House Republicans To Defund ACORN Again, Even Though It Still Does Not Exist

[okaawhatever]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are scheduled to vote on two separate budget bills this week, each of which would reject funding for the poverty activism group ACORN, despite the fact that ACORN disbanded three years ago.

ACORN, also known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, came under heavy fire in the fall of 2009 after conservative videographer James O'Keefe released a set of selectively edited videos that appeared to show its employees offering advice on tax avoidance related to prostitution and child smuggling. Independent investigations by the California attorney general, the Massachusetts attorney general and the Brooklyn, N.Y., district attorney would later clear ACORN of criminal wrongdoing, and an investigation by the Government Accountability Office would clear ACORN of charges that it mishandled federal funds.

But in the fall of 2009, Congress banned federal funding for ACORN using broad language that applied to "any organization" that had been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws or campaign finance laws or with filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. The funding ban also extended to any employees, contractors or others affiliated with any group so chargedStruggling with the bad publicity and loss of federal funds, ACORN dissolved in early 2010. Just to be sure, however, Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) included this language in a government funding bill introduced on May 28 of this year: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries or successors."

Section 545 of a bill put forward the next day by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) delves still deeper into faux certainty, extending the funding ban to "any prior appropriations Act."

CLIP

"Is it too late to defund Saddam Hussein?" mocked Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.).

Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), defended the passages as routine language that House Republicans always include. "These provisions are typically carried every year in appropriations bills," Hing said




Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/04/defund-acorn_n_3384060.html

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How is forbidding any former employee of Acorn, not charged with a crime, not suppression of free speech? The language in the bill is ridiculous and if they keep the language that states any org CHARGED with a crime, it will lead to alot of orgs being charged shortly before election . At first, I was just laughing at this story, but now i'm pissed.

[DainBramaged]

1. Republicans continue to prove their desire to help minorities is real

[Lasher]

2. Just another charade to distract their own obstinate factions.

The GOP Knows That it is Broken

[Plucketeer]

8. Isn't THAT the truth!

"HEY! Look over there!"

[csziggy]

19. SQUIRREL!

[aggiesal]

32. Actually, I'm hoping congress will pass this bill . . .

And then we should apply it across the board.

Just think, we can "CHARGE" the oil companies with price gouging, and POOF no more funding BIG Oil.

"Charge" big banks with "Credit Card" fraud, again POOF, no more funding Big Banks.

"Charge" Military Industrial Complex with collusion, fraud and just about anything else and guess what? POOF, no more funding any DOD contractors.

Just think of the implications. We can [Font Color=Red]"CHARGE" "any organization" "with filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency."[/font], then no more funding for that "Organization", since conviction is not needed.

[catbyte]

3. OMG. Are they also going to eliminate funding for the Model T?

Uneffingbelievable. Yet another example of the Republican Party's concern for the American people.

[abq e streeter]

4. At least the Democratic party stood behind them and didn't just cower in front of republican lies

.yeah, I know, living in a fantasy world....

[bvar22]

15. I am STILL dusgusted by how FAST the Democratic Party RAN from ACORN...

...and JOINED with Republicans in their condemnation of an organizations that was doing great work helping the disenfranchised.

[FiveGoodMen]

30. It was disgusting.

He who stands from nothing will fall for anything.

I think that sums up much of "our" party.

[abq e streeter]

35. Disgusting too; how many situations where you could insert almost anything instead of ACORN

[bvar22]

37. Brietbart said "BOO", and the whole Party ran away and hid like an abused puppy.

I defies my imagination that the Party Leadership would be so frightened by a little asshole like Brietbart. It forces me look for a more plausible explanation.
It certainly sends a message to Community Organizers (LOL, remember THAT one from 2008!) and the rest of the grass roots.

[abq e streeter]

38. "Ran away and hid like an abused puppy".

AGAIN.

I can't for the life of me figure out whether the word spineless, or collaborator is more appropriate (and sadly, far from just this instance). And am equally baffled at so many of our fellow alleged progressives who refuse to see what's right in front of their faces, and has been since Ray-Guns, as far as cowering before the right.

[denverbill]

5. Can anyone think of any right wing or right leaning groups that get federal funding?

I assume some church groups do. So if any member of that church was even just charged, not convicted, of any of those offenses, we can yank the funding for the whole group.

