Reason.tv: Mike Flynn on Big Government (The Website!) & The Videos That Cut Down ACORN

Mike Flynn, one-time government affairs director for Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason.tv, is the editor of Big Government, the latest site from Andrew Breitbart's new media empire.

Big Government focuses on the dirty side of politics, which means they've got enough material to last them for centuries. The site made a huge splash be releasing (as recently as yesterday) a series of guerilla videos in which members of ACORN, the community organization that got tons of public money, apparently helped a fake pimp and prostitute figure out how to set up operations. Big Government followed that up with transcripts from a controversial teleconference between White House folks and artists that led to the resignation of the National Endowmen of the Arts director of communications.

In October, Michael C. Moynihan sat down with Flynn to talk about the site's early success, long-range game plan, and how new media is changing politics in ways that we've only just started to understand.

Approximately 8.20 minutes. Shot by Dan Hayes and Meredith Bragg; edited by Dan Hayes.

Comments

[Old Mexican]

Someone to question the motives behind the release of the Acorn videos in 3... 2... 1...

[Xeones]

joe | October 17, 2008, 2:47pm | #

God bless ACORN, out there registering 13 million new voters. They're doing God's work in some of the toughest neighborhoods in America.

10/17/08 NEVER FORGET

[John]

Xeones you are doing God's work. And we thank you.

[John]

10/17/08 NEVER FORGET!!

[Spin Doctor]

He meant Phallux, the Haitian god of rape.

[R C Dean]

Thank you, Xeones, for insuring that joe never returns to this board.

[not the real jb]

How is congress defunding ACORN not a bill of attainder? I'm trying to square my support for it with my opposition to restricting TARP executives' pay.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Because ACORN doesn't have a *right* to taxpayer money in the first place?

[Jim Hammond]

Xeones
So assisting a prostitute to find housing for a brothel that will house underage girls is also God's work? Hmm.

[ReAnimator]

Did you miss the part where he was quoting someone else from October of last year? I doubt Xeones is a big community organizing fanboy.

[R C Dean]

How is congress defunding ACORN not a bill of attainder?

The Constitution sez (Art. 1, Sec. 9):

"No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."

Without defining a bill of attainder. The Cummings case defines it as follows:

"A bill of attainder, is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without judicial trial and includes any legislative act which takes away the life, liberty or property of a particular named or easily ascertainable person or group of persons because the legislature thinks them guilty of conduct which deserves punishment."

Cancelling your legislative funding is not a punishment and does not take away anything to which you have a property right. Ergo, defunding ACORN by name is not a bill of attainder.

[John]

In your world maybe. But in liberal world they have a property right to government funding and benefits. See how hard it liberals made it to evict deadbeats from government housing for an example.

[Isaac Bartram]

Besides, as we all know, ACORN was doing God's work. 🙂

[Spin Doctor]

As I say, Phallux, the Haitian god of rape.

[not the real jb]

I could understand that reasoning *if* ACORN funding was a line item in some bill. But, as I read it, ACORN was funded out of a grant program for which they qualified.

On one hand you have AIG execs who were promised bonuses and the gov saying they couldn't have them because they were "guilty of conduct which deserves punishment" (e.g. tanking the economy). On the other hand you have ACORN which was promised funds based on a grant program, and the gov saying they couldn't have them because they were "guilty of conduct which deserves punishment" (e.g. giving tax advice to a pimp).

So, it sounds like you're drawing the line based on private income (which was subsidized with tax monies) and public funds (which are wholly tax monies). I would draw the line on the application of the law.

ACORN did something wrong, but if they broke the law, they should be punished within the existing law.

[Spencer]

Did it bother anyone else how horrible the pimp costume was in the video?

Do pimps really dress like that? (Reason of course being the perfect place to ask)

[John]

No. They looked rediculous. They looked like what they were, dumb college kids dressing up for Halloween. The fact that they were able to pull it off shows how amazingly stupid ACORN and its employees are.

[Spin Doctor]

As the "pimp" himself said in an interview (dressed in that silly costume): "Yeah, I'm the whitest guy ever."

[Jeffersonian]

Doing the work the MSM refuses to do because they know who's pulling the wires. I can't wait for the Chicago and SEIU segments.

[Rhywun]

Also let's never forget the millions in slush funds they got from NYC and/or Ratner to advocate for "affordable" housing which will never materialize on the Atlantic Yards site and which would really just be another transfer of wealth from the rich to the poor (Middle class? We don't need no stinking middle class) if it did. God's work my ass.

[Paul Oksnee]

Acorn is a shit organization, but Flynn never addressed the LA office of Acorn which did in fact throw, the undercover pair, out.

[Jesse Jackson]

That's racist!

[Spin Doctor]

Actually, they did; check the guy's site. They declared the L.A. guy ACORN's "employee of the year" at Big Government.

[abercrombie milano]

My only point is that if you take the Bible straight, as I'm sure many of Reasons readers do, you will see a lot of the Old Testament stuff as absolutely insane. Even some cursory knowledge of Hebrew and doing some mathematics and logic will tell you that you really won't get the full deal by just doing regular skill english reading for those books. In other words, there's more to the books of the Bible than most will ever grasp. I'm not concerned that Mr. Crumb will go to hell or anything crazy like that! It's just that he, like many types of religionists, seems to take it literally, take it straight...the Bible's books were not written by straight laced divinity students in 3 piece suits who white wash religious beliefs as if God made them with clothes on.

[abercrombie milano]

My only point is that if you take the Bible straight, as I'm sure many of Reasons readers do, you will see a lot of the Old Testament stuff as absolutely insane. Even some cursory knowledge of Hebrew and doing some mathematics and logic will tell you that you really won't get the full deal by just doing regular skill english reading for those books. In other words, there's more to the books of the Bible than most will ever grasp. I'm not concerned that Mr. Crumb will go to hell or anything crazy like that! It's just that he, like many types of religionists, seems to take it literally, take it straight...the Bible's books were not written by straight laced divinity students in 3 piece suits who white wash religious beliefs as if God made them with clothes on.

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