900 Days

It has been 900 days (!) since the IRS scandal broke. The Obama administration, the democrats in general, and their trained hamsters in the main stream media have allowed the weaponization of a major government agency against opponents of this president to fade into the fog of time. Not a single IRS employed person has been fired, nor has a single IRS policy has been changed. After all, Barack Obama has indicated that there was not a "smidgin" of proof that there was any wrong doing. That's a blatant lie, but the narrative has become ingrained.

Last week, we learned that Lois Lerner—you remember, the IRS exec who took the fifth, rather than testify about her role in targeting opponents of Obama—will skate free. The Obama Department of Justice will not bring any charges against her.

In an editorial, Investors Business Daily comments:

The Law: The Justice Department declined to file charges against IRS enforcer Lois Lerner, who singled out Tea Party groups for scrutiny on political grounds. With no accountability, it's now open season on dissidents.

Is there anyone out there subject to an Internal Revenue Service audit or a multiyear delay in approval for tax-exempt status who won't be concerned that the process is politically rigged against them?

That's the message the Justice Department sent when, in a classic Friday night news dump, it decided to not file charges against IRS tax-exempt groups chief Lois Lerner. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Justice said that while it found "mismanagement, poor judgment and inertia," there was no case for a criminal prosecution.

This is absurd. Lerner was caught red-handed targeting Tea Party and other conservative groups, wrote partisan emails to prove it, then engaged in a massive cover-up effort — with a suspiciously crashed server, an oddly missing BlackBerry and plenty of excuses.

She evaded even more accountability by shielding herself with the Fifth Amendment in Congress. The consequences to her have been . .. retirement on a full pension with all her bonuses to a multimillion-dollar mansion in the deep D.C. suburbs.

As for her victims — and they were many — there is no justice. Now everyone, no matter what their political leanings, will wonder if they too are a political target by an out-of-control agency protected by the Justice Department.

Because that's the real consequence of this failure to hold Lerner accountable: A precedent has been set.

At the end of the day, it's the precedent that matters. First, this travesty has confirmed the notion that stonewalling is the preferred strategy when an administration confronts a scandal. Second, taking the fifth with no consequences is the preferred strategy when caught doing illegal things. Third, destroying critical evidence that impedes a criminal investigation will go unpunished and works well to hide the truth.

But the most important precedent goes to the next president or the one after that. Again from IBD:

The Democrats may giggle with glee at seeing another of their own skate free based on the president's executive actions through his DOJ flunkies.

But two can play that game. If a Republican as unscrupulous as Obama wins the election, the same banana republic politics in government will make Democrats the next victims.

The next GOP president may not be a gentleman of the George W. Bush variety. Political parties should be careful what they wish for.

Every president has a legacy. Obama's may very well be this awful precedent.