Barack Obama: facing a “scandal trifecta”?
The White House is evidently in a tough spot thanks to what’s being called a “scandal trifecta”: Benghazi, the Justice Department seizing AP phone records, and the IRS targeting Tea Party groups. Much of the Beltway press corps—which has pushed the Benghazi story for months—is seeing the Obama presidency in a state of near free-fall.
“A President Tries to Regain His Footing,” reads a headline in the New York Times today—over a story that makes much of the fact that it rained at Obama’s press conference. “If ever a White House news conference fit the metaphorical moment,” explained Mark Landler, “it was Thursday’s rainy-day affair in the Rose Garden.”
But what’s actually happening?
The release of the Benghazi-related emails makes that story seem like even less of a scandal than it did before—and has exposed the fact that some journalists appear to have been taken in by Republican sources. The Justice Department’s investigation of AP, on the other hand, is serious and reflects a disturbing pattern of Obama administration attacks on investigative journalism—but it might be a hard issue to for Republicans to exploit, given party members’ enthusiasm for prosecuting reporters under the Espionage Act.
The IRS story, then, could very well be the main fuel for the White House’s opposition, so it’s worth a look. The optics of the story, as they say, are pretty clear—and damning. As a giant USA Today headline (5/15/13) put it, “IRS Gave a Pass to Liberals.” A Democratic administration targeting conservative groups while favoring political allies—that certainly sounds Nixonian.
Interestingly, the Web version of one of the USA Today pieces discussed the IRS hurdles that the progressive group Roots Action faced. (Disclosure: That group was founded by FAIR founder Jeff Cohen.) That story would certainly seem to undermines the front-page headline—which might explain why it doesn’t appear in the print version of the paper.
Not a lot is known what was happening at the IRS. But there are some questions and context worth considering. Brad Friedman (BradBlog, 5/16/13) notes that, according to the IRS’s own investigation, the conservative groups that were flagged for additional scrutiny made up about a third of the groups so flagged overall. What were the other groups? We don’t know.
On Democracy Now! (5/16/13), former New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston noted that none of these groups were actually denied tax exempt status; one group lost its tax exemption, but it was a liberal outfit.
And the larger problem with politically oriented tax-exempt groups is a serious issue; there are major conservative and liberal groups that primarily exist to do election-related work—yet operate with tax-exempt status, based on the notion that they don’t actually do much of that sort of thing. As many observers have noted, those groups are not the ones the IRS appears willing to grill over their tax status.
And if dragging out the tax exempt application process is a scandal, Ryan Chittum of CJR (5/16/13) recalls that many media outlets applying for non-profit status have been stymied—but, as he points out, right-wing video provocateur James O’Keefe “breezed through 501(c)(3) approval.”
But to the DC press corps, there’s blood is in the water, and stories can be turned into full-blown scandals way ahead of the facts.
Karen Tumulty (photo: CAP)
Part of that is due to the fact that too many journalists believe their job is to situate themselves between competing claims; if Republicans invest so much time in complaining about Benghazi as a Watergate-level cover up, you report their claims and the White House responses. That kind of “centrism” is what produces pieces like Karen Tumulty‘s recent Washington Post piece (5/16/13), “Obama Struggles to Get Beyond a Scandal Trifecta.” The subhead was especially revealing: “President’s Adversaries Say Recent Revelations Point to Larger Truths.” Tumulty writes:
The most corrosive political scandals are the ones that feed a preexisting story line—which is why the White House could have difficulty putting the current ones behind it any time soon.
In the view of President Obama’s adversaries, recent revelations add evidence to arguments that they have been making about the president all along: that he would do or say whatever it took to get reelected; that his is a philosophy of rampant, invasive big government; that he has not acted within the constraints of the Constitution; that he regards those who oppose him with contempt.
Of course, some of Obama’s adversaries believe all sorts of things. They wonder about his birthplace, or they argue that the expansion of the private health insurance market is some sort of assault on capitalism. They believe he hates Wall Street, success, capitalism and so forth.
