ACORN: Housing Assistance For Prostitutes

[rah]

I liked the headlines in the paper this morning.
It's time to crack this nut.

[Drake Tungsten]

Only 15% of voters now have even a somewhat favorable opinion of ACORN, while 67% have an unfavorable view of the group. Those figures include only three percent (3%) with a very favorable opinion and 47% with a very unfavorable view.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/september_2009/51_say_congress_should_stop_funding_acorn

[ShaneWalter]

From the outside looking in, I think this whole situation is indicative of why the Republicans can win an election with a guy like Bush, while the Democrats struggled to win with a guy like Obama. The Republicans, somehow, are much better able at orchestrating media campaigns and managing PR.

You can argue all you want about whether Obama was qualified to be President, but, the rest of the world would have thought it a joke (or even a travesty) had McCain won the election in 2008, and he just about did.

My view is probably distorted as I am not American, but from where I stand, the Republicans can achieve their PR goals much more effective than the Democrats can.

[Theben]

One ACORN office claimed the 2 dubbed over what was actually said. I haven't watched all the vids... do any show the guy and/or girl speaking?

I'm also been wondering if some of the workers didn't believe the 2 but went along anyway, or figured they'd just say what they thought the 2 wanted to hear and get them out of their office. Basically I'd like to know the whole context.

[ShaneWalter]

It still makes them guilty of voter registration fraud. Damn, look it up. State by state.
An organization can do some good and still be criminal. I thought I heard yesterday on the news that they've received over 40 million dollars of federal money. That's enough money to find some honest employees.

This is what I'm talking about. $40 million? I don't want to touch the issue of whether ACORN should get federal funding, but as to the point of whether they have enough money to hire competent employees, $40 million is peanuts. ACORN operates nationwide, do they not? What do you think the combined salary of, say, McDonald's employees is in even one state?

[rah]

That's only one source of their money.

[Theben]

$1.56.

Give or take 3 cents.

[chequita guevara]

It still makes them guilty of voter registration fraud. Damn, look it up. State by state.

In any given voter signature gathering campaign, approximately half to one third are thrown out for problems. For example, I need to gather 4,647 valid signatures. Should I manage to get that many, Wasserman-Schultz' people will pore over ever signature gathered and find where someone made a mistake, and get the petition tossed. In order to be assured of getting on the ballot, I need to gather about 9,000 signatures. Suppose 4,000 get tossed. That's not 4,000 instances of vote fraud. It's 4,000 errors.

Registration has the same problems, especially when the community where the registration drive is taking place is not one favored by those in power.

[rah]

If you falsified one of those 4000 errors, it's fraud and in most states a felony.
Open your eyes and do some research and you'll see there are considerable criminal charges against them, not just tossing out errors.
And please don't say everyone does it because that what you always try to crack me with if I imply that.

[OzzyKP]

Yea, I'm with Che on that. That is just how signature gathering goes. It isn't fraud. Plus, as people said, even if they were registering fake people to vote, those imaginary people aren't going to go vote and affect the election.

There might be additional fraud, but I haven't heard any details.

[rah]

IT"S A FELONY. geeze. If the repugs were doing this you'd be going berzerk.

But what you guys think doesn't really matter on this one, they're toast, at least in terms of fed dollars.

[Drake Tungsten]

the rest of the world would have thought it a joke (or even a travesty) had McCain won the election in 2008, and he just about did.

No, he didn't. Jesus, why are foreigners always so ****ing stupid?

[DinoDoc]

Basically I'd like to know the whole context.

They have the full transcripts and audio at Big Government.com for all except the San Diego office so far.

[chequita guevara]

If you falsified one of those 4000 errors, it's fraud and in most states a felony.
Open your eyes and do some research and you'll see there are considerable criminal charges against them, not just tossing out errors.
And please don't say everyone does it because that what you always try to crack me with if I imply that.

And that would be one instance of vote fraud. I am aware of a number of ACORN signature gatherers facing felony charges, and I have no problem with the ones actually committing fraud going to jail. Of course, I'm also aware that several of those cases, are on shaky ground or have been thrown out.

Ozzy,

False registrations going through is a problem. In precincts where there is only one party watching, at the end of the day, people can, and do, vote for people who didn't show up. This is the most common form of vote fraud, but it accounts for a small percentage of election irregularities. In other words, it happens a lot, but it doesn't make a big impact.

The biggest problem is voter suppression, at which the GOP are masters. In fact, this attack on ACORN is a voter suppression effort. Tens of thousands of people who would be eligible to vote in 2010 now may not be reached by other registration gathering efforts, and thus be ineligible to vote next Fall.

One wishes the Democrats had the balls to go after the GOP the way the GOP goes after the Democrats.

[rah]

Wrong is wrong. If they hadn't been doing illegal activities, they wouldn't be in this mess.
Just because you don't like who's making the accusations doesn't make what they're doing legitimate. Talk about a homer.