ACORN defends efforts

[WhiskeyGirl]

ACORN defends efforts amid voter-fraud allegations

By ANN SANNER – 16 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — An activist organization on Tuesday defended its voter registration practices amid new allegations of voter fraud and a call from Republican lawmakers to investigate irregularities.

In Ohio, Democrat Barack Obama told reporters that the group's registration problems should not be used by the GOP as an excuse to keep voters from turning out on Election Day.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN, has registered 1.3 million young people, minorities and poor and working-class voters, the group says.

Some of those registration cards have become the focus of fraud investigations in Nevada, Connecticut, Missouri and at least five other states. Election officials in Ohio and North Carolina also recently questioned the group's voter forms.

More than 13,000 workers in 21 states recruited less-fortunate voters, who tend to be Democrats.

"The vast, vast majority were dedicated workers," ACORN spokesman Kevin Whelan said at a news conference on Tuesday. "They did something remarkable in bringing all these new voters."

On Monday, election officials in Ohio's most populous county asked a prosecutor to investigate multiple registrations by four people who signed up through ACORN. One voter said he signed 73 voter registration forms over a five-month period.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is reviewing suspect voter forms from at least two counties.

Obama told reporters on Tuesday that ACORN was not advising his campaign on voter registration.

Last week, McCain called for a federal investigation of the organization during a campaign rally. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, has said Obama's connection to the activist group should be investigated.

"This is another one of those distractions that get stirred up during the campaign," Obama said.

Associated Press writer Christopher Wills in Oregon, Ohio, and Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington contributed to this report.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hNf_-bBZls_mvLIRCFJtlkMM3mhAD93QGNIG0

imho - the bailout/rescue was a distraction too...

[caesu]

McCain only strategy left is distraction:

“It’s a dangerous road, but we have no choice,” a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. “If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we’re going to lose.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/10/05/2008-10-05_insults_fly_as_barack_obama__john_mccain.html

“We are looking for a very aggressive last 30 days,” said Greg Strimple, one of McCain’s top advisers. “We are looking forward to turning a page on this financial crisis and getting back to discussing Mr. Obama’s aggressively liberal record and how he will be too risky for Americans.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100303738_pf.html

that's why he is going with the smear ads, and he is letting his pitbull loose.

the targets of these ads likely don't follow the campaign that close - so they won't realize that they are being fooled with this strategy.

and most cynical of all, these blue collar voters in the swing states are likely hardest hit by the economic crisis.
but McCain offers them nothing, just showers them with negative ads.

[Slogger]

It is NOT a DISTRACTION to know more about your candidate.

How the candidate views the issue; who are the associates; what decisions were made; what judgements were rendered; what qualifications; what leanings.  These will indicate to you which branch the candidate takes when at the fork in the road.

Once elected, you can't retract your vote.

What you don't know, can be disastrous.

 

[WhiskeyGirl]

I think focus on a name, is a distraction.  Some are named after family, some are given cute names, and some are named with a message.  What would anyone think of someone named "Moon Unit Zappa" if that was the name on an application?  Maybe a reason to know more about that person?

Obama, like McCain is a salesman.  I was told a long time ago, and needed an explanation -

All salesmen have brown eyes. 
It doesn't matter what they're selling,
it's all about who is better at closing the sale.

When I look at both, I do not see the reincarnation of MLK, JFK, Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Edison, Einstein, or any other well known person.

I see one who has a record of serving his country, and putting his life on the line for people he never met.

I see another who has no such record. 

There are many ways to make the world a better place, without destroying it.  Sometimes, we may be misguided, or the mission may not be clear.

I believe wisdom may come with age and experience.  One must first go out into the world for experience.

imho

[caesu]

It is NOT a DISTRACTION to know more about your candidate.

How the candidate views the issue; who are the associates; what decisions were made; what judgements were rendered; what qualifications; what leanings.  These will indicate to you which branch the candidate takes when at the fork in the road.

Once elected, you can't retract your vote.

What you don't know, can be disastrous.

