Welcome to 1984.  The government that is supposed to govern by the consent of the people is now attacking those who seek to preserve the Constitution.  Even as a number of non-profit organizations that aid and abet illegal aliens or Islamic terrorists are able to operate without any fear of investigation, we now know that tea party patriot organizations have been singled out for audits by high level officials at the IRS.

On Friday, it was all about “low-level employees” and was not “politically motivated.”  It must have been a random glitch in the system that forced these officials to target limited government educational groups.  Now the AP is reporting that this witch hunt was approved at the highest levels and was going on for 2 years:

The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration is expected to release the results of a nearly yearlong investigation in the coming week. The AP obtained part of the draft report, which has been shared with congressional aides.

Among the other revelations, on Aug. 4, 2011, staffers in the IRS’ Rulings and Agreements office “held a meeting with chief counsel so that everyone would have the latest information on the issue.”

On Jan, 25, 2012, the criteria for flagging suspect groups was changed to, “political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform/movement,” the report says.

During an election year, it’s hard to imagine a directive like this not coming straight from the White House.  Evidently, the audits were so ubiquitous that a number of tea party organizations approached Mark Levin, President of Landmark Legal Foundation, complaining of harassment from the IRS.  Mark Levin then wrote a letter to the Treasury Inspector General last March demanding an investigation into improper inquiries.  These improper inquiries included demands from the IRS that these organizations divulge their political positions on any given policy issue, list all of their key members and family members, and explain their relationships with media outlets.

In response to Levin’s letter, the inspector general launched the year-long investigation referenced in the AP article.  At the very minimum, House Republicans need to hold hearings after the report is released, and bring in Levin and the other organizations who were involved in this story from day one.  Additionally, they must also strike out at the root of the problem.  Over the next two months, the House will be taking up the annual appropriations bills, including the Financial Services appropriations bill, which funds the IRS.  They must refuse to sign off on the final bill funding the IRS before there is a policy rider criminalizing this behavior with the threat of jail time.

Moreover, while they are considering IRS funding, Republicans must completely defund the Obamacare individual mandate enforcement that will be under the auspices of the IRS.  If you are a young conservative without government-approved health insurance, rest assured they will come knocking on your door.

The IRS scandal provides Boehner with the opportunity to restore the backbone he lost during the Benghazi scandal.

Meanwhile, in a legal field dominated by pro bono leftist legal defense groups that advocate for trees or illegal aliens, you might want to help Landmark in their continued stand for We the People.