Blogger who prank-called Gov. Scott Walker as Koch brother has stained journalistic past

By Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller | Published: 7:00 PM 02/23/2011 | Updated: 7:05 PM 02/23/2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker talks to the media at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Opponents to the governor's proposal to eliminate collective bargaining rights for many state workers are in their ninth day of protests at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

The Buffalo Beast blogger who prank-called Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker, falsely posing as billionaire David Koch, has written some edgy pieces that call into question his journalistic credibility. For the publication he edits, Ian Murphy has written such pieces as “Fuck The Troops,” a dissertation explaining why he thinks, “the nearly two-thirds of us who know this war is bullshit need to stop sucking off the troops,” and “Let There Be Retards,” an exclusive look inside a Kentucky creationism museum – while Murphy was falsely pretending to have Asperger’s Syndrome.

The Walker storyline has blown up on the left-wing blogosphere, and several mainstream publications like the Washington Post, NPR and USA Today have run with stories on the prank call as well. Most mainstream publications that have published articles about the prank call have left out mention of Murphy’s journalistic past.
Murphy gave an interview to the left-leaning Salon.com, and said that he was “wildly unprepared” for the conversation he was about to have with Walker while falsely masquerading as David Koch. Salon.com did mention Murphy’s Asperger’s story, but didn’t mention the story he wrote slandering American soldiers.
One of the 14 Democratic state senators who is currently hiding in Illinois after fleeing Wisconsin to avoid voting on Walker’s budget plan, commented on the call, too, saying it confirmed what they thought all along.
The Democrat, Tim Cullen, said the call is an “astounding confirmation of what we’ve been saying for a couple weeks now. This bill is about the money. This bill is about destroying public employee unions.”
But Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie says the call demonstrates that Walker says the same thing behind closed doors that he says in public.
At the end of the call, Walker thanked the man who he thought was David Koch, saying, “We appreciate it, and we’re doing the just and right thing for the right reasons, and it’s all about getting our freedoms back.”
But that came after Murphy, while impersonating David Koch, said that Walker should bring a baseball bat to meet the Democrats who fled.
“I have one in my office, you’d be happy with that,” Walker said to Murphy. “I’ve got a slugger with my name on it.”