 

then why are McCain's and especially Palin's associations ignored??

clue: she is palling around with a seccesionist.

[crazybabyborg]

It is NOT a DISTRACTION to know more about your candidate.

How the candidate views the issue; who are the associates; what decisions were made; what judgements were rendered; what qualifications; what leanings.  These will indicate to you which branch the candidate takes when at the fork in the road.

Once elected, you can't retract your vote.

What you don't know, can be disastrous.

 

then why are McCain's and especially Palin's associations ignored??

clue: she is palling around with a seccesionist.

No associations should be ignored. They are all fair game, IMO! I do think that McCain's Keating 5 episode probably hasn't gotten the ear of most Americans because there has already been a full blown investigation, and he's withstood every question and there were official conclusions. Beyond that, have at it with Palin. She's new to the scene just as Obama is. Go for it. Throw it out and see what resonates with the American people. They'll make it very clear what they care about, if the media covers all associations and investigates them rather than choosing who to slam based on who they have chosen to be the next President.

[caesu]

in my opinion more of Obama's associations than of McCain/Palin are being covered by the media and in the campaigns.

imagine if Michelle Obama was member of a seccesionist movement, with a anti-american radical founder.
or if Obama had addressed that seccesinist movement convention.
you and i know the media and the McCain campaign would have been all over that.

[Slogger]

It is NOT a DISTRACTION to know more about your candidate.

How the candidate views the issue; who are the associates; what decisions were made; what judgements were rendered; what qualifications; what leanings.  These will indicate to you which branch the candidate takes when at the fork in the road.

Once elected, you can't retract your vote.

What you don't know, can be disastrous.

 

then why are McCain's and especially Palin's associations ignored??

clue: she is palling around with a seccesionist.

The information about McCain/Palin is easy to find.

(unlike some of the clues to the deeper Obama)

[Slogger]

in my opinion more of Obama's associations than of McCain/Palin are being covered by the media and in the campaigns.

imagine if Michelle Obama was member of a seccesionist movement, with a anti-american radical founder.
or if Obama had addressed that seccesinist movement convention.
you and i know the media and the McCain campaign would have been all over that.

Obama's claim to experience was Community Organizing.

Nevermind imagination:  Michelle Obama spent years in the church listening to Rev. Wright.  He's radical, espouses hate-filled speech.  She listened for years, as did her husband.

Palin, a Mayor, addressed a convention to her town.  She was not a member.  "Welcome to Wasilla!" is neither a hate-speech, nor an association with radicals.

Bill Ayers is a radical; the Obamas have been associating with them for years--not a one-time meeting but over and over.

Our once investigative "journalism" media is dead and gone, or hiding.  Safe journalism, don't rock the boat, too hot to handle, follow the crowd and don't have a single original thought . . . is today's media.  Under the tutelage of left-leaning professors, the slide continues downward past mediocre to oblivious.

Dumbed-down media for the New Dumbed-down America.

MSM have been useful idiots.

[caesu]

in my opinion more of Obama's associations than of McCain/Palin are being covered by the media and in the campaigns.

imagine if Michelle Obama was member of a seccesionist movement, with a anti-american radical founder.
or if Obama had addressed that seccesinist movement convention.
you and i know the media and the McCain campaign would have been all over that.

Palin, a Mayor, addressed a convention to her town.  She was not a member.  "Welcome to Wasilla!" is neither a hate-speech, nor an association with radicals.

sorry for going off-topic.

but you might want to read this:

Oct. 7, 2008 | "My government is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand."

This was former revolutionary terrorist Bill Ayers back in his old Weather Underground days, right? Imagine what Sarah Palin is going to do with this incendiary quote as she tears into Barack Obama this week.

Only one problem. The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. Inconveniently for Palin, that's the very same secessionist party that her husband, Todd, belonged to for seven years and that she sent a shout-out to as Alaska governor earlier this year. ("Keep up the good work," Palin told AIP members. "And God bless you.")

AIP chairwoman Lynette Clark told me recently that Sarah Palin is her kind of gal. "She's Alaskan to the bone ... she sounds just like Joe Vogler."

