Now What??

[BlueDemKev]

What's this crap about the IRS targeting right-wing groups? Since the IRS has apologized for this, there is obviously some truth to these accusations. Frankly, this concerns me more than Benghazi. If the president or any senior official at the White House pressured the IRS to do this, it could be very serious.

[bemildred]

1. It is the IRS job to do that.

Our leaders are trying to gin up some distractions, they need lots of distractions at the moment.

[BlueDemKev]

2. Why did the IRS apologize for this?

Conservatives are having a field day with this.

[bemildred]

4. The current text I have is from the LA Times today:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-irs-conservative-20130511,0,2213444.story

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service improperly singled out conservative groups for extra scrutiny of their applications for nonprofit status, a top agency official said Friday, setting off calls for investigations into an organization already under fire for its handling of secret political spending by nonprofits.

Employees at the agency's Cincinnati nonprofits office, while screening a flood of applications from so-called social welfare groups last year, set aside about 75 containing the words "tea party" and "patriot" for more detailed review, said Lois Lerner, IRS director of exempt organizations. The groups also were asked to supply additional information that the IRS does not usually ask for, such as donor lists.

"That's absolutely inappropriate and not the way we should do things," Lerner said in a conference call with reporters. She described the actions as improper shortcuts taken by lower-level employees. A White House spokesman said the moves should be investigated and "action taken" if Lerner's report is confirmed.

With some stuff about low level staffers, etc. The "outrage" seems bipartisan, which is one reason I think it's also contrived.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Lots of gloating going on by conservatives on news sites on the like

regarding this and/or Benghazi right now.

[Sunlei]

15. reporters were probably republicans trying to make trouble to protect their fraud charities.

[YarnAddict]

5. "It is the IRS job" . . .

to single out groups for scrutiny based on ideology?? I don't think so. Of all the agencies that should be completely unbiased and nonpartisan, the IRS should be at the top of the list.

That anyone in the agency would do this is chilling.

[bemildred]

6. How about singling them out based on the likelihood of corruption or taxes to collect?

Which is how they look at you and me, and seems like a very sound way to look at "Tea Party" and other astroturf political fronts that throw money around like water.

Edit: to be clear, I do not like money in politics, at all, and the IRS can go after every PAC and other political corruption marketing organization in the nation with my full support, or any subset, it's a great precedent anytime any of them get called to account.

[YarnAddict]

8. The point is--

--they apparently didn't go after every PAC--just ones whose ideology differs from that of whomever was making the decision.

What is it about organizations with the word "patriot" in the name that would make one automatically assume there is corruption involved? This was purely ideologically driven, and the fact that the IRS issued an apology proves it.

[bemildred]

11. That's your point, and the Republicans too, but it's not mine.

I always assume corruption is involved, that is the way to bet in politics.

[Sunlei]

14. bs go look at the list all the baggers have patriot in their name or republican

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. No doubt that we'll hear lots about this in the coming weeks, months, maybe even years

These were, AFAIK, a bunch of low-level workers acting on their own. "A few bad apples" or a few "lone wolves". Unless it comes out that they were ordered by the President and/or others on top of them, then it has nothing to do with him. Also, my understanding is that they were audited/given more scrutiny but they weren't raided, prosecuted, or shut down or lost anything, right and now they've gotten an apology for the IRS. If these people whom were doing it warrant termination and/or prosecution, I expect that that will happen at some point as well, so now what?

[Tennessee Hillbilly]

9. --

The administration needs to move quickly to conduct a thorough well-publicized investigation and then prosecute and/or dismiss any IRS employees found to be involved.

[Sunlei]

13. so you loveee tax dodgers and charity frauds?

[AtomicKitten]

10. I can't see how any teabagger group

would meet the threshold for tax-exempt status.

[Sunlei]

12. Republicans are by far the kings of making thousands of tax-free political "charities"

Tax dodgers.

[okaawhatever]

16. If all the information would have reported, it would be much clearer. First, both the woman who

oversaw approval the approval process Lois G. Lerner, and the commissioner Doug Shulman were Bush appointments (Shulman was also a Republican banking lobbyist) . For any conspiracy theory to work it would have to involve 2 Bush appointees conspiring w/Obama white house. Unlikely.
In 2006, the Bush administration passed the "Pension Protection Act of 2006" that was supposed to shed light on the financial dealings of 504(c) non-profit organizations. It was sponsored by Republican Chuck Grassley to "make it easier for the public to police nonprofits" finances and identify abuses. Now, the gop didn't jump on that enforcement thing until a democrat held office.
Bush appointee Lois G Lerner was promoted to issuing those applications In 2008, she said:
"the IRS will pursue cases involving banned political activity "promoting, encouraging, recommending or otherwise urging viewers to use the link to get information about specific candidates and their positions on specific issues" and that the circumstances surrounding the access to and content reached through the link are key factors.
Remember in the citizens united decision scotus said social welfare orgs could spend money on politics provided it wasn't their primary purpose.
Alsothe tea party does not have one national body that decides who can use it's name. Most of you probably don't know the white supremacist involvement in the tea party, but it's there and it's irrefutable. (much has been taken down on the internet, but you can still find it). For example, the owner of teaparty.org website was kicked out of a rally in houston for holding a sign with the n word. His ex director is also ex director for the Minuteman Project. Jim "Minuteman Gilchrist" who shared an ex director w/tea party.org had another employee, titled border director or border patrol, Shawna Forde. She's the woman who killed the 9 yr old girl and her father. They were american citizens, too. There are other ties, but I don't need to go on. These people are fringe to the tea party, but without the teaparty being an official political party the door is open to abuse.
If we're going to get a conspiracy rolling, let's ask ourselves if the gopers couldn't ave done this without Obama. Lerner created it, and Shuler apologized. Was there white house approval of message?