Saturday, February 22, 2014

Using the IRS as a weapon to defeat your enemy

When any political party begins to view the opposing party as the "enemy" then it gives one the moral ground to utilize any and every option to neutralize those who oppose you.  Such is the case with the IRS targeting of conservative groups. 
As a historical reminder, the charge that Richard Nixon attempted to misuse the IRS for political purposes made its way into the second of the three articles of impeachment against him.  Today, of course, the House of Representatives shows little backbone and despite the fact that there is more evidence that this current breach of IRS trust was more effective than whatever Nixon tried to do, it is obvious that nothing of substance will come from this incident. 
In case you were thinking that the IRS, and whomever is pulling the strings, has decided that they were wrong in their actions, you might want to think again. 
This article from the Heritage Foundation shows that the IRS has kept their eye on the prize and stands ready to move past that first roadblock.  "As if the indefensible attack on Tea Party and other conservative organizations documented by the IRS Inspector General wasn’t enough, the IRS is now proposing new regulations that would further restrict the activity of these organizations and give IRS officials even more power to intimidate – sorry, regulate – them. This is, of course, the exact opposite of what should be done to reverse the politicized targeting that IRS bureaucrats have been engaged in.
The proposed regulation would redefine what the IRS considers “candidate-related political activity” for §501(c)(4) organizations.  It is a thinly veiled attempt to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United by executive fiat, after the administration failed in a similar attempt when it couldn’t get the DISCLOSE Act  passed by Congress.  The regulation would seriously infringe the First Amendment rights of advocacy organizations."
Don't forget, it is always about control and in this case it is about controlling the enemy.  

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