Comments on: Using the IRS against political enemies: Nixon vs. Obama

By: The Beltway Bandits |

The Beltway Bandits | — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 13:12:14 +0000

[…] the fact that the IRS has been used by the current administration in ways that would even make Richard Nixon blush. Nixon was indicted by the House for doing exactly the same […]

By: Barack Obama, The Worst Of Nixon, The Worst Of Carter, The Worst President In History – And You’re Going To Pay For It | Start Thinking Right

Sat, 31 May 2014 07:55:19 +0000

[…] Nixon merely TALKED about using the IRS to target his political enemies; Barack Obama actually DID i…. What we already know about the IRS scandal is that the orders DID come from Washington – contrary to Obama’s repeated lies – and in fact came from AN OBAMA APPOINTEE (one of only two in the entire IRS organization). We know that the IRS targeted “anti-Obama rhetoric.” We know that this targeting was preceded by Obama bitterly demonizing the Supreme Court for its Citizens United verdict (because how dare they “open the floodgates” for the same kind of unholy billion-dollar-money that Obama himself had raised for his election when he was the FIRST presidential candidate from either party to refuse the public matching funds program that had been implemented BECAUSE OF NIXON’S CORRUPTION? […]

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:07:27 +0000

Charles,

“Thinking people” only get 2 realistic choices in the voting booth: Democrat or Republican.

In that context, good/bad, right/wrong is relative to the opposing party, not absolute.

The Democrats carve out identity groups and associate with their self-interests while painting the Republicans as opposed to those self-interests. Advantage: Democrats.

Then, if the Democrats are brought low by a scandal, they don’t need to retake the high ground. They merely need to drag the Republicans down to or close enough to their level in the public eye to achieve relative equality – cancel out. If the Democrats can accomplish that, then their self-interest advantage will put them back on top in the voting booth, and winning elections is the *only thing* that counts. Not good/bad or right/wrong.

So, when the Republicans are pursuing a Democrat scandal, it’s not enough to bring the Democrats onto the low ground. The Republicans need also to affirmatively take the high ground by presenting the public with a superior alternative with a full context, frame, and narrative.

By: Lizzy

Lizzy — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:39:20 +0000

Obama thought bigger than Nixon: he was coordinating attacks on citizens through multiple federal and non-government organizations (Media Matters, Occupy, etc.). Obama would attack some hated “1%” Romney donors in his campaign materials & speeches, they would then be audited by the IRS and other agencies, their tax info would be leaked to OFA and/or ProPublica, and then activists like Shulman’s wife would agitate the Lefty masses against them. This kind of stuff just doesn’t happen organically.
See this timeline on Shulman’s wife’s tweets:http://tinyurl.com/kjsj94t

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 18:46:32 +0000

The attack as defense method works because most humans prioritize their own self survival over making a point. So if you attack them where their beliefs and heart is, most sane and socialized humans will stop going on the offense, go back home, and turtle up.

The fact that this can be used strategically to defeat you is perhaps not taught in public schools.

By: Charles

Charles — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 18:01:07 +0000

This IS the typical liberal response when they have no defense – “yea, but, what so and so did was worse!”

This is what the left (and that includes most of the MSM) will always say when they are caught red-handed.

What they so often fail to realize is that most thinking people will think “yea, so? others are/were worse; but, does that make what you did right?”

On the other hand, sadly, there aren’t enough thinking people too call them out on this type of lame excuse.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:00:19 +0000

It would be one thing if the IRS were told to go after–maybe aggressively audit–so-and-so and obeyed. Probably this is what happened when Nixon was president.
It appears that the current scandal was not only a matter of direction from obama, but also a matter of institutional interest, i.e. the IRS folks actually believed their targets deserved this either for who they were or for what could be accomplished in the larger sphere (elections, etc.) by such illegal activities.
IOW, the bastards enjoyed their work.

By: Lizzy

Lizzy — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 12:41:16 +0000

Don’t know if this counts as a “smoking gun”, but yesterday on Jake Tapper’s CNN show Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s Deputy Campaign Manager, said that she was in meetings with IRS Commissioner Shulman. Fits with theory that Shulman was providing opposition research to Obama campaign – in person so that there was no electronic paper trail.
http://tinyurl.com/l9mkuj7

By: parker

parker — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 21:06:56 +0000

BHO learned how to operate as a protege of the Cook County – Chicago Machine. Nothing leads back to him except the words of his consigliere.

By: blert

blert — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 20:20:07 +0000

The only rational explanation is that Buraq ran the op straight from his desk/ golf cart/ air force one.

He bypassed Holder — and had the IRS commissioner over for endless oral instructions that could not be digitized.

The ONLY reason to keep trekking to the Pink House is to reach the President. ALL other officials are going to conduct such touchy confabs a w a y from the Pink House glare.

Buraq was doing exactly what the public was assured could NEVER be done.

A century ago, when the income tax amendment was being debated — this was an issue. The high and mighty realized at once that they’d have to turn over their most sacred personal documents — their accounts.

What the President has been doing is commit an endless series of felonies against the tax code. On the merits, it’s impeachable.

However, our Senate is paralyzed along party lines. Democrats don’t apprehend that the Wan is destroying their party.