A scandal, in Washington, often happens when the press decides to write about something we all knew was going on anyway.

Bill Clinton was cheating on his wife? Anthony Weiner’s a perve? Yea, we knew those things. Just nice to see them confirmed in print, I guess.

So there’s something underwhelming about the IRS-Tea Party scandal. Conservatives have always known we’re under greater scrutiny. We don’t like big government, and so there’s no reason Big Government would like us.

Besides, as James Bovard writes in the WSJ, this has been going on for decades. Presidents from FDR to JFK to Richard Nixon used the IRS to harass political foes.  In the late 1999, the Associated Press reported: ”officials in the Democratic White House and members of both parties in Congress have prompted hundreds of audits of political opponents in the 1990s.” And that didn’t even cause enough of a stir to force the Justice Department to track APs phone calls.

Yes, there are scandals here. If you work for the government and you’re called to testify before Congress, it’s best not to lie. If you attempt to cover up what you know, you’ll get caught eventually (it’s also a Washington truism that the cover up is always worse than the scandal, which is especially true when the cover up is an ugly blue dress).

“I wrote to the IRS three times last year after hearing concerns that conservative groups were being targeted,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R., Utah, says. “Yet it didn’t occur to anyone at the IRS to let us know that this targeting was in fact happening?” So there’s your cover up.

During Obama’s first term, a friendly press corps always stood ready to help advance his agenda. That’s why they never investigated his untrue claims about ObamaCare (won’t low-information voters be surprised when their premiums double or more), and it’s why — during the presidential debates — CNN’s Candy Crowley was all too ready to help the president along when he issued a misleading statement about Libya.

With the IRS and Associated Press phone stories, the press corps may finally be hearing its alarm clock. Better late than never.

As for the rest of us, we need to think bigger. “We can be almost certain that IRS audits will remain irresistible political weapons,” Bovard concludes. True, unless we get rid of the IRS. Think about it: If congress would pass a flat tax, there would be no need for the hated IRS. We could all file returns on the back of a postcard and forget all the complex math and stuff we need to do now.

Plus,  the IRS is going to be pivotal in implementing ObamaCare, the first “health care” plan in the world that hires tax collectors instead of doctors and nurses. Get rid of the IRS, and you also deal a blow to ObamaCare. It’s a win-win, and a way that conservatives can use a Washington scandal to bring real change to Washington.

“This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end.”

Who the heck knows what Jim Morrison meant when he sung those lines in the ’60s. Maybe he was planning to commit suicide; maybe he was just stoned out of his mind. Nonetheless, they apply to the Obama Administration as of this week.

It can be tricky to determine when an administration ends. On one level it’s simple, of course. Obama will be president until Jan. 20, 2017. But will he really be able to govern until then? Certainly not. As Emily notes, his supporters are already tossing in the towel. The government is simply too big, they insist. Too unwieldy. No president can be expected to manage it. Stick a fork in him; he’s done.

To highlight the point, look at previous administrations: The Reagan administration lasted long after Reagan had retired to his California ranch. His policies lived on into 1990, when G.H.W. Bush agreed to a massive tax increase that doomed his chances for re-election. Ten years. That’s a pretty long administration.

The George W. Bush administration ended somewhat earlier. Liberals loved their “1-20-09″ bumper stickers. But it was finished long before that date.

After winning re-election in 2004 over the hapless John Kerry, Bush was swamped in the Louisiana swamps by Katrina in August, 2005. Everyone expected the corrupt state and local governments to fail, but the money-is-no-object FEMA was also a disaster. Katrina proved our federal government can spend money — and how! some $1 billion a day at one point — but that it isn’t effective or well-managed. After a lame Labor Day flyover, President W was a lame duck for the next three years.

Why’s Obama finished now? It’s not the IRS scandal; everyone knew conservatives “enjoy” greater government scrutiny. Why wouldn’t they: they aim to limit the size and scope of government, and government doesn’t especially want its size and scope limited.

His real mistake was turning on his allies and investigating the Associated Press. Say what you want about conservatives, since everyone knows we’re wackos. But go after JOURNALISTS? They get more print coverage than Kim Kardashian and enjoy more screen time than Snookie. Why, even the reliably partisan Dana Milbank is astir, blaming the president for “a full-frontal assault on the First Amendment by his administration.”

From now on, journalists will find scandals under every rock. As ObamaCare rolls out, they’ll have a plethora of stories about people losing coverage, losing jobs, losing hope. As Dodd-Frank gets implemented, they’ll have a flood of stories to write about ineffective federal financial regulation gumming up the economy. And as Obama continues to plead ignorance of all and any scandals, they’ll have a gripping narrative: A do-nothing president, presiding over a slow motion collapse. Jimmy Carter, call your office.

There’s malaise on the left, as always. But those on the right should rejoice. The king is dead, through self-regicide. It’s up to us to fill the void and determine what happens next.

A quick roundup of who the above pictures are, starting at the top left:

Richard Griffin was appointed to the National Labor Relations Board via a recess appointment and still serves despite a court ruling that his appointment was illegal. The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor Pensions (HELP) will hold hearings on Griffin’s nomination on May 16.

