So much for “citizen journalism.” James O’Keefe, the 25 year old conservative activist who became a right-wing pin-up boy for his “revelations” about ACORN, was arrested in New Orleans yesterday for tampering with telephones in the office of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu. Also charged were three of O’Keefe’s pals, including the son of the acting U.S. Attorney for Louisiana’s Western District. Two of the young men posed as telephone repairmen to gain access to Landrieu’s phones. O’Keefe recorded the idiocy on his cellular phone.

The self-professed investigative reporter was in New Orleans to speak to the Pelican Institute, a libertarian think tank. That raises the question, “What the hell was he thinking about.” O’Keefe first gained fame—or infamy depending on one’s point of view—as the result of heavily edited undercover video in which ACORN representatives were questioned about obtaining federal funds for a whore house. The victims of the farce claimed they treated the inquiry as a joke. However, that portion of the undercover video was never shown. ACORN’s primary function has been to register African American voters. Attacks on the organization have always had a tinge of racism and/or bigotry.

The underlying purpose for bugging Senator Landrieu’s phones is still a mystery. The Democrat was embroiled in a recent controversy after getting a $500-million amendment to the pending  Health Care bill to compensate Louisiana for a Medicaid shortfall stemming from a population shift in the wake of Hurrican Katrina.

The news release announcing James O’Keefe’s speaking engagement before the Pelican Institute stated he was “a pioneer in new media and effective investigative reporting.” It strikes me as strange that wing-nuts like O’Keefe, who operate under the banner of “law and order,” have no respect for law and order. Watching these guys encourages me to invest in straight-jackets and drool cups. There will come a day when lunatics overwhelm asylums.

There is a bit of personal irony in the guise that was used to penetrate the Landrieu’s field office. When I collectecd my first Peabody medallion many years ago in Miami, I used a lot of undercover video  of bookies meeting with public officials. Most of the film was shot from the rear of a vehicle painted in the same colors as a Southern Bell telephone truck. Indeed, one of my producers was dressed as a telephone repairman while getting photographs of mobster Meyer Lansky during a breakfast meeting at a Miami Beach restaurant. Details are included in my book. In short, the difference between my undercover foray and the O’Keefe crew of idiots is that I did not break the law. 

I hope other “citizen journalists” learn a lesson from the telephone tampering incident. O’Keefe’s next investigative reporting lecture may be from prison.