95% of IRS Lawyer Presidential Donations Went to Obama;
Nepotism Is Open Practice at Department of Energy

As a commenter asked a while back -- second look at the Spoils System? At the very least we need a serious reform of the federal bureaucracy, and by "reform" I mean re-interviewing for jobs already held and mass firings.

The results for the IRS were striking. Of the IRS lawyers who made contributions in the 2012 election, 95% contributed to Obama rather than to Romney. So among IRS lawyers, the ratio of Obama contributors to Romney contributors was not merely 4-to-1 as previously reported, but more like 20-to-1. The ratio of funds to Obama was even more lopsided, with about 32 times as much money going to Obama as to Romney from IRS lawyers.

So has the IRS gone off the rails into hyper-partisanship, leaving behind other more balanced federal agencies? … The data show, however, that the partisanship of the lawyers in the IRS is not unusual or even particularly extreme among federal agencies. In fact, the lawyers in every single federal government agency–from the Department of Education [100%] to the Department of Defense [68%] — contributed overwhelmingly to Obama compared to Romney.

We now know the scheme was overseen by Washington DC-based IRS lawyer Carter Hall, and likely others, though of course confidentially laws preclude us from knowing who violated taxpayer confidentiality laws.

Why did they all reach the same conclusions on whether it was politically, legally, and constitutionally permissible to target political opponents? Because they all began with that conclusion.

Remember the Golden Age of Nepotism in Government, back during the era of Miller's Crossing? You know, whenever that was supposed to be. Well, at the taxpayer-funded Department of Energy, the Golden Age of Nepotism in Government is back. Or did it every really go away?

A report released last week by the Energy Department’s inspector general found that nepotism within the department has become an “open and widely accepted” practice, which has resulted in the relatives of department officials getting their relatives employment at the DOE.

“Despite the Department’s ethics program and information regarding prohibited personnel practices, advocating for the selection of relatives appears to have become an open and widely accepted Departmental practice,” reads the inspector general’s report.

The report found that a senior Energy Department official used his influence to get his three college-aged children internships within the department. All three of his children were employed by the DOE, and two of them ended up working in the same department as their father — the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Wow an IG Report which is just now seeing the light of day.

I have no more Shocked Face left.

posted by Ace at 11:45 AM

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