Can GOP Stomach Looking Bad While Doing Good?

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Unsurprisingly, a bunch of documents pertinent to the question of whether the White House used the IRS to target conservative groups weren't really lost after all:

After saying over and over -- in press statements, in court filings, in congressional hearings -- that the emails that went missing when Lois Lerner's hard drive crashed were gone forever, up to 30,000 Lerner emails have now turned up and are on their way to Congress. [link dropped]
Or, at least they were said to have been...
Now Treasury has clammed up again, trying to keep its contacts with the White House secret and reiterating that it is exempt from disclosure. The administration has offered a bizarre rationale: It would be illegal to turn over documents the IRS shared illegally since it is illegal for the IRS to share the files with anyone, including the court. [bold edded]
As the rest of story indicates, the onus (and opportunity) of prising open the IRS will go to Congress, which can thereby (1) stop a dangerous precedent from being set, an (2) nail the President for an offense even greater than one which was drawn up as an article of impeachment for Richard Nixon. We can be sure that Obama's media apparatchiks will ignore the urgency of the task and pretend that it's just ugly politics. Republicans should understand that this line will appeal primarily to people who didn't and will never vote for them anyway, not that winning elections is an end in itself.

We shall soon know what our new GOP majority is made of.

-- CAV

6 comments:

Kyle Haight said...

We already know -- the way they handled the so-called "cromnibus" revealed their character and priorities for anyone who cares to see.

Gus Van Horn said...

True, and this missed opportunity should underscore the enormity of their almost certain failure.

Steve D said...

What do you think, Gus? Is the bill really that bad? I've read mixed reviews over the last couple of days and it seems like most people don't know what's in it (which of course is a bad sign).

Gus Van Horn said...

Steve,

Yikes! You got me. In my haste to answer the previous comment, I'd forgotten about a news story we'd discussed about some of the items in that bill. (Sadly, I don't remember enough to find it again.)

Knowing Mr. Haight personally to be a thoughtful and intelligent person and, sadly, having been given ample reasons by the GOP over the past two decades to expect disappointment, I was too quick to agree with him that the Cromnibus bill was as bad as he seems to think it is. (It may yet be, but I don't know enough to have an opinion. From what I recall, it included items that seemed okay compromises for the out-going Congress, and it was, after all, NOT passed by the incoming Congress.)

In any event, even if Cromnibus isn't a preview, perhaps this is.

Gus

Steve D said...

Actually Joe Biden is the best reason to impeach Obama. Does anyone truly believe Joe would not be a far better president?
One thing about Joe is that he is much more honest than most politicians and that is partly the reason for all his gaffes. He says it more like he sees it. He has no tact, that’s for sure. That might change if he were to become president but it suggests something about him which might allow him to rise to the occasion. Or perhaps not so much, but in any case it’s still hard to name a politician today who would be a worse president than Obama.
Trey is just using Joe as an excuse for his cowardice (or apathy).

Gus Van Horn said...

That's my interpretation. Were I an opposing politician, I would LOVE to have someone like Biden as an opponent/the face of my opposition.