It's the ACORN, Stupid

Bill Clinton's famous line in the 1992 Presidential was a masterstroke of political ingenuity. Constantly harping on the economic woes caused by the recession, Clinton was able to paint George H. W. Bush as weak and out of touch on the economy.


The idea was simple; Hammer home an idea that the American people can relate and anchor your opponent with and the American people will largely associate the two, like Pavlov's dog waiting for supper at 6 bells.


Taking current events into consideration, it is interesting to note that so many people aren't getting the same feeling, even in the face of mounting corruption and scandal after scandal in the supposed non-profit, charitable ACORN.


To date, more than 30 rank and file members of ACORN, a community activist group mostly noted for fraudulent voter registration and corporate blackmail in the housing crisis, have been found guilty of corruption and fraud charges. There have been numerous charges of voter fraud and conspiracy for years, but lawmakers and law enforcement agencies have had little stomach to go after the group's leadership.


Things have been changing of late since Fox News' Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly have been reporting on a number of the alleged questionable procedures and habits. Now Independent Film maker James O'Keefe and an actress went to several Acorn offices across the country and have found some rather shocking behavior.


Posing as a PIMP (Professional in Management Position), O'Keefe and his Hooker employee sought to obtain assistance from ACORN employees to get assistance to fund a house for the purpose of perpetuating prostitution. Not only were they assisted with how to structure the documentation, they were given other advice on how to report the assets to avoid scrutiny by the IRS.


Perhaps the most shocking part was the advice given to the pair when they told ACORN employees that they would like advice on how to hide underage girls from El Salvador to act as prostitutes. Employees in multiple states gave consistently similar advice, wear a suit to future meetings, keep the girls in school and claim them as dependents.


As shocking as it seems, the more problematic issue here is that Democrats in Congress are still lining up to support the distribution of federal tax monies for various future operations. In a wide and heavily bi-partisan supported vote, the Senate voted 83-7 to ban ACORN from receiving federal funds. The seven who voted no are all democrats with strong ties to ACORN.



Senators Burris and Durbin (Il), Casey (PA), Freshman replacement Gillibrand (NY), Leahy and Sanders (VT), and Whitehouse (RI) voted against the measure which would have stripped HUD funds from ACORN affiliated groups. In addition, 9 other Senators didn't vote on the measure, including seven Republicans and two Democrats.


Senators Burr (NC), Graham (SC), McCain (AZ), Coburn (NH), Vitter (LA), and Hutchison (TX) failed to vote along with Democrats Byrd (WV) and Mikulski (MD) did not register a vote on this amendment to House Bill HR 3288. It is noted that the Senators not casting a vote were not present and were not overtly making a statement on the merits therein.


Nancy Pelosi has acted to obstruct a similar bill from coming before the House of Representatives multiple times and doesn't look like it will see the light of day without external pressure. The Bureau of the Census has publicly stated that ACORN will no longer participate in the 2010 Census, which should be of some relief to many Americans who share a common concern that the people who routinely register dead people and stuffed animals multiple times to vote, might suddenly find your long since departed grand parents have moved into the inner city areas of Chicago, Detroit, Philly and towns in the mid west.


ACORN seems to be able to act with the kind of impunity that is reserved for former Congressmen like Dan Rostenkowski. Clearly, powerful people have been either shielding ACORN from official scrutiny, or the organization strikes fear into the hearts of self-serving politicians. Whatever the case may have been, it now appears that people are waking up and beginning to understand how much needs to be done to rid our system of this groups dirty influence.


If there is an ACORN office in your town or County, petition the local authorities to examine what this group does and hold their feet to the fire. If they are out supporting political candidates and not processes or are paying people to register to vote or to gather signatures, they are breaking the law. Don't let the seeds of corruption take root and spread corruption throughout the land.


It's your country and the only way to ensure its safety is to act to check unbridled power. The founders of ACORN believe in a process to get as many people dependent on the government as a means to collapse it from financial obligations. We are already well on the path to financial ruin through astronomical tax rates. Remember, its the ACORN, Stupid. Don't let it take root.