Mitt Romney to speak at CPAC for some reason
posted at 4:01 pm on February 20, 2013 by Allahpundit
Everyone will applaud politely, of course, but there’s no way to avoid the ineffable awkwardness that will surround this speech. Then again, if there’s one thing Romney does well, it’s ineffable awkwardness. (“Severely conservative”?) Maybe it’ll just feel like old times.
Alternate headline: “Man to appear at event devoted to repudiating him.”
Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will appear at the Conservative Political Action Conference next month, according to two sources familiar with the event’s itinerary. Romney’s speech, which will be delivered at the Gaylord National hotel in Prince George’s County, Md., marks the former Massachusetts governor’s return to the political scene.
After he lost the presidential election, Romney decamped to his beachfront home in La Jolla, Calif. But friends say he has become somewhat restless, and he’s eager to contribute to the national debate. Sources say he’ll likely focus on economic and fiscal issues, and that his message will be optimistic.
“This is really an opportunity for Governor Romney to thank all his supporters and friends,” says a senior Romney aide.
Sample Twitter reaction:
Mitt Romney speaking at #CPAC? Was Herbert Hoover unavailable?
— Tim Stanley (@timothy_stanley) February 20, 2013
He’ll be okay. As angry as people are at him for the catastrophic technological gap with Obama’s campaign, I think there’s some sympathy for him as a guy who was ultimately crushed by larger forces. He did himself no favors with the “self-deportation” line but Republicans have been getting creamed among Latino voters for decades and there are now more Latino voters than ever before. He did himself no favors with the “47 percent” line either but Harry Enten made a compelling case yesterday at the Guardian that, as counterintuitive as it seems, economic indicators ahead of the election all pointed to a close but comfortable Obama win. No one, I think, disagrees with the proposition that the GOP has big problems and that those problems are bigger than Romney. That’s not to excuse his screw-ups during the campaign, just to say that I think that awareness will inform the audience’s reception of him at CPAC.
But yeah, it’ll still be awkward. For two reasons. One: The whole GOP storyline of the past three months has been about tomorrow’s party rock stars trying to undo the damage from the “47 percent” and “self-deportation” business. Jindal’s been killing him on the former and Rubio, through his immigration efforts, has been killing him on the latter. (This recent headline says it all.) It’s bizarre to have the avatar of the old order speaking alongside guys whose big pitch is all about how wrong he was. Two: Romney’s split personality as the ObamaCare-pioneering RINO who wants illegals to self-deport and the “takers” to do more to become “makers” is emblematic of the party’s split personality right now. The leadership, in the form of Rubio, Jindal, Ryan, Christie et al., desperately wants to carve out space in the center but there’s still a chunk of the conservative base that agrees with Mitt about attrition through enforcement and makers-and-takers. Look no further than McCain’s town hall last night. Which Romney shows up at CPAC? Which gets applauded?
Exit question: Er, how does Romney intend to “contribute to the national debate”? Apart from occasional guest shots on Fox News, what platform does he have?
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Uh, his name is obama, and he lives in the White House.
Pork-Chop on May 20, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Obama is patiently waiting for the answer too.
‘Cause he don’t know anything..
Electrongod on May 20, 2013 at 11:25 AM
They only know his initials….BHO.
Oil Can on May 20, 2013 at 11:26 AM
Popcorn at the ready
cmsinaz on May 20, 2013 at 11:26 AM
I bet it was a GOP ratf**ker trying to make the president look bad. I blame Sarah Palin.
myiq2xu on May 20, 2013 at 11:26 AM
Apparently this isn’t limited to just IRS. True The Vote is claiming they were harassed by IRS, OSHA, FBI, and ATF
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2013/05/unreal-irs-shake-down-of-true-the-vote-involved-visits-from-fbi-osha-and-atf-who-checked-her-gun-safe-video/
crosspatch on May 20, 2013 at 11:27 AM
The mystery man would be POTUS and his henchman may very well be a woman named Colleen Kelley.
