IRS Motive for Targeting the Tea Party

Did the New York Times Just Stumble Across an IRS Motive for Targeting the Tea Party?
So
according to the New York Times, the targeting of the Tea Party, which
the IRS admitted was wrong and for which it faux-apologized, is a direct
result of “the broad Tea Party-driven spending cuts of 2010.” The Tea
Party forced cuts to the IRS budget, and the IRS retaliated by shutting
down the Tea Party.