GOP keeping the heat on ACORN
Photoshop credit: Leo Alberti
Yesterday, House Republicans held a forum on ACORN’s political criminal enterprise in the face of repeated refusals by the Democrat majority to investigate and on the heels of AG Eric Holder’s insistence that ACORN get its tax dollars. Ranking GOP member Rep. Lamar Smith stood firm on the need to deny new federal funds to ACORN’s network: “Allegations against ACORN continue to pour in-now it appears that the organization actively targeted incumbent Republican members of Congress in the 2008 election. This kind of political activity is a clear violation of ACORN’s non-profit status. With more than a dozen investigations nationwide, federal law enforcement agencies can no longer ignore the shady actions of ACORN. Until then, not a single penny of taxpayer dollars should go to fund an organization that time and again has abused federal funds and the American people’s trust.” While ACORN’s national umbrella can engage in some partisan activity, the racket shuffles money underhandedly between charitable organizations that are forbidden by law from engaging in political activity (which, as you know, the NYTimes knew all about, but covered up before Election Day).
I’ve uploaded the testimony of ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief and the testimony of Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, as well as a summary of Indiana’s 2008 voter fraud probe in Lake County, Indiana (click below for “full screen”). The NYPost spotlights a few of the nuggets from the docs:
In one memo obtained by GOP congressional investigators, the director of Project Vote, an ACORN-affiliated nonprofit, urged organizers to “develop long-term political power-building” plans. The director was, until recently, also ACORN’s political director.
And an Oklahoma plan states, “The state Senate is split 50/50, so we are targeting one swing district in Oklahoma City” held by a Republican.
Federal Election Commission disclosures from ACORN in New Orleans show $18,000 in contributions to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
Politicking by ACORN itself is legal, but a 2008 internal audit of ACORN entities cautioned, “Fences need to be erected to wall off types of election-related activity that must be kept completely separate.”
Critics say no such separation exists. “The opaque nature of ACORN’s structure is both deliberate and deceitful,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
Keeper quote from Anita MonCrief: “Poverty is big business for ACORN.”
Former ACORN employee-turned-whistleblower Anita Moncrief told the House panel of eight Republicans and no Democrats that the organization continually got federal block grants but did not use the grants for helping the poor as promised. Rather, ACORN “used the money to fund the political machine,” Moncrief said.
“ACORN makes money off the poor,” Moncrief said. “Poverty is big business for ACORN.”
CNSNews.com could not reach an ACORN spokesman on Tuesday for comment after attempts by phone and e-mail. But ACORN spokesmen in the past have said that any illegal or unethical incidents were isolated and that the organization is dedicated to helping the poor.
However, the House Oversight report claimed otherwise, saying, “ACORN’s own training manual reflects a business model in which money is taken from poor people and then funneled into partisan political efforts.”
“ACORN is currently in the process of changing its name and has already transferred resources to several chapters of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and possibly Data and Field Services, the Working Families Party, Change to Win and the Council for Unity,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee.
The federal government has awarded at least $53 million to ACORN and its affiliates since 1994, according to an analysis by the House Republican staff.
ACORN GOP Forum: Lake County Indiana voter fraud investigation –
ACORN GOP Forum: MonCrief testimony –
ACORN GOP Forum: Rokita testimony –
More here.
***
ACORN must be fought not only in Washington DC, but in every state of the nation. Kris Kobach, GOP candidate for Secretary of State in Kansas, gets it. I’ve said before we need 50 of him. Now more than ever:
In years past, some voters have treated the Secretary of State’s election as an afterthought—viewing the office as peripheral to what they really care about. However, in 2010 the choice of Kansas’s Secretary of State will have unprecedented consequences.
1. Stopping Voter Fraud
Voter fraud is a very real problem in Kansas. Election crimes have been documented across the state—from fraudulent registrations, to vote-by-mail fraud. As the activities of ACORN have demonstrated, organizations that promote voter fraud have burrowed into every corner of our country. In Kansas, the illegal registration of alien voters has become pervasive.
And that is only half the problem. The manipulation of election contests by unscrupulous attorneys has resulted in the stealing of close elections. The pseudo-election of Al Franken is a case in point. The Minnesota Secretary of State played a pivotal role in the heist—manipulating the process to pacify a leftist mob.Convention
The problem is only going to get worse, unless the country’s secretaries of state take the necessary steps to protect the integrity of our elections. The threat is real, and time is short.
Kansas’s next Secretary of State must possess the experience to begin addressing this crisis immediately. As former Counsel to the U.S. Attorney General, I have the law enforcement background to combat this criminal activity. As a law professor who teaches in the field, I know where the legal loopholes are—loopholes that must be closed. We must enact a statute requiring photo ID to vote. But that is only the first step. Our voter rolls must be purged of thousands of deceased individuals, illegally-registered aliens, and felons. And regulations must be promulgated to ensure honest elections and recounts.
If we do nothing, voter fraud will continue to rise; and close elections in Kansas will be stolen. My mission will be to transform the Kansas election system into the most secure in the country. In four years, I will accomplish this objective.
2. Guaranteeing Voter Access
Just as important as the honesty of elections is the accessibility of elections. Every legally-eligible voter must be able to vote. Unfortunately that is not always the case. I am appalled that members of the U.S. military often face significant obstacles in exercising their right to vote—the very right that they are risking their lives to protect in other countries. I will do everything possible to eliminate such obstacles.
