http://wwwwakeupamericans-spree.blogspo ... acorn.html
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Now we are talking.
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and in the 14 page PDF report, Barack Obama is mentioned, while the action has not been filed against him, the connections they make are clear and concise.
The action filed in Warren County Court of Common Pleas alleges ACORN has engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that amounts to organized crime. It seeks ACORN's dissolution as a legal entity, the revocation of any licenses in Ohio, and an injunction against fraudulent voter registration and other illegal activities.
Plaintiffs Jennifer Miller of Mason, Ohio and Kimberly Grant of Loveland, allege that ACORN's actions deprive them of the right to participate in an honest and effective elections process. They allege fraudulent voter registrations submitted by ACORN dilute the votes of legally registered voters.
"The right to cast a vote that is not diluted by fraudulent votes is a fundamental individual right," Buckeye Institute President David Hansen said.
"ACORN appears to be recklessly disregarding Ohio laws and adding thousands of fraudulent voters to the state's roles in the process," Maurice Thompson, Director of the Buckeye Institute's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law said. "Such voter fraud erodes the value of legally cast votes," he added.
In the complaint, Thompson cites an accumulation of evidence showing numerous instances of admitted fraud by ACORN employees, as well as individuals solicited by ACORN.
"In light of its hiring, training and compensation practices, ACORN should have known its conduct would cause fraud," Thompson said. "It also should know that its conduct will cause fraud in the future."
In addition, the complaint cites conduct by ACORN in Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Bizzy Blog has already highlighted the instances where Barack Obama has been mentioned:
Obama’s name comes up at least three times in the complaint (bolds are mine):
(Page 3) 18. Defendant is engaged in massive voter registration drives and political canvassing throughout the state of Ohio and the United States of America; some of this work is performed on behalf of current United States of America presidential candidate Barack Obama.
(Page 3) 19. ACORN’s political wing has endorsed Barack Obama for president, and during the primary season, the Obama camp paid Citizen Service Inc., $832,598 for various political services according to Federal Elections Commission filings. Citizen Services, Inc. and ACORN share the same board of directors.
(Page 9) 69. In Texas, where ACORN’s affiliate, Citizens Services Inc., has provided contract work on behalf of Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, the Houston Chronicle reported on August 17, 2008 that “About 40 percent of the 27,000 registration cards gathered by ACORN from January through July have been rejected or placed in limbo pending the gathering of more information, according to the county while “about 6,600 were filled out by people already registered, and many others contained insufficient information.
Make sure to click on the Bizzy Blog link to read the updates.
Earlier today I wrote about ACORN and some of their antics as well as their deep rooted connection between them and Barack Obama, which he is trying dearly to distance himself from at the moment.
All previous pieces about ACORN, from WUA, can be found here.
Things are finally coming out in the open as ACORN's voter fraud is finally coming to light and being reported on, now whether the media does it's job and tells their readers the truth about Obama's long standing ties and connection to ACORN is something we are waiting to see.
Also see Columbus Think Tank Files Rico Action Against ACORN, written by Michael van der Galiën, at the subsequent WUA America post (we must have been writing it up at the same time!!!) Make sure to follow his link to his PoliGazette piece.
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
"If America Was A Tree, The Left Would Root For The Termites...Greg Gutfeld."
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
fyi wrote: We agree. Those orchestrating this attempt to steal the 2008 election should go to jail, directly to jail, and not collect our $200.
Republican leaders have done everything they think they can to trip up minorities and low wage earners because in large turn out elections,, conservatives are in deep do do,,, you know , and I know it..
So to set up possibilities of election day confusion they accuse Acorn of the same things they are guilty of,, only because they are well aware of the majority of voters acorn deals with are of the poorer classes,, who usually vote democratic..
Republicans are at a very desperate moment in time in America,,,..
The real issue is voter suppression,,, purging voter rolls,, by republican operatives,,
[quote=FYI]
So between me and you,, I know for a fact what the paranoid conservative republicans are up to,, and they are going down, America is slowly realizing they have been played by conservative republicans,, and if it works again on the American public,, all I can say is,,,America will pay dearly,, because you can only play on someones ignorance for so long before your advantage in a conservative philosophy stops helping you as well... We can be so much better,, we just got to invest in the people a wee bit better than what we've done,,, American people go down,, Everybody's goin down....
People are finally realizing the trickle down philosophy is geared against the American family,,, and are rejecting the conservative philoso[hy across the board..
The holidays are coming,,, and someone told my grandson conservatives are trying to kill Santa Clause! My kids are raising independents,,, God love 'em!
I truly hope its just that conservatives voters are just naive about it all,,, like my family sadly believing the 527's,, because the alternative is they just don't care about this country..
Real conservatives understand a bad conservative isn't better than no conservative..
Bush/Cheney has made that painfully obvious,,
Country First? Sarah Palin secretly wants to separate from the USA,, and become Queen of Alaska...
