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Conyers Throwing ACORN Under the Bus?

By Matthew Vadum on 3.20.09 @ 7:26PM

Just five months ago uber-liberal House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers called radical direct-action group ACORN "a longstanding and well regarded organization that fights for the poor and working class."

But not anymore.

Yesterday the outspoken left-winger called for a congressional probe of ACORN. Conyers's proposal came on the same day as Judiciary's subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties received testimony from lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh about the extent of ACORN's corrupt activities, the Washington Times reports:

In an [sic] startling partisan shift, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. on Thursday proposed holding hearings on claims the liberal activist group ACORN engaged in a pattern of crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat and fierce partisan, suggested a congressional probe after scathing testimony about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) during a hearing on various voting issues related to the 2008 presidential election.

Mr. Conyers called the accusations "a pretty serious matter."

"I think that it would be something that would be worth our time," he said during Thursday's hearing. "We've never had one person representing ACORN before the committee. ... I think in all fairness we ought to really examine it." [...]

It is startling that someone like Conyers, who is very sympathetic to ACORN's policy goals and who has defended the group in the past, is now suddenly considering examining the many wrongdoings of ACORN. (Conyers received a 100% rating from ACORN in its 2006 legislative scorecard. See page 11 of PDF file.)

At the Thursday hearing, the congressional panel heard that ACORN runs a mob-style "protection" racket known within the radical direct-action group as the "muscle for the money" program.

Lawmakers also heard that ACORN, which I profiled in the November issue of Capital Research Center's Foundation Watch, has provided protest-for-hire services and extracted donations from the targets of demonstrations by shaking down those targets mafia-style.

The taxpayer-subsidized ACORN network, which owes millions of dollars in back taxes, also played a major role in the subprime mortgage mess that has undermined Americans' support for free market problem-solving and set off a worldwide chain of financial troubles.

And then there's ACORN's eight-year-long coverup of the million-dollar embezzlement by founder Wade Rathke's brother. When ACORN board members Marcel Reid and Karen Inman demanded to see the financial documents, they were expelled from the group. Reid and Inman have since become whistleblowers and formed a new group, ACORN 8, which is aimed at reforming ACORN.

It goes on and on and on.

Meanwhile, Megyn Kelly of Fox News laid into ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson over allegations of voter registration fraud.

It's very entertaining.

View all comments (15) | Leave a comment

ruth| 3.20.09 @ 10:06PM

What a shifty-eyed little bastard. Megyn kicked his sorry butt. Thug.

Hank| 3.21.09 @ 12:02AM

RE: "Under the bus"? Don't you believe it. These hearings will be a white wash.

Bill Bailey| 3.21.09 @ 12:28AM

Conyers is probably doing this so he can run a kangaroo court style hearing and make ACORN look good.

Angel| 3.21.09 @ 1:10AM

Hank, 'white wash'? Better watch that racist language; it's Conyers' court after all. LOL

harry flashman| 3.21.09 @ 4:32AM

If Conyers truly goes after ACORN it means that they've really been nailed by investigations and that he sees the indictments coming.

Anything he does with ACORN will be to inoculate OBama from the ACORN plague. Conyers will seek to distance the President from his ACORN connections and the even more damaging connections that lead from ACORN.

As Conyers has proved many times in the past - he's all show and no go.

Don L| 3.21.09 @ 4:53AM

I do believe that we're naive if we think he wants to "investigate" ACORN the people who gave them the Whitehouse - are involved in the Census and the coming volunteer (maybe) civilian president's "army."
This will be a whitewash (can I use that term still?) so get the washbowl out for the Dems Pontius Pilate routine . The purpose of this sham is to forever protect ACORN from the GOP assault because -"That's old stuff - they've already been found innocent!" Mark my words -liberals never do the right thing without an ulterior motive.

wantJustice| 3.21.09 @ 9:47AM

What if ACORN were to be 'sued' by anyone in the American public, or better yet, a class action lawsuit? They openly pursued (if not created)the subprime mortgage operation. It was a direct and purposeful action against the American people. It was purposely fraudulent. It crossed State lines, etc. etc. and they receive taxpayer money. Is this not worse than AIG?

George Bedway| 3.21.09 @ 10:28AM

Conyers and his allies (ACLU, etc.) are too busy trying to nail Bush and our Intelligence agents who have frustrated further terrorist attempts to action in this country. The ACORN hearings, if they happen, will be a whitewash to insulate the President from reaction to his alliance with this group. I am old enough to remember Hitler's "Brownshirts," and see its similarities to ACORN. Believe me, worse is coming. There is no fascism worse than that of the Left.

