Some See Conspiracy, Others See Bureaucracy

The AP covered news that the IRS targeted progressive groups as well in an odd way today.  Here is how they opened their analysis: 

‘Leaders of progressive groups say they, too, faced long delays in getting the Internal Revenue Service to approve their applications for tax-exempt status but were not subjected to the same level of scrutiny that tea party groups complained about.

Several progressive groups said it took more than a year for the IRS to approve their status while others are still waiting as IRS agents press for details about their activities. The delays have made it difficult for the groups to raise money — just as it has for tea party groups that were singled out for extra scrutiny.

But even with the delays, leaders of some progressive groups said they didn’t feel like they were being targeted.

“This is kind of what you expect. You expect it to take a year or more to get your status because that’s just what the IRS goes through to do it,” said Maryann Martindale, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah, a small non-profit that advocates for progressive causes. “So I don’t know that we feel particularly targeted.”’

Two things to think about:  what is the message the AP is trying to send by suggesting that since progressive groups did not feel targeted…is this meant to say that the original story line about the outrageous targeting of tea party groups can still be justified? 

And, what does it tell us about these two types of groups, when each encounters the same situation and cries about being treated unfairly and the other simply notes that ‘this is what you expect’ in a complex world?