Politico: “James O'Keefe abandoned by powerful conservatives”
Written by Adam Shah
Published
Kenneth P. Vogel's October 4 Politico article reported that conservatives are increasingly turning on James O'Keefe in the wake of his alleged plan to “seduce” and publicly humilitate CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau.
From Vogel's article:
Heralded last year as epitomizing a new form of “activist” journalist, James O'Keefe now finds himself abandoned by some of the powerful conservatives who championed him. And a multi-million dollar effort designed to offset what many conservatives regard as the leftward tilt of the mainstream media has been undermined by a series of increasingly bizarre incidents.
“Just because conservatives have what I believe is a well-grounded beef with the establishment press, doesn't mean that they don't have to abide by rules themselves,” Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center, told POLITICO. “I have been telling my fellow conservatives that if we are going to accuse liberals of not following rules of journalistic ethics, then by God, we better follow them or we open ourselves up to all sorts of accusations, and one of them is hypocrisy.”
Politico also reported that O'Keefe is losing support from conservatives who have previously funded O'Keefe and donors to organizations that have funded O'Keefe, such as the Leadership Institute and the Collegiate Network:
One such funder, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, over the years has given more than $1.6 million to the groups. But, in an interview after O'Keefe's arrest in New Orleans, " foundation president Mike Grebe sounded cautious when asked about whether the foundation viewed O'Keefe's style of journalism as helpful for the conservative cause.
“It's worthwhile, depending on the tactics involved, obviously,” he said. “There should be some limits on that kind of activity. We think that the coverage of the problems at ACORN was very effective and turned some opinions regarding that organization, so there a place for it, but again, within limits.”
On Monday, Grebe seemed to distance the foundation further, explaining it had “never funded O'Keefe or Veritas,” and adding that its grants to the Collegiate Network and Leadership Institute “have always been for general operating purposes and their grant requests have never made any mention of undercover video journalism. And I have no knowledge of what they may or may not do in that field.”
Previously:
He “deserve[s] a Pulitzer”: Right-wing media previously showered O'Keefe with praise
Conservatives respond to alleged O'Keefe seduction “prank”