October 14, 2008

Finally, a post about ACORN.

From my place in the blogosphere, it looks like I owe you a post about ACORN, so let's go with this Wall Street Journal piece:
Acorn -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now -- has been around since 1970 and boasts 350,000 members. We've written about them for years, but Acorn is now getting more attention as John McCain's campaign makes an issue of the fraud reports and Acorn's ties to Mr. Obama. It's about time someone exposed this shady outfit that uses government dollars to lobby for larger government.

Acorn uses various affiliated groups to agitate for "a living wage," for "affordable housing," for "tax justice" and union and environmental goals, as well as against school choice and welfare reform. It was a major contributor to the subprime meltdown by pushing lenders to make home loans on easy terms, conducting "strikes" against banks so they'd lower credit standards.

But the organization's real genius is getting American taxpayers to foot the bill. According to a 2006 report from the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), Acorn has been on the federal take since 1977. For instance, Acorn's American Institute for Social Justice claimed $240,000 in tax money between fiscal years 2002 and 2003. Its American Environmental Justice Project received 100% of its revenue from government grants in the same years. EPI estimates the Acorn Housing Corporation alone received some $16 million in federal dollars from 1997-2007. Only recently, Democrats tried and failed to stuff an "affordable housing" provision into the $700 billion bank rescue package that would have let politicians give even more to Acorn.

All this money gives Acorn the ability to pursue its other great hobby: electing liberals. Acorn is spending $16 million this year to register new Democrats and is already boasting it has put 1.3 million new voters on the rolls. The big question is how many of these registrations are real.
Details about ongoing state-level investigations of fraud at the link.
Which brings us to Mr. Obama, who got his start as a Chicago "community organizer" at Acorn's side. In 1992 he led voter registration efforts as the director of Project Vote, which included Acorn. This past November, he lauded Acorn's leaders for being "smack dab in the middle" of that effort. Mr. Obama also served as a lawyer for Acorn in 1995, in a case against Illinois to increase access to the polls.

During his tenure on the board of Chicago's Woods Fund, that body funneled more than $200,000 to Acorn. More recently, the Obama campaign paid $832,000 to an Acorn affiliate. The campaign initially told the Federal Election Commission this money was for "staging, sound, lighting." It later admitted the cash was to get out the vote.

The Obama campaign is now distancing itself from Acorn, claiming Mr. Obama never organized with it and has nothing to do with illegal voter registration. Yet it's disingenuous to channel cash into an operation with a history of fraud and then claim you're shocked to discover reports of fraud. As with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers, Mr. Obama was happy to associate with Acorn when it suited his purposes. But now that he's on the brink of the Presidency, he wants to disavow his ties.
So Obama uses things/people to the extent that they are useful. Don't you want a pragmatist President?

I mean... if he's duly elected. Election fraud should be ferreted out. Is there time to do that? If Obama wins, but not by a wide margin, and the accusations of fraud are big enough to put the outcome in question, it will tear us apart.

UPDATE: Obama speaks:
"[M]y relationship to ACORN is pretty straightforward. It's probably 13 years ago when I was still practicing law, I represented ACORN and my partner in that representation was the US Justice Department in having Illinois implement what was called the 'Motor Voter' law, to make sure that people could go to DMV’s and drivers’ license facilities to get registered... It wasn’t being implemented. That was my relationship and is my relationship to ACORN.

"There is an ACORN organization in Chicago... They have been active. As an elected official, I've had interactions with them. But they are not advising our campaign. We've got the best voter registration and turnout and volunteer operation in politics right now and we don’t need ACORN’s help.

"My understanding in terms of the voter fraud, because having run a voter registration drive, I know how problems arise, this is typically a situation where ACORN probably paid people to get registrations and these folks, not wanting to actually register people because that's actually hard work, just went into a phone book or made up names and submitted false registrations to get paid... So there's been fraud perpetrated probably on ACORN if they paid these individuals and they actually didn’t do registrations.

"But this isn't a situation where there's actually people who are going to try to vote 'cause these are phony names...

"But what I want to make sure of, is that this is not used as an excuse for the kind of voter suppression strategies and tactics that we've seen in the past. Let’s just make sure everybody is voting, everybody’s registered...."

159 comments:

Brian Doyle said...

Outrage over ACORN depends entirely on being intentionally misled on the difference between vote fraud and voter registration fraud (which is massive).

I'm Full of Soup said...

After the 2000 election fiasco, our elected official promised to work hard to fix the voter registration problems and election processes.

So they had 8 years to do that and everything is now fixed.

Or am I wrong about that?

VariableSpin said...

"Don't you want a pragmatist President?"

I sincerely hope that question is meant to be facetious. Pragmatism is not a moral philosophy but indication of its absence.

George M. Spencer said...

"Don't I buy you everything you want?"

"You're tearing me apart!"

Let's hope Barry O. doesn't do a Jimmy Dean if he's elected.

Nick said...

Pragmatic or condoning illegal behavior?

sonicfrog said...

"He Stole The Election!!!"

The Republican battle cry for the next four years, I can't wait!

I'm Full of Soup said...

Election fraud goes to the heart of a democracy. It should be punished very severely.

Unfortunately, election fraud is encouraged by partisan scum (elected officials) like that lady in Ohio and an old Chicago mayor.

Simon said...

"So Obama uses things/people to the extent that they are useful. Don't you want a pragmatist President?"

Pragmatism is a means, not an end. Whether we want a pragmatist President depends on what his ends are; will he be pragmatic in the service of the United States, or will he use the United States to the extent that it is useful to his ambitions?

"If Obama wins, but not by a wide margin, and the accusations of fraud are big enough to put the outcome in question, it will tear us apart."

Not to fret. I'm sure that the media will do its bit for national unity by covering it up. And I've found that people who are inclined to support Obama can rationalize absolutely anything he says or does to avoid a head-on collision with an unpleasant truth about him, as we saw with public financing, and as, ahem, I'm afraid this post demonstrates.

Spread Eagle said...

As a commenter to Instapundit put it, "Does ACORN work more closely with one party/candidate than another? Heh."

Bissage said...

Doing well by doing good?

You betcha!

Besides . . . it’s love . . . love . . . that will tear us apart, again.

Oh Joy!

Simon said...

By the way, come to mention public funding, that reminds me that I owe Trevor Jackson a concession: I had predicted that Obama would do appallingly in the first debate and pull out of the balance. The first prediction has been falsified - I overestimated McCain and underestimated Obama - and that having been in the nature of a threshold proposition, the latter will not now be tested.

Bender R said...

"Acorn is spending $16 million this year to register ..."

$16 million for registration activities? How big is their budget overall? And how does a special interest group get so huge??

Having lived in the DC area for a while now, and having been involved in some special interest groups in my time, and having friends who work for them, I have observed and come to the conclusion that 99 percent of these special interest groups are a total scam. Their number one reason for existing is sucker folks into giving them money and power, or just money, with which they can then acquire power.

Actually solving real problems? Ha. They are in business to solve problems about as much as insurance companies are in business to pay out claims, rather than take in premiums.

VariableSpin said...

doyle said...
"Outrage over ACORN depends entirely on being intentionally misled on the difference between vote fraud and voter registration fraud (which is massive)."

Ah, but registration fraud is a prerequisite for vote fraud. Isn't it reasonable to assume that's the intent? And considering the value of the voting institution, wouldn't it be prudent to ensure that voting fraud does not follow? And doesn't the outrage aid in prodding those with the authority to stop the fraud before it occurs?