[okaawhatever]

9. That's what I was thinking. You know Rove would do it. nt

[corkhead]

6. this SHOULD be an Onion article

[mountain grammy]

14. Yes it should, with Grayson's comment as the headline..

"Congress votes to defund Saddam Hussein, ACORN, and all other dead horses."

[nykym]

7. May have a silver linning!

I am sure that we can weed out a lot of right wing groups using their own language!

"Any organization" that had been charged with breaking federal or state election laws, lobbying disclosure laws or campaign finance laws or with filing fraudulent paperwork with any federal or state agency. The funding ban also extended to any employees, contractors or others affiliated with any group so charged".

[sakabatou]

10. Where's my clue-bat?

[AlbertCat]

11. They will do anything...

.... but govern.

They'll PRETEND to be doing something..... but it won't have anything to do with governing the country.

[elzenmahn]

47. What else can you expect...

...from a party who never believed in government in the first place?

This is par-for-course for them.

[AlbertCat]

49. a party who never believed in government in the first place?

I know. It is absurd from the get-go.

A plolitical party that hates politics and so uses politics....

Right out of "Wonderland".

Could it be any more obvious it's not about what it claims to be about?

For my entire adult life, if the GOP says something.... anything at all, you can be sure it's a fib, lie, smokescreen, to hide what they really want.

[existentialist]

12. When you're not doing anything real

another meaningless symbolic vote helps distract House members and the public alike from their dysfunction.

That it highlights their hypocrisy notwithstanding.

[SpankMe]

13. They're being sadistic, indignant, mean-spirited assholes.

What they're trying to say is that any present or future organization that ends up having employees who had previously worked for ACORN at any time (management types, at least) may not receive any funds from the federal government. It's a way to codify their hate into law and punish their political adversaries in perpetuity.

Like hell this is "routine language".

[okaawhatever]

18. I wonder if we, as a country, can deny one particular group from participating in the electoral

process when they have done nothing wrong. Innocent until proven guilty?

[The Wielding Truth]

16. Anyone know how many tax dollars have been wasted on bogus house bills?

[amb123]

17. ACORN IS NOT DEAD! OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"IT'S GONE UNDERGROUND! JUST LIKE THE ILLUMINATI AND THE FREEMASONS! THEY'RE STILL UNDERMINING OUR LIBERTIES AND FREEDOMS TO THE SATANIC NEW WORLD ORDER! OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The GOP paranoia is breathtaking.

[blkmusclmachine]

20. .

[SamKnause]

21. Acorn

They NEVER should have had their funding taken away.

They were cleared of any criminal wrong doing.

They were the target of an under cover sting that presented altered videos as evidence of wrong doing.

There is zero justice or rule of law in this country !!!!!

How many times have the banks been charged and fined for wrong doing ?

Why are they still up and running on tax dollars and interest free loans ?

It is truly sickening how Republicans run rough shod over this country time and time again.

I have never seen a more traitorous bunch of politicians.

[hootinholler]

22. By naming ACORN how is this not a bill of attainder? n/t

[annabanana]

33. good point. . . .n/t

[NewJeffCT]

23. Perhaps we should defund

the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, too?

[SunSeeker]

24. Because JOBS, JOBS, JOBS, dontcha know.

[99th_Monkey]

25. The RW take-down of ACORN was a travesty

They were an awesome organization, for which I worked in Portland, OR
for several years, doing voter registration mostly.

The people responsible for lying & character assassination to smear and
destroy ACORN need to be on trial, and found guilty; not the other way
around.

[HeroInAHalfShell]

26. I don't understand why everyone is pissed?

the repukes are saying that a non-existent group cant get any federal funding.

They are talking out their ass and who cares. Its not like this language will stop funding for an existing group.

ACORN is dead and they don't want a dead org to get money which they wont because they are gone!

ACORN is gone. Who cares what they say about what they can and cannot get?

[okaawhatever]

31. Ommm, how about the part that says all former employees, contractors, et ux. How about the fact that

Acorn did nothing wrong. The gop trolls faked a video that effectively closed Acorn. How about the fact that former acorn workers and volunteers are being denied opportunity to participate in opportunities. First amendment anyone? Innocent until proven guilty?

