ACORN leader says critics mounted ‘McCarthy-era war against the poor’

[defendandprotect]

ACORN leader says critics mounted ‘McCarthy-era war against the poor’ after report clears organization of wrongdoing

By Stephen Janis
Friday, June 18th, 2010 -- 8:17 am


The former president of the now-dissolved activist group ACORN struck back at Republicans, Democrats and even the Obama Administration Thursday after a federal report cleared the organization of misusing federal funds and election fraud.

In an exclusive interview with Raw Story -- her first public remarks since the report’s release -- ACORN's Bertha Lewis said the findings of the Government Accountability Office proves the withering criticism against ACORN that all but shuttered the group was an orchestrated right wing attack against the poor.

“This was a McCarthy-era style war against the poor and minorities, nothing more,” the group's former leader told Raw Story.

“This proves the right will resort to anything to maintain power to continue the war on poor black and brown people,” she added.

“Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh can call me a racist all they want to,” she said. “But there is no way there was not a racial element and class element to this whole attack.”





http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0618/exclusive/

[Radical Activist]

1. I'll be waiting for an apology from all the reporters

who repeated the talk-radio attacks against ACORN without taking a critical look at the video themselves. I suspect I'll be waiting for a long time.

[maxsolomon]

2. she is correct

my father regularly uses ACORN as proof of the ills of Liberalism, and no amount of facts regarding their shameful kneecapping can dissuade him. it's his trump card.

[jwirr]

3. That is the best description I have heard of the Acorn mess. Shades

of "War Against the Weak" by Edwin Black.

[WCGreen]

4. Of course it was...

We can't have empowerment of the lower classes.

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. There is no clearer proof of the complicity between mainstream media and the right-wing AM hate

radio propaganda platform. Without the assistance of the majority of giant media conglomerate news organizations, the ACORN story and many other blatantly false narratives like WMD's would never gain traction.

[Warpy]

6. The analogy is a good one

McCarthy's witch hunt started out going after any famous person he didn't like, meaning anyone with more brains or talent than he had. It spread out into the general populace and even as a very young child, I remember the fear. Any neighbor with a grudge could drop a dime, tell a few lies, and ruin your life.

That's exactly what the far right has been doing to the people in this country, not the drop a dime part except the drug war, but the pervasive fear they want us all in. The far right always thinks frightened people will work harder and be more docile. Too bad B. F. Skinner proved them wrong.

Their protracted attack against ACORN is just one aspect of this war against Americans. Anyone who sticks his head up or his neck out and tries to help others is targeted for wiretapping, smeared in the right wing press, and generally made miserable. It's why the FBI has long been concerned with Raging Grannies and Quakers while ignoring the heavily armed and insane right wing paramilitary groups.

What the author of the OP failed to realize is that the war has expanded to poor, working class, and middle class white people, too. We are all in this together.

[Uncle Joe]

7. They absolutely did, the whole incident was a disgrace and miscarriage of justice.

Thanks for the thread, defendandprotect.

[WingDinger]

8. It was admitted to as such.

Wingers said that the acorn folks would register poor folk and they would vote Obama. So, they must be stopped.

[John Q. Citizen]

9. Say it and keep saying it. The war on the poor must stop!