Bill Harshaw said...

Simple cure for 99 percent of vote fraud--indelible stain on the finger of every voter. What's good for Iraq is good for the U.S.

Simon said...

sonicfrog said...
"The Republican battle cry for the next four years, I can't wait!"

There's already a schism developing over what next, actually.

Jen Bradford said...

Oh, he's pragmatic alright. He was able to get three opponents knocked off the ballot in his run for the state legislature.

As a community organizer, he had helped register thousands of voters. But when it came time to run for office, he employed Chicago rules to invalidate the voting petition signatures of three of his challengers.

The move denied each of them, including incumbent Alice Palmer, a longtime Chicago activist, a place on the ballot. It cleared the way for Obama to run unopposed on the Democratic ticket in a heavily Democrat district.


There is ample evidence that he gamed the system in caucuses during the primaries. Telling campaign workers to be "aggressive" meant something a little different to them. They intimidated and lied to people who had come to caucus for Clinton. Acorn was trained by Obama and others to be "aggressive" as well - maybe he made the mistake of adding "creative"?

The Drill SGT said...

Vote Now, Vote Often, Vote Democratic.

That motto doubles for both ACORN and the Daley Machine.

I don't mind some level of BS in GOTV, like the sham on MTV, but the hypocrisy of ACORN claiming to be non-partisan non-profit really offends me.

garage mahal said...

I'm a bit surprised Ann missed McCain sending out tens of thousands of absentee ballots right here in Wisconsin with bogus return address labels on them. It was widely covered.

Oops. Won't happen again!

Darcy said...

Yes, apparently "we" do want a "pragmatist" President.

The Drill SGT said...

don't forget to talk about the ACORN/OBAMA legal fight to force Chicago banks to make bad CRA enforced loans to folks.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

No mouse left behind.

http://www.tampabay.com/

Unknown said...

"Outrage over identity theft depends entirely on being intentionally misled on the difference between ruined financial information and credit card theft (which is massive)."

"Outrage over murder depends entirely on being intentionally misled on the difference between pointing a gun at someone and actually killing him (which is massive)."

By calling this pragmatic, are you revealing the resolution of your cruel neutrality?

Christy said...

Ann, it is all about building a culture of corruption. Think ENRON. Pragmatists all.

Obama is the new Ken Lay. If the leader doesn't mind soiling his hands with the unworthy, then neither will his minions.

If ACORN was genuine in their mission, they would set up systems to avoid the fraud. Instead ACORN appears to be a make-work organization to which certain progressives can divert government money. Didn't The Soprano's have an episode or two about that sort of activity?

Doyle, do you think ACORN could be overwhelming the system with voter registration fraud to divert attention away from planned vote fraud? To keep the FEC focus away from the planned coup?

veni vidi vici said...

They're too late to get to the bottom of this round of nascent fraud. The DOJ, as Instapundit points out repeatedly, is apparently asleep at the wheel on this. Having acquaintances in the DOJ's voting rights division, I wouldn't be surprised if they're standing down on purpose, purposefully at odds with what the current president might be directing. I doubt that's what they're doing, but wouldn't be surprised to be shown otherwise -- particularly in a bizarre election year like this one.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

To Doyle's point, a frauduantely registered person has already tried to early vote in Ohio, so while there may be a big difference between registration fraud and vote fraud, how are we ever going to know how much.

And more importantly why is this activity tolerated? Its not new and as mentioned this group has a history of using taxpayer dollars to extort, er I mean get more taxpayer dollars. Hell don't we already have 535 memeber of the House and Senate to do that already?

But as Simon stated, nothing to see here, move along, you don't want to be called a racist.

Christy said...

Jen, that episode over the voter petitions in Illinois were what convinced me that Obama is a cheater and unworthy of being our first president of color. May have been legal, what he did, but it was unworthy and totally conflicts with the high minded persona he likes to project.

Simon said...

veni vidi vici said...
"The DOJ, as Instapundit points out repeatedly, is apparently asleep at the wheel on this. "

If DoJ investigated, first they would be accused of racism, and then they would be accused of a deliberate conspiracy to derail Obama.

Synova said...

"Pragmatic" in Obama's case seems to be his propensity for getting rid of old baggage.

But... you know... being a "community organizer" was about his only qualification. If he gets rid of that, what does he have left?

kimsch said...

I keep hearing that registration fraud ≠ election fraud. I think that is a canard. Certainly if Daf. E. Duck doesn't show up at the polls, no harm done (except for the extra work the county clerk's office will have to do to get Mr. Duck off the rolls.)

But when Millie Helper votes in New Rochelle, NY and also votes in The Villages, where she winters...

The photo ID law in Indiana does a lot to stop actual election day fraud but what happens in a state with no photo ID requirement? The fraudulent name on the rolls doesn't have to be as obvious as Daf E. Duck or Mary Poppins. It could be the name of your friend's next door neighbor in another precinct.

In 2006 in Indiana a woman was complaining that she wasn't allowed to vote in Indiana. Seems she lived there in the summers in a vacation home. She lived in Florida in the winter. She had a Florida drivers' license with a Florida address. She was actually registered in both places. She said she didn't know she was registered in Florida and that she never voted there. But with the Florida DL Indiana rightly denied her due to the fact that she was officially a Florida resident.

Synova said...

And...

Even if the voter registration fraud is a case of a few over zealous individuals or offices of ACORN going over the line the fact remains that the regular, legal, activities that ACORN is set up to do is what "community organizing* IS.

This is what community organizers DO.

They pressure local and state governments and institutions to "get stuff."

Synova said...

Also.

What happens next is that some clerk goes to "purge" the voter lists to get rid of fraudulent registrations and that is proof of racism.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

A new mouse gesture - horde votes to the left ;)

http://www.tampabay.com/

Anonymous said...

To quote wurly:

"Vote for Obama, I've known you would for a long time, but don't belittle the real questions surrounding him. Your rash of recent posts come across as a strained attempt to justify that decision on something other than aesthetics and blind hope. Pragmatism is a tool, not a virtue."

It is quite amazing how quickly you went from cruel neutrality to being in the tank, MSM-style. Vote for him, but please don't insult our intelligence.

Titusbackintownok? said...

Speaking of voting I was voted on on this blog.

I pray that none of you will have to suffer this humiliating treatment.

I am devasted I tell you.

I feel cheap and tawdry...Audrey.

Christy said...

Kimsch, doesn't Florida have a motor voter law? She and her husband may well have unwittingly registered to vote when they got their Florida driver's licenses.

Simon said...

kimsch said...
"Certainly if Daf. E. Duck doesn't show up at the polls, no harm done ... The photo ID law in Indiana does a lot to stop actual election day fraud but what happens in a state with no photo ID requirement?"

Plus, our voter ID law has limits. It only applies to in-person voting, see IC 3–11–8–25.1, so, if Mr. Duck is smart enough to obtain a mail-in ballot, the photo ID requirement isn't even applicable.

Simon said...

Titusbackintownok? said...
"Speaking of voting I was voted on on this blog. I pray that none of you will have to suffer this humiliating treatment."

I think I was voted "most sycophantic" in an unofficial straw poll. It's not so bad as you're making out.

Titusbackintownok? said...

Used I tell you.

Thrown away and tossed in the gutter.

