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DC Madam Beyond the Headlines
DC Madam Beyond the Headlines
By Mike Kuykendall
It all started with my original post on the exciting topic of a madam who had apparently been trotting escorts around the halls of power in Washington DC for the better part of a decade (with my corollary that the customers of this service had to be primarily Republicans, as any self-respecting Democrat would just run out and get an affair going.) My interaction with Deborah Jeane Palfrey, dubbed by the media as the DC Madam, has been a long, weird tale that had to be told eventually. If you're looking for a bio look elsewhere - like all American pseudo-celebrities, Ms. Palfrey has long since earned her Wikipedia entry.
When Alan Gray over at NewsBlaze asked me for a story, the only one that came to mind was my own, so here it is.
I remember the first time I saw Ms. Palfrey was on CNN; she was reading a statement quite dramatically set on the steps of a federal courthouse. Her speech moved me, as at the time, my only purpose in life as a liberal progressive political blogger was to expose corruption and the growing immorality of the Right in America. For instance this bit grabbed me right by my political cojones;
"I believe there is something very, very rotten at the core of my circumstance," Palfrey told reporters on the steps of a federal courthouse in Washington this week. "And without money to hire my own investigators, I must rely on your acumen and talent in the press and the media to uncover the truth."
Ms. Palfrey was sure great forces were moving against her due to the information in her customer records. She implored the media for attention; she asked the public for help.
Now granted, the heroic prostitute (Palfrey was previously arrested for "attempted felony pimping", which I happen to think is a hilarious description for a crime) is not everybody's idea of a good cause, but something about her impassioned plea made me check out her personal website. After seeing her repeatedly on all the 24 hour news shows, I was surprised to see the discordant, horribly designed website they had concocted to advance her pursuit of justice. Seeing an email link I sent her a note offering the services of a self-admitted non-professional to help advance her Google rank, and at least get a more readable page up for the news hounds to use. I didn't think I would receive a reply.
I did.
It was quite a shock, and in short order Ms. Palfrey and I were chatting away on my cell. I awkwardly tried to feign confidence as I explained my intentions for the online promotion of her cause, but inside I was scared senseless. Here I was, a small-time political blogger with an axe to grind, talking to the top headline maker at the time, one-on-one. It was almost too much - my heart was thumping, giving my voice a faint, skittish tremolo. I felt as though this woman was so intense she threatened to eat me alive, wirelessly right over my phone.
After the celebrity wore off I found Jeane to be manically detail-oriented, outspoken and shrill - at times she was feminine and played the victim; at others it was her against the world, she would be exonerated or die trying. All this, yet she managed to maintain a remarkable sense of humor. We started to sort of bond as we talked about our political views; we were both sore losers in George W. Bush's take on the American dream, and we reveled in our outsider nature. Jeane would occasionally threaten my hearing with an unexpected raucous cackle - that woman had quite a laugh.
That call started a tradition; Jeane, as she preferred to be addressed, would call, normally late Central time, (she was in California at the time) and we would then go on an hour-long spree of rapid-fire critiques of the site work thus far. She had suggested I record our conversations since she didn't like repeating herself, and after a failed $30 Radio Shack experiment with my laptop, I settled on caveman-like pen and paper and hastily scrawled notes. These talks consisted of a few minutes of my suggestions, and hours of her "preaching". Or so I came to think of it. I started a legal pad, and by the third call I had used about half of it.
One thing is for sure... Jeane knew exactly what she wanted, and was in no way squeamish about telling anyone exactly what that might be. I admired her savagery - she wrestled life into the position she wanted and never let off, no matter how many times it cried Uncle.
Thereafter my life consisted of pushing my day job, going home to frantically get the days edits in, followed by long cell calls with Jeane. I began a regular email conversation with her attorney Montgomery Sibley (frequently dubbed "flamboyant" by nearly every media source I could find.) I never could discover what made the man so loyal, but at first he jealously guarded Ms. Palfrey, the way a good friend examines your potential new lover. Quite strange.
Now I must admit, my interests in her site were not just because I'm a Good Samaritan. Which technically, I'm not, unless you count change in the bucket at a fast food restaurant for little Johnny No-Lungs or the like. I had discussed with Ms. Palfrey her future plans for the one ace in her sleeve, the 46 pounds of phone records from her escort service. The idea was I would do a static HTML site for free, and begin work on a better version with more bells and whistles for the eventual flood of traffic that would surely follow the release of each big name from her list. When Larry Flynt got involved, and I realized I was one Kevin-Bacon unit away from one of my all time First Amendment heroes, I redoubled my efforts on her site. It seems I had found my place to dig in and do some good. That feeling lasted quite a while, but like poor John Edwards' candidacy, was doomed to fade completely away.
After Senator Vitter casually swatted away the prostitution mess Ms. Palfrey and Mr. Flynt had dropped in his lap, and the time had more than come for more "big fish" to be ousted, I suddenly realized the truth; David Vitter had been the big fish. No more names were coming. The ABC special had taken care of the runners-up, and the adulterizing Senator had been the "shock and awe" of Ms. Palfrey's defense. Now this wouldn't have been so bad had Jeane not repeatedly assured me that more names would definitely be released, and that Vitter was just the tip of the iceberg.
I felt flummoxed. I felt pissed.
Jeane and I angrily emailed back and forth about it. I let her know how completely manipulative I thought it was for her to string me along for the site work. After some harsh words I let her know she could have full rights to the artwork and site designs thus far, and that would be the end of our collaboration. I did not hear back from her again.
I was angry at her then. Not so much, now. Now I feel completely foolish. I feel as though I squandered the opportunity to interact with a truly unique person. That unique person is gone now, and I am the lesser for it.
I have come to realize what a horrible situation Jeane was in, facing what was essentially a life sentence while completely destitute. The mainstream media had failed her, and she relied on her ability to charm people to recruit help for her predicament. I had volunteered web design work; others had volunteered database help for her phone records, legal counsel - I had even negotiated ad space on numerous progressive radio sites and other advocates of her cause for free.
Ms. Palfrey did use me. I do not fault her for it now, though. She had done time, and apparently had no intention of ever going back. She had used those who wished, for whatever personal (or in my case, political) reasons, to be used.
I find myself sad at the harsh words between us. Sad for the fate politics and a very bad career selection had laid on her. I am infinitely sadder now at the news she took her own life.
Deborah Jeane Palfrey was once a friend of mine. I sincerely wish she still was. Her tenacity and style changed all she encountered in this life. The world will remember her tabloid story, but to me she will always be that forceful woman on the courthouse steps, passionately pleading with America, proud and unbroken. I will always remember her sardonic wit, her conspiracy theories, but most of all her full-throated laugh.
The American dream leaves a lot of victims behind in the dogged pursuit of happiness. Jeane was one of them, and she will be missed.
See more from Mike Kuykendall at his blog
judythpiazza@newsblaze.com
Tags: Tags: Politics, top news, Women in the News, National, district of columbia
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