Democrats Directed IRS Tea Party Targeting

 Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Yesterday afternoon more emails related to the IRS scandal were released. They make two things perfectly clear: First, there was a coordinated, intentional effort to target Tea Party groups. Second, top congressional Democrats demanded it.

The first point is worth repeating because Democrats and their media allies insist there is no scandal. But the IRS was clearly targeting conservative and Tea Party groups. It developed a BOLO list (Be On the Look Out) of groups to single out for extra scrutiny, scrutiny which officials now admit was inappropriate. "Be On The Lookout" was the IRS equivalent of the FBI's "Most Wanted" posters! If you are not targeting specific groups, why develop the list?

What was on the BOLO list? Anything that referenced: "1. 'Tea Party', 'Patriots' or '9/12 Project' … 2. Issues include government spending, government debt and taxes. 3. Educate the public through advocacy/legislative activities to make America a better place to live. 4. Statements in the case file that are critical of the how the country is being run."

Number four is particularly chilling. It is a clear violation of the First Amendment and smacks of fascism. That is scandal enough!

The second revelation is that Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) demanded that the IRS crack down on conservative groups.

Correspondence obtained by Judicial Watch between Senator Levin and then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman makes it clear that Levin was not merely seeking information about the legitimate activities of the IRS. Levin was directing the IRS and demanding punitive actions be taken against his political opponents. In one letter, Levin even suggested that the IRS was being too passive!

This makes Levin the second senior congressional Democrat, along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), to be implicated in the scandal.

When news of the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal broke, there was universal outrage and condemnation. President Obama said, "If you've got the IRS operating in anything less than a neutral and non-partisan way then that is outrageous ... People have to be held accountable and it's got to be fixed."

It is impossible to suggest with a straight face that the IRS was operating in a "neutral and non-partisan way." What it did to conservative organizations was "outrageous," and no one has been held accountable!
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the  Campaign for Working Families

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