George Bedway| 3.21.09 @ 10:28AM

Angel| 3.21.09 @ 11:39AM

Something smells. Conyers is a good for nothing liberal hack. Must be something big against ACORN.

daveinboca| 3.21.09 @ 12:16PM

Jesse Jackson was the trailblazer on the "muscle for money" coercion/extorsion scam when he conned Toyota into about a $70 million payoff to keep a discrimination suit from proceeding in southern Illinois. That kept the MSM cameras and "probing investigative reporters" from poking around and Jesse in good nose candy for quite a while.

ACORN is a complete RICO case which used to be called "racketeering," but is now being run out of Rahm-bo's office next to Obama's Oval crime cockpit.

ruth| 3.21.09 @ 12:20PM

LOL. Well said.

jharp| 3.21.09 @ 12:31PM

dlkfjaosdgjlasdkjgasdlkglasdgjlerjg Stoopdi

Thomas| 3.21.09 @ 3:55PM

Incredible. jharp feels that because less than 60%[ i think that is still over half] of the registrations that ACORN secured were false, then that makes everything alright. Just a quick note here, to knowingly provide a single fraudulent registration is a criminal offense. So then only a majority of the registrations that ACORN provided constitute crimes. In its heyday, 60% of the Mafia's enterprises were legitimate, so I guess this makes that organization better than ACORN.

Thanks for making all of us feel more secure.

Leatha Basco| 3.21.09 @ 5:15PM

Just his constant interuptions ,,proves he is guilty as sin!,,we've all known they committed VOTER FRAUD and that's how OBAMA GOT IN!,,now they want to try to take Obama as far away from his connection away from ACORN as possible,,God forbid the 'truth' comes out about how Obama actually got in office ,,and all the CORRUPTION ACORN has done and is still doing!,,Why do you think Obama made it sound like oh we have to hurry,,hurry ,,hurry and get this stimulus package thru!!,,because he 'owes',,and he 'owes' big!,,that's exactly 'why' these so called Stimulus Packages have 'nothing' to do with getting the ECONOMY BACK ON TRACK!,,it has 'everything' to do with the money Obama owes his corrupt groups like ACORN! And will be making US the American People pay it back with raising our TAXES!!!,,Acorn has got to be investigated thoroughly and it must be STOPPED!!,,PUT COMPLETELY OUT OF BUSINESS PERIOD! AND 'ANYONE' no matter 'WHO' THEY ARE BE PROSECUTED to the full extent of the law!!,,again NO MATTER 'who' they are!!!!,,
And on this Video,,if you noticed he would not SAY they would NOT BE GOING TO DOOR TO DOOR because if he did,,he would be admitting that by going door to door there would be even MORE 'MUSCLE' out there threatening people if they do not agree to do what Obama wants!,,
Anyone that voted for Obama,,this racist ,,socialist!,,if they had any sense at all,,that does not believe ACORN to be CORRUPT ALL THE WAY,,ask yourself then WHY in the 1 trillion dollar Porkulus package was ACORN GIVEN millions if not TRILLIONS of dollars??????,,it's sickening and we as the People had better get up and start taking a stand!,,we will not have a CONSTITUTION to stand on if we don't!,,
There are many,,many sites that have lots of information that has been researched in depth about the corruption with this ADMINISTRATION and I would love to invite all of you to join and research these sites yourself,,it doesn't matter what so called 'party' you belong to,,the time to fight over what 'party' you belong to is way long gone!,,it doesn't matter anymore!!,,what matters is our FUTURE and our grandchildren's future as well as us as AMERICAN'S BEING ABLE TO KEEP OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS!
here are some links to some sites,,plesae check them out!,,lets ALL stand together to take our Country back from this Socialist that is doing nothing but hurting us and taking our rights away!! and intimidating people into doing what he wants to get his agenda accomplished!!
1. www.resistnet.com
2.www.spinpolitico.com
3.www.heritage.org 'or .com' 'can't remember'
4,www.teamsarah.com
5.www.wethepeopleusa.com 'there is a group on here you can sign and it's for 'all parties',,it doesn't matter what party ur on!
really none do as long as we all understand what is going on and want our Country back!
6.www.the912project.com
I don't know if many know about them or not,but there are also tea parties 'take off's of the Boston Tea Party,,against all these taxes obama is putting on all of us!,,
here is a link for the teaparties come tax time April 15th,,they will be all over America,,
7.www.taxdayteaparty.com
If you are tired of sitting back and letting Congress tax us to death and taking our American Rights away from us ,,please check these sites out!,,join and take a stand!!,,with millions of us that are TIRED AND NOT TAKING IT ANYMORE!