The Yes Men

They say it helps to have a sense of humor in Washington.  It helps elsewhere too, but Washington is a special case.

Take the example of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vs. The Yes Men — one of America's most powerful business lobbying organizations, which found itself the victim of a some liberal pranksters.

The Yes Men — headed by Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, who have day jobs as college professors — posed as spokespeople for the Chamber last week, holding a fake news conference to announce a new, more liberal stance on climate change policy.  In case you missed it, they were so droll — and so well-organized — that several news organizations briefly fell for the stunt.  Devin Dwyer of our Washington bureau wrote about it HERE, and you can see Charlie Gibson's piece on it HERE.

The Chamber didn't think it was funny.  It filed a civil complaint in federal court on Monday, charging trademark and copyright infringement.

"The defendants are not merry pranksters tweaking the establishment," said Steven Law, the Chamber's General Counsel, in a press statement.  "Instead, they deliberately broke the law in order to further commercial interest in their books, movies, and other merchandise.  Ironically and unfortunately, this lawsuit might even help in that regard, but these acts are nothing less than commercial identity theft masquerading as social activism and must be stopped."

They may have a point — and don't forget that U.S. climate policy, the issue getting lost here, is a serious, high-stakes issue for everyone involved.  But last night the Yes Men posted a "Statement" in response:

"'We've finally made it,' says Andy Bichlbaum (aka Hingo Sembra) of the Yes Men. 'We're officially part of the the Extreme Left-Wing Agenda.'"

Read the rest for yourself.  Then decide whether to laugh or cry.
(Image of Bichlbaum and Bonanno, provided by The Yes Men.)