Most conservatives are probably good Americans,, but these republicans need to find another way to make a living,,, America is way to diverse for anyone of them..
I believe everyone of them needs to go to work at Walmart for a year,, then come back,, I don't think they'd last week there either,,, but if they did,, I'm sure it would help them understand America better...
Confusing the electorate is a fine art,, the republicans used to be good at it..
So it seems to me like McCain‘s attacks on Barack Obama have really frequently been on topics,,, on subjects where he‘s got bigger political vulnerabilities or at least the same-size political vulnerabilities that Obama has. Is that on purpose or is that an accident?
ALTER: Well, I guess you could say “chutzpah is Yiddish for “maverick. You know, they want to confuse voters so they throw up a lot of chaff. The problem is, they might confuse the voters about McCain own record with lobbyists or what he‘s done in the past with ACORN.
But they‘re not advancing the ball by doing this. So it‘s really a short sighted political tactic. It‘s not a strategy. It‘s an example of where they‘re off base because they‘re fighting everything off at a tactical level.
And by the way, if they are assuming people‘s stupidity, which is behind this - you know, if you try to accuse somebody else of something you‘re guilty of yourself, you‘re assuming that the public is dumb. If the public is that dumb, then they think ACORN is something that falls from a tree. You know, they are not going to really get the point. So all of it is just a lot of activity to no particular end.
MADDOW: But if you look at the way that ACORN has been blamed not only for voter fraud - I‘m not even talking about voter registration fraud, but also the way ACORN has even been implicated by the right by having caused financial crisis in some way. They caricature the group in a way that makes a very blunt point that is a racial point. The implication is that Barack Obama becoming president would mean an American government invested in moving political assets and money and favors to black people at the expense of white people.
ALTER: That is true. And that‘s why you saw Palin at the Republican convention use “community organizer as a dirty word ...
MADDOW: Yes.
ALTER: Almost as a code word for those poor people of color who are trying to get organized. And partly, they‘re afraid of ACORN. ACORN has registered millions of Americans. And at a time when nobody else was really looking out for poor people, in communities across the United States, ACORN was doing so.
Did they have some bad apples in ACORN? Absolutely. They had people who, as Obama said today, in order to get the paycheck from ACORN, they would fill out the cards, you know, just to get the work done in ways they were not accurate.
MADDOW: Which happens any time you pay somebody to register people, right?
ALTER: Of course. And the important thing is - and I discussed this yesterday with the head of ACORN yesterday - is that it was ACORN that brought this to the attention of election officials. It‘s not like ACORN was caught out doing this.
ACORN doesn‘t want bad registration cards because then those people can‘t vote. So, you know, this whole thing is just another one of these ridiculous tempest in a tea pot. But I think you‘re quite right that there‘s a race and class subtext to this that‘s of a piece with a lot of the rest of their tactic on this.
MADDOW: Right, because the political salience of this depends on getting the point that this is somehow black people, poor people, intercity people, up to no good in a way that has something to do with the election. That‘s the blunt point that they‘re hoping, I think, comes across.
ALTER: That and those people.
MADDOW: Yes, that‘s exactly right. But in order to punch back against it, in order to explain what‘s wrong with that tactic, you have to understand the difference between voter fraud and voter registration fraud. The idea that if you do sign up Mickey Mouse to vote, Mickey Mouse won‘t then turn up to actually cast a ballot. So there‘s no incentive to steal the election with registration fraud.
ALTER: Also, there‘s a bigger thing going on here. Since 1964, when large numbers of African-Americans were allowed to vote for the first time, the Republican Party in every election since then, has been dedicated to trying to suppress turnout on the theory that the more turnout, the worst for Republicans.
Democrats have tried to expand turnout and as they‘ve done that, of course, the Republicans have charged voter fraud. The Republicans have had the upper hand in this because of some important Supreme Court decisions including one that requires - that allows states to require you to have a driver‘s license or a non-driver‘s license equivalent in order to vote.
If that gets widespread, it will be very hard for a lot of people like those you saw during Katrina who don‘t have driver‘s licenses. It‘s almost like a latter-day literacy test or these things that were done during Jim Crow segregation to keep people from voting.
So, that‘s the real story - is the advances that the conservatives have made in recent years in keeping people from voting. The cases of actual old-fashioned vote fraud where, you know, somebody is trying to vote when they shouldn‘t be. Very, very few of them.
And when asked, you know, it‘s like impossible for them to come up with very many examples of this happening at the polls places.
MADDOW: Which was one of the important subplots in U.S. attorney scandal. U.S. attorneys‘ federal prosecutors being directed by Republican political operatives, in essence, to find voter fraud examples, not being able to find them, running up against political frustration.
One last quick point, Jonathan. The Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that Ohio‘s top elections official has to verify all new voter registrations. Do you have any sense of what that might mean in Ohio on November 4th?
ALTER: Well, the important thing for Democrats is that the secretary of state and the governor are now Democrats. In 2004, both were Republicans and dedicated in a very obvious way to trying to suppress the vote. These Democratic officials are dedicated to trying to allow as many people to vote as possible.
