You may have heard the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 allocated $80 billion over the next 10 years to the Internal Revenue Service. By itself, this sounds expensive, but not all that alarming. After all, we know the IRS is full of professionals who don’t try to turn people’s lives into a living hell of lawyers, tax returns, and audits more invasive than a TSA agent who moonlights as an OBGYN.
Then, a video started circulating showing what purported to be IRS agents training with firearms. From there, people on the Right began to freak out and spread this idea far and wide, or as far and wide as the Interwebs will allow. Several fact checks later, the story itself was debunked, but the damage was already done. High profile conservatives echoed the sentiment, sounded the warning sirens, and whipped up their followers into a froth that would make a Starbucks barista jealous.
Of course, this reaction is understandable, given the IRS’s recent history regarding conservatives. Lois Lerner and her happy band of IRS agents made quite a splash by discriminating against conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status because…I shudder to think about it…they had words like “patriot” and “TEA Party” in their names! Oh, sure, they went after Leftist groups, too, but the predominant victims were the conservative groups.
I will admit I have more faith in Mexican water quality than I do the IRS playing straight with us, but I have to offer a meager defense of the IRS here. The Right overreacted with their initial “OHMYGODTHEIRSISGONNASHOOTUS!” response because there is a plausible explanation. For one, we don’t even know how many IRS agents are going to be hired, let alone armed. And, yes, there is a fraction of the IRS that does need to be armed as part of the job, but they are in the vast minority.
Having said all of that, the IRS does bear some responsibility in adding fuel to the conspiratorial fires with their ineptitude. When they initially posted ads for openings as a Criminal Investigation Special Agent, there was a requirement to “Carry a firearm and be willing to use deadly force, if necessary.” After an IRS employee deleted the requirement because…he or she thought the verbiage shouldn’t be there, the Right, who was already fired up about the potential of armed IRS agents, jumped to conclusions again. The delay in acknowledging and addressing the issue didn’t help, either. When dealing with conspiracy hypotheses, whenever there is silence by a government figure or entity, that silence will get filled with wild ass speculation.
And that’s where Leftists get ammunition to discredit both the well-grounded and the batshit crazy criticisms the Right levies. One thing the Right doesn’t understand about the Left is no matter how well-sourced and factual your argument is, the Left will never accept it as truth because they disagree with it and you. Although this makes people like Joe Rogan look like Nostradamus, Leftists will continue to perpetuate the ideas they pulled out of their collectivist asses to avoid admitting they were wrong.
However, when the Right pushes a narrative that is full of holes, the Left doesn’t have to work that hard to discredit it. They simply mock its inconsistencies, make sweeping generalizations about how dumb the Right is, and move on with their days. That’s why it’s important not to jump to conclusions. Sure, Leftists won’t admit it, but others may be paying attention, looking for information or facts to help them make sense of things. Coming off like a slightly more coherent Gary Busey doesn’t help.
Instead, it’s okay to do a bit of digging to make the right call the first time. Sure, Leftists will get the early advantage, but when they sound batshit crazy from the jump, does letting them keep talking really hurt?
Tag: inflation reduction act of 2022
Leftist Lexicon Word of the Week
Leftists had a bad week due in large part to a Republican (and one not named Donald Trump for a change!). In an election result that surprised almost no one who isn’t in a coma, or who watches MSNBC which is pretty much the same thing, Wyoming Congresscritter Liz “Not Dick” Cheney lost in the Republican primary for her seat. And by “lost,” I mean ass-blasted.
In an unrelated story, former campaign staffers for the Michael Dukakis campaign sent Rep. Cheney a helmet and a ticket for a tank ride.
The reason Leftists were upset at Cheney’s loss, aside from the fact she was one of the few Republicans in office trying to hold Donald Trump accountable for…well, being Donald Trump, was because she put didn’t put her party ahead of the country. You see, Leftists says Republicans, especially of the Trump fan variety, have done that, and apparently that’s bad. I’m always up for a good party, and I don’t mind if it’s out in the country, but I’m guessing that’s not what they mean. Let’s see if we can figure it out together.
party before country
What the Left thinks it means – putting political and ideological goals ahead of the betterment of America
What it really means – Republicans not doing what Leftists want
Liz Cheney’s not the first Republican to gain the love of Leftists, just one of the latest. Remember John McCain? He was one of the best-known “country before party” types, although he preferred a different term for his fair-weather friendship with the GOP, “maverick.” Leftists loved to praise McCain for bucking his party and painted him as the kind of Republican that could unite the country and even persuade Democrats to vote for him.