So how seriously should one take people who see a scandal around every corner? For so many in the corporate media, their role is to amplify the storyline. As Tumulty writes (emphasis added):
Taken together, and seen through the eyes of critics, the three controversies that confront the White House look like a tea party fever dream.
I’m sure that is the way Obama’s right-wing critics see things. Journalists, though, can choose to see things differently. The fact that they choose to treat this “fever dream” as one side of an essentially two-sided debate is revealing.
Of course, the corpress doesn’t situate itself between all competing claims
Only those between ostensibly hostile elites
And only when there is some discordance between them.
When all are in agreement, such as on the virtues of “the free market” or righteous US exceptionalism
They can be counted on to add their voice to the harmonizing, can’t they?
While criticizing mainstream media’s penchant for treating fanatical right-wingers’ “‘fever dream’ as one side of an essentially two-sided debate,” Peter Hart does essentially the same thing when he assesses the potential of the AP-spying scandal: “but it might be a hard issue to for Republicans to exploit, given party members’ enthusiasm for prosecuting reporters under the Espionage Act.” In this skewed world view, if those to Obama’s RIGHT can’t exploit an issue, it’s not worth talking about.
NixOn DEM. Billary and Miller down; two To GO: Bury O, Eric HO & CO. ! – a liberal Eternal Flamer
Whether its illegal immigration, or the IRS scandal targeting Conservative, faith groups this massive organization runs this bloated government bureaucracy must be brought to “heel”? These responsibilities are completely uncontrollable. Just viewing the Judiciary committee illustrates to me and I am sure of the majority of Americans, that these politicians are just puppets of the special interests that really are the mechanism, whose cogs only turn for the requirements of corporations and businesses. The politicians are not the caretaker of every U.S. citizen and legal resident, who have since that awful day in 1986 when President Kennedy signed an Amnesty agreement, giving a free green card to millions, who immediately deserted the farms and agriculture and was given preference over the middle and low income people arriving in the market place and stealing jobs. And now 27 years later we are paying for those people who are still living in poverty, their families and the older family members who were originally sponsored and now surviving on the taxpayers dime.
Its also irrefutable that the Open Border entities that are tirelessly pushing for their sickening agenda. whereas the business community wants an escalation of Guest Workers and using any of the illegal aliens who can reach America, that swamp our borders or impersonate visitors slipping deliberately past the net of immigration agents waiting for airport arrivals. Then the Obama Democrats whose ideology is the more illegal aliens that receive a path to citizenship will be instilled with Socialistic ideals, that promote that the United States in becoming a “Welfare Nation”. Its despicable that Department of Agriculture (USDA) is publicizing those illegal immigrants can collect their share of food Stamps. These people come here to this country expecting for free—everything and getting it from this administration. BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP is an enigma that needs to be once and for all interpreted according to the 14th Amendment that originally awarded citizenship to slaves, not to decades of illegal immigrant babies. A cost that is staggering in hundreds of billions of dollars every year, with money that should go to citizens.
This escalating issue with Internal Revenue Service has become a giant entity on its own, a megalithic monster that is supposedly impartial, but listening to this Ways and Means committee, that this agency has got way out of hand with fear tactics.It wasn’t so long ago that the IRS was issuing Child Tax Credit reimbursement for at today’s estimate $7.4 Billion dollars. Has anything been done to resolve parents of illegal alien children getting an average of $1800.00, when these people have never paid into the tax system are sent a check owing to a idiosyncrasy in the code? Using Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) numbers and stolen Social Security Numbers they are cheating the American people? Its even incredulous that the IRS is uncontrolled can issue blatantly obvious government checks to the children of illegal aliens living outside the jurisdiction of this nation. WHY IS IT THESE VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW THAT ARE BROUGHT UP IN COMMITTEE, AND THEN DISAPPEAR FROM PUBLIC VIEW, EVEN WHEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING LITERARY STOLEN, BECAUSE CONGRESS WILL NOT ACT?
