Obama Stands By Tax Cheats

What is it that Tom Daschle has on President Barack Obama? Why would President Obama send a message to all American taxpayers within weeks of the April 15 deadline for taxes that it's okay if his top advisers are tax cheats who have repeatedly failed to pay their income tax?

He says that he stands by Daschle, who failed to report more than $100,000 in income over a period of years. There's no excuses for that. He had income. He failed to report it to the IRS, and had it been anyone but a politician, they would have been hammered hard by the IRS with penalties and interest, to say nothing of an audit to determine whether income was not forthcoming in prior years.

This follows a string of other prominent Democrats to have failed to report their income and evaded paying taxes for years on end. Apparently groveling and apologies are sufficient to overcome tax problems that would put most Americans into serious hot water.

That includes Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who is now overseeing the IRS, and Rep. Charles Rangel, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee and who sets tax policy.

By their actions, Democrats show complete and utter disdain for all Americans when they not only fail to pay their taxes, but how they cover for their own when they are exposed as tax cheats. Where are the calls for Rangel to step down, or for Daschle's nomination to be sunk because of the tax problems? Democrats voted overwhelmingly to confirm Geithner despite the tax problem, and it looks like they're on their way to do the same with Daschle.

It's wrong, and the Democrats are showing their true colors - utter disdain for the American people.

UPDATE:
Hypocrisy, thy name is Daschle.

Also, since when exactly is tax evasion a glitch? It seems that it was actually an intention to evade taxes, not a harmless mistake.

UPDATE:
The NY Times puts together four experts and queries them on how they would handle the Daschle mess and whether it's instructive on their moral character and whether it is a disqualifying act.

One of these experts seems to think that Tim Geithner, who blamed Turbo Tax for his tax underpayment, should demand that Turbo Tax and other software makers include checks to catch any such underpayments in the future.

The failure of Timothy Geithner and Tom Daschle to pay their full taxes should not disqualify them. Ours is a government of men and women, not saints.

The issue is whether Mr. Geithner’s and Mr. Daschle’s cheating (they’ve paid the back taxes and interest) will lead to systematic change in a system that is strict for wage earners, but lenient for executives, business owners, landlords and investors.

One of the primary obligations of all Americans is to pay their taxes - to fund the operation of the government. Both men failed to carry out that obligation, and blaming Turbo Tax doesn't cut it. The tax code is unnecessarily complex and it does lead to problems in calculating the tax burden, but both men were caught not even reporting income at all. Daschle's income never got included in the first place.

That's troubling.

That he said that he wanted zero tolerance from the IRS when he was a US Senator makes his failing more troubling.

That he only caught his mistake after getting nominated shows that he had no interest in catching his mistakes until he was put into the public eye. That Obama stands behind him shows that there are some illegal acts that Obama is more than willing to overlook as long as it suits him.