In the last two months we’ve discovered that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups in order to delay providing them with tax exempt status. Former IRS chief Douglas Shulman visited the White House 157 times before he resigned. The White House knew about the targeting in 2012 but didn’t do anything about it and certainly didn’t notify the general public. It’s simple to understand why. Tea Party groups were instrumental in the Republicans takeover of the House in 2010 but they disappeared in 2012. Part of it is because of Mitt Romney who hardly endeared himself to conservatives. Make no mistake though, Tea Party groups were forced to halt their efforts when the toyed with their tax exempt status.
The Chicago Tribune wonders why Eric Holder hasn’t yet appointed a special prosecutor to look into this case. The better question is why would he appoint a special prosecutor. He’s been able to avoid being pressured into appointing a special prosecutor for the Fast and Furious scandal, Benghazi, media subpoenas and Kathleen Sebelius’ shakedown of health insurance companies. With Democrats unwilling to call out the Obama administration for any of its actions, why would Eric Holder bother with a special prosecutor?
This is one of the problems with the hyper-partisan environment in Washington these days. It doesn’t matter what Obama does, his own party will always defend him. Darrel Issa’s House Committee could find a smoking gun linking Obama directly to all of these scandals and the Democrats will defend him to no end. Perhaps Republicans would do the same thing had Bush done the same things. The difference is that Republicans tend to cave to media pressure. Since the mainstream press is controlled by Democrats, there are plenty of Republicans who can get spooked into turning on their own party. Obama has no such problem with the Democrats, especially when the media backs him.
All of these scandals are crying out for a special prosecutor. How can Eric Holder properly investigate the IRS scandal when it leads directly to the White House? How can he investigate himself concerning the media subpoena scandal or Fast and Furious? He can’t of course but he has no fear of ever being called to account. Even when House Republicans charge him with contempt, he can ignore the charge because as Attorney General he’s responsible for prosecuting the matter. Holder can hardly be expected to prosecute himself.
Obama has fundamentally transformed this country in just five years. Just a few years ago the nation would have been outraged over every one of these scandals, we would have demanded a full investigation. People don’t even care today. Sure, Tea Party members care. However the public generally doesn’t care about any of this. We as a nation have come to accept corruption from Obama and the Democrats. Whether it’s because we’re afraid of calling out the first black President or if we’ve become so cynical that we expect corruption, we’ve come to accept it and that will have a lasting effect on our republic. Government bureaucrats will no doubt take note, they have free reign now and no one will do anything about it.
Leo McNeil 