The IRS is now in the searing spotlight, held are going to be accountable for using their overwhelming power to intimidate, even frighten donors of nonprofit organizations. I read that a former criminal investigator for the Illinois Department of Revenue for nearly a decade, Benson said he has “17,000 certified and notarized documents showing that the 16th Amendment to collect taxes is an absolute, complete and total fraud.”
On May 17th, CNS News blogger, Mike Ciandella has written this startling initial paragraph, about what behind this hidden coercion:
As IRS efforts targeting politically-conservative groups gained momentum, George Soros-funded liberal groups repeatedly called on the IRS to investigate conservative nonprofit organizations.
While the first reported instances of extra IRS scrutiny for conservative groups began in Cincinnati in March of 2010, the attacks began to pick up steam on a national level soon after Soros-funded groups began firing off letters to the IRS in October of that year – following the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.
The talking points of these groups then bounced around a carefully created progressive “echo chamber,” until they eventually made their way into established media outlets. Key IRS policy changes about how it investigated conservative groups took place soon after it received three separate letters sent by Soros-funded liberal organizations.
Several Soros-funded groups including the Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21, and the Center for Public Integrity, Mother Jones and Alternet have worked to pressure the IRS to target conservative nonprofit groups. The subsequent IRS investigation flagged more than 100 tea party-related applications for higher scrutiny, including applications that included the words “Tea Party” and “patriot.” READ MORE ON THE WEBSITE.
Each of us have to wonder if this conceited moron RS Inspector General Russell George, is really going to retire or be whisked away by Obama’s executives to another good paying job in some other agency as it happens time and time again?
The time has come to tear down IRS agency that has a rotten to the core from the top executives to lower management and implement a simple easy flat tax code. Under this terrible system half of America gets a free ride, while hard working Americans, get the shaft? Nobody should be excused; nobody–that can be accomplished by a system of paying for everything that every American buys. Even a Value added tax (VAT ) that is present in the United Kingdom. Hundreds of billions of dollars are never taxed of the wealthy corporations or businesses. Thousands of effluent people favored by the Washington elites get waivers and exemptions and also the deadbeats, the parasite that are not only illegal immigrants, but citizens incur no taxes at all, except buying gas, property taxes. We must demand a “FAIR & UNBIASED” code so all those who use the services in every town, city pay their fair share.
First free food stamps and now this: WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS. WITH MILLIONS OF AMERICANS UNABLE TO FIND WORK, THESE POLITICIANS WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US, ARE READY TO SELL US OUT ONCE AGAIN, AS IN 1986?
If you’re against amnesty, tell Washington “KNOCK IT OFF” now before it’s too late. This is urgent. Tell Congress, “AMNESTY IS BAD FOR AMERICA! VOTE NO!” and do it today by phoning the central Washington switchboard at toll-free t 1-888-978-3094. We can win this fight with your help with prudent taxpayers. Read the huge amounts of daily information disclosed on AmericanPatrol. This is the articles, blogs and media reports that are a must avidly read. Learn so much more about illegal immigration bills at JudicialWatch and NumbersUSA.
Every day I’m more distraught by the pending Amnesty Bill. Today we learned that if this bill passes, illegals would be eligible for welfare immediately.
As you can observe Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) found scores of loopholes that would allow illegal’s to draw public benefits on federal, state and local levels even sooner than advertised.
We’ve got to stop Congress from passing it. Please, do your part by blasting every member of the House and Senate with a message from you that says, “AMNESTY IS A BAD
DEAL. JUST SAY NO!” If it passes, in just six months illegals will be eligible to live and work here–despite the Gang of Eight promising illegals would not be allowed to access public benefits. Welfare for illegals–and their dependents–will fall on our backs. This, on an already overtaxed system that’s bleeding us dry and can’t support our own citizens.
