# "IRS-Gate" - JUMP ON IT, DOPERS!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 13, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230 "2013-05-13T14:22:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Habakkuk3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habakkuk3)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/1 "2013-05-13T14:22:13Z")
I think this administration has OUT-NIXON’ED NIXON!
IRS Targeting political adversaries of the current administration!
unbelieveable
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### Author:  [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/2 "2013-05-13T14:28:36Z")
Meh. Tea Party folks are nuts. They need to we watched.
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/3 "2013-05-13T14:29:55Z")
Tax collecting agency targets anti-taxation groups. I’m shocked.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/4 "2013-05-13T14:31:56Z")
> [@Habakkuk3](#):
>
> I think this administration has OUT-NIXON’ED NIXON!
Nixon rigged an election. The IRS wrongly targeted groups for audits. Please don’t be a moron.
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/5 "2013-05-13T14:32:57Z")
The best part of your post was that apostrophe.
I applaud your bold, ain’t-nobody-gonna-tell-me-what-to-do use of it. None of today’s namby-pamby grammar-sheeple would even think of using it to make the past tense.
But you OUT-MERRIAM’ED WEBSTER! You OUT-STRUNK’ED WHITE!
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/6 "2013-05-13T14:35:34Z")
This does nothing to stop the “Hitlery in 2016” groundswell. Therefore, it’s a non-issue.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/7 "2013-05-13T14:36:41Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> Nixon rigged an election. The IRS wrongly targeted groups for audits.
Well, Nixon did that **too,** you see; I guess that was **Habakkuk3’s** point.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/8 "2013-05-13T14:44:24Z")
Wait- this wasn’t even audits? They applied more scrutiny to conservative-sounding groups applying for tax exempt status? _That’s_ the Nixon-ish targeting of political enemies? Shit, how dumb. That’s improper and it shouldn’t happen, but calling this Nixon-esque is an insult to Nixon.
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### Author:  [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/9 "2013-05-13T14:47:21Z")
And the bottom line is that, from what I’ve read, none of them were actually denied tax exempt status.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/10 "2013-05-13T14:49:27Z")
> [@Eutychus](#):
>
> And the bottom line is that, from what I’ve read, none of them were actually denied tax exempt status.
**That’s** the part that smells funny, actually.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/11 "2013-05-13T14:49:29Z")
For shame! Unless he makes an offering at the Nixon Library, **Habakkuk3** will be ratfucked from beyond the grave.
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### Author:  [@Habakkuk3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habakkuk3)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/12 "2013-05-13T14:51:59Z")
I champion a Libertarian view of APOSTROPHES and HYPHENS
There was an old Neil Young song that said
“even Richard Nixon has got soul”
I am waitin fer Neil to write one about Obama
ennyway, apparently Obama-philes doan givva shet
bout IRS being used in this manner
some people DO givva shet
member - ya din win by that much
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### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/13 "2013-05-13T14:54:01Z")
Since Obama won’t be seeking a third term, I don’t think anyone is too concerned about how much we done won by.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/14 "2013-05-13T14:54:11Z")
Actually, I think adding additional scrutiny to groups with Tea Party in their names was a pretty shitty thing to do. I’m glad that the people responsible are being held accountable, and hope that it doesn’t happen again. It’s not quite as shitty as what was done to peace activist groups after 9/11 - but government strong-arming is crappy no matter who it’s aimed at.
Obviously it isn’t remotely comparable to Watergate, but then again this administration has been pretty scandal-free so I consider the uproar about such minor incidents a pretty good sign.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/15 "2013-05-13T14:54:39Z")
No, they don’t think this had anything to do with Obama because there’s no evidence that it did and the theory doesn’t make much sense.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/16 "2013-05-13T14:59:12Z")
> [@Habakkuk3](#):
>
> I champion a Libertarian view of APOSTROPHES and HYPHENS
>
> There was an old Neil Young song that said
>
> “even Richard Nixon has got soul”
>
> I am waitin fer Neil to write one about Obama
Neil Young wrote a song advocating Obama for President before Obama even decided to run: [Neil Young Names Barak Obama For President In New Song... | HuffPost Latest News](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/05/09/neil-young-names-barak-ob_n_20662.html)
> [@](#):
>
> member - ya din win by that much
Obama got a larger share of the popular vote than anybody since GHWB in 1988. It was a pretty good thumping.
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### Author:  [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/17 "2013-05-13T15:01:04Z")
Bush’s fault. [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/us/politics/irs-apologizes-to-conservative-groups-over-application-audits.html?_r=0)
> [@Jay Carney in link](#):
>
> The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said the events in question happened while the I.R.S. was under the directorship of a Bush administration appointee and regardless, it is an agency run independently of White House oversight.
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### Author:  [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/18 "2013-05-13T15:04:16Z")
> [@Habakkuk3](#):
>
> some people DO givva shet
But they can’t spell, so why pay notice…
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/19 "2013-05-13T15:05:45Z")
Like most of us hippies, he has a free spirit in regards to grammar and punkuation.
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-gate-jump-on-it-dopers/658230/20 "2013-05-13T15:11:22Z")
The difference is that Nixon actually directed the IRS to go after his opponents. Has there been any information linking the increased scrutiny to the administration. My understanding is that after Nixon the IRS was set up to be made primarily of career bureaucrats that are independent of the white house, so there isn’t an obvious link.
Somewhat more likely is that individuals in the IRS having gotten tired of hearing their hard and necessary work being dragged through the mud decided to fight back a bit. Most likely is that since there was a sudden flood of applications from tea party groups seeking tax exempt status, and since such political groups often are found to directly support candidates in violation of their non-profit status, someone thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at the applications to make sure that they were on the up and up. Further that these should be grouped together and sent to those with experience in these matters.
Regardless of the motivation behind it it gave the appearance of being political and so was a very bad mood and so those in charge of it should be held accountable. If this was supposed to be a political hit by the administration than it was a very incompetent on since in the end none of the scrutinized groups had their tax exempt status revoked. If tricky dick were in charge you could bet that he finish the job.
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