- Joined
- Apr 13, 2011
- Messages
- 34,951
- Reaction score
- 16,311
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Socialist
You'll remember that the Treasury Department inspector general report that first looked at the "targeting" of groups with "tea party" and "patriots" in their name found no evidence of political bias. At the time, Republicans in Congress didn't buy that. Clearly, they argued, this was the work of anti-conservative IRS staffers, or a meddlesome Obama White House looking to suppress its opponents in a closely fought election year. Then we learned that the manager of the IRS Screening Office in Cincinnati, where most of the alleged targeting took place, identified himself as a "conservative Republican." Still, Republicans forged onward.Now, with these latest revelations, even some GOPers are coming around to the reality of what happened. From the Times:
"We haven't proved political motivation," said Representative Charles Boustany Jr., a Louisiana Republican who, as the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, is leading one inquiry.So there you have it. Republicans have gone from blaming the Obama administration and IRS staffers for targeting tea partiers to double-negative-laced non-concession concessions like Roy Blunt's. (That said, Republicans aren't calling off the hounds quite yet: A spokeswoman for Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), who chairs the House ways and means committee, says committee members will continue to "gather the facts" and "follow them wherever they lead us.")
Senator Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri, said that in retrospect, suggestions that Mr. Obama had orchestrated an IRS attack on his political enemies were unwarranted.
"Presidents have always been very careful about maintaining the appearance of keeping hands off the IRS," he said. "I don't have any reason to believe there wasn't targeting of conservatives, but it might well have been a lot more than that as well."
Read more @: Even Republicans Admit It: Politics Did Not Drive the IRS Tea Party "Scandal" | Mother Jones
Scandal no more. Even the Republicans are starting to admit it. Simply the IRS doing its job.