ACORN tried to register Mickey Mouse

inmytree

a good read...

http://gawker.com/5063157/wait-whats-up-with-acorn

Wait, What's Up With ACORN?

Nationally, Barack Obama is between 5 and 10 points ahead in the polls. In the states defined by Rasmussen as battlegrounds, Obama ranges from a tie in North Carolina (North Carolina!) to slight leads in all the rest of them. Also Bush announced the nationalization of the banks or something today, prompting the Dow to jump in early trading. So Matt Drudge, who controls your news with an iron opera glove, is leading today with the news that ACORN registered Mickey Mouse to vote. Ha ha ha. Honestly, what the hell's the deal with the ACORN story and why are right-wingers already clinging to it like guns and religion? Sigh. We'll try to explain.

What is ACORN??

An evil group that exists to organize poor people into a violent militia and overthrow the government via "voting." Or basically a lobbying group for low- and middle-income families, either one.

Oh no, lobbyists!

Right? ACORN is in some respects a lobbying group like, say, the oil or pharmaceutical lobbies. Except they represent poor people instead of profitable corporations so they're a much less successful lobbying group.

What do they do?

They started as a radical group dedicated to getting welfare recipients and underemployed non-welfare recipients together to demand socialist things like free lunches for kids and emergency room care. Now they lobby Democrats for terrorist things like raising the minimum wage and forcing the government to subsidize affordable housing. Also they organize voter registration drives.

But what about all these crimes they're committing??

ACORN pays local losers in Florida $8 an hour to gather 20 voter registrations a day. So some of these losers are lazy, like all employees, and just make up the registrations. ACORN does try to find these made-up registrations and fire the employees who submit them, but, you know, sometimes they miss a couple. Also the law seems to say that ACORN has to submit all the registrations they gather no matter what, and even though the law is a little bit vague, they're still trying to follow it.

Why do Republicans need to attack and delegitimize a damn voter registration drive??

Because a certain amount of passive voter suppression is built in to the Republican campaign strategy. If all the disenfranchised and disenchanted voters were organized and registered and informed, we'd probably be a crazy socialist 10-party country like Italy or something. The GOP engages in active voter suppression—voter ID laws and legal challenges—and the more passive kind built into the democratic process, like engendering cynicism about the democratic process.

Obviously convincing the guys who disagree with you to not vote is part of any party's campaign strategy, but the GOP's by necessity targets poor people and minorities, and the vast history of suppressing the votes of poor people and minorities is way grosser than any history of disenfranchising white protestants. To us! Maybe you have some totally oppressed landed gentry in your family tree so you may feel differently.

Quite honestly the very heart of the utter bullshitness of this anti-ACORN campaign can be found in one incredibly telling quote from a spokesman for the RNC: "Cairncross accused ACORN of engaging in a 'systematic effort to undermine the election process' through its voter-registration drives." Do you see the problem with that statement?

And basically there is a CERTAIN CLASS of Republican voter that does not think that the poors, the Blacks, the homelesses, and so on honestly really deserve the same power to choose our rulers as a guy who's worked his whole life to get where he is. The politics of resentment are the last, most powerful weapon the McCain campaign has left this cycle. The details of the charges don't matter, actual proof of fraud doesn't matter, any evidence whatsoever of voter fraud being a real problem with a measurable effect on elections certainly doesn't matter, because the "fraud" is just that, you know, no-good hoodlum welfare recipients are being handed voter registration forms, and one type of person sees that as the point of democracy and the other type sees it as an utter perversion of democracy.

Didn't McCain used to totally be in the tank for ACORN?

Well Republicans have been bitching about ACORN and voter fraud for years now, but McCain definitely didn't used to be one of those Republicans. In 2006 McCain did give a keynote address, about immigration rights, at a rally co-sponsored by ACORN.

Can you maybe use a little more false equivalence to explain this in a way I understand?

Sure. ACORN's voter registration drives are to conservatives what Diebold voting machines are the liberals. The possibility of abuse is present and clear, but no one's yet convincingly proved that any abuse has occurred.

OK so what's up with everyone suddenly talking about ACORN?

As we said, nuttier conservatives have been on the ACORN-bashing bandwagon for years now. That it's finally trickled up to Drudge and Fox means they're scared they're losing the election and they need to preemptively delegitimize Obama.

What are my talking points for when crazy relatives argue that ACORN stole the election?

