Another Election Cycle, Another "Dark Money" Windfall

[whell]

Originally Posted by finnbow

The whole fake brouhaha about the IRS targeting conservative non-profits was about the IRS looking into (nearly) full-time political advocacy of groups that were supposedly non-profit pushing the envelope far beyond what the tax laws envisioned.

Originally Posted by finnbow

Bullshit. The whole IRS brouhaha had its genesis in the Obama IRS wanting to be more strict in allowing (thinly disguised wingnut) social welfare groups to do political work while retaining their tax exempt status.

Well, since you changed the topic and want to talk about the IRS....

This is where you demonstrate that you're clearly off the rails. Having the IRS involved in "scrutinizing" these groups further exemplifies just how screwed up this entire process is. Giving these groups tax exempt status puts the IRS in a position of being further politicized than it already is.

I'll go so far as to say that of all the gov't agencies I've worked with, the IRS is actually the least screwed up, and possibly (again, compared to other agencies) possibly even leans towards a very, very slight shade of "consumer friendly...at least for a gov't agency.

That said, having the bureaucracy of the IRS responsible for managing part of the political process is laughable. In other words, if you were "king for a day" and had the opportunity to redesign campaign financing and contributions with from scratch, would you insert the IRS anywhere in the process. Hell NO! At least not if you were able to form anything close to a coherent thought.

Second, your suggestion that the "whole IRS brouhaha" was "fake"? Good lord, man. What have you been smoking? The IRS totally screwed up part of the political process and negatively impacted the free speech rights of both conservative and liberal interest groups alike.

Now, in the third audit of how the tax-exempt application process went off the rails, the Treasury Department's inspector general overseeing the IRS has found the agency targeted not just conservatives but also scores of groups with words like "progressive" in their names.

The Treasury inspector general for tax administration, or TIGTA, did the report at the request of a bipartisan group of senators.

"The far right has been beating a drum for years now that there was a partisan attack on them," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., one of the requestors. He said the new report shows "that's just not true."

But the TIGTA audit didn't absolve the IRS. Wyden said the overall picture was "equal opportunity mismanagement and equal opportunity bedlam."

That all of this happened in an election year simply gave the Republicans grist for the mill. And rightly so, because if somehow Romney had figured out how to run a decent campaign and had found a way to beat Obama, it would have been the left screaming for Lois Lerner's head.

Originally Posted by finnbow

You truly are a disingenuous tool.

Pretty typical that when you run out of anything remotely intelligent to say, you resort to name-calling. LOL!

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by whell

Pretty typical that when you run out of anything remotely intelligent to say, you resort to name-calling.

The most pathetic shit about you is the fucking whining.

Did anybody ever hear me or Boreas whining about it when we were being gutted by each other on this forum?

Zip your spine back in, grow the fuck up, and quit blubbering about how you're treated.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

The most pathetic shit about you is the fucking whining.

Did anybody ever hear me or Boreas whining about it when we were being gutted by each other on this forum?

Zip your spine back in, grow the fuck up, and quit blubbering about how you're treated.

He's just tired of having his ass handed to him on a daily basis here and making a fool of himself in the process. Sometimes I feel like I'm picking on an intellectual cripple.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Now, in the third audit of how the tax-exempt application process went off the rails, the Treasury Department's inspector general overseeing the IRS has found the agency targeted not just conservatives but also scores of groups with words like "progressive" in their names.

The Treasury inspector general for tax administration, or TIGTA, did the report at the request of a bipartisan group of senators.

"The far right has been beating a drum for years now that there was a partisan attack on them," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., one of the requestors. He said the new report shows "that's just not true."

As always, you misinterpret the information in the link you provide, not knowing that it proves my point and refutes yours.

The IRS did indeed look at a bunch of 501(c)4 groups of both parties to ensure that their primary mission was indeed social welfare and not political. The Republicans squawked the loudest because it was revealed that they abused the system the most (do you really believe that Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS's primary mission was social welfare and not political?)

In any event, the fact remains that the GOP wants to keep the law the way it is such that these groups can continue significant political activity without disclosing their donors and the Democrats don't. No matter how hard you argue, you continue to provide further evidence to support my position. Give up while you're behind.