May 13 2013
Using The IRS Against Political Opponents
I almost wrote the title of this post as “Using The IRS Against Political Enemies“, but realized using the word ‘enemies’ would only give credence to the paranoid and power hungry delusions of Team Obama. The victims here are simply American citizens participating in our political process.
One theory is Team Obama is trying to deflect Bengahzi with another lesser scandal that will suck all the oxygen out of the media cycle. Or it could be the wheels are falling of this bus faster than anyone feared.
Either way, using the IRS as a political weapon will enhance the standing of Libertarian and Tea Party movements, and energize the electorate going into 2014. What better example of an out of control, oppressive government run amok than this story?
“This is truly outrageous. And it contributes to the profound distrust that the American people have in government. It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out conservative groups for extra review. And I think that it’s very disappointing that the president hasn’t personally condemned this and spoken out,” Collins told CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley on “State of the Union.”
Those who have faith in government based solutions fail to see the irony of this story. It is proof positive Sarah Palin and other Tea Party, Libertarian, small-government voices are right. How would you like to answer these kinds of questions to the one government organization able to drag you through audits so deep they make a colonoscopy look like fun:
That is just one example out of 10, all of which would scare off most sane people interested in getting involved in government advocacy. If voter suppression is wrong, how is suppressing this form of political speech right? How is targeting someone who uses the word “Patriot” going to make all those who feel patriotic about this country feel?
Senator Collins is correct, this kind of abuse is going to fire up the small-government voters. As it should.
Update: Wow. The abuse of power goes back to 2010 (when the Democrats were facing a election debacle). And the venerable Washington Post sees a huge political firestorm over this for Dems.
“Or it could be the wheels are falling of this bus faster than anyone feared.”
That is my conclusion. Besides Benghazi and the IRS, the AP is out with a story today about the Justice Department subpoenaing a large number of the AP telephone records. This administration is so sure that their friends in the media will protect them that they have no fear. But, one the Deacon’s shay starts coming apart, it comes all apart.
The new Richard Nixon!
“The abuse is still ongoing,” says French, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund), a conservative Christian legal advocacy group). “There are multiple clients who have waited over two years to receive the tax exemptions that they are entitled to.”
“The IRS persists in asking unconstitutional questions of these clients, their exemptions haven’t been granted, and the IRS has not withdrawn the questions,” he added. “It’s not a past scandal; it’s ongoing.”
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/05/13/tea-party-attorney-irs-questions-are-far-left-wish-list-scandal-is-ongoing/
Some of the individual stories of IRS harassment are mind numbing:
“Engelbrecht’s application with the IRS for non-profit status allegedly triggered aggressive audits of one of her family’s personal businesses as well. The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) began a series of inquiries about her and her group; the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms) began demanding to see her family’s firearms in surprise audits of her and her husband’s small gun dealership–which had done less than $200 in sales; OSHA (Occupational Safety Hazards Administration) began a surprise audit of their small family manufacturing business; and the EPA-affiliated TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environment Quality) did a surprise visit and audit due to “a complaint being called in.”
The Democratic Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against her, as did an ACORN affiliated group. Both the FBI and the BATF continued to poke around her life, the lives of people in her Tea Party group, and her businesses.
Ultimately, the IRS determined that it actually owed a refund to Engelbrecht; the BATF found nothing wrong in any of its repeated visits and audits; OSHA’s fine-toothed comb found reason to demand $25,000 from Engelbrecht’s family business; and TCEQ demanded the Engelbrechts spend $42,000 on additional storage sheds.
“This is what the beginning of tyranny looks like,” Engelbrecht said.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/13/IRS-Scandal-Facts-Suggest-Other-Gov-Agencies-Involved
As to the 2014 elections, Conservatives and Tea Party types identify these as abuse power…etc. How might it be playing to Independents and Moderates and even open minded folks on the Left. Are they shocked, dismayed, repelled or indifferent to these revelations? Has the administrations “star” fallen for them finally. How far will it need to fall until the Left starts to abandon ship?
The abuse gets even worse:
Progressive Group: IRS Gave Us Conservative Groups’ Confidential Docs
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/14/Progressive-Group-Says-IRS-Gave-Them-Confidential-Docs-On-Conservative-Groups
“Tuesday morning, ABC News revealed what might have been the political motivation behind the IRS’s decision to target Tea party groups — to ensure they weren’t as effective in 2012 as they were in 2010.”
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/14/IRS-Intimidation-Forced-Founder-To-Shut-Down-Tea-Party-Group
I think it goes deeper than just making sure Tea Party groups couldn’t have an effective influence on elections……I think it is just the nature of the Progressive movement to shut down, destroy, and eliminate any voice of opposition. Look what the unions did to small town businesses during the Wisconsin recall/election…..they wouldn’t even let a business stay neutral in the dispute. They attacked businesses who didn’t proactively support their agenda. Look what progressive groups did to the owner of Chick-fil-a. They couldn’t just disagree with him……they wanted to close him down, shame him, make him repent and stop contributing to family values groups. That kind of horrific intimidation has been effective over and over again….and now that power, under this administration, is in the hands of government agencies.
Is this abuse government wide???
Report: EPA followed double standard for conservative groups too?
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/14/report-epa-followed-double-standard-for-conservative-groups-too/
I don’t know if this is true; but if it is, and these are the kind of stories that will come out, it is chilling. One pro life ministry said they were told they had to promote “abortion”. Then IRS took it upon themselves to rewrite the bylaws the group submitted and denied their status saying they were a political group.
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““She told me … they were going to deny my application,” he told WND. “She did get nervous though in the end when I pressed her that I wanted specific information about why I had to educate from a pro-abortion perspective not just pro-life. I explained to her that the Pro-Life Action League even has pro-life in their title and they certainly don’t teach pro-abortion topics and they are still 501(c)(3). I also told her that Planned Parenthood does not teach about pro-life issues yet they are also still a 501(c)(3).” He also told WND that the IRS had rewritten his proposed bylaws “to paint our organization as a political organization. I couldn’t believe they took it upon themselves to do that,” he told WND.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/irs-tells-pro-life-ministry-to-promote-abortion/