President Barack Obama comes out of what was arguably the worst week of his presidency with his approval rating holding steady, according to a new national poll. But a CNN/ORC International survey released Sunday morning also indicates that congressional Republicans are not overplaying their hand when it comes to their […] Read more »
Pre-Scandal Polls on IRS, Tea Party
The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of tax-exemption applications from tea party and other conservative groups has driven the news cycle in Washington this week. The congressional hearings and resignations have already begun and the word “scandal” is again at the front of the Beltway lexicon. … Amid the headlines, we […] Read more »
New Audit Allegations Show Flawed Statistical Thinking
The Internal Revenue Service is under fire for inappropriately targeting conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status. … Some conservatives, however, are alleging that there is another component to the scandal. … “The second part of the scandal is the auditing of political activists who have opposed the administration,” the Wall […] Read more »
Americans’ Attention to IRS, Benghazi Stories Below Average
Slim majorities of Americans are very or somewhat closely following the situations involving the Internal Revenue Service (54%) and the congressional hearings on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and its aftermath (53%) — comparatively low based on historical measures of other news stories over the last […] Read more »
While Republicans Rant About Benghazi and IRS, Public Mostly Yawns
President Obama and his administration now find themselves in the middle of not one but two tough situations: the tragic killing of four Americans at a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, and the Internal Revenue Service’s scrutiny of tea-party and other conservative groups. … Perhaps the best way to determine […] Read more »
I.R.S. Targeting of Conservative Groups Could Resonate in 2014
My rule of thumb is that a vast majority of alleged political scandals will have less electoral impact than the conventional wisdom initially holds. … But the recent admission by the Internal Revenue Service that it targeted conservative organizations with terms like “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in their names when […] Read more »