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Lovable Scamps at IRS Continue Wacky Capers
If I had more faith in the capabilities of the Obama Administration—if I was willing to ignore Occam’s Razor and attribute to malice that which can be more readily explained by incompetence—I’d be thinking right about now that the hailstorm of controversies over the last few months—the Russian presence in Ukraine, the surge of Central American child immigrants, the VA scandal, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Hobby Lobby case, the president’s assertion that the constitution entitles him to the right of droit du seigneur, the IRS debacle, the Bowe Bergdahl swap, the ongoing Obamacare fight, the first quarter economic growth numbers—have all been part of a darkly genius plan (and yes, one item on that list is purely to separate the readers from the skimmers). With the zone sufficiently flooded—with every day essentially turned into a news dump Friday— it’s easy to miss the newest developments; even those as provocative as, say, the latest on the IRS scandal. From Byron York in the Washington Examiner:
Top IRS officials told congressional investigators that Lois Lerner‘s hard drive — the one containing emails that could shed light on the IRS targeting scandal — was irreparably damaged before it was destroyed completely in 2011. But now, investigators have had a chance to talk to the technical experts inside the IRS who actually examined Lerner’s computer, and the experts say the hard drive in question was actually just “scratched,” and that most of the data on it was recoverable.
Further:
The IRS computer experts also told the committee that they had recommended seeking outside help in recovering the data from Lerner’s computer — something IRS management declined to do.
… In addition, the committee says it has come across evidence that, at least for some period of time, Lerner’s computer was listed as “recovered” in an internal IRS IT tracking document. The committee says IRS experts were not able to say whether “recovered” meant that the hard drive had actually been saved or whether it had met some other fate. In any event, committee aides say they have consulted with “former federal law enforcement and Department of Defense forensic experts” about the matter, and their conclusion is that the majority of information on the drive could have been saved.
There was a time—and, really, I don’t think it was that long ago—when a story like this would have generated bipartisan outrage. In this age of total political warfare, when allegiances determine principles instead of vice versa, that’s beginning to seem impossible. Question for the Ricochetti: what would have to happen—what line would have to be crossed—before congressional Democrats might actually turn against the Administration on this issue?
Published in General
Recovered e-mails show that the IRS denied tax deductions on the purchase of contraception by single females.
I honestly think that there is no such line. Obama has crossed virtually every one that was previously conceived of, and I see no reason to believe that he won’t go on finding more lines.
What a joke. To even suggest that a large scale organization such as the IRS kept the only copy of anybody’s emails on individual workstation’s hard drives is laughable and shows complete ignorance about how modern day computer infrastructure works. That this lie is still being perpetrated this late in the game without even the suggestion that the emails still do exist and are being purposely kept from the public is getting to be so outrageous that we may be entering conspiracy theory territory. The lack of press coverage and investigation is mind-boggling. It is stuff like this that is the reason the public is trusting the government, both political parties and the press less and less each day.
Barack Obama would have to emulate Ozzy Osbourne in his prime by biting the head off a live bat on national television in order to suffer widespread criticism by congressional Democrats.
Well, color me conflicted … that’s the one thing that might win me over to his side.
Congressional Democrats are Obama apologists the same way some Roman Catholic commentators are apologists for the Pope. No matter what the Holy Father (as both Congressional Democrats and Roman Catholic commentators consider the respective objects of their veneration to be) says or does, they back him 100%.
BTW Troy, which of the items in your list was a plant? They all seemed like things Obama has done, or would do if he thought he could get it past Michelle somehow.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a setup … look out for the IRS techies to miraculously restore the hard drives, but then don’t find any emails that are actually incriminating. I have as much faith in their recovery of evidence as I have in the Russian military’s explanation of the downed plane.
If the IRS was used as a weapon against an established Democrat in Congress, other Democrats would wonder who might be next.
But fear can work both ways. It can keep minions in line or scare them into desperate rebellion. The result would depend largely on subsequent actions of the leadership.
That was too dark never mind
Actually, let’s make it more realistic. Let’s say he lashed out and punched a staffer in the nose. Can you imagine – and I mean in all seriousness – what the media reaction would be? Republicans would be blamed for frustrating Obama with their obstructionism, every news station would run a series on the stresses of the job, etc… I don’t think even something like that would get him criticized.
