Five Years Ago Today: Karl Rove in Pink Elephants

Five years ago, this blog wasn't even two weeks old. So, I may have picked too early a week to inaugurate a Five Years Ago feature. But it's cool. It's kind of fun to revisit the past. I think while I'm at it, I may start doing a few Four Years Agos too, since it was a presidential election year also. But for now, here is one of my posts from my first month. It would be another week or so before I became more current eventsy. . .here, I was re purposing some pre-blog work.

ORIGINAL POST: June 14, 2007

 

Here is another of my creations, from a couple of years ago. Picture it: Spring 2005, and revelations about a man-whore named Jeff Gannon were setting the blogs (but sadly not the mainstream media) on fire. Also, there were rumors that the man the Freepers called "Rove, you magnificent bastard!" was possibly--just maybe--gonna be implicated in the Plame affair. I didn't have an outlet yet for my political and artistic frustrations, but that didn't stop me from creating. So without further ado (and with apologies to and appreciation for John Waters), I bring you Pink Elephants!

NOTE (06/14/12):  This joke obviously works better if you know about: Pink Flamingos, John Waters, Divine, Jeff Gannon, Karl Rove, Valerie Plame and the whole vibe of the Bush era in 2007 for a liberal blogger.

Lest We Forget: Remember That Male Hooker in the White House?

Hey, while I'm inaugurating this new feature, why not go back to the granddaddy of this blog, the first post I ever wrote (on another blog).  Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert) was a male hooker (shades of the rentboy story that is so hot this week) who had regular visits to the press room at the White House.  How could this story have percolated below the surface, and never really have broken through?  Can you imagine if a hooker with a nebulous past--male or female--had a regular presence in the Obama White House? Really?  And this is another one from the vaults that never had any kind of satisfactory resolution.

Photos from AmericaBlog

ORIGINAL POST (June 4, 2007)

Gannongate



If you keep up with the so-called "liberal blogs," then you've probably heard a bit about the Jeff Gannon/James Guckert story. If you only follow the MSM, you've only heard skewed stories focusing on the wrong aspects of the story--if you've heard anything about it at all.

On various programs on MSNBC and CNN, the story has focused on the "blogger" aspect of the story. It depicts the story as something of a liberal witch hunt on a poor, unsuspecting gay journalist. A gay, conservative journalist. Reality is much different.


Jeff Gannon, AKA James Guckert, was a "White House Correspondent" for an organization called Talon News. He obtained daily press passes to White House press conferences for around two years. He got daily passes because he was unable to get the usual hard passes. Why? Maybe because the organization he worked for wasn't legitimate. Maybe because it wasn't even in existence before he got his first pass. No, the real organization he worked for was GOPUSA, an unabashedly partisan web site. Talon News was created later, apparently to provide him with a less obviously partisan "publication."


Gannon/Guckert was called upon by both the White House Press Secretary and President Bush many times during his visits. He was able to ask nakedly partisan questions, seemingly when questions from other reporters started treading into murky waters. He seems to have been the "go to guy" when they needed to get on firmer ground. These questions have been termed "softball" by many, but I think they'd be more accurately termed "T-ball questions." They were loaded statements, more than questions, set up for either the Press Secretary or President to easily knock them out of the park.


It has come to light, largely due to Americablog and DailyKos that Mr. Gannon/Guckert was also (concurrently, or in the immediate past) a male prostitute. He offered his services on many web sites (some which he owned) at $200 per hour or $1200 for a weekend. He apparently had no journalistic credentials (save for a two hour course), and no resume of note to allow him to claim with any credibility that he was a journalist.


When all of this came to light, there were three notable reactions from the right. The first is a deafening silence. Websites like the Drudge Report, Newsmax and Free Republic have barely commented on the story at all. This seems odd given the outrage over every little tidbit that suits conservatives. When it has been addressed, the "Freepers" responded with big "yawns," and declared it wasn't even a story. Others, like Ann Coulter, tried to refocus the story, claiming that "liberal bloggers" were out to get a gay guy. Rather than responding to the other aspects of the story, Coulter and others are trying to paint liberals as hypocritical for attacking Gannon for being gay. Aren't liberals supposed to like gay people?


NEWSFLASH: It has not been ascertained if Jeff/James is gay. But it is rather obvious that he's a hooker! With no journalistic credentials! In the White House! DAILY for YEARS!


Now, either the White House had no idea of his background--which indicates a huge security breach. OR, the White House DID know of his background--which indicates that somebody, somewhere in the White House was helping this guy. Why? Were they being blackmailed? I think it is a legitimate story. I think that if this happened during the Clinton administration (or a hypothetical Gore or Kerry administration), the mainstream press would be having a field day. So would the conservative blogs. It would make the "soiled blue dress" look like a non-event. What do you think?

