Friday, April 05, 2019

Have the Democrats learned nothing from the nuclear option?

It's now widely acknowledged by all of Washington that when Harry Reid triggered the nuclear option on judicial nominees, all bets were off.  Here's the New York Times celebrating the "return to democracy":
Republicans warned that the rule change could haunt the Democrats if they lost the White House and the Senate.
And that's how you got Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and (soon) Amy Coney Barrett.  Now they want Trump's tax returns because...they want them.  Hot Air: "Trump Lawyer Sends Letter To Treasury: You Shouldn’t Hand Over His Tax Returns To House Democrats."
A strong letter, worth reading in full. There are legal arguments made and precedents cited but at the heart of it is a simple prudential question:

Why should Congress be able to use the IRS to gather dirt on its political enemies?
As the article explains, the same law that allows Congress the power to look at anybody's tax return also applies to the President.  Do Democrats really want to unleash the Kraken of Trump directing the IRS to look into the Democrats' dirty laundry?  You know that's exactly what he'll do, Lois Lerner-style.

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