ACORN....alas

Seems as though we on the left will have to deal with yet another well-excecuted hatchet job on a well-intentioned if imperfect non-profit advocate of the poor and middle class. As ACORN slips into the background having been supposedly exposed as a stealth advocate of child prostitution, a couple of things come to mind.

The hatchet job was accomplished by a fellow, James O'Keefe, who has a history of souped up attacks on Liberal institutions, his last target was Planned Parenthood. The idea of child prostitution, dressing outlandishly as a pimp, and bringing along a pretend prostitute was Mr. O'Keefe's idea and was so abhorrent to the folks in the Philly office that they called the police and filed a report. Gives new meaning to how "low can you go" and is yet another example of no holds barred political bomb throwing... an equally detestable manifestation of the human spirit. GOPERS next time you complain about "entrapment" remember that you aren't against it, you just against it when it's someone on YOUR side.

Mr. O'Keefe and companion had spent months poking around ACORN offices trying to get the answers they were looking for and finally found, alas, a couple of willing dupes. We're finding now that in at least one of the incidents, the ACORN staffer thought the two con artists were so silly looking and were asking questions so off the wall that she played right along with them, giving answers just as outlandish and silly... not a great use of good judgement.

ACORN has fired or suspended all the suspected staffers and has required all employees to attend in-service training emphasizing their primary mission as well as the tell-tale signs involved with getting snookered.

Mr. O'Keefe's comments after the fact included a response to the question, "Are you really a pimp?" His response, "No, I'm the whitest guy around here!" Racist or not?

It is reprehensible and horrible that any ACORN employee would ever advocate the dark deeds initiated by the actors engaged in this political stunt and there is and will be Hell to pay for ACORN. Meanwhile:

The vast majority of ACORN employees roll up their sleeves day-in and day-out, working long hours on behalf of the low- and moderate- income people in this country. They do good work -- most of it work that the government can't, or simply won't, do.



And that's why we need you to contact your members of Congress and ask that they stand with ACORN now. Join with us.


• ACORN has helped nearly 50,000 homeowners access foreclosure prevention services since the start of our nation's foreclosure crisis;

• ACORN played an integral role in the passage of 6 statewide minimum wage increases in Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Arizona, and California and the City of San Francisco -- increases that set the stage for the national increase in 2007; all told over $2 billion put directly in the pocket of low-wage workers.

• ACORN fought hard against predatory lending for a decade, winning legislation in Massachusetts, New Mexico, California, New York and New Jersey, and changes in the behavior of some corporations that led to over $6 billion of equity staying in the hands of working families.

You and I know this isn't work that Big Business, Big Media, or Big Politics are particularly fond of. But that's not why ACORN exists. ACORN exists to make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans -- often poor, often black or brown, often immigrants -- and to make sure that all of us have a seat at the table and a voice in the voting booth.

And you can bet that's what this is REALLY about.

Bertha Lewis
ACORN CEO and Chief Organizer

Amen!

Crossposted at CobaltVA