So they have control of the machinery as we found in Ohio in 2004 and in Florida in 2000. The party that controls the machinery of election process has the upper hand. So I wouldn‘t - if I were a Democratic candidate in Ohio, I wouldn‘t get too worried about this.
Everyone will soon see thru the facade being carefully constructed by the McFailen Campaign,,:sneaky:
Republicans need to just fade back into the private sector,, and watch for a while..
just my opinion,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Republican leaders have done everything they think they can to trip up minorities and low wage earners because in large turn out elections,, conservatives are in deep do do,,, you know , and I know it..
So to set up possibilities of election day confusion they accuse Acorn of the same things they are guilty of,, only because they are well aware of the majority of voters acorn deals with are of the poorer classes,, who usually vote democratic..
Republicans are at a very desperate moment in time in America,,,..
The real issue is voter suppression,,, purging voter rolls,, by republican operatives,,
[quote=FYI]
So between me and you,, I know for a fact what the paranoid conservative republicans are up to,, and they are going down, America is slowly realizing they have been played by conservative republicans,, and if it works again on the American public,, all I can say is,,,America will pay dearly,, because you can only play on someones ignorance for so long before your advantage in a conservative philosophy stops helping you as well... We can be so much better,, we just got to invest in the people a wee bit better than what we've done,,, American people go down,, Everybody's goin down....
People are finally realizing the trickle down philosophy is geared against the American family,,, and are rejecting the conservative philoso[hy across the board..
The holidays are coming,,, and someone told my grandson conservatives are trying to kill Santa Clause! My kids are raising independents,,, God love 'em!
I truly hope its just that conservatives voters are just naive about it all,,, like my family sadly believing the 527's,, because the alternative is they just don't care about this country..
Real conservatives understand a bad conservative isn't better than no conservative..
Bush/Cheney has made that painfully obvious,,
Country First? Sarah Palin secretly wants to separate from the USA,, and become Queen of Alaska...
Most conservatives are probably good Americans,, but these republicans need to find another way to make a living,,, America is way to diverse for anyone of them..
I believe everyone of them needs to go to work at Walmart for a year,, then come back,, I don't think they'd last week there either,,, but if they did,, I'm sure it would help them understand America better...
Confusing the electorate is a fine art,, the republicans used to be good at it..
So it seems to me like McCain‘s attacks on Barack Obama have really frequently been on topics,,, on subjects where he‘s got bigger political vulnerabilities or at least the same-size political vulnerabilities that Obama has. Is that on purpose or is that an accident?
ALTER: Well, I guess you could say “chutzpah is Yiddish for “maverick. You know, they want to confuse voters so they throw up a lot of chaff. The problem is, they might confuse the voters about McCain own record with lobbyists or what he‘s done in the past with ACORN.
But they‘re not advancing the ball by doing this. So it‘s really a short sighted political tactic. It‘s not a strategy. It‘s an example of where they‘re off base because they‘re fighting everything off at a tactical level.
And by the way, if they are assuming people‘s stupidity, which is behind this - you know, if you try to accuse somebody else of something you‘re guilty of yourself, you‘re assuming that the public is dumb. If the public is that dumb, then they think ACORN is something that falls from a tree. You know, they are not going to really get the point. So all of it is just a lot of activity to no particular end.
MADDOW: But if you look at the way that ACORN has been blamed not only for voter fraud - I‘m not even talking about voter registration fraud, but also the way ACORN has even been implicated by the right by having caused financial crisis in some way. They caricature the group in a way that makes a very blunt point that is a racial point. The implication is that Barack Obama becoming president would mean an American government invested in moving political assets and money and favors to black people at the expense of white people.
ALTER: That is true. And that‘s why you saw Palin at the Republican convention use “community organizer as a dirty word ...
MADDOW: Yes.
ALTER: Almost as a code word for those poor people of color who are trying to get organized. And partly, they‘re afraid of ACORN. ACORN has registered millions of Americans. And at a time when nobody else was really looking out for poor people, in communities across the United States, ACORN was doing so.
Did they have some bad apples in ACORN? Absolutely. They had people who, as Obama said today, in order to get the paycheck from ACORN, they would fill out the cards, you know, just to get the work done in ways they were not accurate.
MADDOW: Which happens any time you pay somebody to register people, right?
ALTER: Of course. And the important thing is - and I discussed this yesterday with the head of ACORN yesterday - is that it was ACORN that brought this to the attention of election officials. It‘s not like ACORN was caught out doing this.
ACORN doesn‘t want bad registration cards because then those people can‘t vote. So, you know, this whole thing is just another one of these ridiculous tempest in a tea pot. But I think you‘re quite right that there‘s a race and class subtext to this that‘s of a piece with a lot of the rest of their tactic on this.
