The New Yorker's @JeffreyToobin: Did the I.R.S. Do Anything Wrong?

This supposed I.R.S. controversy being discussed in some shadowy ultra-conservative circles has raised some important questions about the obsession of right-wingers to distrust their benevolent and benign government. I'll let The New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin explain, since his unique skill with the written word far exceeds my ability to accurately digest and convey his eloquent points.

Washington’s scandal machinery, rusty from recent disuse, is cranking back up to speed due to the alleged targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said, “It’s the kind of thing that scares the American people to their core. When Americans are being targeted for audits based on their political beliefs, that needs to change.” Senator Susan Collins, of Maine, called on the President to apologize. George Will said President Obama could be impeached. Obama himself is taking the path of contrition. At a news conference Monday, the President said, “If in fact I.R.S. personnel engaged in the kind of practices that have been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that’s outrageous. And there’s no place for it.” More hearings, with more outrage, are planned.

In light of this, it might be useful to ask: Did the I.R.S. actually do anything wrong?

Here we sit on the precipice of a grand realignment of history, society and culture in the image of the new order of common sense government that seeks to cast aside the trappings of backwards for-profit midsets and yet again we are forced to endure the incoherent ramblings of the simple-minded who seek to derail this overdue progression.

Instead of thoughtful policy discussions, we will now be treated to an endless parade of government boogeymen and convoluted conspiracies brought on only in an effort to discredit an honorable and trustworthy administration, run by a renowned Constitutional law professor and respected Nobel Prize winner.

Let us dispense with trivial formalities. The slack-jawed logic of the perpetually offended will never seek to understand the internal flaws inherent to the human soul. The alleged failure of the I.R.S. to consistently apply their fair standards was nothing more than the failure of a system designed by men. The government is made up of men, and therefore is subject to the same defects. This is not an indictment of government itself; this is an indictment of those who fail to recognize the collective good of advancing a streamlined and progressive government.

So, who is ultimately to blame? Perhaps if you're honest with yourself, you'll look deeper into the depths of your heart and you will recognize the brutal truth.

This is your fault. For shame.

posted by JohnE. at 09:00 AM

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