is just a dot. Bradley Smith produces a timeline of political and IRS activities that looks highly suspicious and demands that the media “connect the dots”. To my mind there’s little doubt that politicians have been putting pressure on the IRS to act against their political opponents that is, to say the least, unseemly. Unless you believe that intent can be inferred from the actions that’s still not enough for the IRS scandal to catch fire.
In Nixon’s day it was considered an “abuse of power.” In Obama’s day it is considered “business as usual.” Similar actions, but different party presidencies……
I suspect another dot was the 2010 suicide attack on the IRS building in Austin by a mentally ill person with anti-government, anti-tax views. That happened a few weeks after Citizens United.
Carl Levin is an ass. He wrote a few good letters to the IRS to clarify its interpretation of the “social welfare organization” term and got some good answers, explaining the history and the long-standing interpretations the IRS has applied internally and in adjudications based upon the language Congress itself used. The ball is in Congress’ court. Holding hearings on “the IRS’s failure to enforce the law requiring that tax-exempt 501(c)(4)s be engaged exclusively in social welfare activities, not partisan politics” is a political stunt and completely disrespectful to the IRS.