Posted on 09/11/2009 9:26:24 AM PDT by conimbricenses
Obama and ACORN:
Barack Obama has publicly denied ever working for ACORN in his career as a “community organizer.” In 1992 Obama got one of his first “community organizing” jobs with an outfit called “Project Vote” as its state organizer for Illinois:
“Sneed hears a massive voter registration drive on the South and West sides is being conducted by Gary Gardner, president of Soft Sheen products, Joe Gardner, former strategist for Mayor Harold Washington, and Barack Obama, a state director of Project Vote, a national voter registration group.” – Chicago Sun Times, August 2, 1992
So what was “Project Vote” all about? Let’s allow Barack Obama himself to explain it:
If Project Vote is to reach its goal of registering 150,000 out of an estimated 400,000 unregistered blacks statewide, "it must average 10,000 rather than 7,000 every week," says Barack Obama, the program's executive director…. "Our biggest problem is the young, the 18 to 35 group," said Obama, 31, the first African American to serve as president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. "There's a lot of talk about 'black power' among the young but so little action." During the 1982 preparation for the 1983 victories of the late Mayor Harold Washington, a similar drive waved the slogan "Come Alive by October 5." The current drive's new banner is "It's a Power Thing," which is loaded with logic. "Today, we see hundreds of young blacks talking 'black power' and wearing Malcolm X T-shirts," Obama explained, "but they don't bother to register and vote. We remind them that Malcolm once made a speech titled 'The Ballot or the Bullet,' and that today we've got enough bullets in the streets but not enough ballots." The best news from Obama is that Project Vote, which has the financial backing of Soft Sheen hair-care magnate Edward Gardner, may become a permanent, year-round program based on: Ongoing community "accountability sessions" that include surveillance of black as well as other elected officials. Continuous voter education on crucial issues facing the City Council, the state legislature and the U.S. Congress - broken down in laymen's language understandable at the grass-roots level. "All our people must know that politics and voting affects their lives directly," Obama said. "If we're registering people in public housing, for an example, we talk about aid cuts and who's responsible.” – Chicago Sun-Times, August 11, 1992
You read that right. “Project Vote,” run in Illinois by state coordinator Barack H. Obama, was a radical black power organization. Project Vote was something else too though. It was an ACORN-affiliated voter registration group that was active in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Here’s a description of it from a news article during the 1992 campaign when Obama was working for them:
“Sandy Newman, exec. dir of Project VOTE!, a national non-partisan, non-profit voter participation organization which targets African-American communities, announced that registration efforts have added "over a half million" new voters to the rolls -- "most of them in swing presidential states with close Senate races," including IL, PA, MI, OH, NY, CA, MD and CT. Project VOTE! has increased African-American registrations by 24% in PA, 11% in IL and 13% in MI…In NYC, Project VOTE! with ACORN and the NY Public Interest Research Group, added more than 90,000 voters” – The Hotline, October 8, 1992.
Project Vote’s connections to ACORN are deep and they go back at least to the early 80’s. During the 1984 election Project Vote and ACORN formed a coalition with a bunch of other far left groups to register voters. Not surprisingly, the Project Vote from back then is not all that different from today. Their favorite recruitment strategy is a familiar one – go down to the welfare line and “recruit” people.
“Project Vote, which registered voters in cheese and food stamp lines, unemployment and welfare offices and other social agencies, said it had signed up 500,000 and expects that number to reach 650,000 before Election Day…In Tennessee, Steve Miller, state director of Project Vote, said, "The next 48 hours could very well determine what might happen in the election." A consumer activist group called ACORN announced plans in Little Rock to register 2,000 low income voters by Oct. 16. "We'll work weekends, we'll work grocery stores and in parking lots to sign up these voters," said Elena Hangii, national president of the organization.” – Mike Feinsilber, “New Voters Signed Up in a One-Day Blitz” Associated Press, October 5, 1984
That’s not all though. ACORN and Project Vote had a long-standing partnership to assist left wing Democrat political campaigns. They appeared together several times in the 80’s and early 90’s:
“Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now also has called off its campaign for the city administrator proposal because of the city Board's commitment to implement the Act 840 plan. ACORN spokesmen said last week that Rev. Helen Fleming of the nonprofit Project Vote organizations at Washington, who came to Little Rock recently to help ACORN with the city administrator campaign, will no longer campaign on the change of government issue but will work with ACORN on other matters.” – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 2, 1987
And again…
