June 11, 2013 6:12 AM

IRS "scandal": The apotheosis of Conservative hypocrisy

Hypocrite: the man who murdered both his parents (and) pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.

  • Abraham Lincoln

It’s difficult to imagine a more impressive display of rank hypocrisy and faux outrage than the silliness foisted upon us by Conservatives nonplussed by the IRS’ latest screw-up. After admitting that their Cincinnati office devoted extra scrutiny to the 501(c)(4) applications of groups whose names contained words like “Patriot” and other Tea Party buzzwords, Conservatives are aflame with righteous indignation. In the end it’s just so much bad political theater, a hypocritical smoke screen for the “We value the rule of law, but only if it doesn’t stop us from doing what we want to do” crowd that is the Tea Party.

Let’s start with a couple of assertions, shall we?

  1. I’ll offer no argument to the contention that the IRS’ actions were ham-handed and politically tone-deaf at best and breathtakingly stupid at worst.

  2. A 501(c)(4) tax-exempt designation means that a group is considered a “social welfare” organization. As such, a group CANNOT engage in political activity, in the same way churches are considered tax-exempt. Churches are proscribed from engaging in political advocacy at the risk of losing their tax-exempt status. ‘Course, that would never happen, because that would be “religious persecution,” don’tchaknow?

That said, a Conservative/Tea Party/Patriot group is as much a “social welfare” organization as I am the Dalai Lama. These are nothing BUT political organizations, and as such should be ineligible for tax-exempt status. Such is the nature of our polity that “engaging in political activity” doesn’t actually mean “engaging in political activity.” Welcome to the wonderful world of Right-wing hypocrisy, or as I like to call it, “I love the rule of law, but it doesn’t really apply to me.”

The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of myself.

  • Jane Addams

The fact of the matter is that the IRS was doing EXACTLY what it should have been doing…though it certainly could have found a less politically incendiary way of taking care of business. According to tax law, a 501(c)(4) organization CANNOT engage in politically partisan activities. It’s the IRS’ job to ensure that a group applying for 501(c)(4) status meets the letter of the law. What Conservatives find onerous is the fact that the IRS isn’t simply rubber-stamping their applications and sending them on their way. They resent having to make their case to prove their eligibility. Like too many on the Right, these folks hold themselves above the law. They revere the rule of law…as along as it doesn’t keep them from doing what they want. When they’re prevented from indulging their every whim, they cry, “TYRANNICAL GOVERNMENT!!” It’s as hypocritical as it is laughable.

If these groups don’t like having to make their case for why they should be subsidized by taxpayers, they have a simple choice: pay taxes like the rest of use.

The IRS historically hasn’t subjected Conservatives groups to more onerous scrutiny than their ideological rivals. In fact, the IRS has approved TWICE as many Conservative groups as Liberal ones. Essentially, then, we can see this “scandal” for what it is: hypocrisy and impotent bleating employed as a smokescreen for those Conservatives who feel they’re above the law.

No, the IRS should not single out (in a partisan manner) any type of group for special attention. The IRS SHOULD carry out their responsibility under the law, which is exactly what they were doing. There’s no scandal here, merely Conservatives laying down a smokescreen to cover their hypocrisy and self-interest.

I listened to a story on NPR’s “Morning Edition” about a House hearing on this “scandal,” in which several Tea Party members complained of unfair and onerous questions and requests for documentation. There was the predictable as the sun coming up in the east complaints about creeping “tyranny,” something that might be funny if it wasn’t so thoroughly hypocritical. The IRS was DOING ITS JOB. “Tyranny” is not being asked to prove that you qualify for tax exempt status, which is a privilege, NOT a right. It’s not being asked to provide documentation that demonstrates that your group truly is a “social welfare” organization.

If Conservatives are so offended by the “onerous” questions asked by a “tyrannical” government, they have an alternative available to them: Don’t apply for tax-exempt status. Groups with “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in their names are apolitical “social welfare” organizations like I’m Freddie Mercury. They exist to engage in partisan political activity; it’s their raison d’ etre…and that’s their right in a free society. What they don’t have is the right to demand tax-exempt status. American taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize the activities of such groups, and more than they should be subsidizing groups on the left side of the political spectrum.

Then again, if you’re part of a group that has “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in its name, you probably don’t believe the law applies to you. And your hypocritical ability to play crybaby knows no bounds.

No double standard here, people….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on June 11, 2013 6:12 AM.

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