Kevin DeAnna

September 11, 2009

The life of a right wing activist is a lonely one.  There will be no movies or documentaries testifying to your noble intentions after you retire from the scene.  Your past commitments will condemn you to the fringe for all time even as far more radical left wingers like Bill Ayers sail smoothly to tenured professorships.  Most importantly, you are trying to force change on behalf of a movement whose very ideology seems to urge surrender to hostile elites.  I’ve said it before, but the staggering amount of sheer guts I’ve seen from activists around the country gives me hope even as the Beltway Right continues its eternal quest for “respectability” granted by people who hate them. 

One of the gutsiest and most effective activists is James O’Keefe.  O’Keefe is the former editor of the Rutgers Centurion, where he was known for such tactics as banning Lucky Charms to show the absurdity of multiculturalism (and yes, the school actually banned them.)  Upon graduating, he worked for the Leadership Institute where he was less interested in performing his corporate duties and more interested in taking the fight to the Left.  (Not to say he wasn’t a good worker—you just knew where his passion was.  I think he was too much for LI—and this is a company that somehow managed to put up with me.) Since he left, he’s been waging a guerilla war of video activism, without much recognition or appreciation.  Moreso, unlike a Max Blumenthal or other run of the mill “journalist,” he doesn’t just point and stutter at politically incorrect opinions.  He creates situations and scenarios where context and circumstances actually show his subjects as they really are—and the Left hangs itself.

This week, it was gratifying to see O’Keefe hit the big time with his explosive expos? of ACORN which is now moving around the blogosphere at a staggering pace and ACORN is in frantic retreat. 

As the conservative movement discovers someone, who (unlike others) actually deserves recognition, influence, and attention, it is worth remembering that he didn’t just come out of nowhere.  More importantly, unlike so many others, James knows exactly what he is doing.  He’s been working utterly without fear for years and I’m glad he’s getting long overdue recognition.  It will be great to see what he does next.