Exile is not an option

Fraternity of one pranks self? Thus far.

Here's the rather bizarre story. Conservative gadfly filmmaker is approached for an interview by a CNN up-and-comer. The guy, James O'Keefe, thinks she's out to get him. He responds to her mostly-imaginary persecution of him by using his entirely nonexistent sexual charm to lure her out to a bad porno setup on a boat. An associate of his gets an epiphany that this whole endeavor is beyond scummy and warns off the reporter. The sad, failed attempt becomes public knowledge.

You may have heard of this elsewhere. My only reason to bring it up is that it should mean that the political and media establishments are done with O'Keefe. But it almost certainly does not mean that. His greatest accomplishment was a hard-hitting exposé of ACORN that helped drive the nonprofit out of business. It also turned out to be a bullshit on whitebread sandwich, a fact that became known when it was too late to make a difference. So it's not like he should have had any credibility before his smoove boat-ridin' moves.

Then there's the fact that Carl Paladino is running as the Republican nominee for New York governor, rather than getting his face bashed in by a Buffalo strip club bouncer. One is forced to conclude that there's no longer any such thing as right wing damaged goods.