May 14, 2013 12:48PM 

# Jon Stewart on the IRS Targeting the Tea Party 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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Last night, the *Daily Show*’s Jon Stewart [said](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-13-2013/barack-trek--into-darkness) of reports [the IRS singled out tea-party groups for extra scrutiny](https://www.cato.org/blog/irs-still-treating-groups-educating-public-constitution-bill-rights-suspect), “This seems like a genuine scandal.” Then he turned on the funny: “In their defense, there is a good reason why people using the IRS to crack down on political enemies would not want Americans educated about the Constitution.” Best line: “Wait a minute. I didn’t realize *apologies* were sufficient in IRS-related issues.” Video below. (Beware: some racy language.)

| [The Daily Show with Jon Stewart](http://www.thedailyshow.com) | Mon — Thurs 11p / 10c |
|---|---|
| [Barack Trek: Into Darkness](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-13-2013/barack-trek--into-darkness) |
| [www​.thedai​lyshow​.com](http://www.thedailyshow.com/) |
| |
| \| [Daily Show Full Episodes](http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/) \| [Indecision Political Humor](http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision) \| [The Daily Show on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow) \| |
|---|

In the very next [segment](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-13-2013/bi-annual-competency-round-up), Stewart portrays HHS’s release of (wildly divergent) hospital chargemaster prices as an example of government doing things right, gives kudos to HHS, and laments that government doesn’t do more of that sort of thing. There’s only one problem. Outrageously high and divergent hospital prices are due to government policies that encourage patients to pay for more items through health insurance and that thereby destroy the cash market and any hope of competitive and transparent prices. So that episode is also an example of government failure.

The show’s Moment of Zen was this priceless clip of former IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman denying that his agency was on a tea-party witch hunt:

| [The Daily Show with Jon Stewart](http://www.thedailyshow.com) | Mon — Thurs 11p / 10c |
|---|---|
| [Moment of Zen — The Nonpartisan IRS](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-may-13-2013/moment-of-zen---the-nonpartisan-irs) |
| [www​.thedai​lyshow​.com](http://www.thedailyshow.com/) |
| |
| \| [Daily Show Full Episodes](http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/) \| [Indecision Political Humor](http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision) \| [The Daily Show on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow) \| |
|---|

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) 

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