The degredation is more than one can handle.

mccullough said...

I agree that Obama's just being practical here.

McCain is also being practical by having his campaign call Obama on his strong connection to ACORN and the management of ACORN's reckless behavior that is leading its "workers" to make shit up on voter registration cards.

It will also be practical for the media to accuse McCain of being racist for criticizing ACORN's voter registration fraud because it's just poor black people trying to register to vote over and over again.

It will also be practical for white people to vote for McCain because Obama's a race-hustler. An intelligent race-hustler, but a race-hustler nonetheless.

mccullough said...

I agree that Obama's just being practical here.

McCain is also being practical by having his campaign call Obama on his strong connection to ACORN and the management of ACORN's reckless behavior that is leading its "workers" to make shit up on voter registration cards.

It will also be practical for the media to accuse McCain of being racist for criticizing ACORN's voter registration fraud because it's just poor black people trying to register to vote over and over again.

It will also be practical for white people to vote for McCain because Obama's a race-hustler. An intelligent race-hustler, but a race-hustler nonetheless.

Titusbackintownok? said...

I am afraid to ask but what was the final vote tally for my demise?

Titusbackintownok? said...

Did anyone think of the rare clumbers when casting their evil vote?

What about the rare clumbers?

Titusbackintownok? said...

The squirrels are going crazy over all the ACORNS on the grass in the park near me.

The rare clumbers try and chase them but they never catch them.

The squirrels are getting fat on ACORN.

DAnonymous said...

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/7203

http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/10/oops-obama-camp-caught-scrubbing-its.html

Obama trained ACORN leaders. Then he lied about it. Then he got caught. So now he uses nuanced language to get around continuing to lie. Lovely.

kimsch said...

Christy, that could be what happened with her. But the Florida DL indicates that her primary residence is there. Motor Voter is also a not so good thing. When I got married, Motor Voter registered me again when I changed my name on the license. Only the first letter and first 3 numbers changed (soundex). Later I received two registration cards, one in my maiden name and one in my married name, when my polling place changed. I conceivably could have gone in and voted twice until they purged the maiden name registration - at my request.

Simon,

Here in Illinois, well actually in Chicago, the residents of Rose Hill Cemetery vote early, and often! No photo ID required. No ID at all, at all. Just go up and give them a name. If the name is on a page in the "book" then they take the page out and give you a ballot. By taking the page out they ensure that you can't vote again as that particular person.

Of course it's really bad when you show up to vote and find out you already have.

Titusbackintownok? said...

I had a dream last night that I was trying on really gay shirts with spaghetti straps and Dick Cheney was watching me.

john said...

veni said - I wouldn't be surprised if they're standing down on purpose, purposefully at odds with what the current president might be directing.

DOJ at odds with the Pres? I doubt it. GWB has had no problems sleeping at night after kneecapping McCain on the bailout (knowing McCain was so ignorant of economics that he would never figure out who hit him). I don't think Bush gives a shit about votor fraud and how it might affect this campaign; and I think that attitude has filtered down to Justice.

Simon said...

Titusbackintownok? said...
"I am afraid to ask but what was the final vote tally for my demise?"

Oh, you're getting your wires crossed. That wasn't a vote, it was a betting pool, and I think "choking on an unusually large stranger" was the most popular option.

(Jus' kidding)

john said...

Titus,

We need to see an ID here. Too much fraud going around.

Titusbackintownok? said...

Oh and I was trying the shirts on in a store in Madison.

Isn't that weird?

The rare clumbers were with me too. I was walking up and down State Street flaunting my fabulousness with my NYC friends and ran into people from high school. One of the rare clumbers got away and I couldn't find him.

I was devastated. Not as devastated as being voted on on this blog though.

An Edjamikated Redneck said...

I agree that if Daf E. Duck doen't show, there shouldn't be an issue.

BUT...

What if there are 300-400 registered voters, like Mr. Duck, who don't show up on election day, but 'somehow' a there are ballots in the box for these 300-400 voters?

A sizable proportion with hanging and dimpled chads of course.

Even with an ID requirement there is nothing to stop a post-ballot box-stuffing to make sure all of the newbies vote 'correctly'.

Rose said...

So the guy says he registered 72 times.

ACORN says they personally call three times and verify every single app.

If true, they know exactly how many 'blanks' they have to fill.

The obvious ones like that guy get stopped, but as mentioned above, Millie Helper doesn't.

More than that, ACORN knows which registrants don't exist - dead people, made up people, for instance. So they bus in people to go in their stead. Fill those blanks. Stack the deck.

Unlikely to be caught. Enough to tip the scales.

In a close election - and with nearly 50/50 polls we could end up like Bush/Gore with a few hundred votes deciding the election.

No problem. All taken care of. Bases covered. In 14 states that we know of, right? But probably all. The only solution is to force proof of residence - driver's license? thumbprint? national ID card? in order to vote.

It matters.

Chip Ahoy said...

There is no difference between voter registration fraud, ballot fraud, and actual vote fraud, when the affect, if not the point is, to overwhelm the system with countless fraudulent registrations that exclude valid registrations and thereby preclude valid votes. And by countless, I mean gone uncounted because they were passed over by being in the remainder of 100% of fraudulent registrations in 2,100 cases out of 5,000 registrations submitted within a single voting district.

So don't give us this crap about being intentionally misled.

This morning I dreamed that I awoke from someone tapping at the door. I ignored it in the dream. The tapper opened my door and entered. I tried to stir but couldn't move. I was oddly immobilized. Not frozen in fear, just stuck. I tried to speak out, to challenge the intrusion but nothing came out. I tried to go back to sleep and resign myself to being murdered, impossible because I was already sleeping, and kept seeing shadows shift on the wall, convincing me the menace was still present. I was being spooked by shadows. I awoke. There were shadows shifting on the wall. Bastard Mac has a tiny light that shifts from faint to bright. I turned it to face another direction. This dream was so real I had to get up to check the door to confirm it was locked, and to check the spare bedroom and make sure no one slipped in. Then I thought, "This dream is about ACORN ruining my country!"

Titusbackintownok? said...

In the dream I had a partner, which is really strange.

I could not imagine having a partner.

I don't choke on strangers...they choke on me.

I am a top. Please remember my sexual position.

Titusbackintownok? said...

ACORN Smacorn.

I was voted on on this blog fellow republicans.

Can I get a little sympathy. To make matters worse I couldn't get it up with my 21 year old gas station attendant from Queens. And you want to talk about ACORN? You should be walking in my Prada shoes today.

Priorities fellow republicans priorities.

Rose said...

And bender is right 99 percent of these special interest groups are a total scam. Their number one reason for existing is sucker folks into giving them money and power, or just money, with which they can then acquire power.

Groups like ACORN use grassroots as a cloak - they form other "groups," give them a nice Orwellian name that turns them into a scared cow, unable to be questioned, then they call these groups a "growing coalition" of human rights groups or environmental groups, but if you dig deeper you find that they are all linked back to one source, they are "projects" of the bigger group, funded by the bigger group - and it all hinges on big Foundation Grant Money.

Using the grassroots citizen" cloak, they, the orgs, are an unregulated force operating outside of our system of checks and balances. Their experts are not verified, but they get news/face time. They funnel money from group to group with almost no oversight, they cheat the system, and game the system.

ACORN is but the tip of the iceberg.

