Get the IRS’s hands off my Obamacare!
by digby
A mere four days after news broke that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) had improperly targeted conservative political groups for scrutiny, GOP Sen. Dean Heller (NV) is threatening to introduce legislation that would “deny the IRS funds to hire new agents to implement Obamacare.” The bill would effectively make it impossible for the agency to provide millions of Americans with federal subsidies to buy the very health coverage they are required to have under the law.
Heller argues that this extreme measure may be necessary in light of the unfolding IRS scandal, echoing a growing trope among conservative politicians and right-wing commentators. Since last Friday, big-name conservatives including House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), former presidential contender Newt Gingrich, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and various right-wing media outlets have questioned whether or not the IRS can be trusted to implement Obamacare. The implication is that if the IRS singles out conservative political groups, what’s to stop them from snooping through Americans’ private health care information or imposing fines on companies they don’t like?
Oh no, it’s much more evil than that:
While right-wing commentators and politicians are already using the incident to smear the health law by raising questions about IRS access to Americans’ private medical data, Bachmann took things one step further:
Since the IRS also is the chief enforcer of Obamacare requirements, [Bachmann] asked whether the IRS’s admission means it “will deny or delay access to health care” for conservatives.
As you know, Bachman has been on a jihad against Ohbaaaaamacare for years and notoriously proclaimed that it would “literally kill people.” Considering what the IRS will be charged with doing — approving applications for subsidies and tax credits to purchase insurance — apparently Bachman is now upset at the prospect that the IRS will refuse to allow conservatives to be subsidized by the government for their Ohbaaaamacare.
Maybe that’s progress?
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