Voter ID didn’t reduce turnout, but the IRS may have.
History may very well view the past election as illegitimate. If so, there’s not much we can do about most of the races, but there is a solution for the top one.
17 thoughts on “The Real Voter Suppression Of 2012”
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As often happens, “The Dersh” (Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz) has it spot on.
In connection with the IRS official who is selectively invoking the 5th Amendment Privilege (and don’t start with me regarding the difference between a criminal defendant vs other types of witnesses — we will just have to see how the Constitution will be interpreted in this new-style of offering testimony in claiming I-didn’t-do-anything-wrong-and-I-am-a-good-person-but-don’t-ask-me-any-more-questions), the good Professor offered the following.
Paraphrasing, “Many of the people hauled before Congress by the Honorable Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) “took the 5th” — it wasn’t just about whether the person testifying had to account for their relationship with the CPUSA, there was a witch-hunt atmosphere where a person had to answer questions that would “rat out” all of their friends.”
I am not bothered that the IRS was selectively enforcing their rules against orgs with right-wingy names. I am not bothered that any of these orgs had to justify their tax exempt status by answering questions.
I am bothered by the allegations of a kind of Tail Gunner Joe Inquisition, where the questions sought “Were you or anyone you knew ever a member of the TEA Party?” I am bothered by the Orwellesque “thought crime” aspects to the questions, where the questions went beyond the actual actions and activities of your org and into the state of mind — of you and of everyone else you know.
Is there anyone who can offer a defense of this kind of thing? Is there anyone on the Left to offer any opinion other than wing-nut sour grapes? If there is, I don’t see that there is anything left to talk about.
“I am not bothered that the IRS was selectively enforcing their rules against orgs with right-wingy names.”
Really? It’s OK they were enforcing their rules against right-wing orgs but not against left-wing ones?
So much for the rule of law. Welcome to the banana republic.
Color me not surprised, Paul
Just posted a random thought over there:
“Well before the election there were murmurings of IRS abuses, but it failed to make most people’s radar because IRS abuse was as yet unprovable. Was one of the few people to really notice the scandal…Nate Silver? He successfully called a race that defied decades of established election strategy: Romney won the moderate vote and still lost. Silver was obviously paying attention to factors that others weren’t, and I kinda wonder if the stream of allegations against the IRS was one of them.”
What’s scary is that it appears these people aren’t even going to have to use the Good German Defense– “We were just following orders.” Somehow they got the idea that persecution of Enemies of the State would be permitted, and they took it as their duty and on their initiative to did what they knew the Community-Bystander-in-Chief would want them to do.
Where are the “whistleblowers” from the IRS in this? Didn’t anyone who worked there even think that there was something wrong about all this?
Dershowitz should be proud, actually. The education efforts of so-called Liberals of the last few decades are finally paying off.
Between civil service laws and the unions, IRS employees know they can get away with just about anything short of actual embezzlement or workplace violence. Actually, that applies to almost all federal employees. They’re unelected, unaccountable and virtually untouchable. So long as the civil service laws and government employee unions exist, nothing will change. The federal employee unions have been very vocal in their opposition to the Tea Parties so you know they’ll not only cover for the IRS employees, they’ll actively encourage them to discrimate against conservatives.
Discriminate against conservatives?
If all the IRS was doing was profiling conservative groups as being likely tax cheats, I could abide by that.
Can anyone contradict me that this wasn’t a full-court Joe McCarthy persecution? “Were you or anyone you know ever a member of the TEA Party or a “front” organization?
And Mr. Ortega, why the remarks about Mr. Dershowitz? The guy is to the Left of many of his here, but I am willing to call out to anyone who takes a stand on principle and calls ’em as he sees ’em rather than the blind umpires so much in evidence on the Left these days.
All the reports I’ve seen so far indicate that liberal groups were smoothly approved while conservative groups were delayed and harassed. That’s political persecution by the most hated, most powerful and most destructive government agency of all. If that doesn’t give someone pause, then nothing will.
Today, there’s a report that a high percentage (69%) of people who claimed the adoption tax credit were audited but with little result. In the meantime, some claimed credits with known high fraud rates (Earned Income Tax Credit, First time home buyer credit) go unchecked. Is that incompetentence or selective persecution.
Meanwhile, the EPA gives free information in response to FOIA requests by green groups but charges conservative groups. The EPA also colludes with green groups on phoney lawsuits to get policies enacted.
The only things that can restore balance to the federal government are to reduce the size and scope of the government, repeal or seriously modify the civil service laws and ban government employee unions. Until then, these government agencies are operatives for the Democrat Party.
Unions or no unions, people who choose to work for the government tend to believe that government is a force for good. You can’t realistically expect them to feel much affinity for any party that insists that government, and government workers in particular, are forces for evil.
“You can’t realistically expect them to keep it in their pants when she’s dressed like a slut. Boys will be boys!”
You can’t realistically expect them to feel much affinity for any party that insists that government, and government workers in particular, are forces for evil.
Jim, that is completely irrelevant. We can expect them to do their job correctly. And it is up to us to remove from position those who let “affinity” (or whatever this turns out to be) override their sworn duties.
Jim, if you honestly believe that then you’re impossibly naive. A high percentage of the people who go to work for the government see it as a lifetime gig with better pay, better benefits and far better job security than anything they could ever get in the private sector. Most of them couldn’t cut it in the private sector where results matter.
My wife came of age in the Philippines during the Marcos dictatorship. She has described to me the all pervasive corruption at every level of government. We aren’t quite there yet but we’re heading in the same direction.
When did government workers become the new monks and nuns? They are not morally superior to private sector workers. Government is not supposed to be a religion.
And why do Democrats treat union government workers as saints but then trash the motives of people who sign up for military service?
All the reports I’ve seen so far indicate that liberal groups were smoothly approved
No, Empower America (a liberal group) is the only 501c4 I’ve heard of that had its certification denied.
Jim, you found a single group that was denied. That totally makes it equivilant to the hundreds of groups Obama and the IRS persecuted as political dissidents. And let’s not forget the untold number of individuals persecuted by Obama and the IRS.
I have noticed this defense from defenders of the tyrant and his party of Democrats. They will say but what groups were denied status? The real question is, what groups were granted status? There are many groups that have waited 3 years and been subjected to not only intruisive questions about their prayers but been forced to expend considerable money and labor hours with compliance.
You might want to research into how many groups that were targeted by Obama’s IRS were approved in 2012.
So remember, it isn’t about groups being denied, it is about groups not being accepted or denied but kept inbetween always having to provide answers to illegal questions at great cost to the groups. Answers that were then released to Democrat activist groups and the Obama campaign.
Larry, Jim won’t care, because in his eyes government is good, and therefore can’t be bad. Corruption–if it exists at all, and isn’t made up by conservatives, or possibly any corruption at all is all by conservatives–is probably just the price you pay for all that greatness.
Oddly enough, Lt. Gov. Tim “Crash” Murray resigned his position this week. Right out of the blue. He had been involved with some questionable uses of government car….clocked at 105mph and ending up in a crash at 4am in the morning. He said he was making inspections….
He’ll take up a fascinating $200k job at the Worcester Chamber of Commerce.
Pretty unexpected resignation.
Now we have the news that Holder ok’d seizure of Fox newsman’s emails…..
Holder’s days are numbered…and one possibility for a replacement is our own Deval Patrick (“Mini-me to Obama).
No one would want Murray as guv…so his sudden departure is interesting….