A flat tax is simple easy and penalizes the poor and lower income. The Richest do very well so that dreck is useless here. Also you sure took up a lot of space. Should have written your own article not cover three topics here with so many excerpts. Please don’t do that again.
lostintaxes: Illegal aliens cannot collect welfare or food stamps.
lost in taxes, what the hell are you jabbering about? Please shorten your response, and rephrase everything. Two things:
As Night-Gaunt pointed out, a flat tax is the rich man’s dream Why do you think that dumbbell Malcolm “Stevie” Forbes has been floggin’ it for the last twenty-five years?. Anybody who doesn’t understand this is an ignorant jackass.
Jeff Sessions is an ignorant, jackass, lying cracker. He’s full of shit, all the time. I’m letting you know this, and it’s a service that I sometimes provide, and there’s no need to thank me for it, but really now–smarten up!
Well Im glad FAIR actually is talking about this,though your carrying the water is not surprising.Lets be clear first that this is not a trifecta.There are tons of scandals still waiting in the wings.This is just three more.We have the shake down of insurance companies by top Obama officials to pay for Obama care.We have Obama care itself -this week the CBO said it will effectively cost twice what Obama promised.Also Sandra Hall who was in charge of the IRS “leaning” on the tea party was put in charge of IRS enforcement of Obama care.AS far as trying to mitigate what the IRS did,forget it.They have admitted enough to send top people to jail.The only question is why the president knew nothing when those of us in the tea party have been pushing this since well before the election.He is obviously lying again.Hence we need a serious investigation.with subpoena powers.As far as Bengazi a few questions…..WHERE WAS THE PRESIDENT?Why did we not respond instantly with relief forces?And why were political wonks running the show in releasing information.Again one lie has been piled on the other.Im wondering if Hilary did not purger herself.Obama at least has kept mostly silent.This too has legs.We need again a serious investigation run by a special prosecutor.The AP scandal is just horrible.Over reach.Trashing the first amendment.Congressmen and senators were bugged in those conversations.This week we found this president and his JD have attacked more whistle blowers than all presidents combined.Including FDR!!!!!!!We still have DHS buying up more ammo than was used in 27 years of war by our military.That investigation cant even get started due to all the rest.Fast and furious still on hold.what has become obvious is this president did anything to get elected.All these scandals put on top secret lockdown until he was back in.The outgoing IRS chief told so many lies that one senator threw up his hands in disgust and said “is this still America”?Look there is not just blood in the water.There is a bit of water…. in the blood.This is massive.And you libs should be helping we conservatives to get to the bottom of all this.This is America .We are all Americans.We have ALL been lied to ,and that by now is obvious to anyone with half a brain.Obama is either silent,or parsing his words to the point of being ridiculous.Straight answers have gone the way of T rex.Even the liberal press almost walked out on his press secretary’s last press conference.Nothing added up.Lie upon lie.We all deserve better
Little story Ive heard(I used to work for Clinton and i still know a few insiders) bandied about this week.i dont know to what degree this will break though I know some press people have the story,but word is Obama had a meltdown tue in a meeting with several aids,advisors and the such.It has been related that he said that he is sick of playing politics.Hiding his true feelings.Feeling that he believes capitalism has failed, and a socialized way forward is the way to go.Word is his advisors almost had a stroke while some left leaning political punks(Pelosi) cheered him on.Word is he was finally calmed down ,and returned to his cold tactical self.Is this all getting to him?Or is his come to Jesus moment approaching?The most dangerous thing for this country would be a president admitting he has lied -and screw you all.This government has gotten too powerful people.Remember he works for us.This is OUR government.
