Rove to Former Obama Advisor Plouffe Claiming IRS Scandal Wasn’t Political: ‘Baloney’

NewsBusters.org ^ | June 2, 2013 | Noel Sheppard

[Kaslin]

Former George W. Bush senior advisor Karl Rove and former Barack Obama senior advisor David Plouffe got into quite a heated debate on ABC’s This Week Sunday.

When Plouffe claimed the ongoing Internal Revenue Service scandal wasn’t political, Rove pushed back twice saying “Baloney.”

Rove to Former Obama Advisor Plouffe Claiming IRS Scandal Wasn’t Political: ‘Baloney’

DAVID PLOUFFE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO BARACK OBAMA: But there's been no suggestion. The independent, the prosecutor looked at this - excuse me, the inspector general - said there was no politics involved in this. No one has indicated at all that the White House is involved. The IRS director was appointed under President Bush, served under both presidents, attested. No one from, so this was not a political pursuit.

KARL ROVE, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO GEORGE W. BUSH: Baloney. Baloney.

PLOUFFE: Not baloney, Karl.

ROVE: If it was not political then why are only conservative groups being targeted?

PLOUFFE: There were liberal groups targeted.

ROVE: Oh really? Name one. Name one. But what conservative, what liberal group had Tea Party or patriot in its name that it was targeted? Not a single liberal group has appeared to say…

PLOUFFE: You're taking license here, Karl.

ROVE: No, I'm not. I am not at all.

PLOUFFE: This was not an effort driven by the White House. It would be the dumbest political effort of all time. Okay? This was IRS people…

ROVE: I didn't suggest it was being driven by the White House. But I do think when the President…

PLOUFFE: So you think people sitting in the Cincinnati office decided…

ROVE: No, no, I think people sitting in Cincinnati, Laguna Nigel, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., listened to Senator Max Baucus, Senator Chuck Schumer, President Obama. When President Obama goes out in 2008, 2010 and calls these groups quote “a threat to democracy,” he's blowing the dog whistle.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, HOST: How do you explain it when the administrator who was overseeing this went back and said actually narrow the guidelines, was trying to get them to change and they wouldn't do it?

ROVE: Well look, that's my point. We have a culture at the IRS that has been going after conservative groups, and this administration has done an ineffective job of managing it. When this issue came up in 2010, if the administration was serious about it, President Obama should have picked up the phone and called Geithner at Treasury and said, “You better get your secretary for Treasury or the undersecretary to check into this because this is corrosive of our democracy to have the IRS targeting conservative groups."

[Kaslin]

Notice that Plouffe boy can not name one liberal group that was targeted by the IRS?

[DoughtyOne]

Can we PLEASE get somebody better to represent our views on these shows?

I am offended that Rove is put on these shows to represent my views.

[gusopol3]

It was a lot more than “blowing the dog whistle.” It was a concerted effort by Obama to suppress the tea party vote. Cui bono?

[who knows what evil?]

Scripted BS...this was just put out there to make conservatives think that ‘ol Karl is ‘one of us’...just in time for 2016.

[jimbo123]

Crocodile tears from Tokyo Rove. He hates the Tea Party as much as the Obama Junta hate the Tea Party.

[Kaslin]

Blah, blah, blah

[Kaslin]

Correct

[jimbo123]

[Kaslin]

Blah, blah, blah

[KarlInOhio]

When President Obama goes out in 2008, 2010 and calls these groups quote “a threat to democracy,” he's blowing the dog whistle.

A dog whistle is a hidden signal to the dog to act. Obama was yelling "Sic 'em" at the top of his lungs.

[who knows what evil?]

That sums it up nicely...Rove is a democrat sleeper...

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, he, McCain, and the party leadership have each unfairly and contemptuously labeled the Tea Party as being something it isn’t. The slander is thick and vile...

[latina4dubya]

he can hate the Tea Party and still think it’s wrong that they have been targeted... in fact, that is the way it should be... no matter which groups are targeted, there should be outrage all around...

[jimbo123]

Rove’s job is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of GOP donors and then to waste it on ineffective advertising on liberal media TV and radio stations.

It’s all about funneling advertising dollars to Rove’s buddies in the liberal media rather than spending the dollars wisely on grassroots GOTV efforts.

[jimbo123]

Less money for Tea Party means more money for Karl Rove and his crony consultants and advertising media buying firms.

[mosesdapoet]

ABC Presenting Rove As Republican Spokeman On Former Democrat Speechwriter’s Show “This Week”

[chiller]

The same talking point was used by Axelrod on MTP. They’re really scrambling to avoid the ruin this will cause them.

[tennmountainman]

Does anybody really think Rove and his GOPe friends are offended by
the targeting of Tea Party organizations? Does anybody really believe
Rove and his GOPe friends want MORE Tea Party conservatives in DC?

[Cannoneer]

I'm certain that the true conservatives and Tea Party orgs that were targeted were not too happy about Rove being their spokesperson.

The Libs at the table were circling the waggons to dampen the negative press toward the whitehouse and deflect blame.

ONE RINO on the panel and no one that was truly injured or represents the injured Tea Party in attendance.

Rush is right. This will not pin Obama to the mat.

[vette6387]

“I am offended that Rove is put on these shows to represent my views.”

Offended? Rove is not high on my list of favorites either, but he is an effective spokesperson and that’s why he’s on FNC. If you are “offended,” why not write the network and express yourself. Tell them who you would prefer.