“From Chicago to Arkansas, from Missouri to Pennsylvania, organizations representing blacks, Hispanics and the poor are complaining that state and local political leaders of both parties are trying to keep registration down--and them out. Project Vote--which specializes in registering poor people on unemployment lines, in welfare offices and in food distribution centers--has filed suit in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Missouri to gain access to those public facilities. All four states had Republican governors at the time… "I think we are creating the impression that this is something that could be very big, and there is talk about a movement comparable to 1964-65 around registration," said Hulbert James, president of the Human Serve Fund, a drive similar to Project Vote seeking to register the poor at government facilities. A week and a half ago, these two groups, along with such organizations as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the National Organization for Women (NOW), the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Americans for Democratic Action, declared "a national voting rights emergency" as part of an effort to boost the general registration drive.” – Thomas B. Edsall, “Flip Side of Voter Drives,” Washington Post, June 24, 1984
And another…
“The Alliance for Justice, a coalition of church, community, labor, women's and black organiziations, will hold "Registration Sundays" in 750 churches in 26 cities aimed at registering poor people to vote. The group includes the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the National Congress of Black Churches, Church Women United and Project Vote.” – “Meanwhile,” Washington Post, February 9, 1984
And another…
“As an example of a new round of action by these groups, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as Acorn, has organized tent cities across the country, including New York and Newark, and called them ''Reagan ranches.'' Project Vote, a new organization, sent people across the country to register people in unemployment, welfare and food stamp lines. It says it added 82,000 names to the voting rolls.” – John Herbers, “Activists Taking New Political Roles” New York Times, October 31, 1982
But here’s the real kicker. Project Vote/ACORN was every bit as corrupt back then as it is today. Here’s a little gem about their voter fraud activities in Cleveland during the 1992 campaign season at the same time Barack Obama was running their office in Chicago:
“Thaddeus J. Jackson, who resigned last month as chairman of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, pleaded guilty yesterday to improperly using his influence to secure payment of $2,400 from a voter registration group…Jackson has acknowledged taking $2,400 over the summer from Project Vote, a group that promotes voter registration among minorites. He claimed he acted as a consultant for the group, which the fact-finder, retired federal Judge Richard M. Markus, labeled a probable breach of ethics. Jackson also ordered board employees to photocopy the registration cards of 32,000 new voters. Jackson said the work, which was not authorized by the board, was to help in a private study on minority registration trends. Jackson has denied that he sold the copies to Project Vote.” – Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 19, 1992Obama and ACORN go way back. That’s what he really meant by “community organizing” and that’s why he’s in bed with them today.
I gave you the last word and you just cannot stop posting personal attacks to me. I have to keep coming back to defend myself. I had the courtesy to let it all drop with your "Last Word" post to me and even let you go on with no apology or correction of your attack on me in #63.
And just think, this all started with my little three word true observation. And I get unprovoked attacks by two of you! Of course in LaLa land, I am not allowed to respond to your attacks since that would be 'strange' behavior.
A factually valid observation about your behavior is not an “attack.” But keep it up. You are only validating the truth of my original statement.
And your behavior was “strange” long before I responded to it. It takes an odd individual to spend a day hovering around a thread that you contributed absolutely nothing relevant to other than to incessantly proclaim your own foreknowledge of its subject matter. And yet here we have you...
See. I didn't incessantly proclaim. I was responding to a direct question. Geez. Only in LaLa land is reponding to a direct question seemed strange.
All this started with my factually valid observation.
Talk about strange. You just won't let this go. Even after I apologized and gave you the "Last Word". I am not hovering around the thread (another of your false attacks), I am responding to your posts to me. They keep coming up in my ping page. Duh.
The strange thing is that you’ve contributed absolutely nothing productive to this thread (and prove me otherwise if you have), despite hovering here since only 2 posts after its inception and posting pithy and personal comments about anyone who so much as directs a passing glance at your presence. And for that I find you deserving not of attention, but mockery. Hence the last word.
My 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts were in response to a direct challenge and question. My 2nd answered and the other two posted links exposing Obama's ties.
And you continue the lie that I am hovering over the thread. Every post I have been made except for the first has been in response to a post to me which (like your latest 50 or so) shows up in my ping page.
Precisely. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th posts...often to "answer" a single comment. And none of them contributed in any meaningful way to the topic of this thread. Hence your hovering.
Come to think of it, hovering is yet another characteristic of trollish behavior. As is contributing nothing to the actual topic of discussion, despite making dozens of comments in its discussion forum.
bttt
You are very strange. I add links in response to another's question (and unprovoked attack) supporting your post (all of two) and that is hovering?
Thanks. I’m looking into a lead right now for possible video evidence of Obama attending ACORN stuff in the 90’s. Sadly this stuff is only common knowledge in the ACORN circles where he grew up, the counterproductive boasts of others here notwithstanding.
Exactly!! We all need to post some of the excellent work done during the elections that is now still relevant. Bump it, keep working on it.
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