The REAL story here which nobody is focused on: What did IRS do with the lists of names that they illegally obtained? Mere application for exempt status should not trigger seizure –yes seizure under false pretenses, ie application for exempt status–of lists of names, addresses –possibly other data. Data mining operations can suse such lists for all sorts of things—match against other lists so illegally obtained—and legally accessed lists—-gun ownership—licenses—credit data–tax filings–criminal rosters–visa applications—SARs—on and on–limited only by an active imagination. To what purpose? Nixon and Hoover would be gleeful at the data that could be gleaned—an enemies list with true substance and depth—email accounts for example—yes those membership lists had email accounts to be sure—could they look at you through your own camera? Sure can—you invted em in—like inviting the devil unknowingly into your living room—think probable cause–“in plain sight” —-whatever. Think about it long and hard.
The real Culprit, and something not being reported is the Citizens United decision laid down by the right wing controlled Supreme Court. Here all these groups that are claiming tax exempt status are in fact nothing more than political fund raisers who now do not have to even disclose their donors. So why did Karl Rove’s group and Moveon get a free ride while other groups were scrutinized? Could it be because they received the largest donations? It’s always about the money. I see all of these so called scandals as smoke and mirrors, even the AP debacle which the legality of in fact came from the Patriot Act under the authorization of George W Bush. It seems to me the AP supported this act and gave Bush a free ride while he and AT&T and other communication giants were spying on the American public without due process. Now that it’s happened to the AP there comes all this outrage. In both cases it was abominable and dastardly, but why has it suddenly become an issue when so much of this has damaged and hurt the Bill of Rights and with it so many unnamed people? In my view(and speaking of Reagan) the greatest threat to media in America today began decades ago when the FCC was deregulated under Reagan and consolidated, allowing corporate giants like Rupert Murdoch gobble up a third of the entire shebang. Now we see the Koch brothers moving in on major newspapers. The Bill of Rights is dead folks! It’s over! Any pretense we still live in a democracy has been derided. Obama is just the latest corporate picked guy in a long list of corporate picked guys. The billionaires have the only rights while the rest of us are being carefully manipulated and controlled with the help of major media outlets.
Ok —-What can I do with a list of names, addresses, phone numbers, email accounts? Let’s see: 1st is challenge of match-up to other lists so we can build a data file large enough to “mine” ……it would be hard with simply a name—many many names are the same —John Public—thousands of John Publics–so hopefully the list was inclusive of John’s middle initial–or better yet full middle name: John Q. Public. or better John Quincy Public. Now iv got a character string that begins to gve me smaller numbers of false matches. now lets add John’s zip code——WOW—iv narrowed it down pretty well even if I don’t have the middle initial—-an alpha string “John Q. Public” plus an numeric string “22222” –narrowed to say 2 JQPs ——which one—-with the street name iv got anorher alpha string–with the house/apt number iv got a confirming numeric string—–couldn’t do much better if I had the fingerprint——iv got john exactly. now I can search for social security number and the world of data opens up to me— because –unlike collection agencies Iv got his tax return !!! —-his history of employment—transactions—children/dependants–wives past and present. I can get his credit history from commercial sources. I probably can get his health history —
maybe even sneak a eak at DNA if hes done that——-of course iv got the fingerprints and criminal file–any background search data –ever?
His college—-his parents—past address—roommates—auto registration—-homes—travel habits–credit card activity—-IP addresses
Cellphone—–auto GPS—now I can track JQP in real time…!!!
I can see his face anytime I want via his computer—–it matches the all-state drivers license——I know hs weight hair color eyes and height—-
I know what prescription drugs he takes
I know more about him than he does–I have a profile that tells me with 90%accuracy what hell do tomorrow–next week —next year.
Now to TARGET my real enemies? Search words–once v got my data assembled—time to get to work with some serious targeting.