Check out activistcash.com and
discoverthenetworks.org... you can discount them as "Republican" industry stooges, but I have been tracking some of the groups in my area, and I can tell you they are accurate.

babuilder said...

Not only is the DOJ nowhere to be found, where is Jimmy Carter's outrage?

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

usbackintownok? said...
[...]

I am a top. Please remember my sexual position.

11:45 AM


girl, please...




On topic, what about early voting and absentee ballots? Wouldn't these be easier tools to use to comit fraud using the fake registrations?


Just wondering...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So Obama uses things/people to the extent that they are useful. Don't you want a pragmatist President?

Yes, but I don't want an amoral President.

As to Doyle trying to parse the difference between voter fraud and voter registration fraud, how about this.

I am counterfitting millions of $100 dollar bills in my basement......but ....I haven't spent any of them....yet. No problem? Nothing to see here? Don't worry about it.

OR.

I have 15 pipe bombs in the trunk of my car....but.....I haven't set any of them off.....yet. No problemo. Move along.

Anonymous said...

The Democrats reserve the right to steal elections exclusively for itself.

Their genius is having everyone pay for the privilege.

I'm Full of Soup said...

DBQ:

Share some of that loot with us while it is still worth something.

Nihimon said...

It's not just that a contested result "will tear us apart."

The problem lies in the way the Democrat party *encourages* these kinds of shenanigans, just like it *encourages* its followers to believe that the proper role of judges is to decide according to their own sense of right, rather than according to the law.

Anonymous said...

Obama has paid ACORN $800,000 for campaign consultancy so there exists a direct financial link,

Dust Bunny Queen said...

ACORN is following the Cloward Priven strategy and we are not doing one damned thing to counter it.

"The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse"

"Their strategy to create political, financial, and social chaos that would result in revolution blended Alinsky concepts with their more aggressive efforts at bringing about a change in U.S. government. To achieve their revolutionary change, Cloward and Piven sought to use a cadre of aggressive organizers assisted by friendly news media to force a re-distribution of the nation's wealth."

and

"No matter where the strategy is implemented, it shares the following features:


1. The offensive organizes previously unorganized groups eligible for government benefits but not currently receiving all they can.

2. The offensive seeks to identify new beneficiaries and/or create new benefits.

3. The overarching aim is always to impose new stresses on target systems, with the ultimate goal of forcing their collapse."

I've come to the conclusion that we as a nation are too stupid to survive and we deserve the next 25 years of total misery. I hope the young people eventually come to the realization of the suicide pact that they are so eager to rush into with Obama.

former law student said...

First of all, this titus is a clumsy fake. Though the real titus could be imitated, he cannot apparently be duplicated. Simply writing titusnippets such as "I am a top," "rare clumbers" does not do the job. Plus fake titus does not come across as a staunch Republican, like real titus.

registration fraud is a prerequisite for vote fraud. Isn't it reasonable to assume that's the intent

The canvassers are paid for each voter signed up. In general, the intent of registration fraud is to get paid for work one hasn't done. As anyone who has had to sell candy bars can tell you, going door-to-door to meet a quota is tiring.

Now, because registration fraud can consist of signing up one voter multiple times, as well as signing up imaginary voters one at a time, it is possible that street workers are colluding with voters to register one person in multiple precincts. But that would require a certain amount of effort, too. Why not just ring more doorbells, rather than try to find crooked voters?

knox said...

If Obama wins, but not by a wide margin, and the accusations of fraud are big enough to put the outcome in question, it will tear us apart.

It will, and Obama hired ACORN knowing full well that they accomplish their goals "by any means necessary."

And don't forget Obama represented ACORN in their effort to expand the CRA... which drastically increased the number of subprime mortgages in the mid-90s and on. Both had a prominent role in bringing about our current financial crisis.

Pragmatism? I'd say judgment and behavior like this constitutes the opposite of it.

Unknown said...

From prospect.org

Voter fraud is actually less likely to occur than lightning striking a person, according to data compiled by New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. As Lorraine Minnite, a Columbia University professor, observed in the Project Vote report, The Politics of Voter Fraud, "The claim that voter fraud threatens the integrity of American elections is itself a fraud." In October 2002, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft launched an intensive "Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative" that required all U.S. attorney offices to coordinate with local officials in combating voter fraud. Yet even after the Justice Department declared the war against voter fraud a "high priority," only 24 people were convicted of illegal voting in federal elections between 2002 and 2005 -- and nobody was even charged by Justice with impersonating another voter. (The Justice Department declined to answer questions about more recent fraud prosecutions.) And despite the anti-immigrant frenzy fueling photo-ID laws, only 14 noncitizens were convicted of illegally voting in federal elections from 2002 through 2005 -- mostly because of their ignorance of election law.

Unfortunately, the public hasn't heard just how nonexistent the voter fraud epidemic actually is. While progressives have successfully challenged some of the most restrictive laws in court, they're still playing catch-up when it comes to combating the glib sound bites of voter-fraud alarmists. Republicans and the Bush Justice Department have cloaked their schemes under such noble-sounding concepts as "ballot integrity." The GOP's vote-suppression playbook features everything from phony lawsuits to questionable investigations to authoritative-seeming reports, all with the aim of promoting restrictive laws[...]

In an apparent effort to discredit both Democrats and ACORN, just five days before the tight Senate election in 2006 between incumbent Republican Jim Talent and Democrat Claire McCaskill, Schlozman announced, in violation of the department's own standards, the indictment of four former ACORN workers who had been fired by ACORN for filling out false voter-registration forms. The indictments were part of a broader effort to tilt the campaign against Democrats by bashing ACORN and limiting voter access. St. Louis' Republican election director, Scott Leiendecker, sent out a chilling letter shortly before the election to 5,000 mostly African Americans registered by ACORN, asking them to verify to the election board that they were eligible to vote. Leiendecker backed off after he faced the threat of a voting-rights lawsuit and received a warning letter from Secretary of State Carnahan.

End of quote..

Note that according to law in some , if not all, states, ACORN is legally obliged to hand in all registration forms whether frivolous or not.

al said...

Since the subject is Acorn - RICO suit filed against Acorn in Ohio.

Maybe this will get the MSM to pretend to pay attention.

bleeper said...

ACORNs are as close as The One gets to having nuts.

Synova said...

Acorn might be obligated to turn in all registration forms, even frivolous ones (they can't decide that Peachblossum Moonchild didn't have really weird parents... and my husband once got removed from a class list at college because someone thought his name wasn't real... so...) but BUT,

That is not the same thing as actually filling out the frivolous forms themselves! Or being in cahoots with the people helping them fill out the forms and everyone knows the names are completely made up.

dualdiagnosis said...

I am becoming more and more convinced that you have been kidnapped and are blogging under duress.

Pragmatic for whose benefit? Ours or just his? Are you convinced that they are the same?

Lying and covering up are pragmatic actions if what you are lying and covering up are harmful to your ambitions.

Is that what you are admiring about Obama?

knox said...

morgan g,

I would take down that quote if I were you. It basically proves that your only defense is:

"well, it hardly EVER happens, so how DARE you complain when it does!!"

I'm Full of Soup said...

FLS:

One of ACORN's top dogs was on CSpan on Sunday.

She claimed they do not pay their workers "per registration". She said they are paid on an hourly basis.

Of course I knew she was full of soup. Are you confirming I am right?

former law student said...

don't forget Obama represented ACORN in their effort to expand the CRA...

