Tea Partiers harassed by IRS?

[11B4V]

So, no other inconvenience for them, then?  All they have to deal with is the uncertainty of getting approved?

Correct.
And the discomfort of that uncertainty is precisely proportional to the weakness of their claim to tax exempt status.

If you hear the sheep barking loudly enough, chances are what you've actually got are wolves in disguise.

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

[Razgovory]

So if you were to find out Obama wasn't as disengaged as you thought, or couldn't be engaged due to some factor, or something along those lines you would have a much higher opinion of him?

Not sure what you're thinking could come out of this to elevate Obama in my mind.  You seem to be playing it as if it were a binary thing where either he comes out as a superhero or the devil.

Nope, simply he could come out as not an incompetent.

[CountDeMoney]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

Which is my opinion as well.  But, they have a self-esteem issue.  They're sensitive to how they're portrayed, so I can understand why whatsherface spoke out of turn with an uncomfortable public apology.

[11B4V]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

But, they have a self-esteem issue. 

I like that. A bully with a self-esteem issue. 

[CountDeMoney]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

But, they have a self-esteem issue. 

I like that. A bully with a self-esteem issue. 

Isn't that what all interpretations of acting out, e.g. "bullying", is reduced to?  Self-esteem issues?

The IRS just wants to be loved.

[The Minsky Moment]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

If the IRS used improper and politically biased criteria in targeting information requests -- and at least one of the offices admitted to this - damn right they should apologize.

My comments are only addressed to the complaints about having to wait for a final approval.

[11B4V]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

If the IRS used improper and politically biased criteria in targeting information requests -- and at least one of the offices admitted to this - damn right they should apologize.

My comments are only addressed to the complaints about having to wait for a final approval.

Ah

[The Minsky Moment]

Well, he's calling her back.  We'll see how it unfolds.

Here's my prediction.
Lerner's lawyer writes back saying: thanks but no thanks.
Issa then seeks to have her held in contempt.  At that point there are two possibilities: a contempt prosecution is brought, or it isn't.  If the latter, it dies quietly.  If the former, then Lerner immediately moves to have the case thrown out on the basis of her privilege invocation.  She will cite the Supreme Court's opinion in Ohio v. Reiner, which held that a witness who denies all criminal culpability and asserts their innocence is still entitled to assert the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.  (which makeses sense if you think about it; otherwise a plea of not guilty would also waive the 5th).
And that will be the end of it.

[MadImmortalMan]

Why can't you just re-assert your 5th Amendment rights at any time? I get that just by talking you are effectively waiving it, but it doesn't just cease to exist then. At what theoretical point does it supposedly come back? Hell, I'd say you could selectively choose which questions to answer, claiming the 5th on every one you don't. (That could be wrong for all I know, but it seems like it should be that way to me.) Looks like Issa is just being a jackass. Loopholes to get around the constitution is DC's favorite sport.

[CountDeMoney]

Looks like Issa is just being a jackass.

Why break out of character?

[garbon]

Looks like Issa is just being a jackass.

Why break out of character?

[Razgovory]

Looks like Issa is just being a jackass.

Why break out of character?

Found out that he's a car thief, a convict, and a fire-starter.  I just thought he was a snake.

[Phillip V]

IRS Staff Cite Link to Washington

"Internal Revenue Service employees in the agency's Cincinnati office tell congressional investigators that IRS officials in Washington helped direct the probe of tea-party groups that began in 2010.

Transcripts of the interviews appear to contradict earlier statements by top IRS officials, who have blamed lower-level workers in Cincinnati."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324069104578527713122409302.html

[Siege]

Then the IRS need not have apologized.

If the IRS used improper and politically biased criteria in targeting information requests -- and at least one of the offices admitted to this - damn right they should apologize.

Do you have any doubts they targeted the Tea Party?
I don't.

[CountDeMoney]

IRS Staff Cite Link to Washington

"Internal Revenue Service employees in the agency's Cincinnati office tell congressional investigators that IRS officials in Washington helped direct the probe of tea-party groups that began in 2010.

Transcripts of the interviews appear to contradict earlier statements by top IRS officials, who have blamed lower-level workers in Cincinnati."

Yeah, at this point I'd blame it all on my bosses, too.

Their testimony wasn't nearly as good as all the poor Tea Partiers though. BECAUSE I HAD TO FILL OUT FORMS I CANT SLEEP AT NIGHT NOW WONDERING WHAT MY GOVERNMENT WILL DO TO ME