MADDOW: Right, because the political salience of this depends on getting the point that this is somehow black people, poor people, intercity people, up to no good in a way that has something to do with the election. That‘s the blunt point that they‘re hoping, I think, comes across.
ALTER: That and those people.
MADDOW: Yes, that‘s exactly right. But in order to punch back against it, in order to explain what‘s wrong with that tactic, you have to understand the difference between voter fraud and voter registration fraud. The idea that if you do sign up Mickey Mouse to vote, Mickey Mouse won‘t then turn up to actually cast a ballot. So there‘s no incentive to steal the election with registration fraud.
ALTER: Also, there‘s a bigger thing going on here. Since 1964, when large numbers of African-Americans were allowed to vote for the first time, the Republican Party in every election since then, has been dedicated to trying to suppress turnout on the theory that the more turnout, the worst for Republicans.
Democrats have tried to expand turnout and as they‘ve done that, of course, the Republicans have charged voter fraud. The Republicans have had the upper hand in this because of some important Supreme Court decisions including one that requires - that allows states to require you to have a driver‘s license or a non-driver‘s license equivalent in order to vote.
If that gets widespread, it will be very hard for a lot of people like those you saw during Katrina who don‘t have driver‘s licenses. It‘s almost like a latter-day literacy test or these things that were done during Jim Crow segregation to keep people from voting.
So, that‘s the real story - is the advances that the conservatives have made in recent years in keeping people from voting. The cases of actual old-fashioned vote fraud where, you know, somebody is trying to vote when they shouldn‘t be. Very, very few of them.
And when asked, you know, it‘s like impossible for them to come up with very many examples of this happening at the polls places.
MADDOW: Which was one of the important subplots in U.S. attorney scandal. U.S. attorneys‘ federal prosecutors being directed by Republican political operatives, in essence, to find voter fraud examples, not being able to find them, running up against political frustration.
One last quick point, Jonathan. The Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that Ohio‘s top elections official has to verify all new voter registrations. Do you have any sense of what that might mean in Ohio on November 4th?
ALTER: Well, the important thing for Democrats is that the secretary of state and the governor are now Democrats. In 2004, both were Republicans and dedicated in a very obvious way to trying to suppress the vote. These Democratic officials are dedicated to trying to allow as many people to vote as possible.
So they have control of the machinery as we found in Ohio in 2004 and in Florida in 2000. The party that controls the machinery of election process has the upper hand. So I wouldn‘t - if I were a Democratic candidate in Ohio, I wouldn‘t get too worried about this.
Everyone will soon see thru the facade being carefully constructed by the McFailen Campaign,,:sneaky:
Republicans need to just fade back into the private sector,, and watch for a while..
just my opinion,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
I think this term, seeing as how one of the Presidential candidates is of African American descent, Ohio will play a much more significant roll in determining the next President of the United States considering we have a very heavy African American population in Ohio...I know that might sound a bit presumptuous but come on let's not be stupid...
No President in the history of the US Presidential elections have been voted into the Presidency without winning Ohio so it's no surprise to me that there is already scrutiny involving the voting process and the state...
Seems to be a recurring thing...:rolleyes:...
No President in the history of the US Presidential elections have been voted into the Presidency without winning Ohio so it's no surprise to me that there is already scrutiny involving the voting process and the state...
Seems to be a recurring thing...:rolleyes:...
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
This might give you an insight into what all the uproar is about. I know the demo$rats have the rights to calling for voter fraud...uhhmm.....
Therefore they would never pull that one?.......RIGHT...Not!!!
Wow ... just allegations that almost a third of the 1.3 million cards it turned in are invalid should deserve a look by even a died in the wool demo$rat. There is a pattern here and if this was a repub PAC you bet there would be a witch hunt but NOOO not here you all just turn a blind eye. What a pitty for America.
Now let's see what this whistle blower has seen.
An Acorn Whistle blower Testifies in Court
The group's ties to Obama are extensive.
By JOHN FUND
Acorn, the liberal "community organizing" group that claims it will deploy 15,000 get-out-the-vote workers on Election Day, can't stay out of the news.
The FBI is investigating its voter registration efforts in several states, amid allegations that almost a third of the 1.3 million cards it turned in are invalid. And yesterday, a former employee of Acorn testified in a Pennsylvania state court that the group's quality-control efforts were "minimal or nonexistent" and largely window dressing. Anita MonCrief also says that Acorn was given lists of potential donors by several Democratic presidential campaigns, including that of Barack Obama, to troll for contributions.
The Obama campaign denies it "has any ties" to Acorn, but Mr. Obama's ties are extensive. In 1992 he headed a registration effort for Project Vote, an Acorn partner at the time. He did so well that he was made a top trainer for Acorn's Chicago conferences. In 1995, he represented Acorn in a key case upholding the constitutionality of the new Motor Voter Act -- the first law passed by the Clinton administration -- which created the mandated, nationwide postcard voter registration system that Acorn workers are using to flood election offices with bogus registrations.
