Patterico's Pontifications

3/23/2010

Brad Friedman’s Lies Fail to Save ACORN

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 1:08 am



For once, the liars aren’t winning. For months now, Brad Friedman has engaged in a fundamentally dishonest campaign to save ACORN, by claiming that an inconsequential detail about James O’Keefe’s costume somehow erased the fact that ACORN employees sought to aid what they believed was a child prostitution ring.

Now, despite Friedman’s best (but still dishonest) efforts, ACORN is dead:

The once mighty community activist group ACORN announced Monday it is folding amid falling revenues — six months after video footage emerged showing some of its workers giving tax tips to conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is issuing a correction on the trivial clothing matter, but is continuing to accurately insist that O’Keefe “posed” as a pimp at ACORN:

In the encounters, the activists posed as a prostitute and a pimp and discussed prostitution with the workers.

Which, by golly, is the absolute truth, as I have demonstrated here time and time again.

In Friedman’s post about the correction, he rends his garments in despair and continues to do the only thing he knows, which is to aggressively push a wholly fictional account of the entire ACORN episode:

…the “paper of record” has issued a correction for tomorrow’s papers, in which they repeat the falsehood that James O’Keefe “posed as a pimp” in ACORN offices. He didn’t. He posed as the fake prostitutes law school boyfriend trying to help save her from a pimp who had stalked and threatened to kill her, as a review of even O’Keefe’s own unauthenticated text-transcripts show.

You lie!

As I have shown here on multiple occasions, James O’Keefe repeatedly told ACORN workers that he wanted to set up a house where Giles and underage prostitutes (as young as 12 and 13 years old) would turn tricks and give the proceeds to O’Keefe for his Congressional campaign. Here, from my multiple posts on the issue, is a wholly representative passage that Brad Friedman simply wishes out of existence.

O’Keefe: But, one of the things I was one of the things we also wanna do um one of my goals you asked you asked do you know how you wanna do this, I think one of the goals is not only can Eden protect some of these 13, 14, 15 year-old girls

Theresa (ACORN) Yeah.

O’Keefe: coming over from El Salvador. In addition to protecting them and getting their feet on the ground so that they can you know perform the tricks and you know learn the how LA prostitution scene is I was also wanting to um use some of the this is very lucrative and potentially we can use a lot of the money we’re getting from the underaged girls from El Salvador and use some of the money for [a] campaign one day

Virtually the same thing happened at every ACORN office, as the unedited audio and transcripts clearly show.

But he didn’t pose as a pimp, Brad Friedman?

Your shameless lies didn’t work, Friedman. I can see why you thought they would have. Progressive lies so often do.

But not this time. Not this time. ACORN is dead, and all the lies in the world won’t save it.

Good riddance to ACORN — and good riddance to your relevance, Friedman.

33 Responses to “Brad Friedman’s Lies Fail to Save ACORN”

  1. Brad Friedman is hoping the “repeat a lie often enough strategy and it will become the truth” strategy. Like the left claiming Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from her house.

    BTW, have you guys seen the video of the tea-party protesters hurling racial epithets at a black congressman?

    Neither have I.

    Gregory of Yardale (a84c5d)

  2. I kind of understand Cartman’s enjoyment of Scott Tenorman’s misery.

    “Mm, your tears are so yummy and sweet!”

    Russ (3ac164)

  3. ACORN may be folding its operations under that name, but don’t forget that the exact same organisation also operates under other names such as the SEIU, and here in NY as the Working Families Party. Those operations are not folding, so the celebration is premature.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  4. Folding under the ACORN name and reforming under new names. Litigation avoidance and shedding a damaged brand?

    Who would have thought that the failure of the NY Times to publish a minor correction could do so much damage?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  5. Folding under the ACORN name and reforming under new names. Litigation avoidance and shedding a damaged brand?

    Who would have thought that the failure of the NY Times to publish a minor correction could do so much damage?

    And who would have thought that the correction would come on the same day as the announcement of the folding of ACORN?