From his bio:

Richard F. Griffin, Jr. was sworn in as a Board Member on January 9, 2012, following a recess appointment by the President.

Mr. Griffin previously served as General Counsel for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  He also served on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, a position he held since 1994.  Since 1983, he has held a number of leadership positions with IUOE from Assistant House Counsel to Associate General Counsel. From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Griffin served as a member of the board of trustees of the IUOE’s central pension fund. From 1981 to 1983, he served as a Counsel to NLRB Board Members.  Mr. Griffin holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

As the Workforce Fairness Institute points out:

Griffin, the former general counsel to the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) has served in a leadership role in a union that has been overrun by organized crime. According to Fox News, “The rap sheet for members of the International Union of Operating Engineers reads like something out of ‘Goodfellas.’ Embezzlement. Wire fraud. Bribery. That’s just scratching the surface of crimes committed by the IUOE ranks.”

Moving on – James Roemer was IUOE Treasurer and pleaded guilty in 2003 to fraud. Jamie DeRoss, an IUOE member, pleaded guilty to extortion in 2003. Kenneth Campbell was IUOE’s Business Manager and International Vice President. He pleaded guilty to charges of a conspiracy to embezzle funds in 2008. Martin Taccetta was a Boss of the Jersey Crew in the Lucchese crime family. He was charged with extortion and labor racketeering. Joel “Joe Waverly” Cacace (acting Columbo family boss) conspired with union members to get a paid no-show job for his son in 2003. ouis Moscatiello (Genovese crime family high-ranking figure) pleaded guilty to controlling three labor unions for organized crime in 2004. Andrew Merola, an IUOE Member, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and not showing up for work in 2010.

WFI Also points out that:

Earlier this year, the Washington Free Beacon reported, “According to the lawsuit filed by 10 members of Los Angeles-based IUOE Local 501, which represents workers in Southern California and Southern Nevada, Griffin participated in a conspiracy to manipulate the operation of Local 501 ‘through a pattern of racketeering activity.’ Griffin was served with the complaint and a court summons relating to the lawsuit at his Washington, D.C., home on Dec. 4, according to documents filed in court.”

Cross-posted from The Quinton Report.

Except, of course, Crystal Pepsi was awesome.

Sometimes customers wonder why companies bother making changes. My Old Spice deodorant stick, for example, proclaims, “Same awesomeness, new package.” Change for change’s sake, apparently.

Such is certainly the case with ObamaCare in 2013.

“You know, we put together initially an application form for signing up for participation in the exchanges that was initially about 21 pages long. And immediately everybody sat around the table and said: Well, this is too long, especially, you know, in this age of the Internet,” President Barack Obama said during a recent news conference.

“So we cut what was a 21-page form now down to a form that’s about three pages for an individual, a little more than that for a family, well below the industry average. So those kinds of refinements, we’re going to continue to be working on.”

Well, it turns out the form is just as long as ever, if you’re unlucky enough to have procreated. “For a family with two adults and four children, it would add up to a 20-page form,” writes Yuval Levin at National Review. “What the administration is telling us is that to avoid long forms people need to not get married or have children.” Sounds as if Obama is advertising the book “What to Expect When No One’s Expecting.” That would at least save on expensive prenatal care.

In any event, ObamaCare is starting to look like New Coke: The longer it’s around, the less popular it gets. Only 35 percent approve in the latest Kaiser poll, and that group tends to be the most pro-Obama of all the polling organizations; it once claimed that 46 percent of Americans (that’s almost HALF!) liked ObamaCare.

The administration should follow Coca-Cola’s lead. It’s already dropped the cocaine from its formula. Now it should pull the plug and let everyone go back to the insurance they already had. Unless it’s already too late.

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Presidential race (I’m jealous of you), then you probably don’t know that the Obama camp called Mitt Romney a “felon“. The basis of this comment is that they believe Mitt was playing the role of some puppet-master at Bain after his official exit in 1999 when, in fact, he wasn’t even acknowledged by Bain at that point. Basically Obama wants to paint Romney as a shadowy figure that doesn’t play by the rules (gee, that’s funny because I thought the left had the ultimate Lex Luthor type already in George Soros). Despite being factually wrong (for the umpteenth time), there is no apology coming from our Dear Leader.

It would be one thing if Obama was a strong leader who refused to apologize in order to maintain a certain image. But he isn’t that in the least. He has apologized seemingly to the entire world. Pakistan? Check. Afghanistan? Yup. Europe as a whole? Sure, what the hell. He even tried to apologize to Japan for one of the most difficult decisions our leaders had to make. He is quick to apologize for American strength projected by strong Americans. But when it comes to politics, Obama is 100% Chicago. Fling as much mud as you can, let the truth be damned.

But what is just insane is that OBAMA HAS ADMITTED TO COMMITTING FELONIES! We have reached the height of hypocrisy ladies and gentleman. Our President is trying to capitalize on completely fabricated felony charges when that same man admitted to committing felonies in his own book. So why is this guy celebrated for his felonious behavior while Romney is being attacked for not breaking the law once in his life?

It seems that up is down and down is up officially now.