Ms. MonCrief testified that in November 2007 Project Vote development director Karyn Gillette told her she had direct contact with the Obama campaign and had obtained their donor lists. Ms. MonCrief also testified she was given a spreadsheet to use in cultivating Obama donors who had maxed out on donations to the candidate, but who could contribute to voter registration efforts. Project Vote calls the allegation "absolutely false."
She says that when she had trouble with what appeared to be duplicate names on the list, Ms. Gillette told her she would talk with the Obama campaign and get a better version. Ms. MonCrief has given me copies of the donor lists she says were obtained from other Democratic campaigns, as well as the 2004 DNC donor lists.
In her testimony, Ms. MonCrief says she was upset by Acorn's "Muscle for Money" program, which she said intimidated businesses Acorn opposed into paying "protection" money in the form of grants. Acorn's Brian Kettering says the group only wants to change corporate behavior: "Acorn is proud of its corporate campaigns to stop abuses of working families."
Ms. MonCrief, 29, never expected to testify in a case brought by the state's Republican Party seeking the local Acorn affiliate's voter registration lists. An idealistic graduate of the University of Alabama, she joined Project Vote in 2005 because she thought it was empowering poor people. A strategic consultant for Acorn and a development associate with its Project Vote voter registration affiliate, Ms. MonCrief sat in on policy-making meetings with the national staff. She was fired early this year over personal expenses she had put on the group's credit card.
She says she became disillusioned because she saw that Acorn was run as the personal fiefdom of Wade Rathke, who founded the group in 1970 and ran it until he stepped down to take over its international operations this summer. Mr. Rathke's departure as head of Acorn came after revelations he'd employed his brother Dale for a decade while keeping from almost all of Acorn's board members the fact that Dale had embezzled over $1 million from the group a decade ago. (The embezzlement was confirmed to me by an Acorn official.)
"Anyone who questioned what was going on was viewed as the enemy," Ms. MonCrief told me. "Just like the mob, no one leaves Acorn happily." She believes the organization does some good but hopes its current leadership is replaced. She may not be alone.
Last August two of Acorn's eight dissident board members, Marcel Reed and Karen Inman, filed suit demanding access to financial records of Citizens Consulting Inc., the umbrella group through which most of Acorn's money flows. Ms. Inman told a news conference this month Mr. Rathke still exercises power over CCI and Acorn against the board's wishes. Bertha Lewis, the interim head of Acorn, told me Mr. Rathke has no ties to Acorn and that the dissident board members were "obsessed" and "confused."
According to public records, the IRS filed three tax liens totaling almost $1 million against Acorn this spring. Also this spring, CCI was paid $832,000 by the Obama campaign for get-out-the-vote efforts in key primary states. In filings with the Federal Election Commission, the Obama campaign listed the payments as "staging, sound, lighting," only correcting the filings after the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review revealed their true nature.
"Acorn needs a full forensic audit," Ms. MonCrief says, though she doesn't think that's likely. "Everyone wants to paper things over until later," she says. "But it may be too late to reform Acorn then." She strongly supports Barack Obama and hopes his allies can be helpful in cleaning up the group "after the heat of the election is gone."
Acorn's Mr. Kettering says the GOP lawsuit "is designed to suppress legitimate voters," and he says Ms. MonCrief isn't credible, given that she was fired for cause. Ms. MonCrief admits that she left after she began paying back some $3,000 in personal expenses she charged on an Acorn credit card. "I was very sorry, and I was paying it back," she says, but "suddenly Acorn decided that . . . I had to go. Since then I have gotten warnings to 'back off' from people at Acorn."
Acorn insists it operates with strict quality controls, turning in, as required by law, all registration forms "even if the name on them was Donald Duck," as Wade Rathke told me two years ago. Acorn whistleblowers tell a different story.
"There's no quality control on purpose, no checks and balances," says Nate Toler, who worked until 2006 as the head organizer of an Acorn campaign against Wal-Mart in California. And Ms. MonCrief says it is longstanding practice to blame bogus registrations on lower-level employees who then often face criminal charges, a practice she says Acorn internally calls "throwing folks under the bus."
Gregory Hall, a former Acorn employee, says he was told on his very first day in 2006 to engage in deceptive fund-raising tactics. Mr. Hall has founded a group called Speaking Truth to Power to push for a full airing of Acorn's problems "so the group can heal itself from within."
To date, Mr. Obama has declined to criticize Acorn, telling reporters this month he is happy with his own get-out-the-vote efforts and that "we don't need Acorn's help." That may be true. But there is no denying his ties with Acorn helped turbocharge his political career.
Mr. Fund is a columnist for WSJ.com.
Therefore they would never pull that one?.......RIGHT...Not!!!
Wow ... just allegations that almost a third of the 1.3 million cards it turned in are invalid should deserve a look by even a died in the wool demo$rat. There is a pattern here and if this was a repub PAC you bet there would be a witch hunt but NOOO not here you all just turn a blind eye. What a pitty for America.
Now let's see what this whistle blower has seen.