Obama represented ACORN in their effort to fight race discrimination. He was a civil rights lawyer, remember?

Citibank was denying black people mortgages while granting mortgages to white people with similar work histories, incomes, and credit histories. Though the case did not go to trial, Citibank reportedly paid $30 million to settle the case.

LonewackoDotCom said...

There is indeed a "difference between vote fraud and voter registration fraud".

However, when "ACORN has been so successful that the number of registered voters [in the Indianapolis metro area] now stands at 105 percent of the voting-age population" (link) that becomes a very fine difference. Lots and lots of wiggle room for Part 2 of the plan: Mickey Mouse casts his vote.

If anyone wants to avoid two to four years of something approaching one party control - with that one party being of the far-left Chicago variety - please see How to Defeat Barack Obama. And, contact those listed (such as Insty) and ask them why they aren't pushing that highly effective plan.

Anonymous said...

According to James Carville, blacks will riot if Obama doesn't win. Accord to Frank Rich, whites will riot if he does.

David said...

Remember, a major subsidy to Acorn showed up in the bailout bill and was an important factor in the defeat of the original bill.

Acorn is either corrupt or has a woefully bad set of internal controls. Probably both.

The scandals here are the Democratic support of Acorn and the silence (until now) of the MSM on the issue.

Another example of the deeply corrupt nature of Congress--this time a Democratic version.

former law student said...

[ACORN person] claimed they do not pay their workers "per registration". She said they are paid on an hourly basis.

Then I'm not sure how this strategy paid off for Washington state ACORN street workers:

Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stephen Hobbs told the board that six ACORN workers had admitted filling out registration forms with names they found in phone books last October. The canvassers filled out the forms while sitting around a table at the downtown Seattle Public Library, Hobbs said.

Maybe they had too much pride in themselves to show up empty-handed.

At the time, ACORN President Maude Hurd said in a statement, "It appears that a handful of temporary workers were trying to get paid for work they hadn't actually done. While we don't think the intent or the result of their actions was to allow any ineligible person to vote, these employees defrauded ACORN and imposed a burden on the time and resources of registrars and law enforcement."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2003806904

Maybe paying by the hour is a corrective action ACORN took after this, to discourage "drylabbing."

Susan said...

Another really good article on Acorn is here, written in 2003, long before anyone cared about its connection with Obama. And like dust bunny queen's comment points out, there's so much more to Acorn than just voter fraud.

former law student said...

"ACORN has been so successful that the number of registered voters [in the Indianapolis metro area] now stands at 105 percent of the voting-age population"

According to the Indianapolis Star, the problem is that voters who have died or moved away are still on the rolls. So-called inactive voters have to miss two Federal elections to be stricken from the rolls.

Indiana, with its voter-suppressing state photo ID requirement, is unlikely to be victim to actual voter fraud, unless their DMV has a side business in fake IDs.

kimsch said...

FLS - if one needs a photo ID to cash a check, rent a DVD, buy liquor or cigarettes (if the merchant is doing his or her job) why shouldn't one need a photo ID to vote?

Unknown said...

Wow, support for Obama, Titus...this is not the Althouse I knew!

former law student said...

Another really good article on Acorn

Good because its bias matches your own?

ACORN’s bedrock assumption remains the ultra-Left’s familiar anti-capitalist redistributionism.

As good as it is, it would be even better if it cited the sources of its assertions.

Christy said...

How many IDs for indigent voters could ACORN's annual budget pay for?

former law student said...

if one needs a photo ID to cash a check, rent a DVD, buy liquor or cigarettes (if the merchant is doing his or her job) why shouldn't one need a photo ID to vote?

To the extent that that resembles an argument, I can only say that as an ATM user and Netflix customer, I need no photo ID to get cash or watch DVDs. Nor do I need a photo ID to buy alcohol or tobacco.

So why would I need a photo ID to vote? Particularly since I've been voting since before my state even issued photo IDs (a plot by the Polaroid Corporation, I believe). Everybody in my precinct knows who I am, anyways. (I am most notable for picking up my dog's crap on walks.)

I'm Full of Soup said...

"Indiana, with its voter-suppressing state photo ID requirement"

This is very true and also explains why there are no airports in Indiana.

TJ said...

Simon said: "that reminds me that I owe Trevor Jackson a concession"

Good on you, Simon. I'd forgotten all about it.

Unknown said...

To the extent that that resembles an argument, I can only say that as an ATM user and Netflix customer, I need no photo ID to get cash or watch DVDs.

But you do have to verify your identity to the extent those organizations deem it important. With an ATM you provide a proof of control over your bank accounts via a plastic card and a PIN. Has anyone ever argued that requiring someone to meet those two requirements constitutes discrimination against the disadvantaged?

Similarly, Netflix requires a valid credit card and mailing address. If you didn't want to provide those, do you think they'd rent you a movie?

Nor do I need a photo ID to buy alcohol or tobacco.

You do if the person doesn't know you and isn't sure of your age. When they don't ask for an ID they're taking the risk. In fact, we went to a restaurant in San Antonio on the Riverwalk that carded everyone. A couple clearly in their 60s had to leave because they couldn't order a margarita.

So why would I need a photo ID to vote?

A photo ID specifically isn't necessary, but to follow the analogies you supplied for us, some sort of domain-specific verification is entirely appropriate. Some locales will accept a utility bill, for instance.

Particularly since I've been voting since before my state even issued photo IDs (a plot by the Polaroid Corporation, I believe). Everybody in my precinct knows who I am, anyways. (I am most notable for picking up my dog's crap on walks.)

Good for you. You're not the reason the law is being crafted.

And allegations of voter suppression are just asinine, because those alleging it most vociferously really don't care about it, either. If ACORN gave a rats ass about it, they could devote a small fraction of the money they devote to voter registration fraud to helping people obtain voter verification IDs.

Unknown said...

I have to assume that getting "paid by the hour" probably meant that you had to get so many registrations to qualify for an hours worth of work.

In essence they get paid based on how many they sign up.

And FLS, I have respect for you and your opinions even though I don't usually agree with them but please, this group cannot be defended. I have been aware of their tactics for over twenty years and they are not an ethical organization, no matter how well meaning (and that is giving them the maximum benefit of doubt).

kimsch said...

AJ said: This is very true and also explains why there are no airports in Indiana.

you forget that it's only poor people who get disenfranchised when a photo ID is required. Poor people can't afford to fly

/sarcasm(?)

Methadras said...

That's cute. You owe us a post about acorn. From the way you describe it, it sounds like this is the first time you've heard of them.

Unknown said...

Well, since she's a NYT subscriber, methadras, that's plausible.

Peter V. Bella said...

Obama is part and parcel of the Chicago Democratic Machine. He was taught well at the heel of his mentors, Emil Jones, Richard Daley, and Axelrod. The Southside of the city has been rife with election irregularities and fraud for generations. Obama is taking it to a national level. If it takes election fraud to win, so be it. If it takes vote fraud to win, so be it. If it takes a criminal organization like ACORN to win, hell throw money at them. That is the Chicago way.

An old time Chicago pol once said reformers are people who throw the bums out and replace them with their own bums. It was true then and it is true today.

Titusbackintownok? said...

I am the real titus. I am not going to argue about that shit again.

Althouse and I exchange pleasentries by email and I have now returned.