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/05/20/obama-and-the-irs-the-smoking
CTSherman on May 20, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Considering the targeting started right after the head of the IRS employees’ union visited 0bama at the WH, I’d say that’s a reasonable assumption.
iurockhead on May 20, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Despite the press desire that this story, as bad as it is, would just go away; it can’t with so many unanswered questions.
Tater Salad on May 20, 2013 at 11:29 AM
The Determinations Unit. Didn’t they have one of those at Aushwitz?
oldroy on May 20, 2013 at 11:29 AM
Bush!!!!!!!!
cmsinaz on May 20, 2013 at 11:30 AM
i forget his name, but I hear his wife is super ugly.
GhoulAid on May 20, 2013 at 11:30 AM
This is exactly what happens when a corrupt urban political machine takes control of a political party. I am willing to entertain the notion that a lot of the pressure for this sort of behavior came through labor union and political channels, not through government channels.
We now have a federal government that is acting like the corrupt Chicago machine.
You can TRY this link but they are getting hammered. Apparently the directive for the tea party targeting went out the day after the IRS employee union head met with Obama. Site’s hammered right now. Link might not load until traffic falls off.
http://spectator.org/archives/2013/05/20/obama-and-the-irs-the-smoking
crosspatch on May 20, 2013 at 11:31 AM
And if he did know something, any and all details would be irrelevant.
antipc on May 20, 2013 at 11:31 AM
They only know his initials….BHO.
Oil Can on May 20, 2013 at 11:26 AM
Highly doubtful…..this pathetic excuse of a man would
not be allowed to issue this directive. Gotta keep him
“Clean and Articulate” you know.
The initials of this person are V.J.
ToddPA on May 20, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Don’t forget the EPA. And DOJ with AP and FoxNews. And a couple years ago the NLRB was making life miserable for Boeing. The question at this point is which branches of the federal government aren’t targeting Obama’s political opponents.
Doughboy on May 20, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Rosie, Rosanne or Mooch..?
I am terrible with ugly names..
Electrongod on May 20, 2013 at 11:32 AM
Will these committee hearings be televised?
esr1951 on May 20, 2013 at 11:33 AM
Hmmmmm….
” Bill Donohue of the Catholic League said he was “stunned” that the IRS investigated his organization in 2008, charging that the Democrat-leaning group Catholics United filed the complaint and used it to argue that CNN should drop him as a commentator.
“This was a fishing expedition meant to intimidate me and create a chilling effect on my freedom of speech,” Donohue said.
“I still couldn’t believe that a couple of weeks after the election, I was being asked to spend my entire Thanksgiving trying to defend the Catholic League about something which we’re not guilty of,” Donohue told CNA May 17.
“We don’t give money. We don’t do endorsements. I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat,” he said. “Of course I address the issues. That’s what I’m supposed to do. That’s my freedom of speech.”
Donohue recounted the inquiry in a May 16 essay for Newsmax. He said that Catholics United’s lawyers sent a June 5, 2008 letter to Marsha Ramirez, the Internal Revenue Service’s Director of Exempt Organizations Examinations, and to Lois G. Lerner, director of the IRS’ Exempt Organizations Division. The letter asked the IRS to question the sources of the Catholic League’s new funding.
Donohue said the Catholics United complaint was leaked to him by a CNN employee in October 2008. “It was miraculously almost the same document that I got a month later from the IRS,” Donohue told CNA.
On Nov. 24, 2008, the IRS sent the Catholic League a letter notifying the Catholic League that it was under investigation for possibly violating IRS rules on political activities for 501(c)(3) tax exempt organizations. The letter included news releases and articles Donohue had written about the presidential campaign.
Donohue said that Catholics United used its own complaint as evidence in its push to remove him from television.
In October 2008, Donohue criticized Catholics United and its allied organizations, saying they are backed by organizations funded by the Democrat-leaning billionaire George Soros. CNN invited Donohue to go on air as a commentator, but Catholics United’s then-executive director Chris Korzen lobbied the news channel to rescind the invitation, Donohue said.
Catholics United asked CNN to drop the Donohue interview or put on Alexia Kelley, then-executive director of its allied group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. Catholics United sent CNN its complaint to the IRS, arguing that the Catholic League was not a legitimate Catholic organization.