The only thing that would cause those people to turn against the administration would be widespread election losses in solid blue districts and comfortably blue in states. Since they are amoral at best, they have no reason to hold their own party accountable short of seeing their power taken away.
Not certain about yourself Stuart but I can’t translate Medieval french off the cuff, droit du seigneur? That one I had to look up.
Same question here. What kind of evil pleasure accrues by forcing skimmer me to retrace my steps and suffer through a reminder of each painful item?
Considering that several Democratic congressmen were working with the IRS to facilitate and benefit from this crime, it can be safely assumed that they will not want to see anything come of that.
Most of the scandals have to do with foreign policy, which the Left by and large wants nothing to do with, so those are out.
The rest are just regular incidents of incompetent government, which they can’t blame on Obama, or cases where Obama has abused power to further the Left’s agenda, which they approve of.
Also, given what they let Ted Kennedy get away with, there are few straight-up crimes he would likely commit that would cause them to stop protecting him.
For Obama to truly lose their support, he would have to betray them multiple times on major domestic issues (approve Keystone pipeline and allow more drilling, enable/allow the repeal of Obamacare, reform welfare programs, curb illegal immigration, etc).
Obama could eat a squirming baby on a hoagie roll during a press conference and the only news outlet that would cover it would be FOX. The New York Times may note it but it would be buried in the Restaurant Reviews.
I’m thinking Rob Long really should pitch “Lovable Scamps of the IRS” as a sitcom. Probably would need to be on one of the pay networks, though, because I very doubt the language in the building is CoC compliant.
Nick Stuart: #6
I was going to comment that I understood from the get-go that Barry was out to politicize government, and that nothing he has done since taking office has caused me to think otherwise.
However, I discover that, per Nick, those who defend the pope can now be associated with Democrats who defend the president. Bad call, Nick. Vapid. For the record, I am a Catholic who found a good reason to defend the pope.
You might even have had an adequate comment except for your anti-Catholic pope bashing.
We’re talking about Obama not Teddy Kennedy or Bill Clinton.
Exercise of droit du seigneur, or even an Oval Office BJ from an intern, would not lose him his Dem supporters, but Michelle would kill him which might be even better. For one thing, it would (probably) keep Michelle from running for Senator in some convenient blue state, and then for President in 8 years.
Um. That’s Hanlon’s razor you’re shaving with, Mr. Senik. Trebek wept.
Hard to imagine the political crimes anyone who subscribes to the arch notion of Economic Patriotism couldn’t condone. Whip Inflation Now buttons were at least winsomely stupid.
I, for one, caught what you did there–you inserted a redundancy in “right of droit du seigneur“.
On this issue? Using the power of the state to suppress the opposition? I think they’re with him 100%.
The only good thing about this Administration is that the so-called “liberals” have taken off the mask.
They finally think that they control enough of society to stop pretending. It’s a fair chance that they’re right.
I always loved the ending of The Dead Zone, where our hero’s assassination attempt on the presidential candidate is unsuccessful (our hero can see the future, and saw this guy start a nuclear war over nothing). But it’s because the candidate (Martin Sheen in the movie) foils the shooter by grabbing a baby and holding it up as a shield; our hero balks and is shot down by the candidate’s bodyguards. But a (Newsweek?) cameraman is there and gets a picture of the baby-shield ploy, the subsequent cover story of him holding a baby up to protect himself finishes him in the polls. He winds sitting in his office late one night looking mournfully at the Newsweek cover, with a bottle and a pistol. We hear the gun go off.
Perhaps there is something like this that could out-of-the-blue finish Obama. Maybe caught: smoking pot? Laughing derisively about how he made the media his bitches? Smoking crack? Taking kickbacks? Caught stepping out on Michelle? With a man? Ok, a boy? ….. But I realize all these have been excused in our new age. But using a baby as a shield? Oh yeah, Hamas.
What you’re hoping for has happened twice. A recording of a politician’s candid conversation reveals him speaking in the most contemptuous terms about ordinary voters. I’m convinced it was precisely that cynicism and arrogance, not any statutory violation, that so quickly rendered toxic both Richard Nixon and Rod Blagojavich.
Is Obama capable of such? Hmmm. I doubt he talks with his friends in such terms. His great skill–arguably his only exceptional attribute–is his self-control in presenting himself to the world and what opinions he lets out. I think we shouldn’t hold our breath for any incriminating mp3 file leaking out any time soon.