3. Improving Civics Education
As a law professor, I see a wide spectrum of civics education. Some students come to law school with a thorough understanding of our country’s history and institutions. Others come woefully unprepared. The office of Secretary of State is uniquely positioned to address this issue. Education is a lifelong passion of mine; and I will use the office to engage a new generation of citizens in Kansas.
Finally, I believe strongly in leading with a servant’s heart. I can think of no greater privilege than serving the people of Kansas as their next Secretary of State. I ask you for your support.
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Categories: ACORN Watch
Doug Ross @ Journal
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defund defund defund…not another penny for acorn or seiu!!! audit them down to the last penny using an independent audit firm with NO political ties (yea I know hard to do these days but there must be at least one in the country)…
Almost every contract I’ve ever read has an “escape clause”, allowing either party to terminate the contract for misconduct of the other party; particularly if it involves criminal malfeasance as we have here.
For Holder to ignore the terms of the contract that are designed to protect the American taxpayer from precisely this type of conduct is reprehensible. But using the words “Holder” and “reprehensible” in the same sentence is redundant, I admit.
We will see a hurd of pigs flying out of the wh and holders office before this group stops getting taxpayers funds. acorn is bho=bho is acorn!
L
God bless you, Anita! Welcome to the right side!
Michael Steele should make this number one priority.
Local voting precincts should be swept of these thugs.
This is the #1 issue for elections going forward.
And the taxpayer should not be funding this criminal organization, who’s tentacles are in every part of the government and have been bullying free enterprise, banks, and individuals.
The GOP should hammer them every day. New amendments, new findings, etc.
It sounds like it is past time for an IG investigation of Holder and the justice department’s handling of ACORN.
Holders’ sudden respect for contracts only apply to favored constituents it seems. Just ask the Chrysler bond holders what their contracts meant to this administration.
How will Barry Obama get re-elected if we defund ACORN?
And what authority does the AG have in areas of Congressional funding? Does he know his job?
I think this constitutes interstate wire fraud and conspiracy. Let the grand juries begin.
I know it is getting widely reported that CA AG Jerry Brown (aka first governor in space) is finally investigating ACORN but no one believes it. It has been also been reported that he has assured ACORN officials that his main aim is to investigate the legality of the incriminating videos.
ACORN is deeply entrenched in the Democratic Party machinery and will be very hard to root out. Sometimes you just have to burn the house down.
This is another type of thread at which our socialist trolls virtually never, or just plain never, have anything to say.
Wonder why….
Opaque, it’s the new transparency!
And this just in via the NYT no less:
“The free corporate rewards gifts arrived by the dozens: $5,000 I.B.M. gift certificates, $500 travel coupons, Broadway show tickets, tickets to Met and Yankee games. The only problem was that, according to city schools investigators, it was all based on a fraud.
Investigators on Tuesday alleged that a Brooklyn-based bookkeeper and community organizer for the beleaguered antipoverty group Acorn improperly received $500,000 in merchandise for a corporate rewards program with Verizon, the telephone company, through a complex fraud scheme that went on for more than four years.”
My, My, My and the Libtards keep this ACORN a rolling lol
ACORN is not a third rate burglury. This trail of stench leads to the highest levels of Congress, the DNC, and the White House.
Attack, attack and attack again. Time to lance the boil!
Agreed.
I have not seen LGM posting in some time. I seriously hope nothing happened to him. Any idea?
Flyoverman said:
Last I heard LGM and RSS were caught trying to rob a Mortuary thinking it was B of A- not sure if thats true though.
Sorry.
Had to FIFY.
lgm has been gone for quite some time. It used to make me laugh so.
I think most people look at these type of things with a frustrated sense of “what could I do about it?”
Answer: Act locally and effect change nationally. Get involved. Demand positive voter ID cards with vetting from other states. This should be a deal breaker for any and all candidates. Otherwise, there is no sense in believing your vote will ever count.
ACORN is like an ugly tick sucking on American tax payers. They should be pulled, and stepped on with a combat boot.
Just like terrorists. Change clothes and hide in the masses.
I have a suggestion for ACORN’s new name:
Freedom
Reform
And
Unity
Drive
The GOP is going to have problems with this one: The SEIU is going to unionize all 13 year old illegal immigrant hookers.
until our politicians are willing to charge other politicians with crimes, and our courts are willing to send a few of the (_*_)s to real prison, we won’t get rid of wholesale voter fraud. just think, iraq may have had a more fraud free election in the last year than the u.s. every law set in motion over the last decade has been created to facilitate voter fraud. motor voter, instant registration and vote, mail in voteing, lax registration by groups such as acorn, lax absentee voter laws. today, i guarantee i could vote in 6 state elections if i wanted to,new york, ohio, minnesota, wisconsin, washington, oregon, and my legitimate state of missouri.
Just why would Democrats deliberately allow an investigation of the organization that propagates their successful abuse of minorities, who also help fudge election ballots?
Birds of a feather s#*t together.
This stupid idea of Holders suggesting ACORN can be paid because there are contractual obligations is just ludicrous.
Uh…I wonder if he would have the same opinion if Halliburton had multiple investigations in multiple states for allegations of defense contract fraud.
This would be a good time to contact your respective Secretary of State to register your feelings about any dealings with ACORN, in addition to contacting your Senators and Representatives.
Have we accumulated enough evidence criminal activity connected to the White House to begin talking about impeachment?