Everyone agrees that the IRS shouldnt have targeted groups with Tea Party or Patriot in their names for special scrutiny in awarding tax-exempt status. NBC News reports two agents have been disciplined for doing so, and the Justice Department announced a criminal probe. But so far no one has identified a single conservative group that was denied status in the controversial review, though some faced bureaucratic hurdles and had their tax-exempt status delayed.
In fact, the only known 501(c)(4) applicant to have its status denied happens to be a progressive group: the Maine chapter of Emerge America, which trains Democratic women to run for office. Although the group did no electoral work, and didnt participate in independent expenditure campaign activity either, its partisan status apparently disqualified it from being categorized as working for the common good.
Ironically, the national organization and its earlier chapters had gotten tax-exempt status by the IRS during the Bush administration in 2006. But it appears as though the Maine groups rejection triggered a review of the entire organization, and Emerge America and all of its chapters had their tax-exempt status revoked. Emerge reincorporated with 527 status, which requires it to report its donors. You can read the IRS letters explaining its decisions at the bottom of this post.
More: Meet the group the IRS actually denied: Democrats! - Salon.com/BY JOAN WALSH
So, no Tea Party / Patriot groups were denied - but a progressive group was. I fail to see the logic. Just another example why there is no IRS scandal - except against progressives.
You being in denial does not mean that there wasn't a scandal, even Laws broken. The IRS fucked up, big time. If anything you show that it wasn't limited to Conservative groups. That is not a defense.
