Congressman Roskam's war on IRS as phony as his war on Medicare‏

Visit my Congressman (IL, 6th) Peter Roskam's congressional website, www.roskam.house.gov week after week, month after month, year after year, and you're sure to read about his ongoing war against "Medicare fraud". In Roskam's congressional worldview it's not just America's biggest problem, it's America's only problem. One would think after six and a half years he'd might devote a little pixel space to gargantuan military spending fraud, be it the trillions squandered in our failed wars of conquest in the Middle East, or merely the massive fraud by military contractors for unnecessary and failed weapons systems like the F-35 fighter. Roskam's endless railing against the former and endless support of the latter is no coincidence. He owes his GOP House leadership position to lockstep criticism of any important government program that helps the truly needy and lockstep support for any wasteful program that helps the war party, regardless of how much money is wasted and how many lives are lost. 

 

Last week Roskam finally unveiled a new Bête Noir to parade before his constituents at the behest of his handlers in the GOP Tea Party Leadership: the IRS. Riffing off the phony, trumped up non-scandal the GOP launched against the IRS for doing their job of ascertaining the veracity of tax exempt status of political organizations, Roskam now trumpets his two bills introduced to crack down on alleged IRS abuse with this bit of hyperbole: "This track record shows the IRS has been acting with virtually no regard for the taxpayers they serve and an unacceptable lack of oversight from their senior leadership." What Roskam doesn't include in his overwrought criticism is that the IRS is acting responsibly in tax exempt oversight activities and, in fact, has denied none requested so far. If Roskam dared speak such blasphemy against the real cause of

governmental abuse and waste from his benefactors in the war party, he'd be drummed out as a GOP House leader faster than you can say: "Thanks for that free $25,653 trip to Taiwan so I could visit my daughter". Speaking of which, the Congressman should take a cue from his New York Democratic colleague Bill Owens who was also tripped up by a freebee trip to Taiwan two months after Roskam's October, 2011, soiree. When called out on it, Owens did the right thing and paid back the cost: all $22,000. If Roskam does right by his constituents and his office by paying back the $25,653 for his trip, that will deserve a banner headline on his website...and knock those silly and phony wars against Medicare and the IRS where they belong...in the electronic waste basket.