#rsrh QotD, Doing Unto Others As We’ve Been Done By Edition.

The New York Times, discussing the alleged politicization of the IRS in an election year:

Jay Sekulow, a conservative lawyer known more for his stands on religious freedom than for his tax work, said he is representing 16 Tea Party groups that are claiming harassment by the I.R.S., and the number is growing. He said he intended to demand an explanation from the Treasury Department on Wednesday for what he called “McCarthyism” tactics and that he would contact Republican lawmakers this week.

“This is obviously a coordinated effort by the I.R.S. to stifle these Tea Party and Tea Party-affiliated groups, and to stifle free speech activities,” Mr. Sekulow said. “It’s as onerous as what they did to the N.A.A.C.P. in the 1950s, and I plan to make that point.”

Please do, Jay.  Because couching the discussion in precisely those terms was apparently enough to get the NYT to write a story that was… reasonably fair and balanced.  Although that may simply be that even the Old Grey Lady is forced to concede these days that the Obama administration defaults to trying* to use the government as a blunt instrument with which to pummel its enemies.

Moe Lane

PS: I am actually not unsympathetic to the notion of the US government reassessing the tax status of politically-motivated nonprofit organizations.  I can even put together a list of particularly egregious (alleged) offenders in that regard.  Have them hammer… oh, four or five of said groups, just to show good faith, and we can move on; and I think progress on a more comprehensive examination of other nonprofits’ actions in political and media matters could then continue…

*Note the use of the word ‘trying.’