What Am I Missing Re: the IRS "Scandal"?

[99th_Monkey]

I still cannot for the life of me understand how it is that the IRS is SO GUILTY
of "targeting" conservative groups, when those very groups WERE ACTUALLY
BREAKING THE LAW, i.e. they were clearly, often blatantly, operating way outside
the statutory limitations of that tax status as a 501c4.

The only "crime" the IRS workers committed was doing their fucking job, paying
special attention to "profiling" which kinds of groups operate in most blatant dis-
regard for the law, in order to illumine the scope of the "problem". Isn't this
part of being a "professional" revenuer? ... you look first at the most obvious
cases, the most blatant violations, and they just happened to be the Tea Party
and KKKarl Rove and their ilk that stood out as just that: the most obvious
cases of blatant disregard for tax laws, laws it is the IRS's duty to enforce, with
a gun as necessary.

Can anyone explain to me why this IRS thing is getting even one inch of traction?

Maybe I really did miss something, mostly because I have only followed this from
afar so far, and am simply curious if there really is something these IRS employees
did that was improper. Looks to me like they were just doing
their job, ironically enough.

BTW - Oh, I get that the .01%-owned M$M is echo-chambering their marching orders
on cue. I get that. Which I guess is my point, if I have one, is that this whole charade
is becoming so painfully obvious, is why more heads aren't exploding?

or ...maybe they are.

[pscot]

1. The repugs have been crying wolf for too long

People tune it out. Nobody cares.

[grasswire]

2. that's what Lawrence O'Donnell says

....and he had the retired head of that department of the IRS on for interview tonight, and he said the same thing. The IRS did nothing wrong. The IG is wrong in his report.

[elleng]

3. No reason.

Not 'so guilty' of anything. Doing their JOB.

[railsback]

4. The current outrage makes perfect sense.

Most of those current 501( c)4s under investigation now for possible fraud abuse (300+) MUST be connected to Rightwing groups. The MSM has been completely useless in all this. Even after more information comes to light from the likes of the NYTimes, they insist on focusing on trigger words used by the IRS to flag possible fraudsters, and how 'unfair' it all is to Teabaggers. LoL. They are complicit in a major cover-up attempt by the GOP. Its like the invasion of Iraq all over again.

The IRS did their job, and now are getting raked over the coals for doing 'too good of a job'.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/us/politics/nonprofit-applicants-chafing-at-irs-tested-political-limits.html?hp&_r=3&

[99th_Monkey]

6. My Dad was a "Revenuer"

No wonder he's spinning in his grave.

[Warpy]

5. The only CRIME is that the IRS approved these transparently

political, money laundering groups as "social welfare organizations" deserving of tax exempt status.

You want criminal behavior by the IRS, that's it.

[99th_Monkey]

8. You have it exactly right

up is down, black is white, like it's exquisitely choreographed to
make any sane person who really pays attention feel like they're
going completely mad.

[Skittles]

7. I don't get it either

and I have NOT yet heard a reasonable explanation

I do have a theory though - it's a setup of sorts to keep all eyes on the small fish while the big fish get away with EVERYTHING

[Chathamization]

9. "Targeting Conservative Groups" is basically a lie too

Tea Party groups were on the BOLO list, not conservative groups in general (notice how the word "conservative" isn't on the list of things to look out for?). It would be like the news saying that the government was targeting liberal groups when it shut down the Occupy encampments. The Tea Party was a political group that became very active in elections, and the complaint is that the IRS checked to see if other groups calling themselves Tea Party groups were similarly active in elections (and a bunch of them were).

And if the media had read the IG report at all, it stated that there were other groups on the BOLO list (and that the report didn't bother to check whether or not they were treated properly), and that the majority of groups sent to the special unit were non-Tea Party types. Recently we found that liberal groups received the same letter requesting additional information, and now we see that many of the groups were doing what the IRS was worried that they would.