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EDITORIAL
Scandal Machine
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Published: May 16, 2013 970 Comments
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When politicians want to turn scandals into metaphors, actual details of wrongdoing or incompetence no longer matter. In fact, the details of the troubles swirling around the White House this week are bluntly contradicting Republicans who want to combine them into a seamless narrative of tyrannical government on the rampage.
The Internal Revenue Service, according to an inspector general’s report, was not reacting to political pressure or ideology when it singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny in evaluating requests for tax exemptions. It acted inappropriately because employees couldn’t understand inadequate guidelines. The tragedy in Benghazi, Libya, never a scandal to begin with, has devolved into a turf-protection spat between government agencies, and the e-mail messages Republicans long demanded made clear that there was no White House cover-up.
The only example of true government overreach was the seizure of The Associated Press’s telephone records, the latest episode in the Obama administration’s Javert-like obsession with leakers in its midst.
Many of the Republicans who have added this action to their metaphor blender were also the ones clamoring the loudest for vigorous investigations of national security leaks. But reality simply isn’t solid enough to hold back the vast Republican opportunism on display this week. Whatever cranky point Republicans had been making against President Obama for the last five years — dishonesty, socialism, jackbooted tyranny — they somehow found that these incidents were exactly the proof they had been seeking, no matter how inflated or distorted.
“This is runaway government at its worst,” Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said at a Tea Party news conference on Thursday about the I.R.S. scandal. “Who knows who they’ll target next.” Representative Michele Bachmann knew. Standing next to Mr. McConnell, she said the I.R.S.’s next target would obviously be the religious beliefs of people seeking health insurance.
For Senator Mike Lee of Utah, these incidents proved that the federal budget has to be cut even more deeply. “We need to return it to a simpler, more manageable government,” he said, “because that’s the only way that we’re ever going to prevent things like this from happening.”
There are no “things like this,” beyond a coincidence of bad timing. But they do have one thing in common: when bound together and loudly denounced on cable television and in hearings, they serve to obscure the real damage that Republicans continue to do to the economy and the workings of government.
While Washington was arguing about e-mail messages about Benghazi, it wasn’t paying attention to the hundreds of thousands of defense furloughs announced this week because of the Republican-imposed sequester, which will become a significant drag on economic growth. It wasn’t focusing on the huge drop in the deficit, which has yet to silence the party’s demands for more austerity. And apparently it’s considered old news that Republicans are blocking several of the president’s cabinet nominees.
For those who are wondering whether this week’s political windstorms will hinder Mr. Obama’s second-term agenda, here’s a bulletin: That agenda was long ago imperiled by the obstruction of Republicans. (See Guns. Jobs. Education. And, very possibly, Immigration.)
Meet The New York Times’s Editorial Board »
A version of this editorial appeared in print on May 17, 2013, on page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: Scandal Machine.
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William O. BeemanMinneapolis, MNNYT Pick
Soberer Republicans know that over-reach is fatal. When one gets Louie Gohmert, Michelle Bachman, Ted Cruz and James Inhoffe screaming about impeachment and declaring the Benghazi matter the worst scandal in the history of the United States, even the most hard-core Republican supporters begin to wonder if the party "doth protest too much."
There are legitimate issues in all these events, but they have already been overwhelmed by the screaming and posturing. These people are parodies of themselves. How can anyone take them seriously?
May 17, 2013 at 9:28 a.m.RECOMMEND406
RJSteeleIowaNYT Pick
Now conservatives know what it's like to be targeted unfairly from key words and phrases--Tea Party--that pop up in the government's virtually bottomless well of surveillance data. None of them--particularly McConnell and Bachmann--were concerned when the words being gleaned were 'Muslim,' or 'Islam.' Funny how that works.
May 17, 2013 at 10:34 a.m.RECOMMEND193
Cara.New EnglandNYT Pick
Agree with much of this post ... although I have a hard time getting too excited about the fact that I had to wait a whole 3 weeks to find out what happened in Benghazi.
I don't expect to have immediate and completely accurate information on an ongoing investigation of a chaotic situation, but I guess I'm in the minority on that one.
In reply to Anetliner NetlinerMay 17, 2013 at 10:42 a.m.RECOMMEND68
JLWashington, DCNYT Pick
While I agree the GOP leaves a lot to be desired, I am not at all impressed with President Obama and his party. Why on Earth is it ALWAYS the Republicans fault? Where is the responsibility? Sheesh!
May 17, 2013 at 10:50 a.m.RECOMMEND35
ThomasBranford, FloridaNYT Pick
It's the same thing year after year.
Republicans driven to smear.
They've no conscience to guide them.
Why must we abide them?
Why not throw them out on their ear?
May 17, 2013 at 10:53 a.m.RECOMMEND161
Richard EttelsonMurrieta, CANYT Pick
Well stated., I quite agree. Hatred of a president is a very poor substitute for solution oriented governance.
May 17, 2013 at 10:55 a.m.RECOMMEND151
Ellen ValleFinlandNYT Pick
They have no shame. At long last, in fact they have no shame.
