National Review’s Jonah Goldberg has a piece out Wednesday examining why the “Cult of Trump” has taken hold, and it’s well worth a look.
Why the ‘Cult of Trump’ Has Taken Hold https://t.co/bjnz9DILIw via @JonahNRO pic.twitter.com/tnGqxvhrnt
— National Review (@NRO) February 7, 2018
New York magazine writer Jonathan Chait obviously read the piece, but he broke out the highlighter and floated these two theories in one astounding tweet in response to Goldberg’s claim that conservatives under Obama saw abuses ranging from IRS targeting to Benghazi.
Serious question. Has *any* conservative, even a single one, admitted the IRS "targeted" left and right equally and Benghazi was just bureaucratic confusion? pic.twitter.com/pmgpkSPSAW
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) February 7, 2018
Serious answer …
https://twitter.com/JustEric/status/961363409790033920
Seems weird to complain that no conservatives have admitted something that is objectively false… https://t.co/4dJC3lhA4L
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) February 7, 2018
"Why won't you guys admit that things that didn't happen actually happened?" https://t.co/z59o9nRT2Q
— ?It's?Almost ⛄️Christmas? (@jtLOL) February 7, 2018
IRS didn't target left and right equally; the report cited to claim that was a supplement, not a corrective.
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) February 7, 2018
No, because that wasn't the case. https://t.co/Wa2o3SOz6y
— BT (@back_ttys) February 7, 2018
To the first: no, because that's objectively untrue https://t.co/Stz3Mwe9wB
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 7, 2018
The claim that the IRS targeted conservatives and liberals equally was retracted by WaPo. See: https://t.co/Eo6TSaEPlq
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 7, 2018
I should say *corrected, because no one really retracts these days
— Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) February 7, 2018
Yes that's exactly why the IRS apologized exclusively to conservative groups. https://t.co/IhMi5KiL8V
And the DOJ settled with conservative groupshttps://t.co/qL8lKpPH8G https://t.co/TZTCOjKYxm
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) February 7, 2018
The IRS admitted it used inappropriate criteria to target Tea Party groups 5 years ago, and we're still debating whether it happened? https://t.co/XSiRPz2g9e https://t.co/WXK9i8gPDc
— Luke Wachob (@LukeIFS) February 7, 2018
Guy Benson, political editor of Twitchy sister site Townhall.com, offered Chait tipsheets on both the IRS targeting scandal and Benghazi which provide precisely the fact-checks he claims to be in search of, seeing as his was a serious question.
Benghazi: https://t.co/zwR4C9e9HD
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 7, 2018
As far as Benghazi goes, we’re not sure where Chait thinks that YouTube video cited by the Obama administration fits into “bureaucratic confusion.” Check here for more on how that narrative got started.
Don't you just hate a "bureaucratic confusion" that ends with four dead Americans, an arrested filmmaker the government tried to make a scapegoat, and outright lies about the causes of a terrorist attack? Damn confusion. https://t.co/LX6hDnvbPs
— Thankful Muppet Energy (Sunny) (@sunnyright) February 7, 2018
Chait’s still not convinced, though he really ought to check that Townhall tipsheet.
My replies seem to indicate that zero conservatives have acknowledged proven reality: The IRS used a bunch of search terms to identify political groups on left and right, end of story. https://t.co/n4K2vHFT4w
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) February 7, 2018
Chait seems to have moved the goalposts before claiming “proven reality” — didn’t he claim up above that the IRS targeted left and right equally?
https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/961284251571441665
Any other serious questions?
Related:
Jonathan Chait’s prediction about what Repubs soon ‘will wish’ for deemed HILL-arious!
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