“It wasn’t good enough just to get the Catholic League involved with the IRS. They tried to deny me to get on television,” Donohue told CNA. “It shows you the kind of ruthlessness we have come to expect from the Catholic left.”
The IRS ruled that the Catholic League had “intervened in a political campaign” but in a way that did not threaten its tax exempt status because the violation was “unintentional, isolated, non-egregious and non-recurring.”
Donohue said he rejected the charge. The Catholic League is not the only critic of Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good to have faced an IRS inquiry.
Anne Hendershott, a sociology professor and Catholic writer, has said IRS officials in a 2010 audit inquired about her writings for The Catholic Advocate, many of which were critical of President Obama’s health care legislation and groups like Catholics United which supported it.
IRS employees questioned her about who paid for her writings. She feared the audit was politically motivated and she became less likely to criticize the administration in writing.
The IRS faces accusations of excessively burdening tax exempt status applications from both Republican-leaning tea party groups and pro-life organizations. An IRS employee may have leaked to the press and to “gay marriage” advocates a confidential document from the National Organization for Marriage.
Some accusers charge that the agency’s actions are evidence of politically motivated corruption.
“Now I know why they went after me. I know about the politics of the whole game,” Donohue said. “When the issue became big over the past week, I thought the time had come to make a revelatory statement.”
Catholics United has backed the Obama administration in many areas where its policies diverge from Catholic teaching, including the religious freedom controversy over the HHS mandate. It has defended the appointment of pro-abortion rights Catholic HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and it is increasingly hostile to defenders of traditional marriage.
Ahead of the November 2012 elections, Catholics United wrote Florida Catholic priests saying it was monitoring illegal political activity in church.
In an Oct. 22, 2012 letter to Florida pastors, Catholics United executive director James Salt criticized “numerous IRS violations” in local Catholic parishes such as partisan references during homilies, political endorsements in church bulletins, and distribution of partisan literature in church parking lots…”
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/donohue-says-irs-probe-triggered-by-catholics-united/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader&utm_term=daily+news
workingclass artist on May 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM
If the IRS wasn’t corrupt the employees would be pointing the finger at who started this. The behavior of the IRS employees acting like prisoners of War trying to hide information from outsiders shows they ALL were on the same side. Can anyone conceive that a Conservative wouldn’t just give the name of the person who authorized this? The loyalty at the IRS for the person who started this program is one that one only sees with fellow travelers.
Conan on May 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM
I hope the spin machine the LSM has to keep wound up makes them dizzy. Sad thing is, too many of them and liberals in general don’t want to know who issued the original directive. And if they don’t want to know, we’re not allowed to have that information, either.
Liam on May 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM
Russian Nesting Dolls.
oldroy on May 20, 2013 at 11:34 AM
Bark is tuning in to NBC News every night just in case this person is ever identified.
Bishop on May 20, 2013 at 11:35 AM
crosspatch on May 20, 2013 at 11:27 AM
Don’t forget … ‘we’ are all on the domestic terrorist lists.
pambi on May 20, 2013 at 11:36 AM
Yeah, an IG report with redacted parts kinda makes you wonder about the credibility of the investigative process.
a capella on May 20, 2013 at 11:37 AM
Um, why do we believe that we’re gonna get any answers? Isn’t that assumption kind of a stretch? As example, I offer Fast and Furious. We have answers? Benghazi? Answers?
beatcanvas on May 20, 2013 at 11:38 AM
It’s all the German concentration camp guards after VE Day:
“Hey man, I just sort of watched the gate, I never saw nuthin’ no how!”
-But hundreds of thousands of Jews were gassed and cremated in those buildings right over there.
“Like I said, I just watched the gate.”
Bishop on May 20, 2013 at 11:39 AM
Probably Valerie Jarrett. Always doing the real work so Barry can focus on more important matters.
hawkeye54 on May 20, 2013 at 11:39 AM
I want to know a lot more than just who issued the directive, though that may be the best first step, providing a thread to begin pulling on.
I want to know everything there is to know about the demands for information and the questions that were asked.
- What was the process of creating, reviewing, and approving them?
- Who was involved each step of the way?
