Republicans 2009: Still Smokin' (dem ACORNs)

[Fifthfiend]

Report Uncovers No Voting Fraud by Acorn

By JOHN SCHWARTZ
Published: December 23, 2009

A new report on the community group Acorn by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has found no evidence of fraudulent voting or of violations of federal financing rules by the group in the past five years.

Representative John Conyers Jr., Democrat of Michigan and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, requested the report along with Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts. Mr. Conyers released the report on Tuesday.

Acorn, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has drawn fire from conservative activists who have accused it of conducting fraudulent voter registration drives in poor neighborhoods, adding imaginary voters like Mickey Mouse to the rolls. The report by the research service, an arm of the Library of Congress, said, however, that a search using the Nexis news database “did not identify any reported instances of such individuals attempting to vote at the polls.”

Hans A. von Spakovsky, a former Federal Election Commission member under President George W. Bush, said the new report could not resolve the voting fraud issue, since “no one is ever going to know it unless somebody takes the voter registration list and checks each person who is registered to make sure they are a real person.”

The report also stated that two conservative activists might have broken privacy laws in California and Maryland by posing as a prostitute and pimp while secretly videotaping Acorn staff members who gave them advice on evading taxes and hiding their activities. The two states “appear to ban” the recording of face-to-face conversations without the consent of all participants, the report said.

Another part of the new report suggested that efforts by Congress to cut Acorn’s financing could be unconstitutional bills of attainder, a term referring to punishments ordered by Congress against specific individuals or entities.

On Tuesday, Judge Nina Gershon of Federal District Court in Brooklyn issued a one-page order supporting Acorn’s challenge to the legislation on bill-of-attainder grounds. This month, Judge Gershon ruled that cutting the group’s financing was an illegal bill of attainder. In Tuesday’s order, she denied a motion by the Justice Department to reconsider her previous ruling.

Acorn hailed the report in a statement, but Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa and one of the most vocal critics of Acorn in the House, said he found the report unconvincing.

“This report doesn’t begin to cover the transgressions of Acorn,” Mr. King said. “I think Acorn is bigger than Watergate.”

From that bit at the end there I think we can see that ACORN has irrevocably taken its place in the ranks of global warming and Barack Obama's birth certificate in the realm of "things Republicans will believe ridiculous shit about for the rest of eternity regardless of, or possibly even because of, how utterly fucking wrong they're repeatedly shown to be."

[bluestarultor]

Why, oh, why aren't the Dems just steamrolling over the GOP? I mean, I know one Dem just switched parties, but for crying out loud, at least America still has to admit they're the lesser of two evils. And frankly, I think they're less evil and more just dumb and not accustomed to a position of power quite yet. The last line is pretty much just saying, "I choose to keep my head up my ass regardless of evidence."

There used to be a time when Republican didn't mean "stubbornly ignorant." :shifty:

[DFM]

Back when Republicans were Democrats.

[Wigmund]

Why is it only now that people are harping on ACORN, they've been helping the poor since the '70s (starting in Arkansas of all places) basically the same way they are nowadays.

And I'm sure they occasionally had stupid nitwits working for them that would cause trouble, but the level of freak-out from the right-wing hacks recently would be funny if they weren't so serious about it and didn't have any power at all.

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

Why, oh, why aren't the Dems just steamrolling over the GOP?

Because the Democrats are more of a coalition party of everything to the left of the average Republican. So you have might-as-well-be-Republicans to why-the-hell-aren't-they-Greens, as well as some 'moderates' and others thrown in just to make sure the party doesn't work as a whole.

Unlike the Republicans who are currently stripping themselves down to the most bat-shit insane conservatives available. It's easier to work together when no one thinks for themselves and believes whatever someone with a microphone and the ability to shout and scream and cry claims to be true.

[Eltargrim]

Originally Posted by Wigmund

Because the Democrats are more of a coalition party of everything to the left of the average Republican. So you have might-as-well-be-Republicans to why-the-hell-aren't-they-Greens, as well as some 'moderates' and others thrown in just to make sure the party doesn't work as a whole.

And this is why multiple-party systems are nice. Ever since everything on the right consolidated here in Canada, they've been holding a minority government; if you split them apart, however, the centre-left party would probably end up in power. Which would be nice

[CABAL49]

Originally Posted by Wigmund

Because the Democrats are more of a coalition party of everything to the left of the average Republican. So you have might-as-well-be-Republicans to why-the-hell-aren't-they-Greens, as well as some 'moderates' and others thrown in just to make sure the party doesn't work as a whole.

Unlike the Republicans who are currently stripping themselves down to the most bat-shit insane conservatives available. It's easier to work together when no one thinks for themselves and believes whatever someone with a microphone and the ability to shout and scream and cry claims to be true.

Yeah, Republicans have Purity Protocols, which means if you are not batshit crazy, you get kicked out. Democrats take the batshit crazies and the not so batshit with open arms.

[Bells]

Originally Posted by Eltargrim

And this is why multiple-party systems are nice. Ever since everything on the right consolidated here in Canada, they've been holding a minority government; if you split them apart, however, the centre-left party would probably end up in power. Which would be nice

don't wish too much for that... we have one of those over here, and sometimes i greatly envy the US Political system

[Geminex]

Though how would they test that? Do they show applicants a picture of Barack Obama, and if they don't try to shoot it, they're out? Do they play a game of word association with them, give them a bunch of political terms, and everyone who responds "communism" at least 40% of the time gets accepted?

[Fenris]

Oh god damnit Steve King who let you out of your box.

[Aerozord]

Anyone else notice what they are upset with mostly amounts to "We have to stop them before they help the poor better themselves" If you are actually good to the lower class why would you worry about inflated ballots from them.