Month: July 2014

“Can Burning Man Survive Grover Norquist?” is the latest from
Reason TV. Watch above or click the link below for full text,
links, and more.

View this article.

It’s no surprise that Lois Lerner,
the former Internal Revenue Service official whose name is now
eternally connected to politically motivated abuse of the tax
agency’s powers, doesn’t like conservatives. She’s a
registered Democrat who explicitly
targeted tea party groups during her tenure at the IRS. So the

release by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp
(R-Mich.) of emails
from 2012 in which she referred to conservatives as “rabid,”
“crazies,” and “assholes” (the “ass” is inexplicably redacted, but
I think we can assume) isn’t a shocker.

It is interesting, though, that she reacted to
overhearing Britons discussing America’s financial straits by
pointing out that “they don’t seem to see that they can’t afford to
keep up their welfare state either.”

But many people have strong political opinions, whether or not
they stupidly express those thoughts in emails sent through
government accounts. She would have still held those beliefs if
she’d confined herself to GMail—or kept her trap shut entirely.

And many of her critics have expressed similar feelings about
liberals. Or about both liberals and conservatives
(*cough* *cough*).

Strong political preferences are almost certain to be held by
people holding government office. That isn’t a reason to go looking
for rare candidates who have managed to develop the competence to
perform a responsible job without, somehow, acquiring political
preferences.

Because there’s almost certainly something seriously wrong with
such people.

The proper response to the “revelation” that people have
political biases is to make sure that they can’t wield government
power against those they don’t like. If the people who are going to
hold position in government are going to be biased, which is to
say, actual human beings, then those positions shouldn’t inherently
represent weapons to be used against the opposition.

Lois Lerner isn’t the problem. The power of the IRS—and so many
other government agencies—is a
bludgeon that will inevitably be used by almost anybody who gets
their hands on it.

It’s no surprise that Lois Lerner,
the former Internal Revenue Service official whose name is now
eternally connected to politically motivated abuse of the tax
agency’s powers, doesn’t like conservatives. She’s a
registered Democrat who explicitly
targeted tea party groups during her tenure at the IRS. So the

release by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp
(R-Mich.) of emails
from 2012 in which she referred to conservatives as “rabid,”
“crazies,” and “assholes” (the “ass” is inexplicably redacted, but
I think we can assume) isn’t a shocker.

It is interesting, though, that she reacted to
overhearing Britons discussing America’s financial straits by
pointing out that “they don’t seem to see that they can’t afford to
keep up their welfare state either.”

But many people have strong political opinions, whether or not
they stupidly express those thoughts in emails sent through
government accounts. She would have still held those beliefs if
she’d confined herself to GMail—or kept her trap shut entirely.

And many of her critics have expressed similar feelings about
liberals. Or about both liberals and conservatives
(*cough* *cough*).

Strong political preferences are almost certain to be held by
people holding government office. That isn’t a reason to go looking
for rare candidates who have managed to develop the competence to
perform a responsible job without, somehow, acquiring political
preferences.

Because there’s almost certainly something seriously wrong with
such people.

The proper response to the “revelation” that people have
political biases is to make sure that they can’t wield government
power against those they don’t like. If the people who are going to
hold position in government are going to be biased, which is to
say, actual human beings, then those positions shouldn’t inherently
represent weapons to be used against the opposition.

Lois Lerner isn’t the problem. The power of the IRS—and so many
other government agencies—is a
bludgeon that will inevitably be used by almost anybody who gets
their hands on it.

If current
polling is any indication, liberty-friendly Rep. Justin
Amash will coast to victory over his establishment-supported
challenger in the Michigan Republican primary next week. An Amash
victory would be a win for libertarian candidates everywhere, and a
clear sign that independent and conservative voters prefer the
limited government message to the pro-war, pro-corporate platitudes
of Republican Party leadership, writes Robby Soave.

Pundits have described the race as a particularly ugly one,
though that ugliness has been entirely one-sided. Ellis repeatedly
distorted Amash’s voting record in an attempt to portray him as
out-of-step with his conservative district, according to Soave.

It’s the sort of blatant propagandistic demagoguing of
libertarian national security sentiments that might have worked in
the heyday of the Bush and Rove years. But with Amash up by 20
points and less than a week left to go in the campaign, it seems
voters are well aware that Amash represents a different brand of
Republicanism: one they like better.

View this article.

• “Crazies” and “assholes” is how
  ex-IRS official Lois Lerner described conservatives in
  newly released emails.
• To the Republicans threatening to sue him, President Obama has
  this to say:
  “Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hating all the
  time.”
• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict gets uglier. Israel held
  
  four-hour humanitarian ceasefire, but also bombed a U.N. school
  full of kids,
  killing at least 16 people and wounding over 100.
• Congressional Democrats up for reelection are
  pleading with the president to tone down his immigration
  rhetoric. Republicans are infighting, too: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is
  coordinating with House GOPers to undermine Rep. John Boehner (OH)
  
  costly border bill.
  According to a new Associated Press poll, “53 percent of
  Americans believe the United States has no moral obligation to
  offer asylum to people who escape violence or political
  persecution, while 44 percent believe it has that
  responsibility.”
• The economy
  unexpectedly grew at a 4 percent annual rate in the second
  quarter, compared to the 3 percent economists predicted. And, the
  private sector added
  218,000 jobs this month.
• Hillary Clinton “regrets” claiming to have been “dead broke.”
  Sort of. “It was inartful,” she said, but
  “it was accurate.”

Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on
Twitter, and like us on Facebook. You
can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up
here.

• “Crazies” and “assholes” is how
  ex-IRS official Lois Lerner described conservatives in
  newly released emails.
• To the Republicans threatening to sue him, President Obama has
  this to say:
  “Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hating all the
  time.”
• The Israeli-Palestinian conflict gets uglier. Israel held
  
  four-hour humanitarian ceasefire, but also bombed a U.N. school
  full of kids,
  killing at least 16 people and wounding over 100.
• Congressional Democrats up for reelection are
  pleading with the president to tone down his immigration
  rhetoric. Republicans are infighting, too: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is
  coordinating with House GOPers to undermine Rep. John Boehner (OH)
  
  costly border bill.
  According to a new Associated Press poll, “53 percent of
  Americans believe the United States has no moral obligation to
  offer asylum to people who escape violence or political
  persecution, while 44 percent believe it has that
  responsibility.”
• The economy
  unexpectedly grew at a 4 percent annual rate in the second
  quarter, compared to the 3 percent economists predicted. And, the
  private sector added
  218,000 jobs this month.
• Hillary Clinton “regrets” claiming to have been “dead broke.”
  Sort of. “It was inartful,” she said, but
  “it was accurate.”

Follow Reason and Reason 24/7 on
Twitter, and like us on Facebook. You
can also get the top stories mailed to you—sign up
here.