On Tuesday, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., told leaders of conservative groups appearing before the House Ways and Means Committee their groups should have been targeted by the IRS because of their involvement in politics.
McDermott started his comments by saying what the IRS did was wrong. He went on, however, to claim the groups were asking taxpayers to subsidize their work.
“The mistake here was that the staff organizing the organizations used the names of the organizations rather than the work they do,” McDermott said, “and asked improper questions to figure that out.”
“It’s clearly wrong,” he said. “It was inept, stupid, and a whole lot of other things.”
He lashed out at the six conservative witnesses appearing before the committee, saying “each of your groups are highly political” and deserved the extra scrutiny they received from the IRS.
He also implied that the scrutiny came about because of overworked IRS employees, but a table in the IG report showed the number of requests for tax exempt status actually went down from 2009 to 2010.
“Let’s not forget this happened under an IRS commissioner appointed by George Bush and was investigated by a Republican inspector general,” he said. While Douglas Shulman was appointed by Bush, he supported Barack Obama, and his wife was very active in the Obama campaign.
Without providing any specifics, McDermott claimed that liberal groups were targeted during the Bush years and called the hearings a waste of time.
“I haven’t heard a single word here about what questions you think we ought to be able to ask you about your tax-exempt request,” he added. “Anything else, like the circus that’s happening in the Oversight Committee or here, is simply political theater.”
“I’m going to deviate from my original question in response to what I just heard,” Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said to laughter and applause.
“So, you’re to blame I guess is the message here,” he said, slamming McDermott’s statement.
Video of McDermott’s statement can be seen here.
Related:
- Leaders of targeted conservative groups to testify on IRS scandal
- Drudge editor: ‘IRS scandal about to explode’
- David Plouffe falsely accuses Rep. Darrell Issa of auto theft, arson
- Flashback: Chuck Schumer, Al Franken sign letter demanding IRS target Tea Party groups in 2012
- Did David Plouffe justify IRS targeting conservative Tea Party groups?
- Darrell Issa: White House press secretary Jay Carney a ‘paid liar’
- Liberalism remains an ideology of genocidal hate and rage
- Liberalism: An ideology of rage and hate
- The left’s answer for what ails America: Murder conservatives, NRA members
- Eric Holder: Time to ask ‘hard questions’ about Constitutional rights
- Do liberals really want a second civil war in America?
—————————————————————-
If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, or visit and join his Facebook page.