    Patterico (be400c)

  6. Milhouse is right, methinks. This could be like the Necromancer’s pretend-retreat from Mirkwood — back to the Dark Tower as Sauron.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (9eb641)

  7. ACORN FOLDS DUE TO FAILURE OF NY TIMES TO PUBLISH MINOR CORRECTION – ERIC BOEHLERT AND BRAD FRIEDMAN HURT MOST!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  8. Patterico, why are you wasting your time with stories like this when you should be writing about American contractors defrauding the government of $150 billion in Iraq or Dyncorp running a real child prostitution ring in Bosnia?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  9. timb has attempted to leave several comments. Apparently he thinks I did not mean when I said that this statement of his

    More importantly, I see Pat is determined to deny that his cherished Republicans used this tactic over 30 times (according to AEI’s Norm Ornstein) when they controlled Congress. Weird how one can just deny recent history.

    is false, and will be retracted or substantiated in his next comment to appear.

    He has tried to prove that the tactic was used, but not that I denied it, which was his claim. I said prove it or retract it. He ignored me.

    Hence his moderation. I can see someone misstating my positions inadvertently, but once I pointed it out, honesty compelled him to prove or retract. If he doesn’t understand that, I’m going to help him understand.

    Patterico (be400c)

  10. XeCORN?

    daleyrocks (718861)

  11. Patterico, I am no fan of trolls. But at the time the fellow wrote what he did, I did respond that you never had written such a thing. I have seen you attack Republicans for unethical or deplorable behavior as much as the Left.

    What I think is going on, sadly, is a degree of projection. They know very well that the recent shenanigans was some very, very dirty pool. So the only way that they can feel better about it is to say: “THEY do it too!” Usually with a “and worse!” tagged on.

    I’m glad you defend your reputation. The Left too often smears and then walks on. And when the Right does that kind of thing, they are wrong too.

    I remember the line “Where do I get my reputation back?”

    Eric Blair (21af67)

  12. To cut to the chase here, can I have that $1 million dollars or so that that stupid federal judge said that congress had to pay to acorn?

    TimothyJ (8fb937)

  13. I linked over to Friedman’s site to re-read his entries re Acorn/O’Keefe and thought this wonderfully ironic, all things considered…while simultaneously wondering, can he really be for real?

    In case you were wondering if ACORN’s announcement today that they will soon be closing their doors will have any effect on my campaign to demand accountability from the people and institutions (e.g., the NYTimes, but many others as well) culpable in their demise, rest assured it will not — other than to serve as yet another reminder of why such accountability remains an imperative here at The BRAD BLOG.

    (emphasis added)

    Dana (1e5ad4)

  14. The story you have just seen is true, but the names are being changed to protect the guilty.

    /Narrative announcer tone off

    EW1(SG) (edc268)

  15. Brad, Boehlert & Bobross will not let the truth get in the way of Teh Narrative.

    JD (2dc3b2)

  16. The former Acornites must be watched to see how they reconstitute themselves.

    Eternal vigilance, my friends. This is war for the soul of America.

    Patricia (e1047e)

  17. For once, the liars aren’t winning.

    Oh, please, Pat. My cube faces a TV set to the ObamanationCare signing. I’ve been watching liars congratulate themselves all morning. I wish I was upper management and could escape punishment for flinging a coffee mug through the screen.

    As for ACORN, it’s dead in name only. Don’t put your weapons away, it will be harder to kill than Rasputin bitten by a vampire.

    L.N. Smithee (ecc5a5)

  18. A quick search found a document listing 361 ACORN subsidiaries.

    That is a lot of heads to cut off before this hydra is dead. Its a little strange that this document is on a .gov website and it may or may not include the “For Profit” side of the ACORN house.

    Color me skeptical/paranoid if you like, but I’m expecting a name change and resurface.

    MaaddMaaxx (b91eb0)

  19. Good riddance, indeed.

    Leviticus (56bc5c)

  20. …was Friedman ever relevant?

    Like MaaddMaaxx, color me cynic as well, I don’t think we can get rid of ACORN this easy. Name change, reorganizing via the organizer in chief, help from local governments, unions, etc. will probably bring them back.

