Posted on 03/19/2009 9:20:45 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
As a key Judiciary subcommittee looks to the 2008 elections to assess the state of voting rights, Republicans will once again try to shine a light on ACORN, the controversial community organization that has drawn criticism and accusations in recent years.
Republicans have accused the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now of being little more than a Democratic front-group, and in testimony Thursday a top GOP lawyer will again charge the group with violating campaign finance and Internal Revenue Service law.
In testimony to the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Republican National Lawyers Association Vice President Heather Heidelbaugh will assert ACORN's Project Vote violated the Internal Revenue Code by participating in voter registration and turnout operations for President Obama's campaign.
Heidelbaugh will also tell members of Congress ACORN violated federal election law by expending more than the $5,000 allowed by a political organization on behalf of Obama's campaign. She will also bring up several instances of false voter registrations.
The new focus on ACORN comes after testimony from what Republicans call a whistleblower, a former employee who accused the organization of a number of violations.
ACORN featured prominently in Republican rhetoric late in the 2008 campaign, when the GOP pointed to well-publicized matters of illegitimate voter registration, such as an incident in which the entire Dallas Cowboys football team was registered to vote in Nevada.
Scott Levenson, an ACORN spokesman, told The Hill the charges are nothing new and are simply a rehash of issues raised in the 2008 election.
"It's clear, months after the election, that a lot of the fears that were put out there have not held true," Levenson said. "People who want to have their last dying breath on these accusations are going to keep bringing them up."
Republicans have renewed their outrage over ACORN after the group signed on as one of hundreds of groups ready to help when the U.S. census kicks off in about a year. ACORN is just one of about 250 national partners who will help publicize and recruit employees for the census.
In an era when spending federal money illegitimately has generated widespread outrage, the Republican National Lawyers Association will attempt to link ACORN's use of federal dollars with bonuses given to executives at the American International Group, an issue that has captured Capitol Hill's attention all week.
Members of Congress "are all outraged about the abuse of taxpayer funds in bonuses to AIG executives and employees. Well, how about the millions of dollars that go to ACORN that are misspent and unaccounted for?" asked Cleta Mitchell, co-chairwoman of the NRLA.
Levenson said his group is accepting no compensation for their association with the census, which he said includes using and distributing Census Bureau-supplied educational material, putting information on ACORN's website and sponsoring community events to raise awareness.
"We're committed to a full and complete count," he said.
"I just think it's important that we hold these people accountable," Mitchell said. "We intend to keep this on the front burner."
Heidelbaugh is one of two Republican witnesses slated to testify Thursday morning, along with six witnesses representing organizations that work for voter rights. The NAACP, the Asian American Legal Defense Fund, the Native American Rights Fund and Common Cause will all send representatives to the hearing.
Meanwhile, ACORN is spending its time on the foreclosure crisis, a project Levenson said has shown high success rates.
"We're spending a lot of energy trying to keep people in their homes," he said, adding ACORN claims a 100 percent success rate in New York City. "We'd much rather be talking about the work we're doing on that front."
About effing time. Acorn needs to be neutered. If it takes a bunch lawsuits, so be it. (Soros’ money can be spent fighting them and that’s one dollar less of his that goes towards taking over the country)
Did the GOP just wake up?
Forget any fines, they’ll just pay them with OUR TAX dollars - I want them to get JAIL TIME! (I know I’m dreaming)
yes. We need badly to ‘neuter’ (excellent and perfect ord choice by the way :-), them before the effectively become the new SS and also to preserve our Democracy.
ord=word lol.
No. They’re just trying to make sure that ACORN doesn’t keep them from getting reelected; however, they won’t be going back to conservatism anytime soon.
What crisis will Obama manufacture to cover his tracks?
The US doesn’t have a democracy, it has a Republic. Republic is a nation ruled by laws, Democracy is a nation ruled by the mob. I suspect you ment to say protect the Republic, but this is a point I’m getting sick of seeing, Democracy is bad, Republic’s are good.
While the pubs are at it they need to bring up how and why the ACLU gets tax dollars.
It’s looking more like a democracy headed by an oligarchy these days.
Exactly - the time to go after these communist b*st*rds was in 2000. Better late than never, I suppose. But ACORN brought at least 3 states to Obama that he would not otherwise have won - Ohio, North Carolina, and Indiana.
Say something erroneous enough times and it is accepted as fact.
As a former Census worker, I can say that Census results can effortlessly be skewed.
ACORN should be barred from the US Census.
They should have demanded that no money, nothing be given to this racist , criminal band of thugs.
Pretty much an Oligarchy now, has been for a long time.
Sorry for the double comment, it should be a Republic but its been an Oligarchy for some time, is what I ment to put in my previous comment.
No problem on the double.
The schools have been emphasizing that we are a “democracy” for a long time, even though it is “republic” that we recite in the Pledge.
Yup, there has been a concentration of power in a relative few for quite a while. When these intellectually dishonest people create policy that is contrary to what the majority of their constituents say, it is a problem.
Going against public sentiment by passing the original bailout bill, and failing to crack down on the border and illegal imms comes to mind.
Ahem, Mr. Levenson, but what was the billions you just received from the so caled Stimulus Bill? Talk about chutzpah.
And now, I gather, ACORN is being recruited to handle census field work.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/17/lawmakers-concerned-role-acorn-census/
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