May 17, 2013 at 10:57 a.m.RECOMMEND85
Doug TerryMaryland, DC Metro areaNYT Pick
Okay, obstruction. Why isn't this same story being reported in the straight news columns and, for that matter, on the national evening news programs? It is not just a matter for editorials. Instead, the radicalism of the right has been cast as "the back and forth in Washington", never explaining to the public what is actually happening. Why?
The Republicans are out to wreck this presidency or this government, whichever comes first. The fundamental facts of obstructionism are present for all to see, day by day. "America Held Hostage. Day 851" should be the title of a late night news program on ABC News.
1. Denying approval of Cabinet and many other nominees to fill out Obama's second term team.
2. The use of the phony filibuster in the Senate to deny the majority a chance to vote.
3. The use of the Boehner Rule in the House so that compromise is nearly impossible, because, first, a majority of Republicans must approve a bill before it can even be heard on the floor of the House. Denying minority rights.
4. Embracing the sequester as a "victory" for Republicanism even though it means that cuts in spending can't be carefully and well managed.
5. Constantly spreading rumors, or allowing them to pass without objection, about Obama to undermine his credibility with the public.
6. Beating the Benghazi attack into the ground, insisting that a mistake in facts in the early days "proves" a cover up.
7. Risking America's credit repeatedly.
http://terryreport.comMay 17, 2013 at 11:02 a.m.RECOMMEND288
Charles HorteniseGreenwich, CTNYT Pick
All of these matters require further scrutiny as a matter of good government, and the Congress has the oversight responsibility under Article One of the Constitution. It is unlikely that the IRS incidents, for example, were confined to low level employees because they do not have the discretion to make these decisions and they were made in an overtly biased manner during election season from multiple locations. The Inspector General's report does not pass the smell test. There are still unanswered questions about Benghazi. The AP incident sets a dangerous precedent.
Why is the NY Times ceding its mantle as the nation's newspaper to take partisan sides? It is shameful that the editors would rather defend their own, rather than take the higher ground of journalistic objectivity and pursuing the greater public good.
May 17, 2013 at 11:25 a.m.RECOMMEND24
PeterSBoston, MANYT Pick
There are people, like the majority of the readers of NYT, myself included, clearly think that all these so call scandals are distractions to major issues that this country is facing: economy, competitiveness, immigration reform, foreign policies etc. There are also people who will never accept the fact that the country is turning more liberal and will fight tooth-and-nail to hinder this change represented by Obama. For these people, the leftward moving of America is seen as oppressive and all these minor scandals just contribute to building up this world view in their mind. Both sides are roughly equal in population contributing to this political deadlock. I see that America moving to the center from the center-right as inevitable with increasing urbanization. Unfortunately, arriving at decisive policies is and will be very difficulty until this balance shifts further. I know that it is a hard job but we need leadership of the president in driving this shift in balance by convincing skeptical people in the middle.
May 17, 2013 at 11:27 a.m.RECOMMEND44
DorisChicagoNYT Pick
The media and overlook the millions of hungry families and children that are going to see a 20 BILLION dollar cut in the SNAP food program, so the Republcians can increase the crop insurance for big Ag. Southern Democrats voted with Republcians to cut the food subsidy for the poor also.
We know that Republicans have this Ayn Randian view that the poor have no use and should be just left ot die, but what about those southern democrats?
How about the cutting of Meals on Wheels for seniors by Republcians?
How about cutting head start funds?
Republcians are destroying this country and are looking out only for the interest of the rich and their corporate cronies. Has anyone seen any purposed cuts to the corporations and the oil companies and from the rich? Any proposals to close loop holes for these entities and to stop giving them welfare?
May 17, 2013 at 11:28 a.m.RECOMMEND100
PkSullyChicagoNYT Pick
"The Republicans are worse" is not a comforting argument to citizens who just want good government. Those of us caught in the middle of this battle between the extremists on the left and right see that the Republicans are political opportunists AND that the Obama administration has failed in these 3 cases.
May 17, 2013 at 11:48 a.m.RECOMMEND18
Thomas L. MischlerCairo, EgyptNYT Pick
This isn't about race, folks. Let go of that one. Clinton was a run-of-the-mill American white guy who faced the same insane scrutiny. Racism is certainly a minor factor, but when the left screams racism re: Obama, it sacrifices much of its credibility - especially when the Right parades Alan West and Herman Cain across the stage.
The fact is, the Republican party has moved so far to the right over the past few decades that it is no longer able, much less willing, to countenance any Democrat in the White House. Accepted dogma mandates 100% control of the government by conservative Republicans - White House, Supreme Court, and Congress. They have convinced themselves that the US has veered so far to the left that extreme measures are the only thing that will save us from oblivion.
This is tantamount to a religion for the Right. Facts, logic, proof - there is no time for such frivolities. They must save America from itself before it is too late.
May 17, 2013 at 12:17 p.m.RECOMMEND81
Jack MahoneyMaineNYT Pick
I remember a real government scandal ....