An Acorn Whistle blower Testifies in Court
The group's ties to Obama are extensive.
By JOHN FUND
Acorn, the liberal "community organizing" group that claims it will deploy 15,000 get-out-the-vote workers on Election Day, can't stay out of the news.
The FBI is investigating its voter registration efforts in several states, amid allegations that almost a third of the 1.3 million cards it turned in are invalid. And yesterday, a former employee of Acorn testified in a Pennsylvania state court that the group's quality-control efforts were "minimal or nonexistent" and largely window dressing. Anita MonCrief also says that Acorn was given lists of potential donors by several Democratic presidential campaigns, including that of Barack Obama, to troll for contributions.
The Obama campaign denies it "has any ties" to Acorn, but Mr. Obama's ties are extensive. In 1992 he headed a registration effort for Project Vote, an Acorn partner at the time. He did so well that he was made a top trainer for Acorn's Chicago conferences. In 1995, he represented Acorn in a key case upholding the constitutionality of the new Motor Voter Act -- the first law passed by the Clinton administration -- which created the mandated, nationwide postcard voter registration system that Acorn workers are using to flood election offices with bogus registrations.
Ms. MonCrief testified that in November 2007 Project Vote development director Karyn Gillette told her she had direct contact with the Obama campaign and had obtained their donor lists. Ms. MonCrief also testified she was given a spreadsheet to use in cultivating Obama donors who had maxed out on donations to the candidate, but who could contribute to voter registration efforts. Project Vote calls the allegation "absolutely false."
She says that when she had trouble with what appeared to be duplicate names on the list, Ms. Gillette told her she would talk with the Obama campaign and get a better version. Ms. MonCrief has given me copies of the donor lists she says were obtained from other Democratic campaigns, as well as the 2004 DNC donor lists.
In her testimony, Ms. MonCrief says she was upset by Acorn's "Muscle for Money" program, which she said intimidated businesses Acorn opposed into paying "protection" money in the form of grants. Acorn's Brian Kettering says the group only wants to change corporate behavior: "Acorn is proud of its corporate campaigns to stop abuses of working families."
Ms. MonCrief, 29, never expected to testify in a case brought by the state's Republican Party seeking the local Acorn affiliate's voter registration lists. An idealistic graduate of the University of Alabama, she joined Project Vote in 2005 because she thought it was empowering poor people. A strategic consultant for Acorn and a development associate with its Project Vote voter registration affiliate, Ms. MonCrief sat in on policy-making meetings with the national staff. She was fired early this year over personal expenses she had put on the group's credit card.
She says she became disillusioned because she saw that Acorn was run as the personal fiefdom of Wade Rathke, who founded the group in 1970 and ran it until he stepped down to take over its international operations this summer. Mr. Rathke's departure as head of Acorn came after revelations he'd employed his brother Dale for a decade while keeping from almost all of Acorn's board members the fact that Dale had embezzled over $1 million from the group a decade ago. (The embezzlement was confirmed to me by an Acorn official.)
"Anyone who questioned what was going on was viewed as the enemy," Ms. MonCrief told me. "Just like the mob, no one leaves Acorn happily." She believes the organization does some good but hopes its current leadership is replaced. She may not be alone.
Last August two of Acorn's eight dissident board members, Marcel Reed and Karen Inman, filed suit demanding access to financial records of Citizens Consulting Inc., the umbrella group through which most of Acorn's money flows. Ms. Inman told a news conference this month Mr. Rathke still exercises power over CCI and Acorn against the board's wishes. Bertha Lewis, the interim head of Acorn, told me Mr. Rathke has no ties to Acorn and that the dissident board members were "obsessed" and "confused."
According to public records, the IRS filed three tax liens totaling almost $1 million against Acorn this spring. Also this spring, CCI was paid $832,000 by the Obama campaign for get-out-the-vote efforts in key primary states. In filings with the Federal Election Commission, the Obama campaign listed the payments as "staging, sound, lighting," only correcting the filings after the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review revealed their true nature.
"Acorn needs a full forensic audit," Ms. MonCrief says, though she doesn't think that's likely. "Everyone wants to paper things over until later," she says. "But it may be too late to reform Acorn then." She strongly supports Barack Obama and hopes his allies can be helpful in cleaning up the group "after the heat of the election is gone."
Acorn's Mr. Kettering says the GOP lawsuit "is designed to suppress legitimate voters," and he says Ms. MonCrief isn't credible, given that she was fired for cause. Ms. MonCrief admits that she left after she began paying back some $3,000 in personal expenses she charged on an Acorn credit card. "I was very sorry, and I was paying it back," she says, but "suddenly Acorn decided that . . . I had to go. Since then I have gotten warnings to 'back off' from people at Acorn."
Acorn insists it operates with strict quality controls, turning in, as required by law, all registration forms "even if the name on them was Donald Duck," as Wade Rathke told me two years ago. Acorn whistleblowers tell a different story.
