The Real Danger of the IRS, DOJ 'Scandals'

By ARI EZRA WALDMAN

The IRS and DOJ scandals are already old news, but everyone seems to misunderstand their significance.

The machinations of the IRS went something like this: Sometime last year, several middle to low level workers at the Cleveland, Ohio office of the Internal Revenue Service started taking special interest in conservative political groups applying for tax exempt status. They looked for organizations with the words "Tea Party" or "Patriot" or "the Constitution" and, as the New York Times reported, sent them--and, it appears, them alone--detailed questionnaires to probe their political leanings, affiliations, and plans. 

At the same time, the DOJ was investigating national security leaks to reporters. As part of that investigation, it sent a subpoena (or subpoenas) to phone companies to seize the records of at least 20 phone lines used by the Associated Press and several others at FOX News. The AP called the actions "overzealous" and "unconstitutional;" others went further, calling the DOJ's behavior part of a "pattern of cover-ups."

Republicans and conservatives are positively giddy at the apparent opportunity to tie the President to these "scandals," hoping to claim some skin in the game, or at least a political victory. But there is no evidence that the President knew. In fact, there is every evidence that these decisions were made at lower administrative levels and were kept out of the President's world.

That means that these "scandals" -- not to mention the Benghazi tragedy -- don't have legs in the traditional sense, like Watergate or even the Monica Lewinsky affair. They are not about what the President knew and when. They don't involve the President, or anyone close to him, lying. Nor are they about some sinister Administration plot to target enemies.

But they may damage the Administration, the Democratic Party, and modern progressivism in a more subtle way.

To see how, continue AFTER THE JUMP...

Bill Clinton, Obama Urge Illinois to Pass Marriage Equality

As an Illinois House vote on marriage equality approaches, former President Bill Clinton is speaking out in support of it.

Said Clinton in a statement yesterday:

"Our nation's permanent mission is to form a ‘more perfect union’ – deepening the meaning of freedom, broadening the reach of opportunity, strengthening the bonds of community. That mission has inspired and empowered us to extend rights to people previously denied them.  Every time we have done that, it has strengthened our nation. Now we should do it again, in Illinois, with marriage equality. Since the days of Abraham Lincoln, Illinois has stood for the proposition that all citizens should be treated equally under the law. Lincoln himself came to Springfield in search of opportunity, and he dedicated his life to securing equal opportunity for all citizens.  I believe that for Illinois and for our nation as a whole, in the 21st century that must include marriage equality.”

The White House urged Illinois to pass it as well:

"Were the president still in the Illinois State Legislature, he would support this measure that would treat all Illinois couples equally," spokesman Shin Inouye said in response to a question from POLITICO. Obama's support for the bill comes after former President Bill Clinton endorsed it earlier Tuesday.

"While the president does not weigh in on every measure being considered by state legislatures, he believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect," Inouye said. "As he has said, his personal view is that it’s wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships, and want to marry, from doing so."

Earlier this week, lawmakers said that the votes to pass the bill are there. A vote has not yet been scheduled.

More Signs Gays Will Not Be Included in Immigration Bill

More signals that gay couples will not be included in comprehensive immigration reform, the AP reports:

Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.

President Barack Obama backs the proposal to give equal treatment to gays and lesbians, but is unlikely to veto a broad immigration bill that does not include the provision.

Leahy has not made a decision on demanding a vote, the AP adds:

He could raise the issue again if the bill goes before the full Senate. The people familiar with the deliberations were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity. The White House had no comment.

Sally Ride to Receive Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom

Sally Ride, the first female astronaut in space who came out in July 2012 in her obituary, will be awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, the White House announced today.

"Dr. Ride’s partner, mother, and sister were notified last week of the President’s decision to award her with the Nation’s highest civilian honor for her contributions to the U.S. space program and education system. The remainder of the honorees selected by the President will be announced over the coming weeks and the awards will be presented at a White House ceremony later this year," said the White house in a press release.

Said President Obama of the honor:

“We remember Sally Ride not just as a national hero, but as a role model to generations of young women. Sally inspired us to reach for the stars, and she advocated for a greater focus on the science, technology, engineering and math that would help us get there. Sally showed us that there are no limits to what we can achieve, and I look forward to welcoming her family to the White House as we celebrate her life and legacy.”