[99th_Monkey]

51. Who is being "denied opportunity to participate" in what?

I agree with the tenor of your post, but with this piece it's unclear to me what you mean.

On edit: I ask this as a former ACORN employee myself, i.e. a grunt worker for a short
period doing voter reg.

[okaawhatever]

52. If it passes as is, it states that none of the money can go to Acorn it's subsidiaries, or it's

successors. That in and of itself is ignorant as Acorn hasn't been found guilty and seems like an intimidation tactic. The other issue is that the earlier bill (which included employees of these organizations, that means you) said those organizations CHARGED with election tampering, etc. Charged isn't convicted. It's discrimination directed at ACORN.

[99th_Monkey]

53. I see. Thanks for elucidating. ~nt

[caraher]

27. Next up: Solyndra

A whole bunch of Congressional teabaggers have to be recorded as voting against that too!

[Enrique]

39. then impeach Van Jones!

[Jackpine Radical]

28. I wonder what the definition of "Federal funding" is.

Would that include payments to, say, defense industry or banking corporations that got fined for "fraudulent paperwork?"

I think the entire defense & banking industries would instantly become ineligible for "Federal funding" (e.g. bailouts, gov't contracts) in that case.

[libodem]

29. Sure as long it isn't

A precious tea party group. They can crap all over any liberal leaning organization, just don't touch their sacred cows, or they will go crying to Faux Snooze.

[jmowreader]

34. Let me guess...

...the bill also contains an Obamacare repeal clause, an attack on the IRS and funding for the Permanent Benghazi Investigating Committee, since those are the only things the Republicans really seem to care about.

[brooklynite]

36. This is an outrage!

They're wasting valuable time they could be spending repealing ObamaCare.

[Javaman]

40. the continued repuke charade of "responsibility". nt

[suffragette]

41. Looks like they are trying to prevent anyone with ACORN experience from working in any area ACORN

championed.
Also, to block funding for any group they identify as "affiliated" with ACORN, which they likely mean as any group that is active in assisting with voting rights, civil rights, etc.
It's a way to go after and defund community and advocacy organizations and to keep people experienced in assisting with such issues from being able to work with or form new organizations.

[Jerry442]

42. You know, I was thinking the same thing.

The part where ACORN is specifically mentioned is a joke, but -- the rest of the bill looks to me like a ticking time bomb, intended to be tossed (selectively) at organizations that annoy the Powers That Be.



(Edited to change "law" to "bill".)

[Politicub]

43. The house GOP is batshit crazy

What a waste of oxygen.

[EC]

44. We are wasting almost $100 million in keeping the House

employed to do NOTHING... There should be a way to cut their pay or make it hourly or something. These people are hardly ever there and when they are they are doing stupid, meaningless things like this.


There should be some kind of legal recourse...maybe misrepresentation or something?

[okaawhatever]

45. Rove got all the dems arrested on "honest services fraud" maybe someone should look into that nt

[Nanjing to Seoul]

46. Any prior appropriations bill? Acorn and its subsidiaries? Sounds like an ex-post faco law and

a bill of attainder to me.

But who cares? The Constitution is just a damned piece of paper anyway.

[drynberg]

48. So, Repukes kick the dead Acorn...

Whatsamatter, are we getting bored with trying to stop ACA the 38th time? Red states need to remember this come November, 2014! We sure as hell need a new Sheriff. This is beyond funny or weird, this is Malfeasance.

[freshwest]

50. If their Tea Party PACs get charged with anything... This would be fun.

Citizens United makes all of this talk pointless, and the GOP knows this but is rallying the troops. O'Keefe got tax exempt status for his little gang of pervs, despite being charged with B&E and caught trying to arrange sex stings after ACORN was put of operation on a lie. O'Keefe's pals paid for the lawsuit for his fraudulent actions in that, and has continued to break the terms of his probation, but the GOP never brings this up.

I attended ACORN meetings back in the early 1970s. Not ideologically driven, no flash, just doing what was needed. Back then, no one made a stink about registering voters, FFS.

Instead of denying financial help and moral support to O'Keefe and other criminals, the GOP consider anyone who doesn't vote for them to be a criminal for a variety of reasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Community_Organizations_for_Reform_Now

We have people applauding the GOP for saving Social Security from the evil Obama. I give up.