- What concerns and objections, if any, were raised and who raised them? How were these concerns and objections resolved?
- Who gave final approval to these questions and demands for information?
The American people have a right to know how it is that government agents decided it was okay to ask American citizens to reveal in writing, under the penalty of perjury, the books they read, the people they associate with, etc.
And after we have all of that we can start to look at specific applications and how they were treated differently than liberal and left-wing applications. And at who was involved and was making the decisions every step of the way.
The American people have a right to know.
farsighted on May 20, 2013 at 11:40 AM
Ding ding ding hawkeye @11:39
cmsinaz on May 20, 2013 at 11:40 AM
And Valerie Jarrett prefer that Barry continue to know nothing. That arrangement works much better for both of them.
hawkeye54 on May 20, 2013 at 11:41 AM
Could it be a mystery woman? Other sources are saying the directive came down the day after Obama met with National Treasury Employee Union President Colleen Kelly.
Maybe she needs to be called by Issa to testify.
keioki on May 20, 2013 at 11:41 AM
Can’t wait for HAL to go on break.
Jabberwock on May 20, 2013 at 11:42 AM
We should have answers soon. Darrell Issa’s House committee is set to interview the four IRS employees in Cincinnati at the heart of this later today. Once we have the bosses’ names, then we can get down to business in finding out if they were only doing what their bosses ordered too.
Um, why do we believe that we’re gonna get any answers? Isn’t that assumption kind of a stretch? As example, I offer Fast and Furious. We have answers? Benghazi? Answers?
beatcanvas on May 20, 2013 at 11:38 AM
probably right. Unless these “low” level employees think their heads will roll they will stay mum. Over 80% of the money donated from the IRS employees to Political groups was given to Dems… Tells you what political leanings they have…
sandee on May 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM
It is ALL irrelevant! The law is irrelevant! Of course we condemn what was done. Mistakes were made, but that was then, this is now. Therefore it’s irrelevant!!
JAM on May 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM
The IRS claims that liberal organizations faced the same scrutiny.
Well, the reason why this issue moved forward was the number of conservative organizations complaining to Congress about undue harassment. Where’s the record of liberal organizations doing the same?
Happy Nomad on May 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM
The IRS claims that liberal organizations faced the same scrutiny.
Well, the reason why this issue moved forward was the number of conservative organizations complaining to Congress about undue harassment. Where’s the record of liberal organizations doing the same?
Happy Nomad on May 20, 2013 at 11:43 AM
Just wait… we’re “working” on it…. The Obama administration…
sandee on May 20, 2013 at 11:44 AM
Chief counsel of IRS was lawyer who got Jeremiah Wright’s church out of IRS probe.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/19/Chief-IRS-counsel-bailed-Jeremiah-Wright-s-church-out-of-IRS-probe-in-2008
crosspatch on May 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Issa: Would you like a cigarette before the firing squad?
IRS Agent: Okay I’ll talk!!!!!
VibrioCocci on May 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM
We will get only the selected scapegoat unless we use the same technique that is used against other organized crime.
Find some at the bottom and get the evidence that would convict them.
In exchange for testimony that would convict their superior of at least that crime, offer reduced sentences. (my opinion is that jail might be off the table, but the felony conviction, the firing from the IRS, and like Oliver North they lose their pensions and other retirement benefits)(as a minimum)
The people at the bottom have to cooperate to do any of this crap.
When they are going to jail for it, they will stop doing it.
It is only because there is never any significant penalties that they abuse the system as they have for so long. It is just now that they are not targeting a small group, or even a small number of groups, but large groups (and hence the need for larger more intrusive government capabilities like the UTAH data center) in mass.
Even if it is only 30 or 40 low managers that go to jail, and a couple of hundred IRS peons that are fired and lose retirements, most of the rest won’t take that chance.
jhnone on May 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM
I believe the redactions were done by 0dumba’s administration, and unrelated to the investigative process itself.
