THE IRS "SCANDAL" DIMINISHES BY THE WEEK

It seems that the IRS often had good reasons to do some probing into some of the tax-exempt applications.

Groups Targeted by I.R.S. Tested Rules on Politics

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and MICHAEL LUO
Published: May 26, 2013
NY Times

When CVFC, a conservative veterans’ group in California, applied for tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, its biggest expenditure that year was several thousand dollars in radio ads backing a Republican candidate for Congress.

The Wetumpka Tea Party, from Alabama, sponsored training for a get-out-the-vote initiative dedicated to the “defeat of President Barack Obama” while the I.R.S. was weighing its application.

And the head of the Ohio Liberty Coalition, whose application languished with the I.R.S. for more than two years, sent out e-mails to members about Mitt Romney campaign events and organized members to distribute Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign literature.

These little groups aren't the real problem, as Carl Hiassen points out:

No such pious fervor exists for investigating and exposing the fraudulent status of large groups like Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA, which collectively take in hundreds of millions of dollars.

They're not "social welfare" organizations worthy of a tax exemption. They're wealthy partisan advocacy machines with purely political missions - to promote their candidates, and to influence voters.

They are prized by both parties as safe and bottomless repositories for huge campaign donations, which is why you don't see congressional leaders declaring war on the 501(c)(4) charade.