Posted by
Tomás Aquinas on Friday, October 10, 2008 10:42:52 PM
In the Washington Times today:
Obama camp downplays ACORN payments
"Democratic
presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama's campaign distanced itself
Thursday from its $800,000 payment linked to the liberal ACORN
organization, which is under investigation in several states where it
is suspected of filing fraudulent voter registrations."
The Obama campaign says the payments stopped back in May and are irrelevant to the current campaign.
Not
so. ACORN is currently the subject of at least 11 voter registration
fraud investigations. They were part of what has been called 'the
largest voter fraud scandal in Washington history', in reference to
their activities in that state. Their activities have led to them being
called 'the voter registration fraud specialists'.
Obama has a
long history with ACORN. And ACORN has a long history of being behind
the push to get more and more subprime mortgages, to get more
unqualified buyers those loans. This is no secret. It's a matter of
public record.
Citizen
Services is inextricably tied to ACORN. Along with nonprofit sister
organization Project Vote, Citizens Services and ACORN share the same
New Orleans address and the same executive staff while money flows
freely between the three entities. In 1996, Project Vote's tax returns
show it paid ACORN more than $4.6 million for campaign services and
Citizens Services more than $779,000 for legal and administrative
services.
The ACORN political action committee endorsed Mr. Obama for president.
Why
is the connection important? Why is the argument that the payments
ended in May irrelevant at best and obfuscatory at best? Because:
Voter
registration is key to Mr. Obama's election strategy. First-time
voters, especially students and minorities, helped fuel Mr. Obama's
primary wins, and his campaign is looking for the same results to
capture swing states such as Ohio on Nov. 4.
Then we have:
Sam
Graham-Felson, Obama's official website blogger, noted when Obama met
with ACORN leaders in November, he reminded them of his history with
ACORN and his beginnings in Illinois as a Project Vote organizer, a
nonprofit focused on voter rights and education. Project Vote was
connected to ACORN.
"I've been
fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career.
Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter
registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of
it, and we appreciate your work," Obama told ACORN members in November.
That's
why. Obama has been up to his ears in this corrupt organization for
years, and he sued on behalf of ACORN in the so-called 'motor voter'
case, wherein ACORN was doing the same kinds of things it is doing now.
People could register to vote in driver's license offices, which
Republicans argued could lead to voter fraud.
It did. And Obama knew it, and used that organization anyway.
That's why it is all relevant now.