Anti-Control on May 20, 2013 at 11:45 AM
We sure do. I hope there are investigative journalists out there that are actually willing to put in ‘an honest days’ work’ ….we shall see..
bridgetown on May 20, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Depends. If they can be leveraged with some significant prison time vs rolling over
on someone higher up, the game changes. Issa needs to find a chink where he can insert the lever. Of course, Barry’s ability to pardon them all in they play ball with the system also weighs into it.
a capella on May 20, 2013 at 11:50 AM
O.K. Thanks.
a capella on May 20, 2013 at 11:51 AM
“We need to stop trying to find out WHO ordered WHAT, WHEN WHO knew WHAT, WHAT the motivations were behind this, etc so we can focus on how to prevent this from happening again in the future….and the law is irrelevant in this case…or any of the other scandals. This is just a huge political game being played by the GOP to get an upperhand in the 2014 election…and the GOP – especially Ambassador Stevens – owes Hillary, Obama, Rice, & Carney!”
One of the pathetic things being accused by the Obama administraion is that all 3 of these scandals are about politics, specifically election politics. They are absolutely right — but it was this administration that perpetrated all of it. Obama/this administration knew about every one of these scandals before the last Presidential election & did everything they could to hide them until after the election in order to save Obama’s re-election chances & Hillary’s future chances for a 2016 run! That’s the bottom line right there. Whether by choice or driven by scandal, this administration has had to constantly campaign & conduct damage control for future campaigns/elections.
easyt65 on May 20, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Heh, yup, he’ll be giving a Presser soon enough saying
“We’re on the lookout for this person, and we’ll let
you know when we find them”
..kind of like Benghazi, “people responsible who
we”ll find”….
…kind of like that guy…what was his name?
Oh yeah, Orenthal James who said “I will find out who
killed Nicole”…
ToddPA on May 20, 2013 at 11:54 AM
It seems to me it is time for Trump to change the target of his multi-million dollar bounty on Obama’s birth certificate and move it to a smoking gun on whether Obama or his top cheifs gave the directive in either the IRS case or in press intimidation cases.
I bet $5M and a guarantee of the best legal protection possible could generate a few talkers.
Tater Salad on May 20, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Probably one of them involved is the current Mayor of Chicago (former #1 chief go-to guy at the White House)…the other, the former head of Treasury (the one that forgot to pay his taxes)…then there is Valerie J (who keeps a very low profile)….and…oh, yeah, the Obama.
albill on May 20, 2013 at 11:55 AM
Memo to Rudy Guiliani:
Please contact Darrell Issa and Dave Camp at your earliest convenience.
They need your expertise in tackling organized crime in their investigations ASAP.
Thank you.
–The American People
either orr on May 20, 2013 at 11:56 AM
I’m telling you guys, the orders to do this came through the Treasury Employees Union. This scandal is even bigger because it’s about the back-channel control of the federal bureaucracy by the democrat party. The orders for this didn’t come out of the governing side of the White House, they came out of the political side.
If Issa’s committee only looks at the managers, they will fail.
trigon on May 20, 2013 at 12:00 PM
That would be delicious.
VegasRick on May 20, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Kawinkydink
workingclass artist on May 20, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Remember the good old days when the IRS was only guilty of wasting many thousands of taxpayer dollars making Star Trek themed training videos?
Good times. Good times.
Lily on May 20, 2013 at 12:02 PM
I am very suspicious about this. Something is not right. The government conveniently brings these 2 scandals up – IRS and AP…. Could it be that they want to distract and push Benghazi into the background?
antisocial on May 20, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Without more info, it will remain a mystery…
PatriotRider on May 20, 2013 at 12:03 PM
Here it is. The IRS Union Chief met with Obama one day prior to the kickoff of the Tea Party Targeting Campaign
Makes sense. Link is very busy but keep trying.
Key West Reader on May 20, 2013 at 12:03 PM
I would have said: Probably Valerie Jarrett. Always doing the real work so Barry can watch ESPN Sports
focus on more important matters.slickwillie2001 on May 20, 2013 at 12:04 PM
Read Jeff Lord’s piece on The American Spectator. Lord provides a well documented (ample citations) albeit circumstantial case for a close working relationship with Colleen Kelley.
The Kelley / Obama administration relationship needs to be explored in great detail. I believe if we can better understand the relationship we can understand the mechanics of how the most intrusive and powerful agency was politically weaponized.
