A new Washington Post poll finds Americans believe the targeting of pro-life groups and conservatives by the International Revenue service was a deliberate act.
“As you may know it’s been disclosed that the IRS singled out some conservative political groups for extra questions about their tax status. Do you think it was appropriate or inappropriate for the IRS to do this?” the poll asked. Some 74 percent of respondents say it was inappropriate compared to just 20 percent who say it was appropriate.
Another 51 percent said they thought the IRS actions were illegal while 44 percent said they were inappropriate but not illegal.
The Post asked, “Do you think this extra focus on conservative political groups by the IRS was (a deliberate effort to harass these groups) or (an administrative mistake that was not intended to treat these groups unfairly)?” Some 56 percent of Americans think the targeting was deliberate while 31 percent disagree.
“In dealing with this situation with the IRS, do you think the Obama administration (is honestly disclosing what it knows about what occurred) or (is trying to cover up the facts)?” the poll asked and a plurality (45-42 percent) say the Obama administration is trying to cover up the IRS abuse.
UPDATE: A Fox News poll released later on Tuesday shows over half think the White House either knew it was happening or was behind the operation. From its story:
Most voters think the White House was involved in the IRS scandal in some way: 37 percent think the administration knew it was going on but didn’t initiate the policy, while another 29 percent believe the White House directed the IRS to go after those groups.
About a quarter (24 percent) says the White House had absolutely nothing to do with what the IRS was doing.
Almost all of those who identify with the Tea Party movement think the White House was involved: 58 percent think the administration intentionally had them targeted, and 31 percent believe that while the White House knew about the unfair treatment, it wasn’t behind it.
Confidence in the IRS has dropped significantly. The poll finds 42 percent of voters have “a great deal” (7 percent) or “some” (35 percent) confidence in the agency. That’s down from 62 percent who had at least some confidence in the IRS in May 2003 (the last time the Fox News poll asked Americans to rate the IRS).
Seventy-eight percent of voters are concerned that certain groups have been singled out, including 50 percent who are “very” concerned and 28 percent “somewhat” concerned.
Even more — 84 percent — are worried individual Americans could receive the same unfair treatment (61 percent “very” and 23 percent “somewhat” concerned).
With the scandal concerning the IRS and its targeting of pro-life and conservative groups growing, national conservative activists are planning nationwide rallies today at IRS offices across the country.
New reports indicate President Barack Obama’s top attorney knew in April that the Internal Revenue Service was targeting pro-life and conservative groups. The reports show Obama’s top lawyer was notified in April that the Treasury Department’s inspector general had finished an audit of the IRS over the allegations.
The IRS will soon face more than controversy and Congressional hearings over its discrimination of pro-life and conservative groups. The federal agency will soon find itself in court.
The news comes as a report shows James Dobson, the pro-life family advocate, disclosed that he was a victim of IRS discrimination because he spoke out against pro-abortion President Barack Obama.
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Last week, President Barack Obama addressed the massive IRS scandal and promised it would never happen again.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again,” he promised.
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced he will hold a hearing on the IRS scandal this week. The federal agency has targeted pro-life groups as well as conservative and religious organizations.
In one case LifeNews has profiled, a pro-life group was told it had to promote abortion. A top pro-life legal group also informed LifeNews that cases it handled support mounting accusations that demonstrate the agency’s abuse of pro-life organizations.