Search words—-Showed up on that nasty organization list I seized—15points, uses Obama vs President Obama.—-shows dislike for my guy—15 points…………….uses racial slurs in emails—-30 points
owns guns purchased since 2007—40 points………..
lives in one of those awful red zip codes—-50 points
military background–100 points
emails other anti-establishment persons 20 points per person
relatives have similar profiles——-100 points
lives in Midwest or southeast–add 50 points even if a blue zone
uses terms in emails such as “hate” within 10 characters of government or Obama or President or black or “slur terms” 500 points
do I have enough yet to refer to Secret Service—-????? Did he make the When President Obama Visits that town Roundup List” Yet??
or just the surveillance list?
Or lesser standard–DHS?
Did he make it to the DHS in times of natl emergency “Roundup list” yet? ????
Does such a list exist?
How does one make such a list?
How many points do you have reader?
Do you get points for posting here?
Do you get points for reading this post?
are you “chilled” yet?
Michel Shaw….So this is all Bushes fault?Hell you say.Ha ha ha.Isnt that line getting old by now?Or is it Karl Rove or Rumsfeld fault?Or the scary Dick Cheney?Is it the illuminati?Im sending you a T shirt with the words “Liberal Canard” on it.Now for some facts..Did you know Obamas half brother asked for tax exempt status for his fundraising group on behalf of the president.Unfortunately It was found that he had broken the law for two years- raising under the guise of Tax exemption without proper authorization.You will find that story buried deep believe me.That alone disavowed his applications.Yet all charges were waved and he was given his exemption.That same day 3 tea party groups applied ,and were denied.With audits attached to the primary names.Your talking and walking bullship
Incoherence–again. Please, reactionaries, try to keep it a bit shorter, and stay focused. My God, the country is depending upon the Tea Baggers as never before, so don’t screw this up–okay?
Tim you have been played.You have been conned.You have been fed a truckload of lies.You have been propagandized into believing certain things about the Tea party by this corrupt administration.Your like a child educated in a Klan family ,still using descriptive words like nigger, or colored people.Tea baggers?Really?Look who the dynosaur is now
Dan Kennedy of Northeastern Univ. gives this issue the proper perspective it deserves. Targeting of the AP is neither new nor illegal. Just outrageous.
http://dankennedy.net/2013/05/16/targeting-of-ap-neither-new-nor-illegal-just-outrageous/
It’s discouraging to see the solid comment here (Night-Gaunt, Tim N, Michael Shaw) buried in ill-considered, rambling and increasingly long-winded diatribes.
While the subject in this instance is the way the corporate media create and amplify scandals, one essay-length “comment” calls for the denial of any help for illegal immigrants, the ouster of “conceited moron” J. Russell George (The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, who happens to be black), and a flat tax. Then there’s the FAIR Troll with three incoherent, name-calling comments so far on this posting alone. Obama is a socialist, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is a “political punk,” etc., etc.
My suggestion: Let’s all try to keep it short and on-point, and don’t feed the trolls.
There are so few real journalists today. Even fewer back up their stories with anything resembling accuracy or research. Conspiracy theorists are allowed free coverage; Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, many southern Republicans, and quite a few Northern ones, get a free ride for saying and doing nothing but enraging people and encouraging divisiveness among citizens. Where are the scandals of sequester; wages;so-called job creators who have not created jobs but continue to get wealthier by the day; educational losses; food for children; women’s rights and committees composed of men deciding womens’ issues? The media is turning itself into a farce. They are concerned and ranting about investigating emails but where are they since CISPA
There are no real journalists anymore. And the few that may qualify don’t add research or searches for their information. Everyone seems to jump on the bandwagon of each other until all news is incomplete. Where was the outrage of journalists when CISPA was passed? Where is the outrage regarding this sequester; loss of education and school programs; Head Start; loss of funding to help lower income kids get food; war on women’s rights and the fact there are men-only committees deciding women’s health; multiple conspiracy theories that are spreading hate and divisiveness in the country? Why are so many people like Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin and the others like them continuing to be heard? Don’t tell me they have that right. If that’s true, then I demand a right to be interviewed and have my views spread. And, by the way, I would make a hell of a lot more sense than most politicians today. And so would you.