"There's no quality control on purpose, no checks and balances," says Nate Toler, who worked until 2006 as the head organizer of an Acorn campaign against Wal-Mart in California. And Ms. MonCrief says it is longstanding practice to blame bogus registrations on lower-level employees who then often face criminal charges, a practice she says Acorn internally calls "throwing folks under the bus."
Gregory Hall, a former Acorn employee, says he was told on his very first day in 2006 to engage in deceptive fund-raising tactics. Mr. Hall has founded a group called Speaking Truth to Power to push for a full airing of Acorn's problems "so the group can heal itself from within."
To date, Mr. Obama has declined to criticize Acorn, telling reporters this month he is happy with his own get-out-the-vote efforts and that "we don't need Acorn's help." That may be true. But there is no denying his ties with Acorn helped turbocharge his political career.
Mr. Fund is a columnist for WSJ.com.
"If America Was A Tree, The Left Would Root For The Termites...Greg Gutfeld."
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
K.Snyder;1039184 wrote: I think this term, seeing as how one of the Presidential candidates is of African American descent, Ohio will play a much more significant roll in determining the next President of the United States considering we have a very heavy African American population in Ohio...I know that might sound a bit presumptuous but come on let's not be stupid...
No President in the history of the US Presidential elections have been voted into the Presidency without winning Ohio so it's no surprise to me that there is already scrutiny involving the voting process and the state...
Seems to be a recurring thing...:rolleyes:...
The rnc,,,republican political strategist will work for the purging of as many registrations as possible,, but they are getting these accusations out about Acorn now,, so these illegal voter purges that republicans will be accused of will seem more like a tit for tat,,,dem/repub back n forth,,,
The problem is not voter fraud,, by Acorn,, but voter suppression by republican operatives,,, it's happened in Florida in 2000,, and ohio in 04,,,
I believe they will happen all across this country,, purging people off the voter eligibility list,, its been happening,, for a long time,,,
Most aren't even aware they were declared in-eligible,, some are turned away at the voting places and say nothing,,, but I believe awareness is up and most people will speak up,,,,,,,,,,,
PROTECT YOUR VOTE!
Acorn isn't the bad guy,,, the people knocking millions off the registrations illegally are the people tampering with the election,,,
I believe they are being set up this election,, not Acorn,, but those who would steal your voting rights..
I believe their will be a list of indictments on Nov 5.. for purging good Americans out of their voting eligibility...
we'll see what happens:sneaky::wah:
No President in the history of the US Presidential elections have been voted into the Presidency without winning Ohio so it's no surprise to me that there is already scrutiny involving the voting process and the state...
Seems to be a recurring thing...:rolleyes:...
The rnc,,,republican political strategist will work for the purging of as many registrations as possible,, but they are getting these accusations out about Acorn now,, so these illegal voter purges that republicans will be accused of will seem more like a tit for tat,,,dem/repub back n forth,,,
The problem is not voter fraud,, by Acorn,, but voter suppression by republican operatives,,, it's happened in Florida in 2000,, and ohio in 04,,,
I believe they will happen all across this country,, purging people off the voter eligibility list,, its been happening,, for a long time,,,
Most aren't even aware they were declared in-eligible,, some are turned away at the voting places and say nothing,,, but I believe awareness is up and most people will speak up,,,,,,,,,,,
PROTECT YOUR VOTE!
Acorn isn't the bad guy,,, the people knocking millions off the registrations illegally are the people tampering with the election,,,
I believe they are being set up this election,, not Acorn,, but those who would steal your voting rights..
I believe their will be a list of indictments on Nov 5.. for purging good Americans out of their voting eligibility...
we'll see what happens:sneaky::wah:
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
I'm fascinated.
How is it possible to fraudulently register a voter?
I can see that some of the applications to register might be rejected as invalid but that's a rejected application, not a registration. An application has to be accepted for it to be registered.
ACORN gather together potential registrations, the registration authority sifts out the illegal applications and all's well with the world.
Do you know what happens in England? We don't need an ACORN, the local Election Registrar makes the push for full voter registration himself, he annually writes to ALL HOUSEHOLDS listing every voter registration he's aware of and including a free-post application form for the householder to register any additional eligible citizens, either for their own use or for the head of household to return on their behalf.
What do the Americans do instead? They try to cling to the vestiges of Jim Crow, that's what.
We do, sadly, have crimes associated with elections. They mostly involve absentee ballot returns by people other than the voter himself, there have been ugly breakouts of activists going round getting registered voters' signatures applying for absentee ballot forms after which the activists themselves have filled in the ballots for their preferred candidate. These activists have discovered how easy a fraud it is to detect when they've gone to jail for it. I'd much rather elections were fought squarely. We've had instances of voter impersonation at ballot stations too.
What we don't do is deliberately set out to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of adult citizens who would statistically favour one candidate. That's just plain sick-making.
How is it possible to fraudulently register a voter?
