Senator Rubio’s Big Government Disconnect

In a series of tweets from US Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday, the Florida politician decried the overreach of the IRS in its targeting of conservative groups.

Remember the same #IRS that targeted conservative groups will be the one enforcing the #Obamacare disaster with fines. #IRSscandal

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 14, 2013

#IRS Office That Targeted #TeaParty Also Disclosed Confidential Docs From Conservative Groups http://t.co/hwo1eMNr6x #IRSscandal #tcot

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 14, 2013

I fear Senator Rubio may be suffering from DC disconnect syndrome. He’s concerned, rightly so, that a government agency that wields as much power as the IRS not only used that power to target conservative- and liberty-minded groups and to hold up their tax exemption requests —  but also revealed donors to third party sources and may have stolen nearly 60 million health records from Americans.  Not to mention, it appears that agency bosses knew that these egregious violations were occurring and allowed them to continue.

This makes me wonder if Senator Rubio has considered the possible implications of the mandated creation of a new federal national database hidden in the bi-partisan immigration reform bill known as the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” Rubio is a co-sponsor of this bill.

This provision of the bill would create a massive new database of everyone in the United States who has a state-issued ID. The records would contain every individual’s name, age, Social Security number, photograph, and would be administered by the Department of Homeland Security.  Obamacare will be enforced by the IRS and if this immigration bill passes, state compliance for the new database will be enforced by the DHS.  These two agencies have the power to seize property, control your comings and goings, as well as your ability to be employed and earn a living. But hey, what could possibly go wrong?

Rubio acknowledges that too much power in the hands of government can not only be intimidating, but should also be scrutinized.

It should no longer be in doubt that #Obama admin uses power of fed govt to target & intimidate political opponents. http://t.co/dsOLBQV0Ad

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 15, 2013

I’m reminded of the quote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

We’ve seen in just the last few days that government’s actions, when its power is unchecked, can have devastating consequences. I’m hearing from Tea Party leaders all over the country who have spent tens of thousands of dollars to simply register their groups to be in compliance with tax law — and by doing so they were singled out for their beliefs.

Individuals were targeted because they exercised their First Amendment rights. In light of these revelations, does anybody want their bio-metric data submitted to the government?

Senator Rubio should use his position to return power back to individuals and move it away from corrupted and politically motivated bureaucrats.

He should not empower these agencies with more private and sensitive personal information that could be used against American citizens. I believe the Tea Party activists, leaders, and voters who worked so hard in 2010 to elect him, expect the same.