And thank god. Where would this place be with out me. The level of discourse was really getting in the gutter and I am here to escalate things. Bringing it to a higher plane with thoughtful, insightful, intelligent prose.

Titusbackintownok? said...

And speaking of "by the hour" I love having sex with hourly non-exempt workers.

Harwood said...

So Obama uses things/people to the extent that they are useful. Don't you want a pragmatist President?
---
That the sort of flippancy that separates you from serious bloggers.

Daryl said...

I keep hearing that registration fraud ≠ election fraud.

Uranium thefts have nothing to do with nuclear weapons, they just make a little more work for the IAEA.

There's no evidence that terrorists have built a nuclear warhead, so why should we worry about a few kilograms of uranium out there?

I'll bet you're just motivated by anti-Muslim racism & hysteria.

Triangle Man said...

harwood said...

that the sort of flippancy that separates you from serious bloggers.


I agree that it's one of Ann's many fine qualities as a blogger and one of the benefits of reading opinions on blogs.

Anonymous said...

Ann Said: So Obama uses things/people to the extent that they are useful. Don't you want a pragmatist President?

I mean... if he's duly elected. Election fraud should be ferreted out. Is there time to do that?


I've thought about that comment for a while before posting this response because I enjoy this blog and respect Ann Althouse.

The italicized comment above, however, left me cold. It embodies a benign acceptance of ACORN's efforts to commit fraud in order to supplant the democratic process. It places a higher value on the election of Barack Obama than on the guaranteeing the trustworthiness and impartiality of the voting process.

It is especially troubling that the comment is posted by a professor of constitutional law, who I would expect to howl loudly about a rigged election, without regard to whatever her personal politics may be.

Has the simple difference between right and wrong been supplanted by rationalization that whatever my candidate does is pretty much okay, because he is the guy I hope will be president?

I am very disappointed. But not very surprised.

TJ said...

Daryl, that's not a fair comparison. ACORN isn't actively seeking bad registrations with the intent of producing fraud at the polls. Why would they? The bad registrations are clearly a headache for them. They're casting a wide net for new voters. Are their methods flawed? That's arguable given the high number of legitimate forms they do produce and new voters they bring to the polls.

The more important question is do their methods produce fraud at the polls? There is no evidence to support that claim.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Kimsch:

Yeah just me being a sarcastic bastard. Heh.

And:
"A couple clearly in their 60s had to leave because they couldn't order a margarita."

Yeah I was in the Phoenix airport bar last year when they even carded David Carradine. He is 71 and he was a bit bothered so they let him karate chop a few lemons and limes while he drank his drink vodka on the rocks.

Synova said...

I swear some people can not STAND humor.

Unknown said...

Trevor, come on. In the Lake County, In case, every single one of the 2100 ACORN registrations they reviewed were fraudulent. Every single one. And you're only willing to say that it is "arguable" that their methods are flawed?

I do concede that it is difficult to see how this immediately translates to fraud at the polls. This NY Post story talks about an actual case of voter fraud tied to an ACORN investigation but it's not clear what the actual tie is.

Synova said...

ACORN isn't actively seeking bad registrations with the intent of producing fraud at the polls. Why would they?

Heck if I know.

But one news clip floating about claimed that of the 2000 or so voter registrations that had been checked there, *so far*, that every last one of them was bogus.

It makes no sense for them to push for fraud at the polls, but it makes no sense for them to fill out *thousands* of bogus registrations *either*.

So the argument that what they're doing doesn't make sense... well, none of it makes sense, so who can say *why* they are doing it?

Synova said...

PROBABLY,

Probably what is going on is that people are being hired and paid per registration form they turn in.

Which still reflects on whatever bozo decided that was a GOOD idea.

But hey, free money is free money, and we know that free money always helps and more free money is better.

Unknown said...

AJ: Certainly, carding a couple of seniors was ludicrous but I felt bad for the waiter, too. He said his job depended on it. He carded us too. But the Riverwalk is one of those places where it's not uncommon to leave your purse up in the hotel. I assume that there is a lot of attempted underage drinking on the Riverwalk and management decided that it is better to have a draconian ID policy and lose a few customers than lose their liquor license. Margaritas are big business.

Anonymous said...

In addition to their voter fraud activities our ACORN activists also had their soiled fingers in the housing/mortgage crisis. Agitating
for loans to the unqualified while being a beneficiary of Fannie Mae's slush fund largesse. Schumer even had more money for ACORN hidden in the first (failed) bailout. Just to keep the money circulating, the BO campaign gifted them 800k for unspecified services.
More and more they are the face of the Democrats.

Christy said...

What is ACORN's mission? And why are they so incompetent at the voter registration aspect of it? I'd say that they know exactly what they are doing. It isn't that hard to set up systems that prevent bogus registrations.

Anonymous said...

If we take ACORN at its word and grant their powerlessness to keep their employees from turning in bogus registrations, we can only conclude that the Motor Voter provision for allowing private organizations to collect registrations needs serious overhaul. At a minimum, paid employees should not be allowed to do the work. McCain should propose this reform immediately, and challenge Obama to either support it or come up with an alternative.

Since I see no reason to take ACORN at its word, I'd prefer that private organizations be kept out of the picture altogether.

mccullough said...

Does ACORN focus any voter registration efforts in non-swing states?

If, like Obama, I paid them close to $1 million I would expect that they would concentrate their efforts where it helps me most.

Then, again, the local media in the swing states are all over ACORN and Obama's support of them, so it could backfire on them.

That's the nice thing about the secret ballot. We can all vote against Obama and still have his bumper stickers on our cars.

blake said...

Synova: So the argument that what they're doing doesn't make sense... well, none of it makes sense, so who can say *why* they are doing it?

Alinsky: RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)

bleeper said...

If employees at the DoJ investigate The MESSiah's ACORN link, and Jesus.2 is elected, they would all be promptly fired. They know that, so they won't do a thing. Washington - from Soggy Bottom to squishy morals - they have it all.

Bruce Hayden said...

"Citibank was denying black people mortgages while granting mortgages to white people with similar work histories, incomes, and credit histories. Though the case did not go to trial, Citibank reportedly paid $30 million to settle the case."

Apparently, the theory here is that no company would ever, ever, settle a meritless case.

Of course, the reality is just the opposite, and race baiters like Jesse Jackson have made millions doing just what Obama did here against Citibank. And, one of the results of this sort of redlining case was just the sort of subprime lending that led to the recent bailout.

former law student said...

I have respect for you and your opinions even though I don't usually agree with them but please, this group cannot be defended.

Thanks.

ACORN may be evil incarnate. But an obviously slanted, unsourced, article will not persuade me.

Registering voters is a good thing. In my area, well-scrubbed young people will set up shop in malls under the blatant banner "Republicans register here." (An ironing board is their counter of choice.)

As far as motor voter goes: Nowadays the motor vehicle folks record one's thumbprint. I would have no problem with leaving a thumbprint at the polls. I don't have to spend any money, take any time out of my day, or figure out how I'm going to get downtown to obtain a thumbprint. Best of all, my thumbprint never expires.

Anonymous said...

The burglar who bypasses an alarm is resourceful but I would not elect him sheriff.

The Deacon said...

The last two election we had a president put into power by a swing state whose chief elections official was also the head of the Bush/Cheney election campaign. (Florida and Ohio, chumps) Didn't they mention that on Fox or Drudge? Also, if you hate Acorn so much, maybe you should be hating on everybody who tries to convince elected officials to change their minds, like lobbyists. But it's private money, you say? How much is our defense budget? How much corp welfare is there again? Please. Try to wait until your party is out of power for a month before you start the whining.

blake said...

