Remember the ACORN videographer?

[SSHoya]

In a little bit of a pickle, apparently.

www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/politics/27landrieu.html?hp

[TC]

Hah! I almost posted this.

I wonder what it'll be like to dress up as a pimp in federal prison and expose cigarette bribery schemes.

[Bando]

Man, the seventies really are back. "Hey guys, you wanna break into a Democrat's office and bug her phones?" "Sure, nothing like this has ever hurt the Republicans before."

[Bando]

Bipartisan Hoya schadenfreude: One of the co-conspirators went to GW.

[Elvado]

If the videographer broke the law, he should be punished. I assume we can all agree the same goes for ACORN employees' serial violation of laws around the country.

[Cambridge]

Jan 27, 2010 7:23:09 GMT -5 Elvado said:

If the videographer broke the law, he should be punished. I assume we can all agree the same goes for ACORN employees' serial violation of laws around the country.

Anyone who breaks the law should be punished.

[strummer8526]

Jan 27, 2010 17:21:37 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

Jan 27, 2010 7:23:09 GMT -5 Elvado said:

If the videographer broke the law, he should be punished. I assume we can all agree the same goes for ACORN employees' serial violation of laws around the country.

Anyone who breaks the law should be punished.

Yeah, but like Elvado, I want to condemn every politician and political party that has ever been in any way affiliated with these morons. If Barry should get beat up for Acorn, why don't we look into these folks' political backgrounds? Maybe we can find some random political figures to blame for other peoples' stupidity.

[TC]

The better question is - is one of these guys that was arrested short and tubby? I think bungling conservative dress-up squad would make a really good Michael Cera/Jonah Hill vehicle.

[Elvado]

Jan 27, 2010 18:49:48 GMT -5 strummer8526 said:

Jan 27, 2010 17:21:37 GMT -5 Cambridge said:

Anyone who breaks the law should be punished.

Yeah, but like Elvado, I want to condemn every politician and political party that has ever been in any way affiliated with these morons. If Barry should get beat up for Acorn, why don't we look into these folks' political backgrounds? Maybe we can find some random political figures to blame for other peoples' stupidity.

Make sure you pull these guys' federal funds while you're at it.

And I totally concur in the belief that any politician who has ever served as legal counsel to these idiots ought to be investigated very thoroughly.

[hoyainspirit]

A New Orleans columnist's take on the affair.
www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2010/01/phone-tampering_attempt_at_us.html

[AustinHoya03]

This story ran in Sunday's NYT. Featuring color mugshots on Page 1 above the fold typically sells newspapers, I suppose.

www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/us/politics/31landrieu.html?scp=3&sq=o'keefe&st=cse

It doesn't appear political organizations are fueling these hijinks. It's the media.

"After college, Mr. O’Keefe took a job with Mr. Wetmore at the Leadership Institute and began traveling the country to help students with their publications. He worked intensely, said Morton Blackwell, the institute’s founder, remaining dedicated to his own projects. But eventually the institute developed some discomfort with the approach.

“He wanted to do sting operations that would affect legislation; he made some calls which have been covered in the news media to Planned Parenthood,” Mr. Blackwell said. “That was beyond the scope of what we had hired him to do. We are an educational organization. We are not an activist organization.”

Mr. Blackwell said he offered Mr. O’Keefe the choice between pursuing activism or working for his organization, “and he said he was committed to the activism.”"
____________________

"The campaign caught the eye of Andrew Breitbart, a conservative Web publisher and a former editor of The Drudge Report. In an interview, he said he had admired the Planned Parenthood campaign but did not know who was behind it until Mr. O’Keefe approached him with the Acorn project.

Mr. Breitbart likened Mr. O’Keefe’s approach to that of Abbie Hoffman and Hunter S. Thompson. His business arrangement with Mr. O’Keefe to run the videos on his Big Government site is widely credited with giving them national exposure, and making Mr. O’Keefe a star of his movement."

It's starting to become clear that many believe the new model for political success (or economic/political success) in the new millenium is: 1) create controversy to attract media attention; 2) let partisan media hacks sell you to the electorate; 3) accept speaking invitations and or 24 hour news gig based on your new popularity among partisans; 4) run for office. See also: Huckabee, Mike and Palin, Sarah.

[EasyEd]

Mr. O'Keefe and crew did not, repeat not, attempt to bug the telephone lines. Those reports were false. Wait and see.

[SSHoya]

The fact that they did not and never intended to wiretap the phone lines has already been widely reported. There is no need to wait and see. They were trying to determine if there were any truth to the rumor that Landrieux's staff were intentionally refusing to respond to constituents' telephone calls regarding health care bill and payoff to Louisiana. '

If anything is akin to a third rate burglary this is it. These are three young men (I am sick of many in the media calling them "kids") who had a gross error in judgment and seem extremely immature for their age. Also an element of media whoredom. That's what they are seeking.