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James O'Keefe…

BY Mark Shea

| Posted 10/6/10 at 3:00 AM

the guy who did the video sting on Murder Inc. and ACORN is, unfortunately, not somebody I would hitch the future of conservatism to. He also appears to be a bit nuts, or at any rate, an overgrown teenager. EWTN’s Kevin O’Brien does the autopsy on his latest antics here and here.

One of the problems with the increasingly tribalized approach to American politics is that when somebody is perceived as having scored a point for Our Team, then any questioning of the person is perceived as an attack on Our Team. The problem is, sometimes the point got scored because the player threw his racket and accidently drove the ball over the net, not because the player was good or even particularly ethical. That’s why a hallmark of a healthy society is being able to interrogate even your own side and make sure everything is on the up and up. When things become so tribal that any scrutiny directed to the Home Team is regarded as treason and betrayal, the first thing to be imperiled is the integrity of the Home Team. Crazies, juvenile delinquents and scam artists begin to multiply and wrap themselves in the Home Team banner in order to avoid any examination of what they are up to.

Result: things like the Kinky Adventures of James O’Keefe. Let it be said clearly: just because you strike a blow against Planned Parenthood or ACORN does not mean that all you do is henceforth sacrosanct, nor that anyone who questions your bizarre antics is secretly rooting for Planned Parenthood or ACORN. It could be that they are questioning your antics because they don’t want Planned Parenthood and ACORN to be able to plead that they are the victims of self-aggrandizing kooks.