The IRS Scandal, Day 653

The Maddow Blog, GOP’s Gowdy Eyes New Conspiracy Theory Panel:

[T]he notion that the Obama presidency has featured “six years of scandal” seems bizarre. David Axelrod boasted this week, accurately, “I’m proud of the fact that basically you have had an administration in this place for six years in which there hasn’t been a major scandal. And I think that says a lot about the ethical strictures of this administration.”

This seemed like a fair thing to brag about, though some congressional Republicans appear to have a very different perspective.

At a Republican Party fundraising breakfast in his district on Wednesday, Representative Trey Gowdy suggested that the congressional GOP needed to investigate the IRS’s scrutiny of political groups with the same intensity that it was investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi.

>“I’m glad that the speaker of the House convened a select committee on Benghazi,” said Gowdy, a former prosecutor who chairs that panel. “I think it makes every bit as much sense to convene a select committee on the IRS. Now that we have the Senate, the Senate has tools the House doesn’t have in terms of getting e-mails and cooperation. It has nothing to do with politics. Do you really want an IRS targeting you based on your political beliefs?”

Gowdy, the head of the eighth Benghazi committee, went on to tell Dave Weigel that “the same reasons for a select committee exist” in the IRS story as Benghazi, “or maybe even greater.” He also complained about “Fast and Furious” and Solyndra because, well, he was apparently on a roll. ...

At a certain level, there’s a kernel of truth to the far-right congressman’s argument: select committees to investigate the IRS and Benghazi are equally sound. Which is to say, both ideas are equally ridiculous.

The IRS “scandal” turned out not to be a scandal at all, and after a year and a half of investigation from congressional Republicans, literally none of the GOP’s allegations turned out to be true. Even by Congress’ standards, the very idea of creating another select committee to investigate another discredited controversy is absurd.

Part of the underlying trouble here is a falsification problem. Republicans are certain the president is up to no good, and when there’s no evidence to support their assumptions, they convince themselves that this proves how corrupt Obama is – the rascally president must be hiding the proof of his misdeeds.

So they keep looking, which leads them to find nothing, which leads them to believe they better keep looking.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 652 (Feb. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 651 (Feb. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 650 (Feb. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 649 (Feb. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 648 (Feb. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 647 (Feb. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 646 (Feb. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 645 (Feb. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 644 (Feb. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 643 (Feb. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 642 (Feb. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 641 (Feb. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 640 (Feb. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 639 (Feb. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 638 (Feb. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 637 (Feb. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 636 (Feb. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 635 (Feb. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 634 (Feb. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 633 (Feb. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 632 (Jan. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 631 (Jan. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 630 (Jan. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 629 (Jan. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 628 (Jan. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 627 (Jan. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 626 (Jan. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 625 (Jan. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 624 (Jan. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 623 (Jan. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 622 (Jan. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 621 (Jan. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 620 (Jan. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 619 (Jan. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 618 (Jan. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 617 (Jan. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 616 (Jan. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 615 (Jan. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 614 (Jan. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 613 (Jan. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 612 (Jan. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 611 (Jan. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 610 (Jan. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 609 (Jan. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 608 (Jan. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 607 (Jan. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 606 (Jan. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 605 (Jan. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 604 (Jan. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 603 (Jan. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 602 (Jan. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 601 (Dec. 31, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)