BCT Editorial – 9/20/09

This page was last updated on September 20, 2009.

No excuses; Editorial; Beaver County Times; September 20, 2009.

ACORN is mentioned in the other editorial today, but only in passing. As a reminder, ACORN stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. President Obama worked for ACORN before he ran for state office. As you read this editorial, keep in mind the story broke 10 days ago and a website search indicates this is the first time the Times mentioned it. During this time both the U.S. House and Senate voted to defund ACORN, but not a peep from the Times. As you will read, even with all we know the editorial whitewashes the scope of the scandal.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“ACORN’s leaders are scrambling to salvage their organization’s credibility.”

[RWC] What credibility? Even before we saw the recent video evidence of apparent criminal activity, ACORN was under investigation in 19 states plus the District of Columbia, by both Democrats and Republicans, primarily for voter registration fraud.

“The national community organizing group has been reeling ever since its employees were caught on camera telling a young couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp how to lie about the source of their income. Last week, it ordered an independent investigation into the matter.”

[RWC] ACORN “ordered an independent investigation into the matter?” ACORN is going to “investigate” itself and the Times isn’t at all skeptical?

“For ACORN, it might be too late to matter. That’s because one aspect of this incident wasn’t just about lying to the government about where the clients’ income came from. It concerns a moral bankruptcy that cannot and must not be excused.”

[RWC] “[T]his incident?” At last count there were videos of ACORN appearing to assist criminal activity in at least five ACORN offices in five cities across the U.S., from New York to San Diego. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the other 20 pre-existing investigations.

Not only is this “about lying to the government about where the clients’ income came from,” at the San Bernadino office a woman appeared to admit to the premeditated murder of her husband and in San Diego a man offered to help bring in the 13-15 year-old girls from El Salvador via his contacts along the Mexico border.

“At the Baltimore office, an ACORN worker actually told the young couple that they might want to claim underage Salvadorian prostitutes as dependents and collect child tax credit for them.”

[RWC] If you didn’t know better, based on this editorial you’d think it’s talking about a couple of rogue ACORN employees at one office, not a bunch of employees in offices in Baltimore, New York, San Bernadino, San Diego, and Washington, DC.

“Was this behavior institutional or individual? Given the heinous nature of exploiting underage children as prostitutes and the ACORN worker’s unblinking acceptance of their plight, it really doesn’t matter.”

[RWC] “Was this behavior institutional or individual?” Hmm, 20 criminal investigations in progress even before the recent mess. I think most of us know the answer to the editorial’s question. As a reminder, ACORN always uses the “rogue employee” defense. I could be wrong, but I believe ACORN’s worn out that excuse.

Finally, did you notice the editorial failed to note our own Sen. Bob Casey (D) was one of only seven senators (six Democrats and one independent who votes with Democrats) to oppose defunding ACORN? FYI, Rep. Jason Altmire (D-4) voted with 344 other reps to defund ACORN. All 75 votes against defunding were by Democrats, however. Two other Democrats voted “present.”