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"A new Watergate Scandal" Conservative operatives including

by Ziks511 Jan 26, 2010 8:13AM PST

the Acorn video creep. James O'Keefe. They were found with wire-tapping equipment and were trying to gain access to the closet with the telephone connections at Mary Landrieu's New Orleans constituency office.

How little things change, but this certainly nails the Acorn attack video people, and the group includes a Conservative activist and the son of an attorney.

"Joseph Basel, 24, Robert Flanagan, 24, James O'Keefe, 25, and Stan Dai, 24, were charged with entering Landrieu's New Orleans office, which is federal property, under "false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony," according to the attorney's office."

"Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, his office said.

"Articles on conservative Web sites connect O'Keefe to a man named Joe Basel, describing them as conservative student activists and filmmakers."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/26/senate.office.break.in/index.html

Political Dirty Tricks by any other name.

Rob

Discussion is locked

1 - 30 of 43 Posts
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Little Karl Roves in training, after all that's how he got
by Ziks511 Jan 26, 2010 8:17AM PST

his start.

Weep for democracy.

Rob

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(NT) could you expand your Karl Rove statement?
by James Denison Jan 26, 2010 1:26PM PST
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From Wikipedia...
by EdHannigan Jan 26, 2010 8:32PM PST
In the fall of 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Treasurer of Illinois. He stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead, printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing", and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally. (Dixon eventually won the election). Rove's role would not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it."

Yes, it's about on that level. Both sides have done pranks over the years. I'd put this right up there with the "hacking" of Sarah Palin's e-mail account and the illegal acc4essing of "Joe the Plumber's" personal information, except both those things were worse.

Calling it a "new Watergate" is ludicrous.
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40 year old prank?!
by James Denison Jan 26, 2010 8:45PM PST

THAT'S what he's going off about?! ROFL!!!

You know what that shows? If you want to pull a prank that just keeps on giving laughs for the squeals over the years, do it on a liberal, they'll NEVER stop squealing about it. It's the stuck pig that squeals, but it's the one who squeals the loudest who always gets stuck the most. Wink

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"the Acorn video creep."
by EdHannigan Jan 26, 2010 8:49PM PST

Childish name calling tells you where he's coming from. As far as I'm concerned O'Keefe deserves an award for helping expose the ACORN criminals.

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Sounds like his "reward" will be....
by Josh K Jan 26, 2010 11:27PM PST

....up to 10 years in prison.

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How much time did the person who...
by EdHannigan Jan 26, 2010 11:59PM PST

Hacked Palin's e-mail get? What about the person who broke into JTP's file?

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No idea whether those people were even caught
by Josh K Jan 27, 2010 12:12AM PST

Are you suggesting that burglars should not be punished?

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They were caught,
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 12:36AM PST

I never suggested burglars shouldn't be punished?

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So what was your point in bringing up those other incidents?
by Josh K Jan 27, 2010 4:29AM PST

Were you just trying to change the subject? Should THESE burglars be punished? Whether other criminals were punished for their crimes is irrelevant.

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Easy to figure out...
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 5:36AM PST

some are making a big to do over this, calling it "another Watergate", etc. yet the other incidents were barely noticed and were treated as a joke somewhat. Seems hypocritical.

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You didn't answer my question
by Josh K Jan 27, 2010 6:03AM PST

Should the burglars be punished?

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Probably...
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 6:22AM PST

If convicted.

It IS directly relevant how the Palin e-mail hacker is punished. The law is supposed to apply equally to all. So far I believe David Kernell has not been punished at all, and his crime was at least as bad,if not worse.

I think the JTP snoop was forced to resign.

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It is not relevant
by Josh K Jan 27, 2010 6:47AM PST

The judge/jury aren't going to look at whether someone else was punished for an entirely different crime. If they're convicted they should be punished. It's pretty simple when you take the irrelevant politics out of it.

