Breaking News
ACORN's Moonbeam
Jerry Brown, currently California attorney general, and ACORN go way back.
Californians have plenty of reasons not to trust their state attorney general to conduct an honest probe of ACORN and the hidden-camera videos that helped expose the group's criminal inclinations for the world to see.
That's because Jerry Brown's one gnarly dude. Like, totally.
The radical, perpetual office holder who handed out acorns during mayoral inauguration festivities in 1999 -- describing them as symbolizing "seeds of change" -- goes way back with ACORN.
The New Left crusader known as Governor Moonbeam when he was the state's chief executive from 1975 to 1983 has had close ties to the group for years, according to a former ACORN official.
ACORN endorsed Brown and performed voter registration and get-out-the-vote work for his campaigns for Oakland mayor and state attorney general, Fannie Brown (no relation) told me in an interview earlier this week.
A resident of Oakland who used to be a California state delegate on ACORN's national board, Fannie got fed up with ACORN's corruption. ACORN's chief organizer, Bertha Lewis, expelled her from the group a year ago for asking too many questions about a million-dollar embezzlement perpetrated by the brother of founder Wade Rathke. She's now a member of the whistleblower group ACORN 8.
There is other evidence of Jerry Brown's involvement with ACORN.
As mayor, Brown worked with ACORN and ACORN Housing on an anti-predatory lending campaign called "Don't Borrow Trouble." (Oakland Post, June 20, 2001) ACORN gave Attorney General Brown an "A" grade on its "Real Leadership in Fighting Foreclosures" scorecard last year.
Brown has long been enthusiastic about community organizing. When he was California governor, he singled out ACORN as a group he trusted:
[I]n this job I spend my time calling on that same network of community organizers that has been there right along…When I talk to people about community programs, I want to talk to the people from ACORN and Fair Share and Mass Advocacy -- all the community groups that I've known over a period of years.
Around the same time, Brown praised the aggressive tactics of the taxpayer-funded community service organization VISTA, which became part of AmeriCorps during the Clinton era.
When asked whether "[t]he rich, the corporations, Republicans in general, may still regard a highly publicized VISTA program and your volunteers as a threat," he replied, "I assume they will, and they ought to; if they don't, then I'm not doing my job."
Sounding like ACORN founder Wade Rathke, Brown added that VISTA "ought not to be just a bunch of low-paid social workers. It ought to be people helping to get themselves together to build new institutions."
Meanwhile, the fact that Brown, who may yet again be governor, has a close working relationship with ACORN is important because he is investigating the group. ACORN has been in hot water since September when undercover videos surfaced showing its employees in California and elsewhere bending over backwards to counsel clients to break the law. In the videos filmmaker James O'Keefe portrayed a pimp and Hannah Giles portrayed a prostitute.
California law forbids secret electronic recordings of "confidential communication."
About the Author
Matthew Vadum is an award-winning investigative journalist at a conservative watchdog group in Washington, D.C. Vadum is also author of Subversion Inc: How Obama's ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (53) | Leave a comment
Leave a Comment
Related Articles
More Articles by Matthew Vadum
More Articles From Breaking News
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/11/19/acorns-moonbeam
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Common Prayer, Uncommon Beauty
- The Pearls of Pauline
- Down in the Desert
- Digital Subscription (Save 78%)
- Buy a single issue (Save 50%)
- Send Spectator as a gift
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
S.L. Toddard| 11.19.09 @ 8:16AM
mon⋅o⋅ma⋅ni⋅a
–noun
1. (no longer in technical use) a psychosis characterized by thoughts confined to one idea or group of ideas.
2. an inordinate or obsessive zeal for or interest in a single thing, idea, subject, or the like.
Matthew Vadum| 11.19.09 @ 10:50AM
crank
–noun
1. an unbalanced person who is overzealous in the advocacy of a private cause.
2. S.L. Toddard
S.L. Toddard| 11.19.09 @ 2:13PM
At this point, Mr. Vadum, you could just re-post the "monomania" definition under my monomania-definition posts. Your (or rather what I perceive to be your) monomania is now the focus of my monomania. We can be monomaniac brothers in arms; two one-eyed men in a kingdom of the blind, having a staring contest!
Don't blink!
victor| 11.19.09 @ 6:47PM
Actually, Toddy, that would Monomaniacal, which doesn't mean a rather large monocle. In your case, though, with your rather outsized ego, it would be the size of a small pizza.
Dixie Pixie| 11.19.09 @ 12:24PM
To: S L Toddard
Give it up.
It was funny the first time, redundant the second time, and annoying for the rest.
Besides you keep mis-applying the word monomania. Gov Brown was renowned for his flighty behavior and eccentric beliefs. Not monomania ever. Please try to stay on track.
S.L. Toddard| 11.19.09 @ 2:21PM
I have to disagree with you. It wasn't that funny the first time either.
Dixie Pixie| 11.19.09 @ 6:47PM
To: S L Toddard
I will concede the point.
You certainty are a connoisseur of Toddard jokes having provoked so many of them.
Focus -- SL -- Focus
Do try to keep to the theme of the thread.
Ken (Old Texican)| 11.19.09 @ 8:55AM
Governor Moonbeam indeed.
No question about it, California truly is the land of fruits and nuts.
Sadly, there is a huge minority of fine people out there. They MUST take their State back if they are going to continue raising their families there.
C'mon Californians, get your heads out and elect a legislature with a collective 60IQ and a hatred of what communism, (pardon the shorthand), has done to your beautiful State.
