Wednesday, January 15, 2014
The IRS Scandal, Day 251
New York Post: Why Bridgegate Made Headlines, by John Podhoretz:
Government officials and political operatives working for Christie, for weird and petty reasons, chose to make traffic worse. That’s the takeaway. When they are reminded of the fact that people working on Christie’s behalf thought it was a good political game to mire tens of thousands of their fellow Americans in the nightmarish gridlock that is a daily dreaded prospect for tens of millions, they will be discomfited by that and by the politician in whose name it was done.
And yet, you know what is also something everybody would find “relatable”? Politicians who sic the tax man on others for political gain. Everybody has to deal with the IRS and fears it. Last year, we learned from the Internal Revenue Service itself that it had targeted ideological opponents of the president for special scrutiny and investigation — because they were ideological opponents.
That’s juicy, just as Bridgegate is juicy. It’s something we can all understand, it speaks to our greatest fears, and it’s the sort of thing TV newspeople could gab about for days on end without needing a fresh piece of news to keep it going.
And yet, according to Scott Whitlock of the Media Research Center, “In less than 24 hours, the three networks have devoted 17 times more coverage to a traffic scandal involving Chris Christie than they’ve allowed in the last six months to Barack Obama’s Internal Revenue Service controversy.”
Why? Oh, come on, you know why. Christie belongs to one political party. Obama belongs to the other. You know which ones they belong to. And you know which ones the people at the three networks belong to, too: In surveys going back decades, anywhere from 80% to 90% of Washington’s journalists say they vote Democratic.
Scandals are not just about themselves; they are about the media atmosphere that surrounds them. They are perpetuated and deepened by the attention of journalists, whose relentless pursuit of every angle keeps the story going. That is exactly what has been missing from the IRS scandal from its outset; Republicans in Congress have been the dogged pursuers, not the press.
There was plenty of material. Just as journalists remain skeptical today about who exactly might have gotten the idea for the lane closures, they could have been asking without letup who got the idea to dig into conservative tax-status applications. Several officials at the IRS resigned, retired and took the Fifth, just as was the case with Christie-aligned Port Authority officials.
It’s pretty clear the questions about how high up Bridgegate went are going to be pursued far more diligently than they have been in the IRS case.
What gives?
- The IRS Scandal, Day 250 (Jan. 14, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 249 (Jan. 13, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 248 (Jan. 12, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 247 (Jan. 11, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 246 (Jan. 10, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 245 (Jan. 9, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 244 (Jan. 8, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 243 (Jan. 7, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 242 (Jan. 6, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 241 (Jan. 5, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 240 (Jan. 4, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 239 (Jan. 3, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 238 (Jan. 2, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 237 (Jan. 1, 2014)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 236 (Dec. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 235 (Dec. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 234 (Dec. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 233 (Dec. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 232 (Dec. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 231 (Dec. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 230 (Dec. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 229 (Dec. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 228 (Dec. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 227 (Dec. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 226 (Dec. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 225 (Dec. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 224 (Dec. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 223 (Dec. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 222 (Dec. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 221 (Dec. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 220 (Dec. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 219 (Dec. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 218 (Dec. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 217 (Dec. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 216 (Dec. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 215 (Dec. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 214 (Dec. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 213 (Dec. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 212 (Dec. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 211 (Dec. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 210 (Dec. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 209 (Dec. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 208 (Dec. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 207 (Dec. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 206 (Dec. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 205 (Nov. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 204 (Nov. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 203 (Nov. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 202 (Nov. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 201 (Nov. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 200 (Nov. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 199 (Nov. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 198 (Nov. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 197 (Nov. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 196 (Nov. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 195 (Nov. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 194 (Nov. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 193 (Nov. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 192 (Nov. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 191 (Nov. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 190 (Nov. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 189 (Nov. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 188 (Nov. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 187 (Nov. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 186 (Nov. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 185 (Nov. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 184 (Nov. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 183 (Nov. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 182 (Nov. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 181 (Nov. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 180 (Nov. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 179 (Nov. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 178 (Nov. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 177 (Nov. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 176 (Nov. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 175 (Oct. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 174 (Oct. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 173 (Oct. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 172 (Oct. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 171 (Oct. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 170 (Oct. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 169 (Oct. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 168 (Oct. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 167 (Oct. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 166 (Oct. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 165 (Oct. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 164 (Oct. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 163 (Oct. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 162 (Oct. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 161 (Oct. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 160 (Oct. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 159 (Oct. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 158 (Oct. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 157 (Oct. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 156 (Oct. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 155 (Oct. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 154 (Oct. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 153 (Oct. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 152 (Oct. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 151 (Oct. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 150 (Oct. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 149 (Oct. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 148 (Oct. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 147 (Oct. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 146 (Oct. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 145 (Oct. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 144 (Sept. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 143 (Sept. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 142 (Sept. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 141 (Sept. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 140 (Sept. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 139 (Sept. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 138 (Sept. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 137 (Sept. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 136 (Sept. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 135 (Sept. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 133 (Sept. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 134 (Sept. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 132 (Sept. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 131 (Sept. