Conservative IRS supervisor flagged groups with 'progressive' in name for higher scrutiny [View all]
A self-described conservative Republican in the IRS, in charge of reviewing the tax exempt status of non-profits, instituted a policy of flagging groups with the word "progressive" in their name for a highly level of scrutiny.
The preceding paragraph is true, according to information gathered by the Inspector General and Congressional investigators. Each fact is factual.
It is, however, slanted (by me) to paint a picture. He also designated "tea party" and other terms as flags.
I offer this just to note how the 'scandal' could have broken. But did not... of course. The "scandal" was even more slanted than what I just did.
My version is actually a better news story than the story we were delivered, since it has an identified villain with identified political leanings, as opposed to relying entirely on a free-floating assumption that Obama is up to no good.
That said, I do not think the guy did anything wrong enough to warrant much outrage from anyone, right left or middle. Legally, I doubt any of the flagged groups deserved tax status as entirely apolitical charities, which is what the law says. The only scandal is that most of the flagged groups got the sought status, in contravention of the law. The IRS was too lax, not too restrictive. (And since I think the rich should be audited more than the poor I cannot pretend that I think IRS review should be entirely random.)
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