Communism dressed in green is still communism.
We in Texas just hate continuing to bail you guys out with our tax dollars.
victro| 11.19.09 @ 6:50PM
Trouble is, when Californians get really sick of the state, tehy move to Oregon or Washington, where they proceed to befoul the wilderness with the same behavior.
Witness the lefty looniness of those states.
Andrews| 12.2.09 @ 2:07PM
With a declining 137,000 California millionaires paying 50% of the income tax for a state with a population of 34 million and only 15% of legal registered citizens voting the state has become dominated by open borders,race based advocates and people who see themselves as either loyal to Mexico First or as "Citizens of the World" !
Californians who see themselves as citizens
of the USA are increasingly a smaller minority
and under siege!
Dustoff| 11.19.09 @ 9:29AM
Ahhhhh Yes. I remember the last time Mr. Moonbeam was our gov. He and his father left our state in such a mess.
But if the people elect him again... well don't be surprised when your 100 billion in the hole.
He's known for his spending.
Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 10:54AM
Capital Research Center: links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
defeated pigs| 11.19.09 @ 11:31AM
Yeah old Mr Moonbeam the spendy spendy guy. He refused to live in the governors mansion and lived in a one bedroom loft to save money for california. You guys are morons.
Grzmlyk| 11.19.09 @ 11:37AM
Hey Matthew, I think you misunderstood Toddard - his oh-so-clever posting (and it's effective every single time he uses it) was something of a confession.
AmSpec is to Toddard as Moby Dick was to Ahab.
The poor man is hoist with his own petard. Again.
Matthew Vadum| 11.19.09 @ 12:36PM
Well, call me Ishmael, Grzmlyk.
Ken (Old Texican)| 11.19.09 @ 1:01PM
Splendid funny riposttee, Matthew.
Two in fact: "crank" was pretty funny too.
I now have a one word response to Toddard's posts I happen to notice.. heh!
Sometimes his server goes down you might note. He is hunkered down in Fortress America at the north pole with Superman.
victor| 11.19.09 @ 5:41PM
In Toddard's case that would be The Fortress of Smallitude.
Grzmlyk| 11.19.09 @ 9:39PM
Nothing like being late back to the party:
But touche, Matthew. At least I got that far into the book. Then I rented the movie!
Matthew Vadum| 11.20.09 @ 11:21PM
Good move. I'm no Melville fan either.
Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 11:55AM
Is the Fix in on Jerry Brown’s ACORN Investigation? | American Courthouse links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Richard Baker| 11.19.09 @ 12:48PM
Brown and the present People's Republic of California electorate are made for each other. Amazing how the house IS falling down around their heads and the Californians keep doing the same things. Isn't that insane?
Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 2:15PM
Acorn » Current News Trends links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Marc Jeric| 11.19.09 @ 3:06PM
Moonbeam Brown will be elected governor again - with the help of ACORN brownshirts and SEIU and teacher union thugs, his system of local soviets (in Russian that spells community organizations).
Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 3:24PM
Acorn | The American Spectator : ACORN’s Moonbeam links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 11.19.09 @ 3:28PM
Acorn | The American Spectator : ACORN’s Moonbeam links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Dustoff| 11.19.09 @ 7:39PM
defeated pigs| 11.19.09 @ 11:31AM
Yeah old Mr Moonbeam the spendy spendy guy. He refused to live in the governors mansion and lived in a one bedroom loft to save money for california. You guys are morons.
++++++++++++++++++++
Hey Moron. Do you know that this mansion still had to be kept up even he was their or not. So we paid TWICE.
Jezzz I love these fools.
Roy| 11.20.09 @ 2:20AM
More to the point, while the symbolism is nice, it's just that, symbolism. It's not even a drop in the bucket compared to what a leftist governor costs a state by jumping at the bit to hurl billions in taxpayer money at whatever leftist fad comes to their notice.
Ole Phart| 11.20.09 @ 6:07AM
The flat was more convenient for boffing loose moral soprano recording artists whereas the governor would not look good shacking up in the mansion. Today he could probably get away with having orgies and be commended for it.
But-whatdoiknow?| 11.20.09 @ 10:52PM
Vadum: Once again, you get it wrong. Brown HATED ACORN in Oakland. Hated. Trust me.
Matthew Vadum| 11.20.09 @ 11:24PM
Is that so?
Plenty of Democrats secretly hate ACORN but still work with it.
Put up or shut up.
Pingback| 11.26.09 @ 9:26PM
San Jose Adult Entertainment: ACORN’s Moonbeam | Info & News On San Jose Escorts. links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 12.27.09 @ 1:56PM
The American Spectator : ACORN's Moonbeam · entertainment life links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Lieuer Euy| 1.17.10 @ 7:31AM
I have surfed the net more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It's worth enough for me. Thanks.
Computer Blog Technology | Identify What Is My IP Address Region
george| 3.11.10 @ 7:34PM
i remember watching this video i was so shock that something like this really could be going on. i believe the video was in baltimore and also heard there were more of the same events taking place around the country. I really would like to see if justice will be serve in the end
Kim| 3.22.10 @ 10:24AM
BuySSL Certificates @ best price from ClickSSL.com
hdgsdfds| 4.15.10 @ 3:42AM
h3>replica franck muller watches
jimmy choo replica
Disney Games| 5.29.10 @ 2:45PM
I don't think it was funny the first time...
Paul Smith| 9.20.10 @ 10:37AM
i suppose it was only a matter of time