The Next Watergate

by Pa Rock
Political Commentator

If you rely on the evening news programs of the three major networks for your news, then you missed this story today - unless, like me, you get your news first off of the internets.

James O'Keefe is a bright young man, but certainly not as bright as he thinks he is. The twenty-five-year-old and three of his young buddies were arrested yesterday trying to bug the telephone system of Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana. Well, two were trying to bug the phone system in her New Orleans office, one was in a car close by using listening equipment as a part of the nefarious project, and Mr. O'Keefe was standing in the Senator's office trying to surreptitiously film the crime on his cell phone.

That sounds like something out of an E. Howard Hunt or G. Gordon Liddy playbook. Remember, those clowns and some of their buddies helped to break into the Democratic National Headquarters back in 1972 - at a place called the Watergate. Their mission: to tap the phones. The result: Dick Nixon had to resign in disgrace.

James O'Keefe was filming because he fancies himself a filmmaker. Last September he donned attire that would make a serious pimp blush, and set out to make a film showing ACORN as prostitution enablers. His project, unprofessional though it was, did succeed in embarrassing the community action agency through the actions of a few of its thousands of members and employees. It made some Republican members of Congress so giddy with partisan happiness that they tried to pass a resolution honoring O'Keefe.

Something tells me those self-righteous legislators are not so giddy tonight!

Other members of the criminal gang were Robert Flanagan and Joseph Basel (who came to the office dressed as telephone repairmen), and Stan Dai who sat in the car monitoring the listening equipment. All are in their mid-twenties. Young Mr. Flanagan is the son of Bill Flanagan, the acting Federal Attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana. At this point the alleged felons face the possibility of $250,000 in fines and ten years in prison - each! Ouch!

Welcome to the adult world gentlemen. Watch yourselves in the showers!