MARTIN BASHIR: The IRS is being used in exactly the same way as they tried to used the president's birth certificate. You see, for Republicans like Darrell Issa, who knows something about arson, the IRS now stands for something inflammatory. Those three letters are now on fire with political corruption and malfeasance, burning hot. Just like that suspicious fire that engulfed Mr. Issa's warehouse back in 1982.



And, despite the complete lack of any evidence linking the president to the targeting of tea party groups, Republicans are using it as their latest weapon in the war against the black man in the White House.



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This strategy is nothing new. And it was explained way back in 1981, by Lee Atwater, who was Bush 41's chief strategist. In a tape recording, Mr. Atwater revealed how Republicans evolved their language to achieve the same purpose.



He said: 'You start out in 1954, by saying 'n*****, n*****, n*****. By 1968, you can't say n*****, that hurts you, back-fires. So you say stuff like forced bussing, states rights, and all that stuff and you're getting so abstract. Now you're talking about cutting taxes. We want to cut this is much more abstract than even the bussing thing and a hell of a lot more abstract than n*****, n*****.'



So this afternoon, we welcomed the latest phrase in the lexicon of Republican attacks on this president: the IRS. Three letters that sound so innocent but we know what you mean. (Martin Bashir Live, June 5, 2013)