Obama Tells All-Male Morehouse College Grads: 'Be the Best Husband to your Boyfriend...or Your Partner' - VIDEO

The crowd at the Morehouse College commencement ceremony over the weekend seemed momentarily stunned when Obama directed the gay men in the audience to be the best husband to their partners, but Obama held up one finger and stifled any dissent:

And that’s what I’m asking all of you to do:  Keep setting an example for what it means to be a man.  Be the best husband to your wife, or you’re your boyfriend, or your partner.  Be the best father you can be to your children.  Because nothing is more important.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Shortly thereafter, Obama told the all-male African-American institution's 2013 grads to have empathy with other minority populations like Hispanic and Muslim Americans, and gays:

As Morehouse Men, many of you know what it’s like to be an outsider; know what it’s like to be marginalized; know what it’s like to feel the sting of discrimination.  And that’s an experience that a lot of Americans share.  Hispanic Americans know that feeling when somebody asks them where they come from or tell them to go back.  Gay and lesbian Americans feel it when a stranger passes judgment on their parenting skills or the love that they share.  Muslim Americans feel it when they’re stared at with suspicion because of their faith.  Any woman who knows the injustice of earning less pay for doing the same work -- she knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

So your experiences give you special insight that today’s leaders need.  If you tap into that experience, it should endow you with empathy -- the understanding of what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, to know what it’s like when you're not born on 3rd base, thinking you hit a triple.  It should give you the ability to connect.  It should give you a sense of compassion and what it means to overcome barriers.

Schumer, Senate Democrats Under Pressure on Gay-Inclusive Immigration Reform

(chris johnson - twitter)

Senate Democrats are increasingly nervous about the prospects of gay-inclusive amendments filed last week by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) killing the comprehensive immigration reform bill, Politico reports:

After strategically keeping the White House at a distance, some key Democrats are privately advocating for the president himself to ask Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chief proponent of the measure, to hold off on offering the amendment until the floor debate, where it’s unlikely to pass.

“He is working behind the scenes,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a Gang of Eight member, told POLITICO when asked whether Democrats wanted Obama to get involved, although declined to get into details. “Obviously it is Sen. Leahy’s call.”

Leahy said he spoke with Obama on Wednesday, but the issue didn’t come up. Even if it did, Leahy said, a presidential intervention wouldn’t necessarily sway him.

“I am the most senior member of the Senate, I’m an experienced chairman. He’s happy I’m handling immigration,” Leahy said. “He hasn’t suggested whether I should or shouldn’t do it because he knows I’ll make up my own mind.”

It's also still unclear whether Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would vote for the amendments, they add:

After the Gang of Eight didn’t include the protections in the underlying bill, Schumer assured advocates that the issue would get a vote in the Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee, the most favorable venue for passing the amendment because the threshold is a simple majority, rather than the filibuster-proof majority on the Senate floor.

But now [LGBT advocates] are worried that might not even happen.

Earlier, today, Schumer received, via hand delivery from the advocacy group GetEQUAL in coordination with the pro-immigrant organizations Presente.org, DRM Action and Uniting We Dream, 6,500 petitions urging him to include gay binational couples as part of the legislation.

Reports Chris Johnson at the Washington Blade:

Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, co-director of GetEQUAL, personally handed the names to Schumer’s staff on Thursday as part of a group of about a half-dozen activists.

“It’s interesting because he’s making a political mistake,” Sousa-Rodriguez told the Blade. “The whole reason why this is even happening is because of Latinos, and Latinos hold the key to the White House. But 64 percent of voters support the inclusion of same-sex couples in immigration reform and 59 percent of Latino voters support same-sex marriage. Latinos have turned a page, the country has turned a page, but D.C. keeps being stuck in the ’90s.”

A Brazilian native who’s married to a U.S. citizen, Sousa-Rodriguez is an undocumented immigrant who came to the United States at a young age and would be able to gain citizenship through a marriage-based green card application if the immigration reform included the provision for bi-national couples.

More at the Blade...