It all started when a former ambassador, Joseph Wilson, was asked by the CIA to research a statement made by Secretary of State Colin Powell (before the United Nations) and others in the Administration that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was buying weapons-grade uranium in Africa. Mr. Wilson found that not to be the case, and when the Administration made that same claim as justification for the invasion, in July 2003 Wilson wrote in The New York Times,
"More than 200 American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq already. We have a duty to ensure that their sacrifice came for the right reasons."
Came for the right reasons? Was it possible that American youth were dying in Iraq for something other than the right reasons? That question so haunted Republican members of Congress that their non-stop sniping at the Administration in search of credible answers has been cited as a Golden Age of representative democracy.
No, wait a minute. That last part didn't happen. Actually, the Republicans led cheers for "Mission Accomplished," and Bill O'Reilly of Fox News said in 2004, "“You don’t criticize the Commander-in-Chief in the middle of a firefight. That could be construed as putting U.S. forces in jeopardy and undermining morale."
So, Iraq continued. To put a cherry on top, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Vice President's right-hand man, "outed" CIA covert operative Valerie Plame, who happened to be Mr. Wilson's wife.
Now that was a scandal.
May 17, 2013 at 12:59 p.m.RECOMMEND143
RRGuamNYT Pick
The Republicans are playing to win, period, and they're treating American politics like a take-no-prisoners video game. That's absurd enough, but they're doing it on OUR dime -- we hired these people to GOVERN, not to bully Democrats into a perpetual grudge-match of "King of the Hill."
If most American adults behaved like this on the job they'd be fired; school children would be sent to the prinicpal and then sent home.
This must stop. The NYTimes is doing a fantastic job to confront this madness, but hey, we readers are mostly part of the choir. It's up to the Democrats, and especially the Obama administration, to take off the gloves and give all Americans the Spectacle (yes, capital "S") the Republicans are bluffing for. The best way to handle bullies is to bully them back. Come right down to their level if that's what it takes -- the well-being of the country is at stake here.
May 17, 2013 at 1:03 p.m.RECOMMEND67
Bill MeekerSoutheastNYT Pick
I am re-reading some Kurt Vonnegut and find his ideas on society even more relevant today than they were in the 60's. From 'Breakfast of Champions':
"Ideas on Earth were badges of friendship or enmity. Their content did not matter. Friends agreed with friends, in order to express friendliness. Enemies disagreed with enemies, in order to express enmity."
Another apt thought:
"I had become more and more enraged and mystified by the idiot decisions made by my countrymen. And then I had come suddenly to pity them, for I understood how innocent and natural it was for them to behave so abominably, and with such abominable results: They were doing their best to live like people invented in story books. "
Clearly, the republicans have been spending way too much time re-reading their own material.
May 17, 2013 at 2:04 p.m.RECOMMEND35
CPBrownBaltimore, MDNYT Pick
There have been very real and major problems with the way government agencies have recently handled/mishandled issues like privacy, non-partisanship, transparency, freedom of the press, etc. And the result is to blame the GOP for pointing them out and/or investigating them ?
Instead of trying to shift the blame for government failure in a partisan way, it would be better to acknowledge that many of these problems are systemic and non-partisan. It would be much more productive for the press to be the watchdog for the people, rather than the excuser for either party.
Excessive zeal in partisan bullying at the IRS, much too aggressive pursuit of leaks that trample freedom of the press, blatant attempts to frame an international tragedy to inhibit political damage are all actions that should be denounced, no matter the party in power.
We need more information about all of these situations, not less, so that it might be possible to avoid them in the future. To imply that all would be right in America if only we had more Democrats and fewer Republicans is a naivety that will only result in more of the same governmental lapses.
May 17, 2013 at 2:12 p.m.RECOMMEND16
Ecce HomoJackson Heights, NYNYT Pick
You're right that Benghazi never was a scandal, and the IRS affair is a mini-scandal. You're wrong to say that the AP search is different.
Despite the fact that the Times has been unquestioningly reporting AP's account as truth, the evidence shows that AP's account is badly exaggerated. For instance, AP's account is that the Justice Department obtained all phone records for a large number of AP reporters for a full two-month period. In fact, the Justice Department obtained the phone records of a small number of reporters, for some period of time that fell within two months.
Moreover, AP willfully implied that the Justice Department listened in on actual conversations. In fact, the Justice Department obtained no recordings at all - only numbers dialed and dates and times.
Next, AP asserted without benefit of evidence that the Justice Department failed to make any effort to obtain the evidence it was seeking without resorting to AP reporters' phone records. But the evidence is that the Justice Department went to lengths to obtain the facts it needed, and subpoenaed phone records only after those exhaustive efforts were unsuccessful.
Finally, the AP and its media allies play down or ignore the fact that the Justice Department was investigating a national security leak - a serious criminal offense. Regardless how much the media would like it to be otherwise, the fact is that journalists enjoy no legal immunity from criminal investigations.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
May 17, 2013 at 3:51 p.m.RECOMMEND35
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