So who are these America-haters that the Palins are pallin' around with?

Before his strange murder in 1993, party founder Vogler preached armed insurrection against the United States of America. Vogler, who always carried a Magnum with him, was fond of saying, "When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion. They think they own [Alaska]. There comes a time when people will choose to die with honor rather than live with dishonor. That time may be coming here. Our goal is ultimate independence by peaceful means under a minimal government fully responsive to the people. I hope we don't have to take human life, but if they go on tramping on our property rights, look out, we're ready to die."

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/07/palins_unamerican/

all i am saying is. that the MSM still hasn't touched on McCain / Palin's association as much as they did with Obama.
if McCain will bring up Ayers. i am sure Obama will counter-punch.

McCain has tons of lobbyists working for him, with dubious associations.
Obama: "We Don't Throw the First Punch, But We'll Throw the Last"

[Slogger]

It's Salon.com.  They don't know any better.

Anticipating what someone will say can leave you on very unsteady ground.

It didn't happen.  Using it for a debate point lacks validity.

[caesu]

It's Salon.com.  They don't know any better.

Anticipating what someone will say can leave you on very unsteady ground.

It didn't happen.  Using it for a debate point lacks validity.

fine, you are not willing to look into Palin's associations.
but many others did.

i would appreciate your thoughts on this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eniG9l_7its

[Slogger]

I am not unbiased, and don't pretend to be.  Neither am I a journalist (investigative, or otherwise;) nor, am I a paid proponent for any candidate.  I puzzled over the choices and made my decision.  There is nothing to prevent you from checking into whatever you wish, while I check into whatever I wish.

McCain is the better choice, for so many reasons.  The Presidency is not driver-training . . . you need to know how to drive before you get there because the decision are more monumental than ever before.  Obama is not equipped, not trained, not ready.

I don't want to risk our future, our children's futures, our grandchildren's futures, and our great grandchildren's futures--most of whom are already on this earth.  Obama's economic plan would likely finish off an already sick economy.

Obama is shuffling chairs on the Titanic while poking holes in the hull.  The government is bailing out; but, the holes are big.  Obama's plans will make the holes larger, weaken the hull further.

We're headed for a Recession (if not already there) and we don't know whether or not we can head off a Depression.

I'd rather not have a novice at the helm.

[WhiskeyGirl]

Who funds ACORN?

ACORN's Money Tree Has Many Branches

Conservatives are on the march against the community organization ACORN, accusing its massive voter registration effort of fraud and faulting Obama for having any connections to the group. As we reported this morning, ACORN doesn't necessarily mind the attention.

But what exactly is ACORN? Actually, it's many, many things. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has dozens of affiliated entities, from a home-buying assistance corporation to community radio stations to liberal research and training institutes. The giant web of ACORN organizations, primarily based in Louisiana, has been funded by a mix of labor union money, government grants (which really drive conservatives crazy) and charitable contributions from large foundations. See below for a breakdown of funding sources.

Plus, Project Vote -- the voter mobilization organization that works closely with and draws its leadership from ACORN -- paid ACORN and an affiliate $5.4 million in 2006. But where does Project Vote get its money? Normally it's hard to tell, but we obtained a 2006 tax return showing the nonprofit's funders, including: $4.5 million from the charitable trust of the investment management firm Vanguard; $425,000 from the Bauman Family Foundation, which also gives to the People for the American Way; and $396,000 from the liberal phone company Working Assets.

The breakdown on ACORN comes after the jump.

Union Money

ACORN's biggest union backer, the Service Employees International Union, gave more than $4 million to the community organization and its affiliates from 2006-07, according to Dept. of Labor filings. One SEIU local union, the Illinois Homecare Workers and Home Childcare Providers, sprouted from ACORN's organizing efforts and pays rent to ACORN.

ACORN's affiliates also pick up money from the Change to Win labor federation, the Food and Commercial Workers Union and the United Federation of Teachers, among others.