Then, he ran for President in 2008. Those adoring Leftists who couldn’t say enough good things about him? Yeah, they called every vile name in the book. He went from being a “good Republican” in Leftist circles to the second coming of Hitler, Stalin, and Leo Sayer all rolled into one. Huh…who could have seen the Left’s love affair with McCain go south as soon as he ran for President against a Democrat?
I mean, aside from Ray Charles.
And here’s the thing: it keeps happening. When Liz Cheney ran for the House, she was vilified for, well, being related to Dick Cheney. Once she got there, she voted with what Donald Trump wanted 93% of the time. So, what changed?
Her vocal opposition to Trump.
Since then, the same Leftists who treated her like dog shit suddenly admired her courage for standing up against her party and the President. If Leftist Twitter (a redundancy, I know) is any indication, there are a lot of people who say they’d vote for Cheney if she ran for President in 2024 because of her brave stance.
Yeah, I’m pretty sure those Leftists will “forget” their promises as soon as a Leftist throws his/her/its/zer/whatever made-up pronoun the candidate uses this millisecond hat into the ring. Then, all those alleged potential voters will abandon Cheney like Joe Biden abandoned Afghanistan, only with a lot less military hardware being left behind.
The same thing that McCain experienced will happen to Cheney. Leftists won’t give her a second glance when running for President (all while praising her and then slamming her), Republicans won’t give her a first look because of her betrayal of the party, and Independents won’t care because she’s a member of one of the two major political parties that keep fucking shit up. Great strategy there, Liz. Maybe you can get a job with The Lincoln Project. Apparently, they have a soft spot for anti-Trump pseudo-Republicans/conservatives. Oh, and little boys, too.
Too soon? Naaaaaaaah!
Cheney isn’t the only squishy Republican out there. Depending on the issue and circumstances, there are more than a few, especially in the Senate, who will cross the aisle. Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell to name a few. And no matter how many times they stab the GOP in the back, Leftists will never accept them.
But they will unfailingly cheer them on when they do pull a Julius Caesar on the GOP.
Of course, when it’s one of their own pulling a “maverick,” Leftists aren’t as keen on it. Just ask Tulsi Gabbard, who has been the subject of numerous slanders and vitriolic comments because she dares to hold the Left accountable for the shitty things they do and support. And, surprise surprise, that’s by design. To the Left, it’s okay for Republicans to sell out, but not for Democrats to do so because Leftists believe they represent the people. So, by daring to step out of line, honest Democrats like Gabbard betray the people, which Leftists can’t abide by…unless they’re the ones doing it.
Funny how that works, isn’t it?
While Leftists treat the “party before country” standard as a one-way street, it’s very much a two-way main thoroughfare with buses and commuter trains running at regular intervals to and from its epicenter. Take the recent Inflation Creation…I mean Reduction Act. It was billed (see what I did there) as a way to combat current inflation woes, but a deeper dive into what the bill actually proposed shows a lot of spending on items that don’t exactly fight inflation.
– a minimum tax on corporations to fight climate change and assist with health care initiatives
– allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices for certain drugs…in 2026
– more money to the IRS for enforcement (yay?)
– spending money to investigate the causes of current drought conditions, especially in the western United States (insert Sam Kinneson comments about living in a desert here)
– extending financial assistance for the Affordable Care Act
– tax credits for buying a handful of electric cars
Well, around the time it was passed, the focus changed from reducing inflation to “a major climate, health and tax bill.” What happened? I would hope it was the fact the media got the memo that government spending a lot of money doesn’t actually reduce inflation, but that memo would have to be accompanied by a TikTok video with puppets, so it’s unlikely. Instead, I think it was to provide the necessary cover for Leftists to load down a bill with items on their wish lists while pretending it’s supposed to address a current concern for most Americans.
But it’s Republicans who put party before country?
While we watch prices go so high we can’t even pay attention without taking out a second mortgage, we should take a moment to realize the game being played on all of us right now. While we may not always agree on which major political party is doing the most for Americans right now (spoiler alert: it’s neither), to have Leftists proclaim one side is guilty of it while they’re constantly screwing over the country to achieve ideological goals is both frustrating and impressive. It’s frustrating because Republicans tend to roll over and take it, and impressive because of the sheer lack of self-awareness necessary to pull off such a feat.
And the best part of it all? The Founding Fathers urged us not to have political parties for this very reason. These men, who Leftists dismiss as backwards racists who couldn’t possibly imagine what life would be like in 2022, had the foresight to warn us that politicians would put personal and political ambitions above the good of the people they allegedly represent. Good thing Leftists are so forward-thinking and civic-minded so that doesn’t happen.
Oh, wait.