Some interesting happenings today regarding the Republicans made-up ACORN controversy. The New York Times publishes two timely article detailing the story behind ACORN and the launch of an FBI Investigation, Rep. John Conyers fires off a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and FBI director Robert Mueller about the FBI Probe, and ACORN fires back at McCain.
The Associated Press fact checked the allegations John McCain made during Wednesday nights debate and said he went too far:
McCain is correct that at least a handful of ACORN canvassers are currently being investigated across the country by local officials on suspicion of submitting false registration cards, some with names like "Mickey Mouse" or "Donald Duck."
But in alleging voter fraud, McCain goes too far. To commit fraud, a person would have to show up on Election Day with identification bearing the fake name.
Fact Check: GOP vitriol rages over community group
What we're not hearing enough about in this controversy is the fact that most of the forms that are at the heart of all this are ones that ACORN itself flagged as being suspect. The New York Times provides an editorial:
But for all of the McCain campaign’s manufactured fury about vote theft (and similar claims from the Republican Party over the years) there is virtually no evidence —anywhere in the country, going back many elections — of people showing up at the polls and voting when they are not entitled to.
(snip)
Much of the blame for this lies with overly restrictive registration rules. Earlier this year, the League of Women Voters halted its registration drive in Florida after the state imposed onerous new requirements.
The answer is for government to a better job of registering people to vote. That way there would be less need to rely on private registration drives, largely being conducted by well-meaning private organizations that use low-paid workers. Federal and state governments should do their own large-scale registration drives staffed by experienced election officials. Even better, Congress and the states should adopt election-day registration, which would make such drives unnecessary.
The real threats to the fabric of democracy are the unreasonable barriers that stand in the way of eligible voters casting ballots.
The Acorn Story
While the Republicans keep screaming foul, the New York Times points out in other article that the government is trying to quiet down speculation that the FBI had begun a huge investigation into ACORN.
The officials said their investigation of Acorn’s activities would, for now, focus on reports of voter registration fraud that have surfaced in several states.
F.B.I. Offices Examining Activities of Acorn
Let's not forget this! It can't be said often enough. Registration fraud is different than Voter Fraud! There is no voter fraud if the person who falsely registered does not show up to vote.
:::::
Meanwhile, Talking Points Memo is reporting that as a reaction to the news that the FBI has launched an investigation into ACORN, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chair of the House judiciary committee, has sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and FBI director Robert Mueller.
In raising questions about DOJ's motives, Conyers makes the obvious link to the U.S. attorneys scandal, in which several U.S. attorneys were fired for not pursuing voter fraud cases with sufficient aggressiveness. And he makes the point that John McCain had raised the ACORN issue in last night's debate.
Conyers On FBI ACORN Probe
You can read the entire text of the letter at the above-linked story, where Conyers begins:
It is with shock and disappointment that I read today's Associated Press report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened and leaked an investigation into whether ACORN, a longstanding and well regarded organization that fights for the poor and working class, is involved in nationwide voter fraud.
As an initial matter, it is simply unacceptable that such information would be leaked during the very peak of the election season. Such leaks of information about ongoing criminal investigation matters are always inappropriate, and likely violate the provisions of the U.S. Attorney manual governing release of information about ongoing investigations (and which, in any event, would require approval from the responsible U.S. Attorney or Department division before release1).
All the while, the McCain camp continues to push for more stories about ACORN and fabricated voter fraud and using the FBI Investigation as justification for the validity of questioning ACORN's practices demands that the Obama campaign cooperate with the FBI investigation.
McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis issued a statement this afternoon: "Given the fact the FBI has launched a nationwide investigation into the questionable voter registration practices of ACORN, it is imperative that Barack Obama's campaign cooperate fully with this important investigation. To date, in public announcements including last night's debate, Barack Obama has attempted to conceal and distort his and his campaign's relationship with a group that is currently engaging in systematic voter fraud. Barack Obama's campaign must fully disclose the true nature of his association with ACORN. In the spirit of a fair election Barack Obama should assist in this process prior to Election Day."
McCain presses case on ACORN
:::::
Finally, ACORN is not sitting idly by. The group released a report, "ACORN vs. McCain: The Real Story of the Financial Crisis 1999 to 2008," attacking McCain for his lack of effort to prevent the impending subprime mortgage crisis last year.
The 13-page report details all the efforts ACORN has made since 1999 to protect consumers from predatory lenders with regulations, and also details John McCain's lack of effort for the same. The director of the ACORN Financial Justice Center, Austin King, concluded:
Comparing the records of both ACORN and Senator John McCain, the only available conclusion is that in the decade leading up to the financial crisis America faces today, ACORN fought with all its might against the predatory lending practices and resulting foreclosures that triggered the crisis, while Senator McCain took no actions to stem the crisis while voting for deregulation schemes that enabled the crisis. His reckless accusation that ACORN is responsible for the crisis shows a Senator who is demonstrably out of touch with the reality of the nation’s economic problems. After all, as recently as mid-September, Senator McCain was still arguing that, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong."
Though it may seem intractable, the solution to the nation’s economic woes is to dramatically reduce foreclosures through mass modifications of unaffordable, predatory loans into fixed-rate, affordable loans. This can be done in a variety of manners, especially with increased governmental ownership of assets and institutions resulting from the bailout. Reducing foreclosures will stop the glut of REO property that has flooded the market, in turn stabilizing housing prices and enabling the mortgage-backed securities to be properly valued, which would return liquidity to that part of the market where the credit crunch originated. If Senator McCain does not understand how this crisis began and grew, it is doubtful that he is equipped to solve it, but ACORN will always be happy to educate him with its wealth of knowledge and experience on the issue.
ACORN vs. McCain: The Real Story of the Financial Crisis 1999 to 2008 (PDF)
:::::
Let's not forget who to thank for this ... Alberto Gonzales and the watered down rules he left behind when he existed his post at the DOJ:
One of the key guidelines removed from the manual in May 2007 said, "Federal prosecutors and investigators should be extremely careful to not conduct overt investigations during the pre-election period of while the election is under way. Most, if not all, investigations of an alleged election crime must await the end of the election to which the allegation relates."
The warning, "it should also be kept in mind that any investigation undertaken during the final stages of a political contest may cause the investigation itself to become a campaign issue," was watered down in the updated version of the manual.
GOP Attacked Integrity of ACORN's Voter Efforts Just Before 2004 Election
And as Josh Marshall reminds us, and so many seem to have forgotten, this is what the US Attorney firing scandal was all about:
Most reporters were slow to catch on to the significance of the US Attorney Firings story. And though it eventually became a big scandal, it seems most of the reporters have now more or less forgotten the whole thing since we're now seeing a replay of the offenses no more than two years later. And rather than calling the bad actors out, most of them are whooping and hollering and going along for the ride.
Short Memories
What we need here is to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden! Clean these voter suppression fanatics out of the Justice Department once and for all.
:::::
UPDATE: H/T to johnsonwax in the comments for finding another excellent article at The New Yorker that summarizes the entire ACORN controversy:
The idea that Democrats try to win elections by arranging for hordes of nonexistent people with improbable names to vote for them has long been a favorite theme of Rove-era Republicans. Now it’s become a desperate obsession.
(snip)
Sounds suspicious—unless ...
Voter-Fraud Fraud