After five years in office, our news media is finally awakening to the fact that the Obama administration is full of liars and thieves who have abused their power. It seems that it took a scandal involving their own (AP and Fox's James Rosen) to stir their ire. In addition, a large segment of the population who pay taxes are waking up and realizing that our IRS is too powerful and has abused its power against ordinary people in a discriminating fashion. Throw in Benghazi, where US Government whistle blowers are breaking loose from their political gatekeepers and coming forward to tell what they know about the government's malfeasance and dereliction of duty-which resulted in 4 Americans killed, and suddenly, the media and even a lot of liberals are realizing we have another Nixon in the White House.
With IRS, we learn that there was an inspector general investigation in progress last year and it was kept under wraps until after the election. We learn that it was not just a couple of zealots in Cincinnati, but that top level officials-
the top level officials in IRS and Treasury- had been told. Then we learn that an unsuspecting person was asked to attend a
press briefing and ask a pre-arranged question that would allow the IRS
(Lois Lerner) to disclose the investigation and thus, get out ahead of the soon-to-break story. Further, Obama's top White House aides had also been advised, but, of course, they didn't feel it was necessary to inform the president, who eventually heard about from reading his daily newspaper or some such rot. We also learn that the lady in charge of the unit doing the snail-like work on 501 c4 applications is now in charge of the IRS unti that will oversee ObamaCare.
Coincidence? We don't think so.
Motive? To limit the efforts of conservative groups to organize voters in the election. Ask the old Community Organizer himself. He knows how those things work on the streets of Chicago. But he only read about it in the papers while checking the ball scores.
Oh, by he way. It has just been announced that Ms Lerner will invoke the 5th Amendment before Congress tomorrow. Nothing to see here, Folks.
So while the IRS abuses awaken some Americans from their slumber, the media is shocked and dismayed at learning that the AP and James Rosen have had their phone records examined by Eric Holder's corrupt Justice Department. Even the phones set aside for the press in the Capitol building were scrutinized for toll records.
While it is encouraging to finally see some press scrutiny of this outlaw administration, I say, "Where have you been?" I refer specifically to Operation Fast and Furious, which the media pointedly ignored even though hundreds of lives in Mexico have been lost from the involved weapons as well as one and possibly two US agents (Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata). The Justice Department stonewalled subpoenas for records, Eric Holder committed perjury, and Obama placed the aforementioned records under Executive Privilege as the two agents' families futilely demanded justice-just as the families of the 4 Americans killed in Benghazi are asking for justice.
Outside of CBS reporter Sheryl Attkisson, how many mainstream news investigative reporters tried to get to the bottom of Fast and Furious? It boiled down to Attkisson, the conservative blogsophere, and talk radio. To date, it has not been enough. Now Attkisson has come out and expressed her suspicion that her own communications may also have been compromised. We also learn this week that the ex-US Attorney for Arizona, Dennis Burke, leaked smear information about an ATF whistle blower and lied about it to investigators. Possibly, just possibly, these developments may kick- start the inquiry. It screams out for justice and accountability.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are predictably circling the wagons around the President. It's all politics, they maintain. The Republicans did that too during Watergate until the smoking gun came out and they took that walk down to the White House, led by Barry Goldwater.
I lived through much of the Watregate scandal in Washington DC. I was mostly sympathetic to Nixon as a president and thought at the time that much of the scandal was a witch hunt. I was repelled by the site of the main figures walking in and out of the courthouse and being cursed at by the crowds on the street. I sensed that certain members of the Watergate panel had their minds made up from Day One-especially Elizabeth Holtzman and Robert Drinan.
But in the end, the witches were there. Looking back, it is clear that Nixon abused his office and deserved to lose it. There come times when we must be intellectually honest and recognize wrong-doing no matter who commits it. The news media, led by the Washington Post, played a major role in bringing out the facts of Watergate. But that was a long, long time ago. We now wait to see if we still have a press that merits the title.