(snip)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/secretmoney/2008/10/acorns_money_tree_has_many_bra.html

[WhiskeyGirl]

In the end, it may be that ACORN is just a distraction.  When I voted in the primaries, there were three women in front of me.

Two were registering to vote without a picture ID - they had utility bills and vouched for one another.  The third woman was being reminded by the poll workers that she had already voted that day as her name was scratched off of the lists.  She seemed a bit shocked, but not confused.

I stood there, DL in hand, shocked. 

Perhaps ACORN is a diversion to the events that happened at the polls for the past ten years...

It think picture IDs that can be verified at the polls are a good idea.  Even invitations that could be scanned to ensure they are only used once (like tickets that are scanned at concerts).

It is so easy to photoshop and copy utility bills and other things. 

I believe the vote/registration and fraud are really 'hidden' in plain sight - at the polls.

[crazybabyborg]

High court rejects GOP bid in Ohio voting dispute
By William Hershey

Staff Writer

Friday, October 17, 2008

COLUMBUS — The U.S. Supreme Court today, Oct. 17, handed Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, a victory in a heated legal battle with the Ohio Republican Party.

The high court threw out an order from a lower court that would have required Brunner to provide county boards of elections with details of how personal information about newly registered voters doesn't match information on driver's licenses or Social Security records.

The court issued the decision "per curiam" - acting as a whole, without dissent.

The court ruled that the Ohio Republican Party was not likely to prevail on the question of whether Congress authorized the lower court to take the action the Republicans requested in a lawsuit brought by a private party - the state GOP.

The court expressed no opinion on whether Brunner was correctly implementing the federal Help America Vote law, the law the Republicans said Brunner wasn't complying with.

The request from the GOP would have impacted an estimated 200,000 of nearly 666,000 voters who have registered since Jan. 1 and whose personal information had mismatches.

Brunner and her allies argued that many of the mismatches were simple ones such as spelling differences. She said implementing the request could have required many voters to cast provisional ballots. Such ballots aren't counted until 10 days after the election and are "subject to partisan wrangling and legal fights," she said.

"Our nation's highest court has protected the voting rights of all Ohioans, allowing our bipartisan elections officials to continue preparing for a successful November election," Brunner said in a prepared statement.

"We filed this appeal to protect all Ohio voters from illegal challenges and barriers that unfairly silence the votes of some to the advantage of others," Brunner said in a prepared statement.

Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett said the decision was made on a technicality and called on Brunner to "comply with federal law by providing clear instructions to elections administrators on how to handle questionable voter registration forms."

"As far as I'm concerned, Secretary Brunner is actively working to conceal fraudulent activity in this election," Bennett said in prepared statement.
http://www.oxfordpress.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/10/17/hjn101808state.html

 

Voter fraud has already happened in Ohio. There were students from neighboring states that came in, registered and early voted. That's a fact, not conjecture. Oh well............

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/15/voter-fraud-alert-houseful-of-out-of-state-obama-activists-registered-as-ohio-voters-received-absentee-ballots/

[WhiskeyGirl]

 

I think this is why there needs to be a strong third or forth party - to help keep an eye on the other two.

[caesu]

High court rejects GOP in Ohio voting dispute

Republicans had won order that state do more to check eligibility

The Associated Press
updated 1:56 p.m. ET Oct. 17, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court sided Friday with Ohio's top elections official in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registrations.

The justices overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, faced a deadline of Friday to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms don't match records in other government databases.

Ohio Republicans contended the information for counties would help prevent fraud. Brunner said the GOP is trying to disenfranchise voters.

In a brief unsigned opinion, the justices said they were not commenting on whether Ohio is complying with a provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 that lays out requirements for verifying voter eligibility.

Confusion at the polls?
Instead, they said they were granting Brunner's request because it appears that the law does not allow private entities, like the Ohio GOP, to file suit to enforce the provision of the law at issue.

"They didn't deal with the merits of the case," said Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Bennett. "What they dealt with was a technicality on whether we had standing or not to bring the action."