What we're dealing with so far is minor voter registration fraud. The questionable registrations number in the double digits in most states, and most of them have been flagged and caught by either ACORN themselves or election officials. More importantly, the election can't be stolen if it hasn't happened yet, and voter registration fraud does not explain in any way a double digit lead for a candidate in national tracking polls. Like, wtf, how are you making this argument, are you slow? ACORN registering Mickey Mouse is why Barack Obama is up 12 in Pennsylvania? Ok, sure, whatever you say.

inmytree

oh my!!!

http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/mccain-attended-acorn-rally

McCain attended ACORN rally

Yes, that's McCain sitting next to Rep. Kendrick Meek at an ACORN event. The very same ACORN his campaign now rails against and is accusing of trying to "steal" the election for Obama:

Miami Dade College press release:

Miami, Florida – February 20, 2006 ― Leaders from a diverse array of sectors will hold a rally in Miami on Thursday, February 23, 2006, in support of comprehensive immigration reform in an effort to keep immigration reform at the forefront of the public debate. Leaders from both political parties, immigrant communities, labor, business, and religious organizations will gather to call on Washington to enact workable reform.

The rally will feature Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as the headline speaker along with elected officials, immigrants and key local and national leaders. Sen. McCain is one of the chief sponsors of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act; bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform legislation introduced last Congress and scheduled for consideration by the Senate in the coming weeks. A similar rally with Sen. McCain is planned for New York City on February 27

The rally in Miami is being sponsored by the New American Opportunity campaign (NAOC) in partnership with ACORN, Catholic Legal Services - Archdiocese of Miami, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Miami Dade College, People for the American Way/Mi Familia Vota en Acción, Service Employees International Union, and UNITE HERE.

jeffbr

Thanks for that, inmytree. ACORN has been around for decades, so it is funny to see people on both sides of this issue act as if this is something unique to this election. It is especially silly seeing people try to imply that ACORN is something Fox made up because of one registration for Mickey Mouse. ACORN has been around and doing both good and questionable things for years and years. Maybe we have a lot of youngsters or people new to politics in this formum.

Here's another good backgrounder on ACORN from Slate, neither defending nor demonizing the group: http://www.slate.com/id/2201958/

unsung

stupidcorporatewhore wrote:

btw, If I could get a response to post #11, I'd appreciate that.

No, I have not worked as a registrar. I have however walked the beat knocking on doors to get out the vote. I did so for Obama and John Kerry in 04.

I don't care much for registrars. I was in Vegas earlier in the year to buy a car and I had to stop by the DMV to get a permit. A guy there was registering people up and asked me if I wanted to. I told him I was voting for Ron Paul, he replied, "who"?

I said, "Ron Paul, Republican from Texas". He then said, I'll never forget it, "oh, well we aren't looking to get another Bush in the White House".

Anon

Kleenex says Bless You..........

Republicans sound like an amplified key machine when they cry......they act so entitled and proud, but cry like 3 year olds when they dont get what they want. ....if they stood up against all the election fraud and all the voter caging (just to name two examples) that their party routinely partakes, and if they EVER acted like fairness mattered, then I would give a fuck about this thread. Floodgates are open. Even if there was systematic cheating by the Dems now, (which there isnt because we believe in Democracy) I would have to say it is just political affirmative action. When Obama wins, watch how badly Republicans carry on about it being stolen and how Obama is not legitimate.....Kerry and Gore bowed out for the country and didnt complain even though they literally had the elections stolen.....but not these Republicans....they are already setting the stage to cry and cry....then the witch hunt will follow to drive Obama out....People involved in that cycle HATE democracy....

"Well you know the pendulum throws
Farther out to the one side, swinging
Has to sweep back the other way"

unsung

inmytree wrote:

oh my!!!

http://crooksandliars.com/silentpatriot/mccain-attended-acorn-rally

McCain attended ACORN rally

Yes, that's McCain sitting next to Rep. Kendrick Meek at an ACORN event. The very same ACORN his campaign now rails against and is accusing of trying to "steal" the election for Obama:

Miami Dade College press release:

Miami, Florida – February 20, 2006 ― Leaders from a diverse array of sectors will hold a rally in Miami on Thursday, February 23, 2006, in support of comprehensive immigration reform in an effort to keep immigration reform at the forefront of the public debate. Leaders from both political parties, immigrant communities, labor, business, and religious organizations will gather to call on Washington to enact workable reform.

The rally will feature Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as the headline speaker along with elected officials, immigrants and key local and national leaders. Sen. McCain is one of the chief sponsors of the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act; bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform legislation introduced last Congress and scheduled for consideration by the Senate in the coming weeks. A similar rally with Sen. McCain is planned for New York City on February 27

The rally in Miami is being sponsored by the New American Opportunity campaign (NAOC) in partnership with ACORN, Catholic Legal Services - Archdiocese of Miami, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Miami Dade College, People for the American Way/Mi Familia Vota en Acción, Service Employees International Union, and UNITE HERE.

He isn't getting my vote either. This just shows how much Obama and McCain are pandering to the same groups, I maintain that they are not much different.

stupidcorporatewhore

jeffbr wrote:

It is especially silly seeing people try to imply that ACORN is something Fox made up because of one registration for Mickey Mouse.

Fox was not inaccurate in their reporting. Where they distorted was the significance of the story. That is to say they left out that this happens ALL THE TIME in voter registration and Mickey Mouse did not make the voter rosters. It was identified as a gaffe and deleted.

