Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Wesley Pruden is the longtime editor of the Washington Moonie Times. From that lofty perch as the mouthpiece for the world's largest and most dangerous cult leader, Pruden has often made ridiculous declarations about politics. This column about Al Franken is a perfect example. He begins with much inflammatory rhetoric:
We've never had an Official U.S. Senate Pornographer before, though pornographic behavior is frequently the entertainment provided to the public by the world's oldest deliberative body. So Al Franken, the answer to Harry Reid's prayer, should fit right in.
He doesn't bother to note that most of that pornographic behavior has come from right-wing politicians that Pruden has long carried water for. David Vitter comes to mind, does he not? John Ensign surely does as well. Larry Craig, anyone? How about Bob Packwood? Or Strom Thurmond, for that matter?
The theft of Norman Coleman's Senate seat was remarkably brazen for the way it was done in broad daylight.
Theft? For crying out loud, every single level of the Minnesota system ruled in Franken's favor. The rulings in every court were unanimous, including every single Republican judge, went in Franken's favor. The state's elections board, including two Republicans, voted unanimously that Franken won.
Of course, this is Wesley Pruden, the scourge of irony meters everywhere. This is the man who wrote an op-ed in 1996 fuming about the inflow of money from Asians to Democrats. "More than a million dollars of this foreign money is believed to have been contributed to the Democrats, putting the election up for auction," said the man who works for Rev. Moon, who has funneled billions of dollars in to the United States to influence the political system.
Politics
Comments
Ed, Ed, Ed, Ed, Ed...
You're missing, perhaps on purpose, the simple counter-argument to all of that which shows your argument for the bunk that it is.
That counter-argument is this, "Shut up, that's why!"
Posted by: tincture | July 17, 2009 9:21 AM
What about Phil Gramm? Didn't he fund an adult themed movie called "Beauty Queens"? Wouldn't that make him a pornographer, literally? But then again, we should wish our current senators to have the same moral fiber as our founding fathers like Jefferson or Franklin.
Posted by: Thoracantha | July 17, 2009 9:23 AM
Note to self: Don't send Wesley Pruden out to buy my porn.
Posted by: Gingerbaker | July 17, 2009 9:28 AM
Given the giant loss of credibility the Washington Post has suffered recently under neocon propagandist Fred Hiatt, I'm very grateful we now have the Washington Independent, the sister publication to the Michigan Messenger, where Ed reports.
We also still have The Hill. However, just yesterday they falsely reported that Pelosi had inserted a clause in the Health Care bill that would have forced customers of private health insurance plans into the public plan if they were no longer able to continue with the private carrier they had when this bill goes into effect. That clause was instead merely defining grandfathered private insurers vs. private insurers who would have higher standards to meet if a person switched private insurance plans after the bill goes into effect.
Posted by: Michael Heath | July 17, 2009 9:33 AM
Ginger, thanks for a great laugh to start my day!
Posted by: James Hanley | July 17, 2009 9:44 AM
World's oldest deliberative body?
I don't think so...Britain's Parliament has had a continuous existence as an deliberative body since 1295 (changing from England's to United Kingdom's in 1707).
Posted by: MartinDH | July 17, 2009 9:48 AM
So what did Al Franken do that makes him a "pornographer" in Pruden's mind?
Posted by: Adrienne | July 17, 2009 9:48 AM
Thanks Gingerbaker. Now I'm picturing Wesley Pruden (which is never pleasant to begin with) sitting naked in his recliner watching CSPAN.
"Yea debate that bill you naughty little Junior Senator. Talk rhetoric to me, say 'family values'. Wait, are they? Is it? Oh my God! It's... a.. filibuster, yes... Yes... YES!!!"
Posted by: Abby Normal | July 17, 2009 9:48 AM
Thoracantha @2:
But then again, we should wish our current senators to have the same moral fiber as our founding fathers like Jefferson or Franklin.
Ha, the modern day religious righties wouldn't approve of Franklin's "moral fiber". His religious views aside, Franklin was quite the ladies' man. I believe he fathered several illegitimate children. Although he only ever acknowledged one of them, a son, as his IIRC.
Posted by: Adrienne | July 17, 2009 9:51 AM
I don't think so...Britain's Parliament has had a continuous existence as an deliberative body since 1295
and the parliaments of Iceland and the Isle of Man both longer!
Posted by: Thony C. | July 17, 2009 9:58 AM
...the world's largest and most dangerous cult leader...
isn't that the Pope?
Posted by: Thony C. | July 17, 2009 10:00 AM
Wes Pruden?
I recall reading one of Al Franken's books, though which one slips my mind at the moment, and in it he complained about a hatchet job editorial in the Moonie Times. The whole thing was a hit piece that completely ignored what actually happened at the event in question, and he called the writer credited with the piece out for being a lying liar. The writer's response was that he didn't write the piece Franken had a problem with, it was rewritten without his knowledge or consent by an editor named, as I recall, Wes Pruden. And further investigation showed that this was not an isolated incident, Pruden had a history of inserting his own statements into other writers' work, even completely reversing their meaning, without any shame at all.
Does anyone else remember that story? Have I got it right? And is this the same Wes Pruden?
