How did Republican fearmongering about an IRS ‘shadow army’ go mainstream? | Ruth Braunstein

The party has embraced a precise brand of anti-government rhetoric, with the agency the latest target - and it's drawing on an old playbook

Among the many subplots roiling Washington DC is a surge in Republican concern about a provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that would invest $80bn in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to modernize outdated technology and increase enforcement of tax laws. Citing this investment, Senator Ted Cruz warned of a coming shadow army of 87,000 IRS agents".

The preference to pay lower taxes is as American as apple pie and has been a centerpiece of modern Republicanism. Demonizing the IRS is not. In fact, mainstream Republicans have historically maintained a commitment to cutting taxes without promoting hysterical fears about the enforcers of tax laws. When champions of tax cuts have talked of starving the beast", even they have been clear that the beast is big government. The IRS is just the messenger.

Ruth Braunstein is associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut and the author of Prophets and Patriots: Faith in Democracy Across the Political Divide. She is currently working on a book called My Tax Dollars