Breitbart: ACORN Plan

Andrew Breitbart explains the political art behind the roll out of the explosive ACORN exposé filmed by James O'Keefe.

From the Washington Times:

Everything you needed to know about the unorthodox roll out of the now-notorious ACORN sting videos was hidden in plain sight in my Sept. 7 column, "Katie Couric, Look in the Mirror." ACORN was not the only target of those videos; so were Katie, Brian, Charlie and every other mainstream media pooh-bah.

They were not going to report this blockbuster unless they were forced to. And they were. What's more, it ain't over yet. Not every hint I dropped in that piece about what was to come has played itself out yet. Stay tuned.

When filmmaker and provocateur James O'Keefe came to my office to show me the video of him and his friend, Hannah Giles, going to the Baltimore offices of ACORN - the nation's foremost "community organizers" - dressed as a pimp and a prostitute and asking for - and getting - help for various illegal activities, he sought my advice. In the past, Mr. O'Keefe created brilliant social satire that rocked his college campus and even made its way on to the talk-radio and cable-news shows, but the magnitude of his latest adventure had the potential to rock the political establishment.

I was awed by Mr. O'Keefe's guts and amazed by the footage, but explained that the mainstream media would try to kill this important and illuminating expose about a corrupt and criminal political racket, and that the well-funded political left would go into "war room" mode, with 25-year-old Mr. O'Keefe and 20-year-old cohort Miss Giles in the cross hairs. I felt I had a moral obligation to protect these young muckrakers from the left and from the media, and to devise a strategy that would force the media's hand.

Once the American public saw with its own eyes the grotesque, common practices of ACORN's housing offices, Mr. O'Keefe and Miss Giles could no longer be a legitimate focus of media scrutiny. Kill the messenger doesn't work with the American people when they realize that the message is so devastating and honest. I think the video exposed the misuse of public funds and systemic manipulation of the tax code in the name of "helping the poor."

If Mr. O'Keefe dumped the videos on YouTube, the political powers would have killed the expose before it got traction.

...We had to devise a plan that would force the media to see the evidence before they had enough time to destroy these two idealistic 20-something truth seekers. Mr. O'Keefe agreed to post the full audio and full transcript of his video experiences at BigGovernment.com.

Thus was born a multimedia, multiplatform strategy designed to force the reluctant hands of ABC, CBS, NBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post.

Breitbart's strategy worked.

Of course, like many Americans, I was stunned by the brazen disrespect for the law displayed by ACORN employees from sea to shining sea. I'm outraged about the use of tax dollars to fund such a corrupt operation as ACORN.

Andrew Breitbart, James O'Keefe, and Hannah Giles did the nation a great service, though I doubt that they will ever be given their due.

Don't expect them to be treated like heroes and become cult figures, à la Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, certainly not in mainstream media circles or within the bubble that's home to the liberal elite.

The exposé of ACORN stands on its own as brilliant investigative journalism.

But then there's the exposé behind the exposé.

There's something terribly wrong with the press in this country when someone like Breitbart correctly assesses it's a given that a story as huge as the ACORN scandal would be spiked unless the media were forced into submission.

The fact that Breitbart had to devise a plan in order for the revelations about ACORN to receive the media attention they deserved is really pathetic. The media literally had to be forced to cover the ACORN scandal.

Breitbart deserves tremendous credit for playing the media perfectly. He knew what he had to do and he prevailed.

I think it's awful that the roll out plan was necessary.

In a way, I think it's the exposé behind the exposé that is most devastating.

Americans have seen, with absolute certitude, that ACORN is corrupt and undeserving of federal funding.

We've also seen unequivocally that the mainstream media are undeserving of our trust. Propagandists, without a doubt.


ACORN: BUSTED.

"Katie, Brian, Charlie and every other mainstream media pooh-bah": BUSTED.

OBAMA: BUSTED.

Well done, Andrew Breitbart.
______________________

Obama dodges George Stephanopoulos' questions about ACORN during the interview that aired on Sunday's This Week.

Obama seems ticked off that Stephanopoulos is raising a "FOX News" issue. How dare he!

Transcript

OBAMA: I think they're wrong. The one thing I hope is, is that we can have a civil argument about it and that we are able to acknowledge good motives on both sides. Everybody is a patriot. Each of us are Americans that care deeply about this country. And -- and sometimes I think that, frankly, the media encourages some of the outliers in behavior, because, let's face it, the easiest way to get on television right now is to be really rude. If you're just being sensible and giving people the benefit of the doubt and you're making your arguments, you don't -- you don't get -- you don't get time on the nightly news.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You might on Sunday morning, but…

OBAMA: But if you -- if you say something outrageous, you're there in a hot second.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But if you're – have some of your allies made it easier for -- handed your opponents some ammunition, like ACORN, for example...

OBAMA: Well, look, the -- you know, I think that -- are there folks in the Democratic camp or on the left who haven't -- haven't always operated ways that I'd appreciate?

Absolutely.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Congress has just cut off...

OBAMA: Is -- is...

STEPHANOPOULOS: ...all funding for ACORN.

OBAMA: It's...

STEPHANOPOULOS: Are you for that?

OBAMA: Is that true on the other side, as well?

Of course that's true.

STEPHANOPOULOS: How about the funding for ACORN?

OBAMA: You know, if -- frankly, it's not really something I've followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Both the Senate and the House have voted to cut it off.

OBAMA: You know, what I know is, is that what I saw on that video was certainly inappropriate and deserves to be investigated.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're not committing to -- to cut off the federal funding?

OBAMA: George, this is not the biggest issue facing the country. It's not something I'm paying a lot of attention to.

What a lame comment!

"I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money."

Would the mainstream media have accepted cluelessness as an excuse when President Bush was in office?

And just because it's not the biggest issue facing the country doesn't mean Obama shouldn't immediately cut off federal funds for ACORN.

OUR money, taxpayer dollars, are being abused. THAT is a big issue. Obama clearly doesn't want to offend ACORN. He needs the corrupt army to fight his battles.

This really is an embarrassing exchange.

Video.