What's the next Groundbreaking issue they're going to shatter America with? "ACORN STEALS BALL POINT PENS"!?


Faux "news" is shit, pure and simple. An infomercial for the neocon agenda and noting else.

g under p

saveuplife wrote:

The point is the election is being tampered with. Obviously, you don't care, but come on... there's a clear point to the thread.

This goes on in EVERY fricking election no different in 2004, 2000. Just that this election 2008 has come to light and voters will have to deal with it this coming from BOTH sides and you are foolish to think I don't care because I do.

What would you like to do stop the election and declare a winner by some default of some kind??

Well!

Peace

g under p

unsung wrote:

Well I'm not gay, and I have no problem with people that are.

To answer your question a colleague of mine, who is gay, swore to me on his mother's life that Obama is bisexual. He and his friends in his social circle say that this is a widely known fact to them.

I've never brought it up on here before because I don't think it is an issue. It is simply a way of saying I'll put more faith into Fox News over the Commie News Network, or some tabloid on the internet.

Fox News must be quite a comfort zone for you isn't it? I do watch FN: Ficticious News mainly to see to point of veiw they go to in trying to accomplish their agenda.

Peace

unsung

g under p wrote:

Fox News must be quite a comfort zone for you isn't it? I do watch FN: Ficticious News mainly to see to point of veiw they go to in trying to accomplish their agenda.

Peace

I'm not a fan that much but I believe they are better than most alternatives. Fox angered me when they tried to silence Ron Paul from the GOP debates.

However I'm not into the lovefest that most of the other media outlets have for Obama.

sweetpotato

unsung wrote:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/14/mickey-mouse-tries-register-vote/

so shall we assume that YOU will be showing up on november 4th to vote as mr. mouse? :rolleyes:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=306026

unsung

sweetpotato wrote:

so shall we assume that YOU will be showing up on november 4th to vote as mr. mouse? :rolleyes:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=306026

I am debating voting FOR him. I will probably vote for Mr. Baldwin, though I might still write in Ron Paul.

I would vote for Mickey if he was the third and only other choice.

saveuplife

g under p wrote:

This goes on in EVERY fricking election no different in 2004, 2000. Just that this election 2008 has come to light and voters will have to deal with it this coming from BOTH sides and you are foolish to think I don't care because I do.

What would you like to do stop the election and declare a winner by some default of some kind??

Well!

Peace

No. I think a Democratic process is necessary. However, I think it should be as "fair and legitamate" as possible. This indicates that the system is somewhat messed up. Democracy is still the best system, but it needs to be regulated properly. Rather than saying to each other "oh well, this goes on in every fricking election", let's try to take steps to fix the problems.

NOCODE#1

jeffbr wrote:

but in this case it just makes you look silly.

the straws that you and the anti obama club grasp at make you look silly

NOCODE#1

saveuplife wrote:

The point is the election is being tampered with.

wow apparently the Republicans stolen election in 2000 has been forgotten.

jeffbr

NOCODE#1 wrote:

the straws that you and the anti obama club grasp at make you look silly

Explain. I am anti-Obama & anti-McCain, so I'm not really part of the club. My only point was that it is silly to dismiss a generally reported story simply because one of the references was Fox News. If Fox were the only reference, I'd understand. But someone happened to put a link to the story from Fox News and suddenly this story, which had been reported on CNN, MSNBC, etc... was dismissed.

So which particular straws were being grasped?

Gonzo1977

NOCODE#1 wrote:

wow apparently the Republicans stolen election in 2000 has been forgotten.

Hey!!!
Don't forget about how The Republican's Stole Ohio from Kerry in 2004.

It's funny how a week ago Conservative talking heads like Hannity, Limbaugh, and Fox News were bitching about the Democrats "Already making excuses for losing this election"....AND NOW....Just 1 week later...It's those same Conservative talking heads crying a river over ACORN.

It's also very funny how this story breaks just as Obama starts to pull away from McCain in Florida.

Ohh how it must suck to be a Republican these days.

They're really running out of straws here.

OffHeGoes29

JSBE wrote:

exactly. who cares? it isn't like mickey mouse is going show up and vote.

Now you would change your tune if they were tied to the Rep. party.

There is a problem with it, they are registering them to a political party as well, which skews the facts.

inmytree

OffHeGoes29 wrote:

Now you would change your tune if they were tied to the Rep. party.

There is a problem with it, they are registering them to a political party as well, which skews the facts.

so you believe mickey mouse would show up to vote...

interesting...

OffHeGoes29

inmytree wrote:

so you believe mickey mouse would show up to vote...

interesting...

Way to twist it around....

Its voter fraud and against the law...

I don't why this is up for debate? I still have a hard time understanding why laws can be ignored if they help one party or another, depending on whos side you're on. Its illegal, why is it so hard to understand?