What really bothers me about the IRS scandal is that I’m still being treated like an idiot by the IRS and the Obama Administration. It’s bad enough that they think I’m an idiot, but to have the balls to repeatedly tell me they think I’m an idiot. THAT pisses me off! And of course by “me” I mean “we” the American people.
What am I talking about?
“Foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient in their workload selection… I do not believe that partisanship motivated [the actions by IRS personnel]. — Steven Miller Outgoing acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner
Mr. Miller doesn’t believe that. No one is THAT stupid. But his reaction to this scandal isn’t to try and fix it, not to try and find out what happened. A partisan IRS (as long as it leans left) is no problem as far as people like Miller are concerned. So he uses his arrogance and hatred for those philosophically different to say as much.
He may as well be saying, “I don’t have enough respect for you to even give you a plausible answer. Instead I think I’ll insult your intelligence with the most absurdly false statement I can make. You idiots need to watch my face as I say this… My guys were just trying to be efficient, not partisan… Oh, and by the way, kiss my curvy, white, leftist ass.”
Of course the IRS targeting was partisan! It’s the very definition of partisan! Only conservative, Christian organizations were targeted. Leftist organizations had no problems… none. What else would you all that!
There is only one real solution here; an independent (from Obama and the Justice Department) prosecutor. Laws were broken. The only questions are by whom and at what level of the IRS (and possibly the Administration).
We have part of that answer. We’ve already identified about a half dozen IRS flunkies who implemented the partisan witch hunt. They broke the law whether they took orders from above or not. Let’s start by hauling all of them in before Congress. Let them testify under oath. Give them the opportunity to come clean, perjure themselves, or (most likely) repeatedly take the 5th. Then read them their Miranda rights, indict them, and move forward.
Lois Lerner, the partisan in charge of the division that persecuted conservatives, will appear before Congress today (Wednesday 5/22/13) and will indeed take the 5th. This is the same Lois Lerner that issued the initial apology-but-no-really (see An Apology? We Prize Nothing More Highly!) from the IRS and one of the first to assure us that this duck (conservative persecution by the IRS) was not a duck.
But hauling the miscreants before congress is EXACTLY what we need to be doing. It’s needs to be the first step before prosecution.
Lerner’s lawyer complains that since she has indicated that she intends to take the 5th; forcing her to appear “would have no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her.”
To which I would say “Really!? I genuinely hope embarrassment is the least of her worries and problems right now. And let us hope she is eventually burdened even further with indictment, prosecution and 6×8 ft. accommodations.”
But… for now… we don’t have the evidence to further burden Lois Lerner beyond the “embarrassment” of publically taking the 5th. So… back to the flunkies, who will be the key to all of this.
At a minimum the flunkies should lose their jobs, pensions (if possible) and anything else we can take under the law.
“Now, about this prison term your facing. You say you were only taking orders from higher up? OK… we’ll take that under consideration, maybe even offer a deal in writing… contingent on convictions of said higher ups. But we want names, emails, proof, and testimony against them. (Are you hearing this Ms. Lerner?) That’s the deal; take it or leave it.
And I’ll be honest, I don’t know if political appointees (at the upper levels of the IRS) directed this crap or not. While I don’t think it’s likely that the flunkies acted on their own, it is possible. After all, they are bureaucrats; which by definition generally means leftist and Democrat.
The IRS and Obama want us to let this slide. Like all leftist political crime, they want to admit that “mistakes” were made, offer an un-genuine mea culpa and move on… no consequences for anyone, and worse, no changes to the system.
Anyone within the IRS (or the administration) who even knew this crap was going on should lose their jobs. (And there are many.) Anyone who was involved should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
It’s been almost three years (started in 2010) since these crimes began. It’s been almost a year (June 2011) since the IRS has known about the crimes. And it’s been a month (April 2013) since the Obama White House has known.
Release the dogs… It’s well past time for these crimes to be prosecuted… at whatever level they were committed.
I agree 100%.
I don’t know all the differences between hearings and trials, but I think if you plead the fifth, you should not get to say anything else without being open to cross examination (and being forced to answer or be held in contempt). It just seems unfair to read a statement, then refuse to answer questions.
I am disgusted with the entire administration for this. I hope it costs them 2014 and 2016.