If anyone doubts #4 is in play:

Howard says student registration drives are an issue. Groups conducting these drives "have at best simply misinformed on-campus individuals and at worst lied to them" about registration rules, he wrote in his response to the ACLU. They are also holding applications longer than they're supposed to and flooding Howard's office with them.

Why hold on to them? Why register fakes that are going to be caught? To break the system.

This is why they want to get rid of the electoral college. Fraud gets soooo much easier.

Synova said...

A thumb print is good.

My mom likes the idea of purple ink for finger dipping. :-)

A thumb print is good, though, because technology is almost good enough to scan them all and check for duplicates.

The state having a record of your print might be an issue though. They've got mine, but no doubt someone will argue that printing voters is too much like printing criminals and will suppress the minority vote.

Synova said...

Why hold on to them? Why register fakes that are going to be caught? To break the system.

And when the voter lists are purged... cry racism and voter suppression.

Unknown said...

As far as motor voter goes: Nowadays the motor vehicle folks record one's thumbprint. I would have no problem with leaving a thumbprint at the polls. I don't have to spend any money, take any time out of my day, or figure out how I'm going to get downtown to obtain a thumbprint. Best of all, my thumbprint never expires.

Then you and I have no disagreement.

Unknown said...

Especially if one uses ink that is hard to wash off for a day... preferably purple :)

Joan said...

Best of all, my thumbprint never expires.

Nice thought, but no. Here in Arizona, you have to have a state-issued fingerprint clearance card before you're allowed to work in a public school. You get the paperwork, go to an approved finger-printing agency, and then send your prints and paperwork off to the FBI for a background check.

Turns out that years of cooking, cleaning, or working with chemicals will erode the prints right off your fingertips. I had to send my prints in twice before the FBI would OK me, and both times I had my prints taken, the tech was sighing over the black smudges my fingertips produced. In my case, all those years I've spent in the kitchen cooking -- I must wash my hands every 2 minutes -- has done a number on my fingerprints.

So a thumbprint may be OK for a young person but over time, it's not a consistently reliable identifier.

I'm Full of Soup said...

I really don't make this stuff up:

"The Galapagos Islands issues its residents mandatory identity cards that feature photos, invisible ultraviolet ink, a computer bar code and a holographic overlay."

They do this TO PROTECT THEIR FING BIG TURTLES! We refuse to do it to protect ourselves and ensure integrity in our elections.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The fraud being perpetrated by ACORN is to break the system. It is part of the Alinsky playbook. By overwhelming the system where most people play by the rules, they can literally steal the election the same way that they stole the primary via caucus from Hillary.

I don't know about the rest of you people, but I am sick and tired of playing by the rules only to be steamrolled over by crooks and thugs that are supporting Obama. To be completely lied to and ignored by the MSM. To be completely let down and ignored by our very own government officials who are probably mostly on the take.

Mark my words. If this election goes forward as it is going right now with Obama and ACORN stealing the votes there are going to be some very very very very angry people and there are going to be some very bad things happening.

Why should we obey the laws? Why should we play nicey nice. It obviously is a sucker's bet to be assuming that there is law, order and decency in the United States.

Hypothetically...... :-) I'd like to see a bloodbath. Al-Qaida can take out Chicago with a suitcase bomb and I would cheer.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Come on DBQ, Obama only wants us to "share the wealth" with those who did not put in the work like we did!

In fact, I heard Obama will force Althouse to create more blogs and he will "persuade" her to give her ad revenue and tip jar money to some body else who did not start a blog [but they would have if they had had a chance].

Obama may be a socialist but that does not make him a bad person.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

no harm done (except for the extra work the county clerk's office will have to do to get Mr. Duck off the rolls.)


That IS the point. To create the harm that grinds our legitimate election process to a halt and to undermine the efforts of those who (previously) played by the rules and obeyed the laws with tons of fraudulent registrations.

Unknown said...

Wow Deacon, I'd never heard that about Ohio and Florida before. If I were a democrat I'd have spent the last eight years harping about it.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

So a thumbprint may be OK for a young person but over time, it's not a consistently reliable identifier.

It doesn't have to be perfect. Photo ID's aren't either. It just has to be reliable enough to strongly discourage vote tampering.

Besides, even with eroded thumbprints you could scour for people who vote multiple times.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't you hate to be hearing cases in the Cuyahoga County courthouse the day the jury pool consists of the 73 copies of Freddie Johnson?

Jake said...

If it ain't close, they can't cheat.

Republicans have only themselves to blame. In a 60/40 country (conservative to liberal), it shouldn't be close.

Unknown said...

UPDATE: Obama speaks:

What a surprise! He's lying! His relationship with ACORN is significantly larger in scope than he's saying.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Mcg:

I know what you mean when someone obviously of age has to go and get their age card.

On the flip side, underage kids never go anywhere without their fake ID.

I bartended in college and afterwards though and can relate to the card everyone policy. It would have kept some of the cranky old pain in the asses out.

PJ said...

Ayers is a just guy in my neighborhood, Wright is just a guy at my church, ACORN is just a group I represented once. Okay then!

Also: DBQ, can I get you a drink or something? Your humor is getting worrisomely dark.

rhhardin said...

but I am sick and tired of playing by the rules

A modern example of hendiadys.

mccullough said...

"This is not the ACORN I knew."

Zachary Sire said...

That the sort of flippancy that separates you from serious bloggers.

And that's the sort of douchebaggery that separates you from serious commenters.

Regarding ACORN...it is fun to see Republicans shaking in their boots, and to watch them lose sight of all rational thought.

(Hint: Someone being registered 100 times does not mean they can actually vote 100 times. Sorry, I know logic is hard to swallow with That One about to lead you into terrorist socialism.)

Methadras said...

If a purple finger was good enough for the Iraqi's to yell thanks at American Soldiers (arabic *Shukrun Amriki*)for bringing them the ability to vote freely and safely, then I don't see why it isn't good enough for us. Unless, of course, your typical ACORN member might scream at the idea for being racist in the effect that it demeans their given pigmentation by having it sullied with the color purple. Prince might sue.

Unknown said...

Hint: Someone being registered 100 times does not mean they can actually vote 100 times.

Oh my goodness! You know, I never realized that! Nor did anyone else on this thread! You got us good!

Unknown said...

I will say this though. If ACORN's efforts have been incorporated into the Dems GOTV models in those states, I hope they're dialing them back now.

Unknown said...

Here's a fellow righty explaining ACORN's objectives with these voter registration efforts. It is not to translate these fraudulent regs into fraudulent votes, of course. Rather, it is to "overwhelm the system" to demonstrate it is "broken" and then demand changes that suit their ends. It is a longer-term effort, one that started before 2008 and, short of a few RICO charges, could continue into the future.

Of course, the more clearly we can demonstrate they broke it deliberately, the better a shot we have of making sure that they don't dictate subsequent changes. Thus this national attention on ACORN right now is a good thing.

On the other hand, here is a description of the "overwhelm the system" approach that occurs on election day.

blake said...

Ah, actually, yeah, I'd probably trade four years of Obama for the end of ACORN.

Be bad for him, though. The guy could get elected honestly. It's the whole CREEP thing again: Why break into the Watergate if you're going to trounce your opponent anyway?

