I had earlier argued that the problem with any investigation into the questions about the IRS and the Tea Party Groups being singled out is that the GOP will be running it, so it is not really going to be an investigation but simply trying to fan the flames of scandal.
While calling for an investigation, Republicans like Mitch McConnell appear to already know what happened:
"This is no little thing,” McConnell told Breitbart News on Monday. “This is a big thing. The good news about it is they finally got caught. They finally messed with an agency everybody fully understands. When they try to quiet the critics through other agencies, it doesn’t get attention. This does. Everybody understands the IRS and how powerful they are. This is just one example of an administration-wide effort to silence critics.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/mitch-mcconnell-irs-flap-a-big-thing-91275.html#ixzz2TEYWY1aR
I have already argued that Democrats can't be too naive about wanting to have an honest attempt to get at the facts. This is not what the GOP concern is.
Now we have yet another scandal in the AP stories issue. I think Greg Sargent is falling into the trap.
"The Justice Department has obtained two months of phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors, as part of a major leak investigation. I concur with Atrios: It would be a good thing if conservatives and journalists made this into a scandal. Hopefully it will lead to a bipartisan Congressional push to limit spying and eavesdropping?
Why would the Republicans want to limit spying and eavesdropping? They have no problem with it in principle and nothing is easier for them to fall back on National Security as some kind of Kantian Categorical Imperative.
Do you really believe they have any problem with it other than the President is a Democrat? Do you believe Republicans would be investigating this if it were about Bush? We live in a tremendously polarized, partisan world. The belief that the GOP can lead any kind of honest investigation rather than just another political hatchet job is downright naive and dangerous. Please will somebody wake up?
Do Congressional Democrats plan to do anything here accept fall in line in the hope the GOP won't target them? Is such craven cowardliness at all seemly?
We have a very determined efforts to destroy the President's second term-and as a bonus, to damage Hillary for 2016. I hope Democrats plan to do something other than hold the coats for the GOP as they dig in to a 90s style 24 hour scandal cycle.
In a perfect world we could simply look at each one of these supposed scandal on its own terms. We can't do that here as we're not living in anything like that world. This is a political agenda, nothing more.
While calling for an investigation, Republicans like Mitch McConnell appear to already know what happened:
"This is no little thing,” McConnell told Breitbart News on Monday. “This is a big thing. The good news about it is they finally got caught. They finally messed with an agency everybody fully understands. When they try to quiet the critics through other agencies, it doesn’t get attention. This does. Everybody understands the IRS and how powerful they are. This is just one example of an administration-wide effort to silence critics.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/mitch-mcconnell-irs-flap-a-big-thing-91275.html#ixzz2TEYWY1aR
Yeah, when do you suppose we're going to get around to jobs now? I had argued that this is how it will likely go but wow that was fast.
You can understand why Republicans think they have nothing to lose at this point. After all, their own policies are terribly unpopular as is the party, and they are basically completely nihilistic about policy matters anyway other than opposing whatever the President supports-in Mitt Romney this went so far as to oppose his own law.
"Ed Kilgore dryly responds:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/05/13/happy-hour-roundup-103/I don’t get the sense…that too many Republicans are thinking there’s a downside to going scandal-crazy. If anything, going into a “base-dominated” midterm election with a party that refuses to get anything done in Congress requiring compromise and that isn’t real flush with policy ideas, Republicans are going to be sorely tempted not to talk about anything but scandals (and perhaps Obamacare, which they are already treating as a “scandal” in itself) for the next year-and-a-half.
I have already argued that Democrats can't be too naive about wanting to have an honest attempt to get at the facts. This is not what the GOP concern is.
Now we have yet another scandal in the AP stories issue. I think Greg Sargent is falling into the trap.
"The Justice Department has obtained two months of phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors, as part of a major leak investigation. I concur with Atrios: It would be a good thing if conservatives and journalists made this into a scandal. Hopefully it will lead to a bipartisan Congressional push to limit spying and eavesdropping?
Why would the Republicans want to limit spying and eavesdropping? They have no problem with it in principle and nothing is easier for them to fall back on National Security as some kind of Kantian Categorical Imperative.
Do you really believe they have any problem with it other than the President is a Democrat? Do you believe Republicans would be investigating this if it were about Bush? We live in a tremendously polarized, partisan world. The belief that the GOP can lead any kind of honest investigation rather than just another political hatchet job is downright naive and dangerous. Please will somebody wake up?
Do Congressional Democrats plan to do anything here accept fall in line in the hope the GOP won't target them? Is such craven cowardliness at all seemly?
We have a very determined efforts to destroy the President's second term-and as a bonus, to damage Hillary for 2016. I hope Democrats plan to do something other than hold the coats for the GOP as they dig in to a 90s style 24 hour scandal cycle.
In a perfect world we could simply look at each one of these supposed scandal on its own terms. We can't do that here as we're not living in anything like that world. This is a political agenda, nothing more.
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