The Acorn Falls

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is having a rough year. Last November, the grassroots organization was accused of perpetrating voter fraud in support of the Obama campaign. More recently, right-wing videographer James O'Keefe undertook a sting operation, wherein he and a female colleague posed as a pimp and a hooker. The pair then visited ACORN offices across the country, soliciting "advice" on how to set up brothels for underage Salvadoran prostitutes. (Go ahead, chuckle.) The undercover videos show ACORN employees--despite the fact that O'Keefe and his collaborator wear outlandish costumes and make outrageous requests--offering straight-faced advice on ways to get around zoning restrictions, law enforcement, tax authorities and the like. In the aftermath, the US Senate has voted to prohibit the Department of Housing and Urban Development from providing financial support to the organization, and politicians are rushing to distance themselves from ACORN. (See "Conservatives Draw Blood from Acorn")

The vast right-wing conspiracy is creaming its khakis. (Sorry for the image.)

First, let us stipulate that we harbor no ill will towards ACORN. They seem like good folks. According to their mission statement, ACORN "aims to organize a majority constituency of low- to moderate income people across the United States. The members of ACORN take on issues of relevance to their communities, whether those issues are discrimination, affordable housing, a quality education, or better public services." We're going out on a limb here, but we suspect the vast majority of ACORN employees are opposed to Salavadoran child prostitution. Assuming those caught on film were offering Mac-Daddy O'Keefe sincere advice, they should be terminated. But at worst their comments attest to nothing more than the fact that even an ACORN tree can grow a few bad apples.

(Digression: According to a posting on ACORN's site, at least one of the staffers, Tresa Kaelke, caught offering questionable advice was playing along with what she took to be a joke: "They were clearly playing with me. I decided to shock them as much as they were shocking me. Like Stephen Colbert does." EOD.)

And yet, we have to admit. . . . Now don't jump down our throat! . . . We are forced to acknowledge. . . . This is hard for us. . . . When you sit back and think about it. . . . (Solipsist swallows hard.) . . . Don't you kind of have to appreciate James O'Keefe a little?

Very little, to be sure. But, look, while we good liberals can roll our eyes and mutter imprecations, we would applaud a similar video featuring, say, Michael Moore infiltrating the Heritage Foundation. And these days, when "You lie!" is the right-wing version of a Dorothy Parker-esque bon mot, one must grudgingly acknowledge a right-winger who apparently possesses a scintilla of wit. One only hopes that O'Keefe undergoes a conversion at some point and decides to use his powers for good.