About 200,000 of 666,000 voters who have registered in Ohio since Jan. 1 have records that don't match. Brunner has said the discrepancies most likely stem from innocent clerical errors rather than fraud but has set up a verification plan.

Bennett said Brunner could have set up a system months ago to check the discrepancies and that her actions have left the potential for voter fraud.

"If we have a close election in Ohio and there's any doubts, the failures will be laid right at her doorstep," Bennett said.

Brunner said the court's decision would help ease confusion in the run-up to Election Day.

'An illegal challenge'
She said the act was clear that the mismatch lists were to be used to maintain the voter database, not to determine voter eligibility.

"We are very pleased that the court recognized that this was an illegal challenge on the part of the Republicans," she said.

She said the office would have found a way to comply, but there were risks that qualified voters would have been disqualified.

"I think it's an unfair tactic to subject voters to this kind of uncertainty and anxiety this close to such an important election," she said.

In court filings, the GOP has not produced any specific evidence of voting fraud, only unsubstantiated reports that voters from other states had cast fraudulent ballots during the early voting period.

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said lower court rulings have clearly said the HAVA regulations require the secretary of state to match against the list, find where there's been fraud and inconsistencies and report them to counties.

"Why in the world would that not happen? We have the technology, the budget, the means and the manpower to make that happen," Davis told reporters on a conference call.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27238980/

paving the way for some Republicans to claim that Obama didn't win the election, but stole it.

well, the SCOTUS (with two Republican-Bush appointees added since 2000) is unanimous in not buying that.

Rick Davis beter find a new strategy to win this election.

[crazybabyborg]

There shouldn't be room for EITHER party to claim the election was in any way illegal. No chance for suppression of votes and no chance for fraudulent voting.

STRICT OVERSIGHT AND VERIFICATION ARE THE ONLY TOOLS REMAINING AT THIS JUNCTURE TO HAVE ANY SEMBLANCE OF THAT!

Once the ballots have been removed from the envelopes, they all look alike. They are just ballots. Every LEGAL voter should have their vote counted with the full weight of it's number. Every LEGAL voter's ballot should be cast and counted unhindered.

But there HAS to be verification it is legal!! Particularly when there is proof of intent to sway the election, and that is well on the table this year. Win or Loose, America has to be able to trust the outcome.

I resent the Hell out of the suggestion, by bringing forth an opinion that this debacle is a strategy, that the point in this is to "steal" a win, or that ANY poster's concern around this issue is to gain advantage for their candidate, and I particularly resent it when it has been implicated to me. There is certainly theft going on, but I would suggest that the log be removed from your own eye so that you can see more clearly to remove the splinter from your neighbor's! The FAIR election process is the cornerstone of our democracy, and I care FAR more about protecting that than I do the outcome of this election.

I could give a rat's azz WHAT the motivation is for either party.................whether to register non-existant voters as a set up to fraud, or to bring law suits to suppress legitimate voters, I want any registration that does not match DMV or census records to be verified! Not thrown away, but VERIFIED! I want any voter who is legal to be able to show proper ID, and VOTE!

 

[WhiskeyGirl]

I voted in the Democratic primary of my state, and what I saw, for the few minutes I was there, was shameful and horrifying at the same time.

How can someone not remember voting?  Saying "I did?"  

How many names should be associated with one drivers license number?  How many addresses?

How many drivers license numbers should one name have?  

As an example, in theory, how many people named "Catrina Wxxx" may live in one state?  

Is the drivers license valid?  SS# valid?  

What if the drivers license is clearly invalid?  The SS# invalid?  For a dead person? 

I'd like to see some example of problems.  It might make it easier to understand the problem that may or may not exist.  That is what is missing in many of these news reports.

I think there are simple ways to identify the problems.  200,000 votes is a lot of votes.  As an example, it is maybe twice as many as live on Aruba, an island nation surrounded by water.

Identity theft happens every day.  I do believe the article I posted elsewhere that what people are seeing is just the tip of the iceburg.

If there was a national database of voters, it would identify those voting in more than one state.

just my humble opinions