Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's Prank Caller, Ian Murphy, Appears On MSNBC's 'The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell' (VIDEO)

Wednesday night on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," Lawrence spoke with Ian Murphy, editor-in-chief of BuffaloBeast.com. Murphy is the prank caller who managed to get on the phone with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by pretending to be conservative billionaire David Koch.

According to O'Donnell, in order to reach Governor Walker, Murphy "worked on a voice, worked up a story, and called the office."

When O'Donnell asked if Murphy was scared during the conversation that Walker would realize what was going on, Murphy responded, "No. Just getting on the line with him was a feat in itself...and I think he's just oblivious, generally, so it didn't surprise me."

O'Donnell asked Murphy why he thinks Walker is taking such a firm stance on the collective bargaining issue. "Profit for himself and...people he associates with," answered Murphy.

Governor Walker has publicly responded to the phone call since it occurred.

WATCH (via MSNBC):

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Comments

[USWatlarge]

04:35 PM on 03/19/2011

Whenever you smell a rat, you'll find the remains of the Koch brothers. Seems they do not like the blue collar democrats, they demand corporate welfare ,spread by the likes of Walker, Kasich or the republican party ! Koch brothers and their 43 billion dollars can spread a lot of havic, they co-sponsor the Tea Baggers and seem to show up like a stye in your eye. This prank brought to the public what we thought all along...Wouldn't this be a much better world if wealthy Americans were more like Steven King that gives away half of his income and still lives beyond comfortable!

[John Kirch]

10:55 PM on 02/26/2011

Ian Murphy's reporting provided some interesting insights into Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin. But it also raises some ethical questions about when a reporter should use deception to get a story. i wrote about it here: http://mediapoliticsinperspective.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/the-ethical-implications-of-a-prank-phone-call/

[TheWanderer]

09:14 PM on 02/26/2011

Whoever thought we'd come to a place where comedians and prank callers are the defenders of democracy? What Philip Dick novel is this we're living in?

[BOin08]

09:07 AM on 02/26/2011

No surprises here....Wilson is exactly who we thought he was

[Peerless Pillar of Power]

09:27 PM on 02/24/2011

Buffalo Beast's Top 50 Most Loathsome People list caused me to laugh even when I would have preferred not to laugh. Some of his jokes went outside my acceptable range of decency for humor, but Internet humor can get to be pretty far out sometimes.

[Hardyman1966]

09:15 PM on 02/24/2011

Poor Scotty Walker.  Never has a governor blown so much, so early in the first term.  I'm afraid this is one snowball that is well underway to careening out of control down the mountain.

All over the world, it's just not a very good time for leaders who rule with an iron fist, is it?

[Stewart333]

08:42 PM on 02/24/2011

NewsBusters: Blogger Who Prank Called Scott Walker, Now a Media Darling, Has Sordid History
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/lachlan-markay/2011/02/24/blogger-who-prank-called-scott-walker-now-media-darling-has-sordid-h

[moutonnoir]

06:46 PM on 02/24/2011

this guy is my kind of curmudgeon!

still, i wish he had tried to trick walker into something... 'lets just save the fight for next time - we got our economic requirements met'.. or something..

[ChicagoSuz]

04:21 PM on 02/24/2011

FYI - on Saturday at noon (local times), there are Solidarity Rallies NATIONWIDE... mostly at State Capitols & State buildings. Check with moveon.org to find the one closest to you and, if you can, GO!!

[tjconkster]

04:05 PM on 02/24/2011

Man...I can't wait til Sunday....All of the RepubliCorp/Republican Tea Party minions will be watching NASCAR and we can have a decent conversation here...Yes the minions will be parked int heir recliners swilling cheap beer and eating pork rinds & Slim Jims...while they watch the RepubliCorp, Heritage Foundation, Koch Industries, Cato Foundation, Fox News Bentley circle the track..I sure hope they get a new driver...last week at the Daytona 500....I heard their car got black flagged...because...while the rest of the field was turning left...their car kept turning right causing wrecks all over the track.....

[Just-a-Guy]

05:04 PM on 02/24/2011

Wow. Stereotype much?

NASCAR is dumb. Who wants to watch fools drive in a circle all day?

[Just-a-Guy]

02:37 PM on 02/24/2011

Can someone explain to me why this is a good tactic when Ian Murphy does it, but an evil tactic when James O'Keefe does it?

Much obliged!

[MFS001]

03:05 PM on 02/24/2011

As I recall, O'Keefe and his group tried to break into telephone control panels, to tap into and/or divert phone calls. That's considered burglary in most states.

[chaucer1]

03:49 PM on 02/24/2011

Silly you! Don't you know that resmugs cannot differentiate rationally or logically? And that's not all they can't do, either.

[TheGreyDuck]

11:02 PM on 02/24/2011

He didn't actually want you to explain.

[jgoz123]

03:43 PM on 02/24/2011

of course they can't explain it! i mean they will tell you that scott walker is ev1l etc etc and therefore the deception was justified but if logic is the benchmark then they aren't even close

[Hoosierbrad]

02:03 PM on 02/24/2011

He thinks the Governor of Wisconsin is oblivious. He is right.