If you recall, there was a substantial amount of hullabaloo about the reported targeting of Tea Party groups by the IRS. There were several GOP Congressmen and various media personalities who suggested that this was an impeachable offense by the White House. Well, with much less fanfare, more information has surfaced, and it turns out that the "Be On the Look Out" (BOLO) lists the IRS used to target groups included descriptors such as “progressive,” “health care legislation,” “medical marijuana,” “paying national debt” and “green energy.” Huh? That doesn't sound very conservative. Now, the Hill newspaper has quoted a spokesman for Treasury’s inspector general, Russell George as saying that the group was asked by Congressman Darrell Issa “to narrowly focus on tea party organizations.” The inspectors knew there were other terms, but “that was outside the scope of our audit.” Hmmm ... so much of the outrage, it turns out, was manufactured.
Darrell Issa, as Dana Milbank explains here, has been on a crusade to prove that the Obama administration has done something criminal. Unfortunately, nearly every investigation they have launched has fallen flat. Dana's article has a long list of investigations. Still, the House GOP seems obsessed with doing nothing but investigate Obama. To see how little Congress has been doing, consider that as of June 29, 2013, the 113th Congress has passed 13 laws (averaging roughly 2 a month). By contrast, in its two years, the 112th Congress, widely considered one of the most unproductive in history, passed 283 public laws (just under 12 a month). As former GOP Congressman Ray LaHood laments, there are some 30-40 GOP Congressman who have been elected vowing to do nothing and they have successfully ensured that the Congress does practically nothing, except it seems vent over manufactured scandals.
Darrell Issa, as Dana Milbank explains here, has been on a crusade to prove that the Obama administration has done something criminal. Unfortunately, nearly every investigation they have launched has fallen flat. Dana's article has a long list of investigations. Still, the House GOP seems obsessed with doing nothing but investigate Obama. To see how little Congress has been doing, consider that as of June 29, 2013, the 113th Congress has passed 13 laws (averaging roughly 2 a month). By contrast, in its two years, the 112th Congress, widely considered one of the most unproductive in history, passed 283 public laws (just under 12 a month). As former GOP Congressman Ray LaHood laments, there are some 30-40 GOP Congressman who have been elected vowing to do nothing and they have successfully ensured that the Congress does practically nothing, except it seems vent over manufactured scandals.
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