Not content to use Benghazi as a political whipping point, Republicans are also show-boating the revealed IRS penchant for selectively investigating those with "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their titles.
The claim is that this was political because certain groups were singled out for extra scrutiny, similar to racial profiling in crime investigation.
Come one (once again), guys. These are groups that are asking for tax-exempt status, so they can collect money from supporters and have contributions be tax-exempt. The IRA should scrutinize their organizations for eligibility.
They are not just like innocent bystanders at a crime scene who happen to be black. They applied for special status. Lots of organizations try to use their special tax status to get money and then use it for political purposes. That's illegal. The IRS has an office that specifically handles cases of abuse of tax exempt status. That's what they do.
Wouldn't a reasonable person conclude from the daily news that these groups are political?
On top of this, the head of IRS was appointed by George W. Bush. And the IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Office has said that the plan was "absolutely not influenced by the [Obama] administration."
But somehow Republicans have twisted this to try to indict the president. Still, even usually reasonable Susan Collins (R-ME) said she was disappointed that President Obama had not personally condemned the practice. "The president needs to make it clear that this is totally unacceptable in America."
As maddening as it is to have to put up with this relentless negativity, perhaps we should look at it as the evidence that the Republicans have nothing positive to put forth -- their economic message has just been destroyed.
Ralph
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