Finally Revealed: Jeff Gannon's White House Lovers

Image of Jeff Gannon from Democratic Underground

Long forgotton GOP gay sex scandal star, Jeff Gannon--a faux-White House Press Corps reporter/male prostitute--has finally admitted just who his "client" was in the Bush Administration. Or, rather, who his clients were. In a cryptic press release, to be followed by a tell-all book, Gannon only referred to his customers by code names, such as "The Eagle," "Darth," "Turdblossom" and "Chimpy McCokespoon." More on this story as it develops. . .

Ari Fleischer Forgets About Jeff Gannon

Image of Jeff Gannon from Democratic Underground

From the unintentionally hilarious department: Former Bush era White House Spokesman, Ari Fleischer, criticised Barack Obama for calling on a blogger during his press conference. Ari claimed that Bush wouldn't have done such a thing. Which is bananas, when you consider one Jeff Gannon.

[Excerpt]

Fleischer And O’Reilly: Bush Didn’t Call On ‘Dot Coms And Other Oddballs’ Like The Huffington Post

If Bush was relying on Fleischer to screen the “dotcoms and oddballs,” he was poorly served. Take, for example, case of Jeff Gannon, the male escort-turned-right-wing news outlet Talon News. The White House press office granted Gannon access to the White House under an assumed name and with no background check. Once Gannon got in the door under Fleischer’s watch in 2003, he was called on by Bush at a press conference in January 2005. Gannon

White House Illegally Deleted Records; Must Disclose Visitor Logs

Image from source, ABC News

Yes! Now, maybe we can find out who Jeff Gannon was visiting? OK, there are other important things in there, but that's the one that interests this blogger!

[Excerpt]

Judge Rules Against White House on Visitors Logs

A federal judge on Friday rejected the Bush administration's latest attempt to keep secret the identities of White House visitors and declared that the government illegally deleted Secret Service computer records. . .

Read more at: ABC News

Bush Era Political Sex Scandals

Image of everyone's favorite man 'ho, from source, Democratic Underground

One of my favorite types of political stories to cover is the omnipresent sex scandal. Now, as far as we know--outside of some Condi rumors, and the unknown customer(s) of Jeff Gannon--George W. Bush hasn't had any sex scandals in his administration, at least not directly. But while Democrats have scandals of their own, no one does it like the GOP.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Democrats, by and large, are not as pious or as squeamish about sex. A gay Democrat--for example--is likely just that, a gay Democrat. And if he's closeted, and then "outed," nobody cares too much. But Republicans, who wrap themselves in the flag and the Shroud of Turin (figuratively, of course), invite much more scruitiny simply by pretending to stand for "traditional family values." And all of that repression leads to some very kinky sex.

Here is a great roundup of the sex scandals of the Bush era (and it is by no means a complete list!):

[Excerpt]

"EIGHT YEARS WITHOUT A SEX SCANDAL" ... UNLESS YOU COUNT THESE

by Pokey Anderson, December 27, 2008

Jeff Gannon, actually James Guckert, was a fake reporter using a pseudonym, yet was admitted routinely over a period of two years to the White House for press briefings. In his role as conservative reporter, he would lob softball questions at the White House press secretary or the President. He also seemed to have had inside knowledge of several major news events, one of which concerned Valerie Plame. The Secret Service records of Guckert's comings and goings at the White House are curious -- some of the days he checked into the White House, there were no press briefings. Some days he checked in, but didn't check out, or vice versa. Some days he stayed at the White House as long as six hours. . .

Read the rest of the list at: Democratic Underground

The Movie Version of McClellan's What Happened?

With all of the Bush scandals receiving new attention, thanks to the publication of Scott McClellen's tell-all book, What Happened, I am reminded of a little art project I slapped together a few years ago, covering a couple of them.

Here's the original post as it appeared in the early days of this blog (June 15, 2007):

Here is another of my creations, from a couple of years ago. Picture it: Spring 2005, and revelations about a man named Jeff Gannon were setting the blogs (but sadly not the mainstream media) on fire. Also, there were rumors that the man the Freepers called "Rove, you magnificent bastard!" was possibly--just maybe--gonna be implicated in the Plame affair. I didn't have an outlet yet for my political and artistic frustrations, but that didn't stop me from creating. So without further ado (and with apologies to and appreciation for John Waters), I bring you Pink Elephants!

So What is Scott McClellan's Story on Jeff Gannon?

Photos from AmericaBlog

Yes, that Jeff Gannon. Like a character in a soap opera, he pops in when you least expect him (or give him some money, presumably). The tell-all book that former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellen wrote has brought to mind several long ignored scandals and scandlets, so I guess it should be no surprise that Gannon would show up.