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Whatever you say, Josh.
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 6:58AM PST

*

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Do you think
by Mike_Hanks Jan 27, 2010 6:25AM PST

That certain people have forgotten the illegal wiretapping of Newt?

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Oh, that was an "accident".
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 6:31AM PST

SURE it was.

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Of course !!!
by Mike_Hanks Jan 27, 2010 6:33AM PST

How many people drive around every day with a scanner attached to a recorder and just happen to catch the Speaker of the House on a phone call??

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Maybe it was Karl Rove!
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 6:35AM PST

We could make up a story about him! Doesn't have to be true, you know.

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Rove's history is much larger than the one incident referred
by Ziks511 Jan 27, 2010 6:20AM PST

to above. His history beginning at University was of dirty tricks and questionable campaign tactics for the past 30+ years. It's how he got his job with the RNC, which is what these kids are trying to do, hence my statement to that effect. At the time, Watergate was a "Third rate burglary" just like this one. Additionally a henchman or co-conspirator if you prefer, was arrested in a car a couple of blocks away with the receiver for wire-tapping equipment.

And wire tapping and attempting to interfere with an honest and fair election doesn't qualify as a "prank" to me. It indicates the contempt for the electorate which seems endemic in the RNC.

The real question is: Who set this all up? Is there a connection to either the RNC or the Louisiana Republican organization? The good news is that they attempted to pull this off in a Federal Building and is therefore a Federal Investigation in the hands of the FBI.

Look for O'Keefe on FoxNews again. Maybe that's the job he's trying to get.

Rob

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Got any evidence or examples of ROve's other dirty tricks?
by Mike_Hanks Jan 27, 2010 6:35AM PST

I didn't think so.

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Fiction
by EdHannigan Jan 27, 2010 6:36AM PST

As usual.

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The election in ?South Carolina that threw out a Viet Nam
by Ziks511 Jan 28, 2010 9:44AM PST

vet who gave three limbs for the US, and won the Congressional Medal of Honor, and was then pilloried by Rove led operatives as "unAmerican". The Willie Horton campaign on which he was a junior member. All the Bush elections, and on and on and on.

By the way, it's generally considered bad manners not to allow your opponent a chance to reply.

Rob

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Are you talking about...
by J. Vega Jan 28, 2010 1:54PM PST

Are you talking about Max Cleland? If so, that was the state of Georgia. BTW, Cleland was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart, but not the Congressional Medal of Honor as I remmber.

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He was still smeared as "anti-American"....
by Josh K Jan 28, 2010 11:18PM PST

....despite being a war hero. It was disgusting.

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He lost to...
by J. Vega Jan 29, 2010 1:50AM PST

He lost to Saxby Chambliss. Do you have a link to Cambliss calling him "anti-American"? Or are you just referring to unnamed parties called "Rove led operatives" in that post?

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"Smeared as "anti-American"
by Mike_Hanks Jan 29, 2010 9:26PM PST

Are you going to count that as a "dirty trick"???

PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Yes, and sorry I made the mistake about his decorations.
by Ziks511 Feb 2, 2010 9:43AM PST

But Rove was identified in news reports at the time as being behind the campaign.

Rob

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Stupid
by James Denison Jan 26, 2010 11:44PM PST

Trying to pull this off in a federal building was the height of stupidity, especially considering the increased scrutiny of all that enters and leaves those buildings since Tim McVeigh and with the Al Qaeda threat still existent. It's also very old school, since it would be easier and probably more effective to target cell phone intercepts instead. Conversations on phones in federal buildings, unless something has changed, are always subject to government intercept, or maybe that was only in special secured compound areas. When I worked in a federal building the rule was always to realize anything said on those phones were subject to intercept at any time. Trying to tap phone lines in federal buildings is just stupid, stupid, stupid.

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I have to wonder about several things:
by Mike_Hanks Jan 27, 2010 6:44AM PST

Did they do something like this before or was this the first time they got caught?

Why did they think that this was good idea?

Despite the very high possibility of getting a plethora of sleazy stuff from her, they thought it was ok to do this?

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