swagandpassion asks: Hello SFB. Given the rough last weeks Obama has endured, the steadfast obstruction policy of the GOP, and especially the NSA leak, do you feel any sense 3rd party/Libertarian agendas moving to forefront as privacy grows a bigger concern?
» SFB says: I think libertarianism has long been on an upswing—at least since the rise of the Tea Party, and arguably during the 2008 Ron Paul campaign. The current issues with the NSA leak and the Obama administration don’t change that and may in fact energize it. That’s why Rand Paul is feeling an upswing. Stuff like his filibuster earlier this year resonates with a certain audience. It’s not clear whether third parties can totally break through, but a lot of the question is whether the negative momentum against the NSA stuff and the IRS thing, issues which riled up both sides of the aisle, can stick around for a while. We have a way of forgetting about this kind of thing these days, frustratingly, and that could prove the biggest hurdle for this having a lasting effect—an effect which could help raise nontraditional voices like Paul’s. — Ernie @ SFB
Based upon everything I’ve seen, the case is solved. And if it were me, I would wrap this case up and move on.Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) • Discussing testimony for a conservative Republican at the Internal Revenue Service which he says proves that the White House was not involved in an effort at the agency to target Tea Party groups. Cummings, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, says that if the chairman of the committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), does not release the transcripts from the IRS employee by the end of the week, he would. Issa, in case you haven’t been following the inner-workings of Congress, has used the position to push for multiple investigations into the Obama administration.
A pair of IRS officials – including a senior staffer implementing the Democratic healthcare law – has been placed on administrative leave for accepting hundreds of dollars in free food and gifts at an agency conference, according to congressional sources.
In all, the staffers – named by one source as Fred Schindler and Donald Koda, who both work on implementation of the Affordable Care Act – received over $1,100 in free food and other gifts at a 2010 California conference that was the centerpiece of a recent Treasury audit, according to information given to congressional investigators.
Both officials are accused of accepting gifts during the same IRS conference which became the go-to example of government excess for several months back in 2010. The Treasury Department’s recently released audit of said conference revealed that it cost the Internal Revenue Service more than $4 million in total.
Basically, Republicans are attacking Obama where he is least vulnerable and at a time when they have minimal credibility. It isn’t working. By trying to turn everything into a scandal rather than saying Obama’s policies are wrongheaded—and rather than fixing their own image problems with minority, female, younger, and moderate voters—Republicans are focusing on attacking a guy whose name will never again appear on a ballot.Polling guru and political analyst Charlie Cook, explaining why Republicans’ attacks on President Obama may ultimately fall flat. Despite the media feeding frenzy over the three concurrent scandals to hit the Obama White House, the President’s approval rating has hardly suffered at all: In general, it’s hovered around 51%, with one poll even showing an uptick since April. Meanwhile, a recent CNN poll showed the Republican Party with the highest negative ratings—59%—that either party has received in more than 20 years. “Americans may not be ecstatic about President Obama and his policies,” Cook writes, “but compared with the Republicans, they think Obama doesn’t look so bad.” source
The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the Tea Party targeting controversy will refuse to answer questions from lawmakers Wednesday.
Lois Lerner, the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS, will exercise her rights under the Fifth Amendment when she appears before the House Oversight Committee as scheduled Wednesday.
Can’t say we’re shocked by this news, considering all those involved are likely to end up in court at some point in the future.
White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler will likely come under quite a bit of fire this week, thanks to a new Wall Street Journal report which claims she knew about the IRS audit scandal weeks before the media. Some have questioned President Obama’s competency as POTUS, after he claimed to find out about the scandal along with the public on May 10, though it seems Ruemmler indeed may not have informed the President about the issues after she was briefed on them by Treasury Department attorneys. (Photo via National Journal) source
Dear Colleagues,
It is with regret that I will be departing from the IRS as my acting assignment ends in early June. This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency. I believe the Service will benefit from having a new Acting Commissioner in place during this challenging period. As I wrap up my time at the IRS, I will be focused on an orderly transition.
While I recognize that much work needs to be done to restore faith in the IRS, I don’t want anyone to lose sight of the fact that the IRS is comprised of incredibly dedicated and hard-working public servants.
During my 25-year IRS career, I am profoundly proud to have worked alongside you and to be part of an institution that has worked hard to support the nation. I have strong confidence in the IRS leadership team to continue the important work of our agency.
I want to thank everyone for all of their support and friendship during my career in government service. And I especially want to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment to the nation’s taxpayers.
Miller was forced to resign as a result of the past week’s IRS scandal.
President Obama announced minutes ago that, in response to the revelation that the IRS discriminately targeted conservative-leaning groups for scrutiny, he’s asked for and accepted the resignation of Miller, the acting IRS Commissioner. The commissioner at the time of the targeting was Donald Shulman; Miller didn’t assume the post of acting commissioner until November of last year, after the probe ended. However, he did have knowledge in May that the probe had taken place.
The White House on Wednesday released almost 100 pages of internal emails regarding the talking points that Ambassador Susan Rice and other officials used on Sunday shows following the deadly Benghazi, Libya attack on September 11, 2012.
You can read ‘em here. Meanwhile, the President is going to give a statement on the IRS scandal in 20 minutes.
Any one of those stories would be enough to knock an Administration back on its heels. All three — and with the IRS and AP stories coming in rapid succession over the past 96 hours — threaten to permanently derail Obama’s plans to fortify his presidential legacy in the first 18 months of his second term.
The problems are both practical and symbolic. They have both short term and long term political consequences. And almost none of it portends well for President Obama and his Administration.
Another point here worth considering: “Remember that President Obama was elected in 2008 in no small part because of his pledge to be the anti-George W. Bush. That is, prizing competence over all in governance and putting a premium on transparency. And both of those pillars are undermined by developments in the past four days.”
In her last days, my mother occasionally became confused....
”The reporter...
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
If you’ve got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and nonpartisan way, then that is outrageous. It is contradictory to our traditions, and people have to be held accountable.President Obama • Commenting on an admission that the IRS targeted conservative groups, many associated with the tea party, during the 2012 election cycle, following an apology from an IRS official on Friday and this morning’s leak of the Inspector General’s report to ABC News. President Obama’s comments came during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, who’s currently visiting Washington D.C. to discuss the war in Syria. source
This timeline reveals at least two extremely unethical actions by the IRS. One, as early as 2010, they targeted groups for political purposes. Two, they willfully and knowingly lied to Congress for years despite being aware that Congress was investigating this practice. This is an outrageous abuse of power.Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) • Decrying actions within the Internal Revenue Service, which apologized yesterday for the targeting of Tea Party/conservative groups for special tax status scrutiny. An inspector general’s report is expected to be released later this week, and portions obtained by the AP suggests IRS officials knew of such targeting not just during the full throes of the 2012 election, but dating back to mid-2011. The report claims that Lori Lerner, head of the division of the IRS handling tax-exempt organizations, was told about the politically-motivated targeting (flagging of groups using the words “Tea Party,” “Patriot,” and Glenn Beck’s “9/12 Project”) back in June of 2011, and that she told agents to “immediately” change their criteria for applying that increased scrutiny. If so, her instruction seems not to have had much effect, as the undue flaggings continued into the following election year. source
The IRS spent $60,000 producing the “Star Trek”-themed training video above, along with a “Gilligan’s Island” parody that’s equally as bad. If the acting seems wooden, it’s because they had IRS employees playing actors, and everyone knows that IRS employees can’t act. Members of Congress, on the hunt for things to cut, are already on the attack for this somewhat questionable usage of resources. The only thing this video needs is Crow T. Robot offering color commentary.
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