ACORN has been a convenient smokescreen and scapegoat for election fraud and mortgage fraud

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

First, here's the wiki on ACORN which seems pretty fair and accurate for the most part.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Community_Organizations_for_Reform_Now

Now look at all the issues that ACORN has focused on - voter registration, living wages, non-predatory lending, exposing redlining, etc. etc. A veritable cornucopia of topics that the Rightwing would like to bury for good.

The voter fraud practiced by low level ACORN employees stupidly paid by the registration was relatively small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, with many of the fraudulent registrations being exposed by ACORN themselves. Not to excuse ANY voter fraud, but it does not turn elections. What DOES turn elections is ELECTION FRAUD! Unexplainable results, which do not match exit polls, where bizarre and inexplicable outcomes occur which are rarely if ever investigated - proprietary private software owned by Republican corporations, etc. etc. Or how about nice phone jamming schemes as practiced by Republicans in New Hampshire? Election fraud does not get covered because the rightwing media machine would much prefer to focus on and scapegoat ACORN which has been a big vehicle for getting minorities to the polls. We don't want that, though, do we?

As to mortgage fraud - it was a grand scheme orchestrated and perpetrated by the banks and Wall Street in collusion with their "securitized" insane mortgages which were then insured with the credit default swaps, threatening to bring down the entire world economy, and which still hasn't been resolved. BUT, let's instead focus on the amount of mortgage fraud which filtered through Fannie and Freddie (20% of the total) and blame it on the Community Re-investment Act which was passed in 1977 for cripes sake and which ACORN supported and defended and which all of rightwing media blamed for the entire bank collapse.

As others have pointed out, the criminal acts of some has not deterred our government from handing out lucrative contracts to many private companies, defense contractors, etc. Yet our spineless Senate will roll and capitulate immediately and renounce all funding for an organization that has done a lot of good work over the years. Only 7 votes against this hair-trigger, reactionary response.!

And right now, the Right is on a BIG PUSH to make ACORN and President Obama synonymous. I heard Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday proclaim that "ACORN is Obama and Obama is ACORN" pushing the subtext that ACORN is a criminal organization that illegitmately helped put a usurper in office - my interpreation of the subtext of his comments. This is an appeal to insanity and hatred that is not supported by any rational reading of the facts.

It's too bad that ACORN had the misfortune to have some very bad and stupid employees that will probably bring down their entire organization and the worthwhile work that it did do.

[DCKit]

1. Phoebe, the title....

Acorn has been accused of voter fraud while the Republicans, NeoCons, ES&S, etc... have been engaged in election fraud.

Other than that :bounce:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. My point is that accusing them of voter fraud is the cover for the election fraud

which is what I was saying in my title and my post - they are a SMOKESCREEN for election fraud.

I understand how you read it the way you did, however. Thank you for your comment and your bounce! :hi:

[EFerrari]

6. That's right. The RW accuses them of voter fraud to cover their own election fraud. n/t

[mariawr]

5. And the voter fraud was probably another Faux/GOP set up...

they love to perpetuate hoaxes as gospel truth.

[drm604]

2. I wish people would stop declaring the death of ACORN.

It's too bad that ACORN had the misfortune to have some very bad and stupid employees that will probably bring down their entire organization and the worthwhile work that it did do.

Please don't declare ACORN dead. This is exactly the type of thing the right-wing wants us to be saying. We can't allow their tactics to work.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. Well their tactics worked in the US Senate which has denied any new funding

How will they continue without funds?

[paulsby]

10. for pete's sake

most of ACORN's funds do not come from the feds, nor do they NEED federal funds if they can get sufficient support from private entities.

it MAY be the case that the end of federal funding severel hurts or even destroys ACORN, but it is certainly not a certainty. to be redundant :)

[mariawr]

3. ACORN is not going anywhere....

it may reorganize, change it's name ( I hope not)but it not going anywhere.
It's a grass roots thing and it's been around a long time.
Anything that is good, the rethugs will attack: Obama's church, his minister, his community, his wife, his family.
Acorn helps poor folks and the rethugs certainly can't have that.

Their continued existence will be victory for them.
I hope the "filmmakers" are sued for jail time.

[Statistical]

8. You can't be sued for jail time.

:)

You can be sued for civil damages
You can be convicted of criminal charges and get jail time.

However in the United States it is impossible to be sued for jail time.

ACORN has no say or input on if/when/how the filmmakers will go to jail.

[truckin]

9. Right on target and very well put. nt

[applegrove]

11. Acorn is not a scapegoat. Acorn is the target because they get a tiny percentage

of people who usually don't vote, to vote. People like Karl Rove work in tiny % when it comes to elections. Acorn was the main target because they stand in the way of those who want power for the GOP.