R Square on May 20, 2013 at 12:04 PM
It should be a parade up the chain of command here – starting on rung one with these 4 agents:
Did your boss tell you to do this?
(if yes, bring in next-in-command)
Did your boss tell you to do this?
(if yes, bring in next-in-command)
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. At the end of the chain lies the buck.
Good Lt on May 20, 2013 at 12:05 PM
And don’t forget who the man behind the curtain is at Catholics United — George Soros.
PatriotGal2257 on May 20, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Heh. Umbrellagate.
a capella on May 20, 2013 at 12:07 PM
There is no end to liberal sleaze. They are the lowest of the low.
WhatSlushfund on May 20, 2013 at 12:09 PM
I don’t know his name but I know who he got his orders from – Obama.
VorDaj on May 20, 2013 at 12:09 PM
LOL. Of course. We don’t need to assume everyone at the IRS is a taxpayer. That’s pretty clear, despite evidence that a few are not quite up-to-date with their payments.
I would not automatically assume, though, that the taxpayer implied by the response was an applicant.
Dusty on May 20, 2013 at 12:10 PM
Not at IRS
But at the NTEU
See Colleen Kelly
Haiku Guy on May 20, 2013 at 12:11 PM
Can’t wait to hear from the lower level drones who directed them, then who directed middle management.
jake49 on May 20, 2013 at 12:11 PM
This has to be done by a Special Prosecutor, otherwise these apparatchiks will laugh in the face of the Congressional Committee and claim they don’t remember.
slickwillie2001 on May 20, 2013 at 12:12 PM
I think you’re right, but, the first layers are just coming off this onion. With the exposure that American Spectator piece is getting, I can visualize thousands of vigorous little citizen prarie dogs digging, digging, and passing it on to their congresscritter, hence to Issa. Hell, that’s a double metaphor. Or something.
a capella on May 20, 2013 at 12:13 PM
Surely just a coinkidink…
Haiku Guy on May 20, 2013 at 12:13 PM
I can’t wait to find out it was Miller’s lifelong and closest associate at the IRS and daily lunch buddy.
“I can’t remember!”
Dusty on May 20, 2013 at 12:15 PM
CNN is a disgrace.
pat on May 20, 2013 at 12:21 PM
Unfortunately the IRS is not so careful when they send out Governor Romney’s confidential information to organizations run by the democratics’ favorite Nazi stooge George Soros.
slickwillie2001 on May 20, 2013 at 12:31 PM
We should continue to press for details – it keeps the story in the press. But we all know that this was a coordinated effort by the Obama administration.
So the question is, what is the strategy?
Between this, Benghazi, and bugging reports Obama has gone well beyond the standard for impeachment.
But, the Senate will never vote for it, and Boehner and Co are too cowardly.
I’d like to see Paul or Cruz submit a proposal to end the IRS – move to a national sales tax (the easiest way to transition away from income tax quickly). Make Obama defend his tarnished IRS going into the midterms…
18-1 on May 20, 2013 at 12:42 PM
Yeah, that was some really bad customer service there.
Happy Nomad on May 20, 2013 at 12:42 PM
While the order came from Obama, it had to pass through a chain of command. Indicative, but not determinative, would be the next IRS administrator to either get a major promotion, or to have a tragic accident. The first instance being a bribe for silence, the second if there are doubts about his/her silence. It might be worthwhile examining any major promotions for say 6 months before the IG report was started, just for completeness.
Mind you, there are no innocent parties in the civilian Executive Branch.
Subotai Bahadur on May 20, 2013 at 12:48 PM
It’s good to see the CNN poll saying a majority approves of the GOP handling of the IRS scandal, because the usual skeptics and water carriers are out there saying the tea party deserved scrutiny and that the GOP is just on a witch hunt, or blowing things out of proportion. I think this is going to give Charles Johnson a hernia.
scalleywag on May 20, 2013 at 12:56 PM
IMO people who are looking for the person who said “do this” are going to be disappointed. In all probability this is a case of the administration creating an atmosphere where Obama suck-ups decided that this is something that would help him, something that would put those hateful TP/Conservatives in their place, stop them from interfering with BO’s agenda.
katiejane on May 20, 2013 at 12:58 PM
These morons are all little Hitlers. Don’t they have brains?
