by Bob Owens
It’s good rule of thumb that you can judge the seriousness of a scandal by how much those at the center of it try to deny their behavior, and failing that, try to mitigate their behavior.
The three-year long ATF/EPA/FBI/IRS/OSHA/etc. Executive Branch plot to harass 400+ Tea Party groups after their stunning successes in the 2010 mid-term elections was obviously orchestrated in the White House itself. When multiple federal agencies under the explicit control of the Executive begin targeting the exact same people for intimidation and harassment, no rational person will argue that it was by accident. The plotting was by design, for one reason: to prevent Barack Obama from being overwhelmed by grassroots support in the 2012 Presidential election.
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that such behavior is immoral, illegal, and unconstitutional. This behavior was designed to impede the ability of these 400+ groups to function and organize, to undermine their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. It was an apparently effective plot to cripple political speech and undermine the social networking that is an essential part of political campaigning.
My fellow Americans, you cannot have a much more fundamental assault on our federal Republic than an Presidency that abuses the power of various executive branch regulatory and law enforcement agencies, and who uses the weight of the federal government to immorally, illegally, and unconstitutionally suppress the opposition.
