House votes to deny all federal funds for ACORN

[democracy1st]

So I guess its time to reject all these sleezy,low life,dishonest,disgusting,adulterous,lying politicians as well. Funny how the sleezeballs remain above the fray.




WASHINGTON – The House voted Thursday to deny all federal funds for ACORN in a GOP-led strike against the scandal-tainted community organizing group that comes just three days after the Senate took similar action. "ACORN has violated serious federal laws, and today the House voted to ensure that taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund this corrupt organization," said second-ranked House Republican Eric Cantor of Virginia.

The vote, on a provision attached to a student aid bill, was 345-75, with Democrats supplying all the "no" votes.

On Monday the Senate voted 83-7 to deny housing and community grant funding to ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Republicans accelerated their attacks on the liberal-leaning group a year ago when ACORN, in conducting a massive voter registration drive, was accused of submitting some false registration forms.

On a hidden-camera video released on Monday, two ACORN employees are seen apparently advising a couple that was posing as a prostitute and her pimp to lie about her profession and launder her earnings. The video was the latest in a series that has already led to the firing of four ACORN employees in Baltimore and Washington. It was created by James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles and posted on BigGovernment.com, where O'Keefe identifies himself as an activist filmmaker.


ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson blasted the video shot at the organization's Brooklyn office, saying the group believes the voices of the couple were dubbed over to alter the conversation and make the interaction appear more objectionable than it may have been.

ACORN said Wednesday that it is ordering its own independent investigation of the incidents, while stressing that they were isolated cases.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090917/ap_on_go_co/us_congress_acorn

[BlooInBloo]

1. And DUers celebrate with Beck and other conservatives.

[MercutioATC]

4. ACORN may do a lot of good, but it's obvious it's also broken.

Yes, as a DUer, I "celebrate" the defunding of private corporations that have the sort of issues that ACORN does.


It KNEW that it was under the microscope, and it CHOSE not to address internal issues.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Congratulations.

[MercutioATC]

6. Thanks!

I call 'em as I see 'em.


It's not enough to have good intentions. When an organization has serious internal issues and refuses to address them, it doesn't deserve to be taxpayer-funded.

[democracy1st]

12. Who's more corrupt DC politicians or ACORN?

[MercutioATC]

14. Corrupt politicians deserve to be "defunded" (put out of office) too.

That doesn't mean that ACORN deserves to be publicly funded, nor does it excuse its actions.

[democracy1st]

17. Who's more corrupt ACORN or the police,in otherwords sooner or later this admin had better start

fighting back.

[MercutioATC]

24. The police?

Wrong is wrong.

It's foolish to defend one organization's behavior by stating that another's is worse.

[democracy1st]

25. what I mean is this is only a RW hitjob,no other news outlet is coming up with this crap

No other news outlet is targeting only democratic organizations,or questioning the Presidents motives,etc.


When you give this some time to sink in you will see thats its a RW hitjob by the same news outlet that has called the pres everything negative you can imagine. The problem is noone on the left is fighting back.

[MercutioATC]

26. It doesn't matter WHO reports it, left or right. It's bad behavior.

...and ACORN's explanation was laughable.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. That's the same accusation...

..."malice aforethought" the RW is assigning.

Do you think employees asked to give counseling on running brothels with underaged girls from foreign countries? Because unless they did I don't see what the senior leadership is being accused of doing or failing to do.

When you go to work do you have to fend off co-workers trying to set-up back alley gambling halls? If one of them did are you legaly liable for your failure to detect and interdict the crime they already knew was illegal and therefore hid from detection?

I'm not picking a fight; I'm just pointing out that what is hidden is in fact hidden.

[MercutioATC]

9. ACORN is obviously failing to monitor its own offices.

If somebody can walk in off the street and get advice on how to run a prostitution enterprise, ACORN management is obviously failing to do their job.

It's NOT hidden...and that's the point. This wasn't a back-room numbers pool, it's how ACORN offices are interacting with the general public.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

11. Last I heard...

ACORN's "interacting with the public" involved voter registration, helping folks apply for federal aid and find afordable housing.

If that wasn't happening then the senior staff--and for that matter ACORN's funding sources, both public and private--were being defrauded.

But I can trust ACORN or a few RW'ers as to whether or not the videos bear out reality.

[MercutioATC]

13. That's true.

Unfortunately, its offices are also offering advice on how to operate a successful prostitution business.

Hell, even Burger King has anonymous inspectors that do internal evaluations of their franchises. ACORN has been in the public eye for a while. You'd think it'd be a little more concerned about what its offices are doing.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

15. Perhaps when you spend your days looking for the good in people...

...(as opposed to BK and their profit-protection motives) you can be more easily blind-sided byt those that bause your trust and optimism.

Of course I'm still of the opinion that if ACORN asserts the videos are fabricated/doctored their history shows them to be far more cedible than some people on a partisan gotcha-mission.

[MercutioATC]

16. That doesn't even make sense.

Are you asserting that the reason that ACORN employees offered advice on how to start a prostitution business is because they were "looking for the good in people" and were duped, or do you believe the weak ACORN "they knew it was a set-up all along, so they gave outrageous advice" explanation?

[KittyWampus]

19. Celebrate? That's an absurd over statement although I suppose you are trying to be amusing

or make some kind of statement.

[virgogal]

2. What I asked myself about the ACORN videos was "What the hell

kind of training did these people get?"

I'm sure the incidences were isolated,but they were blatantly inept.

[Why Syzygy]

3. If they were just 'faith based' all would be forgiven.

:eyes:

[FiveGoodMen]

8. Not quite...

In order to receive right-wing approval, they also have to recite, 'Fuck the poor' and 'If God loved them they'd be rich.'

[librechik]

10. ACORN will get funding elsewhere

meanwhile, they can't use it against Obama anymore--not with any legitimacy.

If they attack it again, it will be pure racism, not objections to big government and their community organizing friends.

[Milk]

18. They've been flooding Twitter w/ Acorn hits

and it's been a constant "trending topic" for almost a week. They should stop being cowards and just come out and say they hate black people.

[democracy1st]

20. noone has lifted a finger to defend ACORN its total bs. I can't understand these weak ass dems

[Zoeisright]

21. I donated.

And I defend ACORN. These questionable incidents have smeared the entire organization, while repukes commit crimes and totally get away with it.

[democracy1st]

22. I know its sickening,repubs are attacking and noone is willing to fight back

[Zoeisright]

23. Yep. I fight with my wallet.

Where I spend and what I spend it on. I support good organizations and try not to buy from non-blue companies. With all the screaming out there from the lunatic right, it's the most satisfying way to make a point, for me.

[NaturalHigh]

27. Good. I don't want to see tax dollars used to promote child prostitution and tax evasion.

You're right on one point, though. We have plenty of lying, corrupt politicians who need to be yanked off the government payroll.

[HughMoran]

28. It's only 2% of ACORNs budget

...and they're being broad-brush hatcheted by Republicans.

Fortunately for the right-wing, a sizable number of DUers don't know the history of these sorts of attacks and are falling for this hook, line and sinker. I've never seen such reactionary attitudes here on DU before - it's embarrassing.

[democracy1st]

29. You nailed it, amazing to see a so called news organization that outright lies

daily get a ounce of credibility