be put in charge of administering Obamacare.
Enough is enough.
We need to abolish the IRS, eliminate the intrusive agents, and replace the IRS and the tax code with a simple flat tax where every American can file his or her taxes on a postcard.
Every year we spend about $500 billion on tax compliance – which is dead weight loss and it doesn’t produce even a single truck or tortilla.
A flat tax would produce economic growth and create jobs.
Every one of those lines is a lie (except for "I'm Ted Cruz"). Rand Paul (R-KY) is chiming in as well. They're hoping that the anti-IRS sentiment will out-shout the truth coming from the congressional hearing transcripts. It's a long jump, though, from "uga uga - IRS BAD" to a legislative package that grossly restructures the entire IRS.
If the facts supported the allegations, I might be bothered enough to consider their anger to be valid. It's not, though, which makes them lying opportunists. No big surprise there.