Posted by: phantomreader42 | July 17, 2009 10:01 AM
I tried moral fiber but it just didn't keep me regular like Metamucil.
Posted by: chris | July 17, 2009 10:01 AM
Pruden is not "lying for Jesus"--he's "lying for True Father and Messiah Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Posted by: mark | July 17, 2009 10:06 AM
I remember the same story, phantonreader. And now that I'm working as an editor, I can say that I do sometimes insert statements into stories written by reporters, as most editors do. But before it hits the page, it goes back to the reporter for their approval of the changes and additions.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | July 17, 2009 10:06 AM
Re Adrienne
Not to mention Thomas Jeffersons' 7 illegitimate children by his slave Sally Hemings.
Posted by: SLC | July 17, 2009 10:34 AM
All the State Secretaries are in MN for the next few days and the local GOP talking head is running radio ads accusing the MN Secretary of State Ritchie of stealing the election for Franken. So I can only take away from this is that the GOP can't deal with transparent elections.
(does anyone still listen to radio?)
Posted by: yoshi | July 17, 2009 11:08 AM
Iceland's Althing is even older than British Parliament, it was established in 930. I didn't know about the Isle of Man so I looked it up and their Tynwald dates from around 979. US Congress is a baby in comparison.
Posted by: Noadi | July 17, 2009 11:25 AM
[TV ad]
"Hi, I'm a blogger whose livelihood depends on reporting sex scandals in the US Congress. I want to encourage you to support a small businessman by voting Republican this November ...."
[/TV ad]
Posted by: Scott Hanley | July 17, 2009 12:00 PM
Scott Hanley @19
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Still smiling and filling in the blanks for that TV spot.
Cheers.
Posted by: MikeMa | July 17, 2009 12:23 PM
The usual phrase for the Senate is "the world's greatest deliberative body."
That, of course, is also questionable, but it's not surprising that Pruden couldn't even get that right.
Posted by: James Hanley | July 17, 2009 12:25 PM
phantomreader42 @ # 12 - That was Chapter 23, "I'm Prudenized", in Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
Apparently Pruden inserted a few lies about Franken into a columnist's piece: "This editor had deliberately put my routine through the 'de-irony-izer' to make me, a Democratic, look unpatriotic..."
Who knew he was storing up all that irony to create surges in the 21st century?
Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | July 17, 2009 12:58 PM
Oh, there's no way Pruden would go on record with that statement while the Democrats are in charge of both chambers.
Posted by: tacitus | July 17, 2009 1:51 PM
We are sadly well past the time when we elect senators primarily for their intellectual prowess. They have to pass so many litmus tests (somewhat variable by region) none of which include smarts, that by and large we end with pompous, self-centered, self-interested, self-righteous and telegenic fools.
Deliberative body my ass. They couldn't satisfactorily deliberate a lunch menu to save their sorry souls. They make deals in back rooms and pretend to debate for show. I don't mean to single out just senators - the whole congress follows this pattern.
A new reality show: Congress at Work - 60 minutes a week of showmanship and hypocrisy. That's all we should really have to put up with.
Posted by: MikeMa | July 17, 2009 2:36 PM
You can't spell "Pruden" without "prude".
But I think GingerBaker @#3 wins teh intarwebs for the day.
Posted by: LightningRose | July 17, 2009 2:41 PM
Adrienne:
"So what did Al Franken do that makes him a "pornographer" in Pruden's mind?"
He wrote some articles for Playboy several years ago, including one that (if I recall correctly) talked about finding his son had bought some porn. I guess that old line about "reading it for the articles" rings true, huh.
Posted by: Sean Micheal | July 17, 2009 3:43 PM
Similarly, the Tynwald was an interpretative body up until the late 16thC, IIRC.
Posted by: Mike the Englishman | July 17, 2009 7:35 PM
SLC:
Psssht. What, just because they have DNA evidence and even the Jefferson family (reluctantly) acknowledges the Hemings as cousins, means it's true?
Actually, it's funny. Up until the mid 1990s or so I don't think anyone outside the African-American community took the idea seriously. And then the DNA came down. Now I just wish Tom hadn't been too spineless to free and marry the girl.
Posted by: Brian X | July 17, 2009 8:25 PM
Guys, you're being too mean to Wes, picking on his "world's oldest deliberative body" remark. Clearly he means in terms of average chronological age!
Though he's probably wrong there too, especially since Strom Thurmond retired.
Posted by: Mithrandir | July 17, 2009 9:03 PM
Perhaps he got "world's greatest deliberative body" mixed up with "world's oldest profession." It's an easy mistake to make.
Posted by: ArtK | July 18, 2009 12:12 AM
ArtK "Perhaps he got 'world's greatest deliberative body' mixed up with 'world's oldest profession.'"
They're farmers?
Posted by: Woody Boyd | July 18, 2009 4:27 AM
Virginia, dagnabit! The General Assembly of Virginia is the Western Hemisphere's oldest deliberative body. You'd think the editor of the Washington Times would know this since they're just across the river in DC, and most of their people probably live here.
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/government/index.html
Posted by: MattW | July 18, 2009 11:07 AM
Posted by: llewelly | July 18, 2009 8:19 PM