    TheAudacity (2fd5ad)

  21. I’m sure I’ll say this again many, many times more…

    All it ever needed was a little push.

    Enjoy: watch?v=f-78pgJatRo

    Jeff Barea (eff5e1)

  22. Brad Friedman is in deep denial. As Mr. T used to say on the A Team, I pity the fool.

    He and Boehlert have concocted an absurd and fabulist rewriting of actual events documented by audio and text records which most people, including the NY Times do not find credible. It relies on cherry picking portions of transcripts and ignoring other portions, convoluted interpretations of commonly understood words and good old fashioned bald-faced lies.

    He plays the no crimes were committed by the ACORN employees card to discredit O’Keefe and Giles. Fine, but their conduct was bad enough to get a number of them fired by ACORN – does he wish jail time on them too. What people witnessed in the videos was enough to convince the IRS, the Census Bureau, the House and the Senate and ACORN’s major donors to cut the organization off. All those people are deluded, because Brad and Eric are the only truth tellers here – what a load of crap!

    Oh, the transcripts and videos and audio have not been authenticated – by who? Who would be satisfactory for Brad? Who has given him reason to doubt their authenticity? Harshberger, ACORN’s “investigator” did not even doubt that the questions were asked and the answers given, why does Brad – I guess he just knows things. ACORN, theoretically the aggrieved party, did not even serve the illegal taping lawsuit they filed on Giles and O’Keefe in Maryland and a judge dismissed it due to the lapse of time.

    Didn’t pose as a pimp and a prostitute? The Brooklyn DA said they did in the press release reaffirming her ruling on the unconstitutional bill of attainder. NPR did in their interview with Bertha Lewis today. I don’t know where Brad grew up, but the pimps I saw in New York City were not doing much work procuring Johns for their prostitutes. He can flaunt the dictionary definitions all he wants to make his case, but that’s not how the real world functions all the time.

    His posts are mostly defensive self-refuting tripe. Trace them from one to another and you will see the lack of consistency and lies. That’s the problem with people like Brad, when you tell so many lies, you forget which ones you’ve told, and you eventually trip over them.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  23. I hate to say “I told you so” but…
    ACORN is not shutting down

    MaaddMaaxx (b91eb0)

  24. Maaxx – It’s because the NY Times made the correction today. Friedman was right!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  25. […] Patterico cheers the folding of ACORN and the inability of progressive lies to save the organisation. […]

    Smorgasbord at Haemet (3bcabb)

  26. Why is this political? I’m confused. ACORN has helped so many people, done so many good things. So many voters that would have been disenfranchised have been helped by ACORN. This is an organization to be proud of. Thank Jesus that ACORN was. Lord, please let ACORN exist again, without the internal problems that it had. AMEN

    JakeHalsted (53dbfb)

  27. Its political because ACORN made it political, Jake.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  28. Well, that shows us just how Christian Jake really is …

    SPQR (26be8b)

  29. “Why is this political?”

    JakeHalsted – Simple. ACORN and its affiliates have been illegally used as the shock troops of the Democrat party, violating tax laws, election laws and their corporate charters. They are a criminal enterprise which has survived due to the protection of Democrats in power, nothing more, nothing less.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  30. Palomino!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  31. So, earlier today, when I pointed out that you and I had a misunderstanding, that I didn’t mean what you thought I meant, that it was my fault for being too flippant, you did NOT consider that a retraction?

    Well, that’s weird, but okay:

    Prior to the debate on healthcare reform, Patterico has never defended the use of deem and pass. Like most of us, he was unaware of its existence and use by prior Republican Congresses.

    The use of the word “deny” was unfortunate and implied he had defended the practice in the past, rather than just being unaware that it had been used historically. The fact that I linked to the CRS report in an earlier post and the information was in news reports led me to believe that you had seen it and were just ignoring it. I apologize for that assumption.

    Not sure how much more of a retraction I can throw out there, Pat, besides agreeing with you that you did not write anything and apologizing for the misunderstanding between us. But, hopefully, this second try meets with your approval.

    timb (449046)


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