And that is one story I hope is actually told one day. Maybe in his follow-up, McClellan will clarify these remarks, made by Jeff Gannon (nee James Guckert) at his website:

[Excerpt]

Scott, We Hardly Knew Ye

Add me to the growing list of those who are having great difficulty understanding McClellan’s motives. I spent two years as a White House reporter, much of it during McClellan’s reign. At no time did Scott ever indicate, either publicly or privately, he had the misgivings he expressed in this book. What I hear about the book does not sound like the Scott McClellan I knew for two years. I can say without fear of contradiction, that I knew Scott better than any other White House correspondent or Washington reporter.

Read more at: JeffGannon.com

Jeff Gannon Visits My Blog

Image from Examiner.com

As I noted earlier, intrepid (and former) White House "reporter," Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert) visited my blog earlier today, and left me a comment. Since the comment is likely to be overlooked, I've decided to give him a slightly wider forum by presenting the comment unedited below. After all, he is--as far as I know--the only celebrity to visit my blog, even if he is of the infamous variety.

COMMENT:

Old Media Ablaze Over Staged FEMA Presser

Liberal activists and the Old Media are aghast and outraged over a press conference conducted last Tuesday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reporters were only able to listen to a department spokesman respond to questions about relief efforts for the California wildfires posed by other members of the FEMA staff. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff appropriately chastised the sham press conference and promised an investigation and disciplinary action and the White House expressed its displeasure with the incident.Surely no one at FEMA believed that the staged event would not immediately be discovered and criticized. What could the motivation have been for such a stunt? Perhaps FEMA wanted an opportunity to present its version of events before the Old Media created its own reality about the fires and the actions of the agency. News consumers had already listened to reporters making comparisons to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and attempting to find fault with the handling of relief efforts. California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had to take ABC’s Claire Shipman by the hand to convince her that everything possible was being done and that she should stop trying to invent mistakes and shortcomings. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and other environuts demagogued the tragedy as evidence of the effect of global warming, while California Democrats like Sen. Barbara Boxer and Lt. Governor John Garamendi incorrectly claimed that relief efforts were impeded by having troops and equipment in Iraq.

One of the lessons learned in the wake of Katrina is how the unaccountable Old Media are able to create a false impression that their ideological soul mates in the Democratic Party use for political advantage. In my book, “The Great Media War: A Battlefield Report”, I detail the flawed coverage of one of the greatest natural disasters in American history – a record that has yet to be corrected.

When I learned of the fake news conference, I expected that the characterization of Jeff Gannon as a “phony reporter” would be revived. Liberal media activist Keith Olbermann noted it on his nightly train wreck of a talk show and the lefties of the blogosphere dutifully repeated it ad nauseum. This is a classic case of how a lie becomes reality, since the record proves otherwise. I was as real as a reporter gets, writing over 500 articles as a White House correspondent, a job that Secret Service records indicate I actually showed up for more than 200 times over the course of two years. The veracity of my work as a reporter has never been successfully challenged.

Further, in 2006 – a year after my supposed exposure as a “phony reporter” - my peers accepted me into the National Press Club, the most prestigious association of professional journalists in the world. My book about the media will be featured at the National Press Club’s 30th annual book fair on November 1. Not bad for a “fake, fraud and phony.”

MY REPLY: First, Mr. Gannon, let me thank you for visiting my blog, and leaving a comment. But I'd like to point out that I mentioned your name before I saw any other media report of it, yes even before it was on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I wish you luck in the attempt to rehabilitate your image, even if I don't quite buy it. I'll not offer any point-by-point here, as it has all been covered "ad nauseum" elsewhere. Notably here: A man called Jeff at AmericaBlog.com.

WARNING: Some images and verbiage may be not safe for work (NSFW).

Jeff Gannon Writes a Book; Self Publishes

Image from source, Examiner.com

Former White House correspondent, faux reporter, Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert) is back, and he's written a book. He couldn't get it published by a book company, mind you, so he self-published. It isn't a tell-all though, so who the heck would want to read it?

For all you need to know about the reporter, the legend, the man-whore, check out the exhaustive (and not safe for work) link at AmericaBlog.com.

If you're actually interested in his book, here's a little about it.

[Excerpt]

Gannon: 'I'm here. ... Deal with me

It’s been more than two years since Jeff Gannon (birth name: James Dale Guckert) resigned from Talon News, a conservative Web site for which Gannon served as White House correspondent. At the time, some theorized that Gannon was liberally granted press access in order to ask softball questions of White House.

Others were taken aback by nude pictures of Gannon that appeared on male escort service Web pages. A few questioned his lack of journalism education and experience.

Well, Gannon’s back, and he has his claws out. [snip]

“In my mind, I was the most honest reporter [in the White House press corps] because I was absolutely transparent with regards to my [conservative] perspective,” Gannon says. “My work has never been discredited.”