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 130 (Sept. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 129 (Sept. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 128 (Sept. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 127 (Sept. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 126 (Sept. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 125 (Sept. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 124 (Sept. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 123 (Sept. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 122 (Sept. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 121 (Sept. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 120 (Sept. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 119 (Sept. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 118 (Sept. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 117 (Sept. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 116 (Sept. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 115 (Sept. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 114 (Aug. 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 113 (Aug. 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 112 (Aug. 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 111 (Aug. 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 110 (Aug. 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 109 (Aug. 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 108 (Aug. 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 107 (Aug. 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 106 (Aug. 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 105 (Aug. 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 104 (Aug. 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 103 (Aug. 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 102 (Aug. 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 101 (Aug. 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 100 (Aug. 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 99 (Aug. 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 98 (Aug. 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 97 (Aug. 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 96 (Aug. 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 95 (Aug. 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 94 (Aug. 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 93 (Aug. 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 92 (Aug. 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 91 (Aug. 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 90 (Aug. 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 89 (Aug. 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 88 (Aug. 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 87 (Aug. 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 86 (Aug. 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 85 (Aug. 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 84 (Aug. 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 83 (July 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 82 (July 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 81 (July 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 80 (July 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 79 (July 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 78 (July 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 77 (July 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 76 (July 24, 2013)
- Attorney in Federal Agency General Counsel's Office: There Is 'No Innocent Explanation' for IRS Chief Counsel's Meeting With Obama (July 23, 2013)
- A Cincinnati IRS Lawyer Speaks: We Are Democrats, But Nonpartisan Democrats (July 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 75 (July 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 74 (July 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 73 (July 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 72 (July 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 71 (July 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 70 (July 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 69 (July 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 68 (July 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 67 (July 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 66 (July 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 65 (July 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 64 (July 12, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 63 (July 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 62 (July 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 61 (July 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 60 (July 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 59 (July 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 58 (July 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 57 (July 5, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 56 (July 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 55 (July 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 54 (July 2, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 53 (July 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 52 (June 30, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 51 (June 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 50 (June 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 49 (June 27, 2013)
- House Report: IRS Deputy IT Director Steered $500 Million in Contracts to Pal (June 26, 2013)
- TIGTA: IRS Credit Cards Used for Wine, Porn, $100 Lunches, $140 Dinners (June 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 48 (June 26, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 47 (June 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 46 (June 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 45 (June 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 44 (June 22, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 43 (June 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 42 (June 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 41 (June 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 40 (June 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 39 (June 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 38 (June 16, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 37 (June 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 36 (June 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 35 (June 13, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 34 (June 12, 2013)
- The Problem Is Not Just IRS Lawyers; The Problem Is All Federal Government Lawyers (June 11, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 33 (June 11, 2013)
- The Complete IRS Video Collection (June 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 32 (June 10, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 31 (June 9, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 30 (June 8, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 29 (June 7, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 28 (June 6, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 27 (June 5, 2013)
- Jon Stewart on the IRS Scandal (June 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 26 (June 4, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 25 (June 3, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 24 (June 2, 2013)
- 'Cupid Shuffle' Dance Training Video Adds to IRS Woes (June 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 23 (June 1, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 22 (May 31, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 21 (May 30, 2013)
- The Impact of the IRS Scandal on Tax Reform (May 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 20 (May 29, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 19 (May 28, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 18 (May 27, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 17 (May 26, 2013)
- Jason Jones on the IRS Scandal (May 25, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 16 (May 25, 2013)
- Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert on the IRS Scandal (May 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 15 (May 24, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 14 (May 23, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 13 (May 22, 2013)
- Steven Colbert on the IRS Scandal (May 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 12 (May 21, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal: Really?! (May 20, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 11 (May 20, 2013)
- SNL on the IRS Scandal (May 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 10 (May 19, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 9 (May 18, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 8 (May 17, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 7 (May 16, 2013)
- Phillip Hackney, The TIGTA Report on the IRS Scandal: Be on the Lookout for False Partisan Witchunts (May 15, 2013)
- Ellen Aprill, The TIGTA Report on the IRS Scandal: Questions About the IRS and About the Report (May 15, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 6 (May 15, 2013)
- Inspector General: Ineffective IRS Management Allowed Agents to Target Conservative Groups (May 14, 2013)
- Jon Stewart and Vic Fleischer on the IRS Scandal (May 14, 2013)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 5 (May 14, 2013)
- The Deepening IRS Scandal (May 13, 2013)
- Schmalbeck on the IRS 'Targeting' of Conservative Groups (May 12, 2013)
- WaPo and WSJ Agree: IRS Targeting of Conservatives Is Appalling (May 11, 2013)
- IRS Admits to Targeting Conservative Groups in 2012 Election (May 10, 2013)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/01/the-irs-scandal-11.html
About what I would expect from Podhoretz. He compares media coverage of the first 24 hours of the Christie GW Bridge incident to the last six months of the IRS incident. The stunning (not) conclusion: 17 times more media coverage of the bridge lane closure than the IRS. Can you say apples and oranges, John? What is the similar comparison for the first 24 hours following the IRS disclosure on May 10, 2013? That is the true measure, if measure we must.
Posted by: Publius Novus | Jan 15, 2014 7:19:02 AM