When the recent Inspector General's report was released on problems at the Internal Revenue Service, the public got a good look at an ugly picture: overwhelmed IRS bureaucrats struggled with the ambiguities of federal tax laws, and ending up crafting unwise standards for groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Over the last week or so, we've seen several detailed reports -- from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, among others -- each of which say roughly the same thing: officials with little direction or legal clarity struggled to implement vague guidelines.
And barring additional information, that's pretty much the end of the story as it relates to the White House. For all the talk on the right about President Obama's possible involvement in the matter, there's just nothing to even hint in that direction.
The result, Jon Chait argues, is a "metastasizing" controversy, created by desperate conservatives.
[T]he accusation is metastasizing into the claim that Obama has sicced the agency on conservatives through audits of their tax returns. Peggy Noonan sees dark patterns of Republicans facing audits, apparently unaware that there are lots of audits every year and nearly half the country voted Republican. Larry Conners, a local reporter in St. Louis, became a right-wing hero by claiming the IRS started persecuting him after he asked Obama tough questions in an interview, only for Conners to subsequently concede, “I should disclose that my issues with the IRS preceded that interview by several years.” Tom Coburn and John Cornyn’s spokesman today began echoing the audacious claim that the IRS unfairly singled out Romney donors.
And sure — it could be true. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, as a wise man once said. But the entire basis for this belief appears to be that something bad has happened at the IRS, and Richard Nixon once directed the IRS to do bad things, therefore Obama has probably directed the IRS to do bad things. Instead, down, down, down the rabbit hole we go.
Also keep in mind, the IRS is not in a position in which it can fairly defend itself. In Peggy Noonan's mind, there are Republicans who've been audited, ergo, Obama is a power-mad tyrant. Maybe the IRS had perfectly legitimate reasons to launch those audits? Of course, but therein lies the rub -- the IRS auditors can't talk about the process, leaving those who've been audited to say anything they please with impunity.
But I remain fascinated by the ever-changing trajectory of the allegations, which have quickly become incoherent.
Phase One: Maybe the Obama White House gave orders to the IRS!
Phase Two: We demand to know why the Obama White House didn't give orders to the IRS!
Phase Three: The president must have known what was going on at the IRS!
Phase Four: We demand to know why the president didn't know what was going on at the IRS!
Phase Five: Never mind all that other stuff, maybe the president ordered IRS audits on Republicans!
Look, this is getting a little silly. If Republicans want the American mainstream to see this as a legitimate "scandal," they're going to have to get their story straight. Because at this point, listening to the White House's GOP critics get increasingly confused about details they should understand by now is getting a little tiresome.
There's a real story here: the IRS appears to have made some poor decisions, which were a direct result of flawed tax laws. It deserves scrutiny, accountability, and action. But the conspiracy theories and contradictory allegations aren't getting anyone anywhere.