It is absolutely fascinating to watch ACORN’s continued implosion. But as more and more leftist groups toss them under the bus, I can’t help but wonder . . . is there a bit of classism at work here? After all, ACORN is hardly the first lefty group to be nailed by a sting operation. And as reprehensible as the ACORN employees were, there were, after all, no real prostitutes involved. It’s not like they participated in an ideologically motivated witch hunt to send, just to take a random example, three obviously innocent college students to jail for decades. After all, what’s worse, conspiring to conceal fake prostitution or using your power and position to attempt to destroy real lives?

But as ACORN gets thrown under the bus, what has happened to the Duke faculty members who did their absolute best to whip up public scorn for the innocent and drove a prestigious university to take wildly inappropriate punitive actions? As chronicled on K. C. Johnson’s outstanding blog covering the case, the answer is either nothing, not much, or “hey, their careers have really taken off!”

So why do professors who destroy innocent lives get off scot free within leftist establishment institutions, while ACORN is getting attacked by liberals in congress, liberals in foundations, and liberals in the press? Could it be a bit of the “ewww” factor, as the tapes reveal (what appear to be) poorly educated, urban workers behaving crassly? While destructive radicals like Wahneema Lubiano seem much more like, well, them? “Wahneema? I know Wahneema! Wasn’t she at the Euro-gender conference in Stockholm last year?” There’s a similar protective cocoon around Planned Parenthood, with abortion enjoying special status amongst the leftist elites — especially university elites.

But ACORN? It’s over there on the “messy side” of the rich/poor Democratic divide.