One of my favorite parts of James O'Keefe's underwhelming performance on Sean Hannity's show this week (and let's face it, if a conservative activist can't score points on Hannity's program, something's wrong), was when the host gently pressed O'Keefe about the wisdom of trying to infiltrate a U.S. senator's office.
O'Keefe's response was priceless:
Ah, the “people's office.” In other words, security, schma-curity. The U.S. federal government, according to O'Keefe's take on things, should apparenlty have an open door policy when it comes to citizens stopping by unannounced for visits. In fact, it should have an open door policy for twentysomething pranksters who dress up as telephone repairmen. Or pizza delivery guys, or whatever.
Listening to O'Keefe try to spin his way out the fact that he enetered a federal building under false pretenses, the activist announced that there should be no restrictions when it comes to offices of senators, because we, the tax payers, pay their salary. As I noted last week, my guess is that sudden right-wing disdain for security woud evaporate if a a bunch of Arab-Americans got dressed up and filmed their undercover visit to the “people's office.”
But let's stick with O'Keefe's unique claim that because federeal buildings and offices are the property of tax payers, than that means there should be an open door policy to wandering inside. Well, why stop at hometown offices of senators and Congressmen? I assume O'Keefe now wants all Capitol Hill offices to do away with security, right? And of course, the court houses too. I mean we pay the salaries of our judges. So why can't anybody just stroll right in?
And naturally, that clearly means the White House should tear down the gates around 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., rigth? In fact, let's lay off the entire Secret Service staff becuase, let's face it, all they really do is keep “the people” from getting to see the president; from wandering into the Oval Office. Or as O'Keefe would put it, “the people's office.”