The Problem Isn't That Lois Lerner Doesn't Like Conservatives, It's That the IRS Gave Her a Weapon Against Them
Lois Lerner isn't the problem. The power of the IRS-and so many other government agencies-is a bludgeon that will inevitably be used by almost anybody who gets their hands on it.
It's no surprise that Lois Lerner, the former Internal Revenue Service official whose name is now eternally connected to politically motivated abuse of the tax agency's powers, doesn't like conservatives. She's a registered Democrat who explicitly targeted tea party groups during her tenure at the IRS. So the release by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) of emails from 2012 in which she referred to conservatives as "rabid," "crazies," and "assholes" (the "ass" is inexplicably redacted, but I think we can assume) isn't a shocker.
It is interesting, though, that she reacted to overhearing Britons discussing America's financial straits by pointing out that "they don't seem to see that they can't afford to keep up their welfare state either."
But many people have strong political opinions, whether or not they stupidly express those thoughts in emails sent through government accounts. She would have still held those beliefs if she'd confined herself to GMail—or kept her trap shut entirely.
And many of her critics have expressed similar feelings about liberals. Or about both liberals and conservatives (*cough* *cough*).
Strong political preferences are almost certain to be held by people holding government office. That isn't a reason to go looking for rare candidates who have managed to develop the competence to perform a responsible job without, somehow, acquiring political preferences.
Because there's almost certainly something seriously wrong with such people.
The proper response to the "revelation" that people have political biases is to make sure that they can't wield government power against those they don't like. If the people who are going to hold position in government are going to be biased, which is to say, actual human beings, then those positions shouldn't inherently represent weapons to be used against the opposition.
Lois Lerner isn't the problem. The power of the IRS—and so many other government agencies—is a bludgeon that will inevitably be used by almost anybody who gets their hands on it.