Schadenfreude on May 20, 2013 at 1:03 PM
Yup – if I had to guess this originated with the union, which appears to be another democrat party strongman.
RushBaby on May 20, 2013 at 1:10 PM
FLASHBACK: IRS Union Employees Hold Rally With Democrats – Bash Republicans
In 2011 over 500 federal employees of the National Treasury Employees Union held a rally with Democrats to bash Republicans and Bush.
And, after the election last year the IRS union was eager to congratulate President Obama on his big win.
From the NTEU website:
Resist We Much on May 20, 2013 at 1:23 PM
Who issued the order?
At this rate, my impression is the Democrats conduct regular meetings in a wood somewhere dancing around a large boiling cauldron, chanting orders-to-destroy everyone else but special wrath is ‘enjoyed’ by that dancing madness directed at “Conservatives”.
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 1:46 PM
In a nutshell, Obama winked or nudged the union ‘leader’ who then nudged, winked at and pushed the union members and shop-managers and that’s how they’ve imagined they’ll never be able to identify Obama as the guy giving that or any order to do anything. It’s “something organic” that “just happened”.
What was that information from earlier about SEIU or something having an office IN the White House?
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 1:50 PM
Don’t forget Axelrod…
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 1:53 PM
White House visitors log a list of union leaders, lobbyists
By Kelly Carson / October 24, 2012
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 1:56 PM
From:
White House visitors log a list of union leaders, lobbyists
By Kelly Carson / October 24, 2012
Lourdes on May 20, 2013 at 2:05 PM
Well, I am not about to start trusting what’s coming out of IRS, especially NOW. It doesn’t make sense the redacted portion contained ‘a specific taxpayer’ around the Feb 2010 timeline.
(Put on my tinfoil hat) They want to hide specific information that could trace the directive (in this case, an email) directly to Obama or Obama’s inner core around Feb 2010.
After Obama’s hissy fit in his 2010 SOTU, in which he directly attacked Supreme Court (Citizens United decision) and caused Alito to say ‘not true’.
Sir Napsalot on May 20, 2013 at 2:36 PM
Hey, AP. What makes you think it was a man? Are you assuming that only men can be vile enougy to order thing like this?
Old Country Boy on May 20, 2013 at 2:45 PM
Tinfoil hats strike again.
alwaysfiredup on May 20, 2013 at 3:47 PM
“How can we use the federal machinery to screw the tea party?”
You know he said it.
alwaysfiredup on May 20, 2013 at 3:50 PM
Little fish know they can be used for bait easier than the big fish, because they’re expendable… and they know it!
If I were questioning them, I would start off explaining that perjury before Congress, whether sworn in or not, is considered a felony. And do you know how hard it is to get a job with a felony on your record, especially after you’ve just been fired in relation to a nation-wide scandal of the IRS regarding abuse of power?
dominigan on May 20, 2013 at 3:56 PM
Indeed.
AesopFan on May 20, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Not that hard, in the realm of politicking.
AesopFan on May 20, 2013 at 4:01 PM
Be prepared for absolutely nothing to come of any of this.
Oh, sure, republicans will tut-tut and act all indignant when their requests for documents are ignored. They may turn it up a notch when anyone in the admin is held in contempt for refusing to follow a legal court order to turn over said documents. But what will they do then? The documents will still be withheld and no one will serve a day in prison for refusing the court order.
Since we know they can’t even win an election, no matter how corrupt their opponent, they will do nothing. Because they can’t do anything.
They are powerless against this admin. The only way these crooks will ever be held accountable is if the people in this country care about their abuses. And we don’t. Go ahead, cite a poll saying otherwise. How much good is that gonna do?
runawayyyy on May 20, 2013 at 4:57 PM
Who’s the mystery man at the IRS who issued the directive to focus on conservative groups?
MYSTERY SOLVED: BIG GOVERNMENT, like a fish, rots from the head down.
TeaPartyNation on May 20, 2013 at 5:19 PM