I can see that some of the applications to register might be rejected as invalid but that's a rejected application, not a registration. An application has to be accepted for it to be registered.
ACORN gather together potential registrations, the registration authority sifts out the illegal applications and all's well with the world.
Do you know what happens in England? We don't need an ACORN, the local Election Registrar makes the push for full voter registration himself, he annually writes to ALL HOUSEHOLDS listing every voter registration he's aware of and including a free-post application form for the householder to register any additional eligible citizens, either for their own use or for the head of household to return on their behalf.
What do the Americans do instead? They try to cling to the vestiges of Jim Crow, that's what.
We do, sadly, have crimes associated with elections. They mostly involve absentee ballot returns by people other than the voter himself, there have been ugly breakouts of activists going round getting registered voters' signatures applying for absentee ballot forms after which the activists themselves have filled in the ballots for their preferred candidate. These activists have discovered how easy a fraud it is to detect when they've gone to jail for it. I'd much rather elections were fought squarely. We've had instances of voter impersonation at ballot stations too.
What we don't do is deliberately set out to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of adult citizens who would statistically favour one candidate. That's just plain sick-making.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
spot;1039217 wrote: I'm fascinated.
How is it possible to fraudulently register a voter?
I can see that some of the applications to register might be rejected as invalid but that's a rejected application, not a registration. An application has to be accepted for it to be registered.
ACORN gather together potential registrations, the registration authority sifts out the illegal applications and all's well with the world.
What we don't do is deliberately set out to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of adult citizens who would statistically favour one candidate. That's just plain sick-making.
Wouldn't it be something to learn that every election since ronald reagen have had conservatives win with fraudulent voting purges..?
What stands out to me is the headlines in british papers in 04,, when Bush was re elected asking,,, how can so many American people,, 50+ 1 ,,, be so stupid?
Heartbreaking to a lot of elderly Americans who have a lot of pride about being American,, who fought on wars to insure the free/fair elections within it...
that's what they were told anyway,,, and then to learn that it maybe republican politicians implicated,, well its a pretty big deal to some...
them old boys got some neat stories,, politics isn't in any of 'em,, except when they talk about florida and ohio,, they get that look in their eyes like when your kids f@@k something up,, by not remembering something in the past or not seeing something ahead..
"they stole it" f@@kin thieves!! one yells,,
What has it come too?
i yell out,,"CORPORATE AMERICA! Won't let go!!!!they got us,,,,,,,,,,,,
I hear one mumble,,,,,,,,,,,"they got dare greedy lil rat claws around our throats!
Thats when the "back in the day" stories start..
Who knows how this is going to go,,,6 days and counting,,
Everybody's watchin this one,,,
How is it possible to fraudulently register a voter?
I can see that some of the applications to register might be rejected as invalid but that's a rejected application, not a registration. An application has to be accepted for it to be registered.
ACORN gather together potential registrations, the registration authority sifts out the illegal applications and all's well with the world.
What we don't do is deliberately set out to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of adult citizens who would statistically favour one candidate. That's just plain sick-making.
Wouldn't it be something to learn that every election since ronald reagen have had conservatives win with fraudulent voting purges..?
What stands out to me is the headlines in british papers in 04,, when Bush was re elected asking,,, how can so many American people,, 50+ 1 ,,, be so stupid?
Heartbreaking to a lot of elderly Americans who have a lot of pride about being American,, who fought on wars to insure the free/fair elections within it...
that's what they were told anyway,,, and then to learn that it maybe republican politicians implicated,, well its a pretty big deal to some...
them old boys got some neat stories,, politics isn't in any of 'em,, except when they talk about florida and ohio,, they get that look in their eyes like when your kids f@@k something up,, by not remembering something in the past or not seeing something ahead..
"they stole it" f@@kin thieves!! one yells,,
What has it come too?
i yell out,,"CORPORATE AMERICA! Won't let go!!!!they got us,,,,,,,,,,,,
I hear one mumble,,,,,,,,,,,"they got dare greedy lil rat claws around our throats!
Thats when the "back in the day" stories start..
Who knows how this is going to go,,,6 days and counting,,
Everybody's watchin this one,,,
The Buckeye Institute has filed a Rico action against ACORN
Hoss;1041375 wrote: I have an idea:
No need to register at all. Go to the voter poll nearest your home residence, show a valid state picture ID, vote, dip your finger in purple ink, and deposit your vote.
Nobody gets two votes.
No fraud. Every US citizen over 18 can vote.
Funny Hoss, as I was thinking the same thing the other day. DNA, etc. Fingerprinting would do the trick and the games of voter scuttling would end. Just a thought.
No need to register at all. Go to the voter poll nearest your home residence, show a valid state picture ID, vote, dip your finger in purple ink, and deposit your vote.
Nobody gets two votes.
No fraud. Every US citizen over 18 can vote.
Funny Hoss, as I was thinking the same thing the other day. DNA, etc. Fingerprinting would do the trick and the games of voter scuttling would end. Just a thought.