Christy said...

So when a polling place has 1000 voters named Minnie Mouse who didn't show up and vote, how easy would it be for an Alinsky operative to stuff the ballot box?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Also: DBQ, can I get you a drink or something? Your humor is getting worrisomely dark..

Thank you. I'm having a drink right now. :-)

This last few weeks has been very tough. I'm a stockbroker/financial advisor and don't know how much more of this BS I can take. Not only do I get the joy of watching my investments take a hit, I get to hold everyone else's hand, put on a happy face, buck up the clients emontionally and try to keep everyone from wanting to jump off of the cliff (portfolio wise) and deal with a few people who want to blame me for this entire thing. After all day of this I tend to get a bit irritable on the net.

The last straw is to see the process of Anmerican government subverted by a bunch of criminals and NO ONE who has control or the ability to investigate seems to care. I've never been one to give up or give in. It baffles and frustrates me that people cannot see the long term danger that we are in.

I wasn't joking about Chicago.

Anonymous said...

So Obama is taking the "fraudulent registration doesn't matter" line (which implies "registration doesn't matter at all"). Time to find out what other crimes he's willing to turn a blind eye to.

PJ said...

It baffles and frustrates me that people cannot see the long term danger that we are in.

I see it. Tocqueville saw it. Franklin saw it. Hell, Plato saw it. And you're right, nobody who has the authority to do anything about it cares. They all have other priorities. That's why it's so predictable. It's just a question of sooner or later, faster or slower.

But don't take it out on Chicago. There are a lot of good people in Chicago, and it's just an accident that these guys are from there. They would have been from somewhere else if not there.

Let's have another drink.

Unknown said...

Wow. Dust Bunny says this:

"Al-Qaida can take out Chicago with a suitcase bomb and I would cheer."

And no one bats an eye here.

Who knew the anti-American crowd was hanging out at Althouse?

Unknown said...

Daniel, it knocked me on my can too. I had to assume it was satire. I just now saw his 8:25 response, which is extremely unfortunate. I think it's pretty reprehensible, really.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Ok. I'm sorry about the nuke Chicago remark. It was over the top and I was drinking and depressed.

I'll settle for ACORN operatives going to jail and being disbanded as an organization. But since that is hardly likely since no one gives a shit about the integrity of the electorial process and we are all afraid of being called racists, I'm not going to hold my breath.

Unknown said...

I'll settle for ACORN operatives going to jail and being disbanded as an organization.

I'll drink to that!

Unknown said...

at 2.32 pm mcg writes:

Trevor, come on. In the Lake County, In case, every single one of the 2100 ACORN registrations they reviewed were fraudulent. Every single one. And you're only willing to say that it is "arguable" that their methods are flawed?

mcg is lying.

from progressillinios.com:

In the report, Ruthann Hoagland, a Republican member of the Lake Co. Board of Elections, tells Griffin that ACORN submitted 5,000 new registrations in the past two weeks. But during the verification process, employees found that about half were fraudulent, including multiple forms turned in with the same handwriting, one signed "Johns, Jimmy" using the address of a Jimmy John's sandwich shop in Crown Point, and others with the name of registrants that are now dead. Nationwide, registrar's offices have come across similar problems in recent days.

What Griffin fails to note, however, is that ACORN made very clear that some registrations they gathered from canvassers in Lake County may have been faulty. An ACORN spokesmen explained this in an October 7 press release:

ACORN flags and turns in three kinds of cards, those that it can verify, those that are incomplete, and those that it flags as problematic. It turns those in labeled in a special way and are very conservative in terms of what it flags as problematic. It has stacks of problematic cover sheets. [...]

The Lake County Board knew about the questionable registrations today because ACORN flagged them for the board. For example, the Jimmy John’s card is one that a caller had flagged and labeled as problematic. ACORN can get that caller to talk to the press.

According to Regina Harris, the Director of Registrations for Lake County, this claim checks out. "It's certainly true. They did have three batches separated." she told me this morning. "There was a pile they knew were good, there was some they said had missing info -- like no voter ID number or a missing birthday -- and another batch they called 'suspicious.' "

Why would ACORN submit registration forms it had deemed "suspicious"? Because under most state laws, voter registration organizations are required to turn in all the forms they receive. In a phone conversation today, ACORN press coordinator Charles Jackson confirmed that this is the case in Indiana.

Unknown said...

in a posting at 12:45 pm knox responds to my post at 12:34 with the ff comment:

I would take down that quote if I were you. It basically proves that your only defense is:

"well, it hardly EVER happens, so how DARE you complain when it does!!"

End quote.

If the margin of victory in a state is a couple hundred thousand votes then investigating 10 alleged fraudulent votes may be meaningful to a lawyer but abolutely meaningless to the validity of the result.

On the other hand where the margin of victory is a few hundred votes then Americans should be paying a lot more attention to systematic efforts to deprive legal voters of their right to vote (Florida 2000).

Unknown said...

Another Drew Griffin story, this time from Philadelphia.

About that claim ACORN is flagging fraudulent registrations:

CHETRY: Yeah, and in its defense, ACORN has said it is actually identifying these problematic registrations in advance and trying to notify authorities. In Philadelphia, ACORN said it flagged, I guess, 5,000 applications before the officials found them. Is that true?

GRIFFIN: Not according to the city officials, not true. They say that ACORN came in with a bundle of 1,100 that they thought were suspect. Actually, it turned out a couple of hundred of them were actually good voter registration cards that they processed and sent voter cards out to. So, there are a lot of disparities between the number that ACORN is getting and what city officials checking the actual records are getting, and that number, Kiran, is only going to grow as they continue to process more of these for this election.

Jen Bradford said...

I saw several ACORN reps being interviewed or giving statements yesterday. Not one was prepared to take the issue seriously, and all had their talking points ready to yammer about it being a ploy to "disenfranchise" voters. The arrogance was staggering. They wouldn't even to pay lip service to the idea that the irresponsibility of their workers was serious and had to be addressed.

knowitall said...

Voter fraud should be handled this election. If you let the left-wing illuminati politicians handle the situation, it will be left alone. We want to get ACORN together, and put them where they need to be.

Pastafarian said...

doyle -- I'm in Ohio, where, for the first time, we can now register and then vote IMMEDIATELY afterward, before the registration can be validated.

Explain to me the difference between "vote fraud and voter registration fraud".

My vote was canceled out 1000 times over by people who were paid to vote 60 or 70 times; paid by ACORN, using money given to them by Obama. And our Democratic Secretary of State attempted to refuse to turn suspect registrations over to local elections officials.

If Obama wins this state by a few thousand votes, there will be hell to pay. I know, I should just put my head down and shuffle back to work, to earn money, so that Obama can take it and funnel it back to ACORN, and pay some of it directly to some of those people that voted 70 times, in the form of "refundable tax cuts" (that is, tax cuts for people that pay no taxes; that is, redistribution of wealth).

The Weathermen wanted a revolution, and they might just get it. It won't be the one they wanted, and it will be waged by people a little more competent with their weaponry than the Weathermen were.

Unknown said...

Here's some good ol' Ohio voter fraud for ya.

Unknown said...

Oh, and even though the link takes you to Michelle Malkin, the actual reporting is done by a couple of cute college chicas at Palestra.net. Maybe that's a bit of additional incentive for some of you to watch the embedded video.