Lois Lerner’s E-Mails: Ruh-Roh – Bloomberg View.
Megan McArdle nails it with Lois Lerner’s abuse of power. Her concluding paragraph asks for Democrats to step forward and say they have been targeted by Lerner’s “overzealous use of her powers”. I’m waiting, we’re waiting, the public is waiting.
Just imagine, as Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit speculates, what abuses of power and political corruption the missing emails contain.
On other related notes regarding corrupt government and voices of integrity we should look back on the lives of former IRS commissioner Johnnie Walters, and Tennessee state Senator Howard Baker…
James Taranto – Johnnie Walters, RIP Remembering when the IRS had integrity.
In the scandal involving the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS commissioner refused to play along with a corrupt administration, the New York Times reports. A White House aide handed him a list of 200 political “enemies” the president wanted investigated. In response, the commissioner asked: “Do you realize what you’re doing?” Then, he answered his own rhetorical question: “If I did what you asked, it’d make Watergate look like a Sunday school picnic.”
The White House aide’s reply was “emphatic,” according to the Times: “”The man I work for doesn’t like somebody to say ‘no.’ “
The commissioner went to his boss, the Treasury secretary, “showed him the list and recommended that the I.R.S. do nothing.” The secretary “told him to lock the list in his safe.” Later, he retrieved the list and turned it over to congressional investigators.
It’s enough to restore your trust in the government–except that it happened more than 40 years ago. The corrupt order was delivered by John Dean in September 1972. The commissioner, Johnnie Walters, eventually “testified to various committees investigating alleged Nixon misdeeds,” the Times reports. “He left office in April 1973.” He died Tuesday; the Times article we’ve been quoting is his obituary. (emphasis added – Ed)
Howard Baker Jr. embodied the ‘great conciliator’
But the Huntsville native’s influence in politics stretched past state lines and even national borders. The statesman held many prominent positions: U.S. Senator, Senate Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, President Ronald Reagan’s Chief of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Through it all, Baker’s integrity inspired lawmakers from opposing sides to come together to resolve pressing issues. After his death Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said his legacy will be remembered by both political parties.
“Senator Baker truly earned his nickname, the Great Conciliator,” said McConnell. “I know he will be remembered with fondness by members of both political parties.”
And of course, let’s not forget the Watergate investigation…
“What did the President know, and when did he know it.”
———————
The Democrats are going to regret not having someone like Howard Baker that was interested in the truth. Remember, both Howard Baker and President Nixon were Republicans. Watching the IRS investigation(s) on TV, there isn’t a Democrat that has the slightest interest in the truth. The public is watching and if I were a Democratic politician, I’d be hoping and praying that this Fox News poll is as biased as the “typical Progressive” believes.
Just so you know, I think that’s a bad bet… Fox News Poll: Voters think IRS emails were deliberately destroyed
The consensus is: it’s no accident. More than three-quarters of voters — 76 percent — think the emails missing from the account of Lois Lerner, the ex-IRS official at the center of the scandal over targeting of conservative groups, were deliberately destroyed.
Democrats, do you want to risk your political future on the belief Fox News conducted a biased poll? You can read about the methodology and results here.
I’m betting you’re stoopid enough to take that bet EXCEPT if Al Franken is smart enough to stay away from Obama…
Why is Franken dodging Obama, who carried Minnesota twice, easily? Because the president is deeply unpopular here. I haven’t seen any public polling in a while, but polling done for conservative groups has found that Obama’s approval rating in Minnesota is in the 30s, even lower than his anemic national standing. The Democrats’ polling must be showing the same thing. So it isn’t just in red states that Obama will be a drag on Democratic chances in November.
…perhaps other Democrats are too. My advice to Colorado Senator Mark Udall: Put on your “dodge Obama” shoes and don’t take them off until after the November election. Thankfully, Mr. Udall doesn’t read my blog.
