Coats Notes, the e-mail newsletter from IN Sen. Dan Coats, leads off
Americans Deserve Answers from this Administration
I have tried to respond to Coats in measured terms in the past, but I left it all on the screen this time.
If Indiana evolves at the rate of the rest of the country, that is, at 1% annually, it will take twelve years to turn Blue. Well, could be worse. Mississippi will take even longer.
I am not going to dissect this entire farrago of nonsense. If you watch the news on MSNBC and Comedy Central regularly, or just read this site, you have heard about nearly all of it. My response to Coats and something on the HHS flap (which I had not heard about) are below.
Over the last several days and weeks, a series of incidents have further weakened the faith of the American people in their government. The administration continues to mislead the public on the events in Benghazi that led to the death of four Americans, including our Ambassador. The Department of Justice secretly obtained two months of telephone records from reporters and editors at The Associated Press. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently sought private donations from health care industry executives to help pay for Obamacare. These executives work at the very companies regulated by HHS.
In addition to all of this, there is the outrageous and blatant violation of the First Amendment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Last Friday, the IRS admitted that it targeted conservative groups, including at least one in Indiana, for additional scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status. Targeting groups based on political viewpoints is a despicable abuse of power and will not be tolerated.
But it doesn’t stop there. We now have discovered that the IRS official who oversaw this scandal-plagued office was promoted to oversee the IRS department in charge of implementing the health care law. This is beyond stunning.
An apology from the IRS and the resignation of its commissioner is not enough. I have joined all of my Senate Republican colleagues in sending the President a letter demanding the administration comply fully with all congressional inquiries on this matter. No more avoiding, no more delaying, no more stonewalling, and no more inappropriate responses. It is time for the administration to start answering some questions for the American people.
The IRS is given the responsibility of carrying out the law. It should never use its powers for partisan purposes -- ever. Violating that standard destroys the integrity of our government and further erodes the trust of the American people.
Neither those who make the law nor those who enforce the law can be above the law. The IRS believed it was above the law when it targeted conservative groups for scrutiny, but now it is the IRS that will be under scrutiny because of its own actions.
Then he gave us a link to him bloviating on the Senate floor.
Coats Discusses IRS Violation of First Amendment Rights
Oh, bullpucky. I wrote back
No, Sen. Coats, it is you and the Republican Party whom we deserve answers from for your obstructionism, your refusal to face reality, your visceral hatred of President Obama, your non-stop lying, your racism, your misogyny, your bigotry, your deliberate wrecking of the economy, and your hatred of American values of fair play, human rights, respect for human life, supporting the troops, the rule of law, and everything else but making the rich richer and the poor poorer, and making sure that you get re-elected no matter the cost to your funders and the country.
Why do you hate America?
What did I leave out?
Now, about HHS:
Did HHS solicit donations from insurers to help promote health law?
Republicans want answers
May 15, 2013 | By Dina Overland
Republican lawmakers are trying to discern whether the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has been requesting insurers donate money to help it promote the reform law and the health insurance exchanges, in particular.
HHS Spokesperson Jason Young disclosed that Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been in touch with healthcare companies, private foundations and businesses in other industries since late March, requesting they provide donations to Enroll America, a non-profit group that promotes health reform, Bloomberg reported.
And although Young said Sebelius' fundraising efforts are legal and haven't included any directly [sic] communications with companies HHS oversees, several GOP lawmakers want proof that she didn't potentially violate a law preventing her from soliciting businesses regulated by her own agency, according to The Hill's Healthwatch.
So, no, it wasn't companies that HHS oversees, and it wasn't to pay costs of Obamacare, and it wasn't pay to play, an accusation that appears later in the story. Pants a charred mess on the ground.
Enroll America, on the other hand, deserves your attention and support.