Read more at: Examiner.com

Blast from the Past: Karl Rove & Jeff Gannon

Here is another of my creations, from a couple of years ago. Picture it: Spring 2005, and revelations about a man-whore named Jeff Gannon were setting the blogs (but sadly not the mainstream media) on fire. Also, there were rumors that the man the Freepers called "Rove, you magnificent bastard!" was possibly--just maybe--gonna be implicated in the Plame affair. I didn't have an outlet yet for my political and artistic frustrations, but that didn't stop me from creating. So without further ado (and with apologies to and appreciation for John Waters), I bring you Pink Elephants!

It's Hard Work!

I really want to post something today. I'm determined that this won't just be a one-day experiment that I lose interest in right away. Usually, my brain is working overtime with thoughts just screaming to be written down somewhere. Then, I created a forum, and the thoughts seem to have scattered.

Several thoughts have occurred to me. The complete uselessness of Hannity and Colmes. My vacillating interest between Hillary, Obama and Edwards (leaning Edwards now, after the most recent debate). The frightening disconnect between reality and delusion present on the popular right-wing blog, Free Republic. The tragic state of the media, and their inability to focus on or investigate the actual news. The inability of any of the current scandals in the Bush administration to actually cause the people to sit up and take notice.

But, I will address these issues. I must. That's what this blog is for. If for no other reason than to condense my disparate mental fragments into coherent, complete ideas. So, sit tight, imaginary readers! I will be ranting, and soon!

It did occur to me that my first posting here contained a big fat whopper. I stated that I'd never blogged before. Then, I remembered that I posted on my brother-in-law's earlier blog a couple of years ago. A post about one of those scandals that never caught the public's fancy. I still have no idea why, and so without further ado, on my young blog's third day . . . a rerun!

Guest Editorial

Gannongate

If you keep up with the so-called "liberal blogs," then you've probably heard a bit about the Jeff Gannon/James Guckert story. If you only follow the MSM, you've only heard skewed stories focusing on the wrong aspects of the story--if you've heard anything about it at all.

On various programs on MSNBC and CNN, the story has focused on the "blogger" aspect of the story. It depicts the story as something of a liberal witch hunt on a poor, unsuspecting gay journalist. A gay, conservative journalist. Reality is much different.

Jeff Gannon, AKA James Guckert, was a "White House Correspondent" for an organization called Talon News. He obtained daily press passes to White House press conferences for around two years. He got daily passes because he was unable to get the usual hard passes. Why? Maybe because the organization he worked for wasn't legitimate. Maybe because it wasn't even in existence before he got his first pass. No, the real organization he worked for was GOPUSA, an unabashedly partisan web site. Talon News was created later, apparently to provide him with a less obviously partisan "publication."

Gannon/Guckert was called upon by both the White House Press Secretary and President Bush many times during his visits. He was able to ask nakedly partisan questions, seemingly when questions from other reporters started treading into murky waters. He seems to have been the "go to guy" when they needed to get on firmer ground. These questions have been termed "softball" by many, but I think they'd be more accurately termed "T-ball questions." They were loaded statements, more than questions, set up for either the Press Secretary or President to easily knock them out of the park.

It has come to light, largely due to Americablog and DailyKos that Mr. Gannon/Guckert was also (concurrently, or in the immediate past) a male prostitute. He offered his services on many web sites (some which he owned) at $200 per hour or $1200 for a weekend. He apparently had no journalistic credentials (save for a two hour course), and no resume of note to allow him to claim with any credibility that he was a journalist.

When all of this came to light, there were three notable reactions from the right. The first is a deafening silence. Websites like the Drudge Report, Newsmax and Free Repblic have barely commented on the story at all. This seems odd given the outrage over every little tidbit that suits conservatives. When it has been addressed, the "Freepers" responded with big "yawns," and declared it wasn't even a story. Others, like Ann Coulter, tried to refocus the story, claiming that "liberal bloggers" were out to get a gay guy. Rather than responding to the other aspects of the story, Coulter and others are trying to paint liberals as hypocritical for attacking Gannon for being gay. Aren't liberals supposed to like gay people?

NEWSFLASH: It has not been ascertained if Jeff/James is gay. But it is rather obvious that he's a hooker! With no journalistic credentials! In the White House! DAILY for YEARS!

Now, either the White House had no idea of his background--which indicates a huge security breach. OR, the White House DID know of his background--which indicates that somebody, somewhere in the White House was helping this guy. Why? Were they being blackmailed? I think it is a legitimate story. I think that if this happened during the Clinton administration (or a hypothetical Gore or Kerry administration), the mainstream press would be having a field day. So would the conservative blogs. It would make the "soiled blue dress" look like a non-event. What do you think?

James L. Greenlee
Las Vegas, NV

posted by Independent eyeBlog at 2:45 PM