The American Spectator

AmSpecBlog

Glenn Beck Video About ACORN, Tides Foundation, Embezzlement

By Matthew Vadum on 5.22.09 @ 6:35PM

The "Glenn Beck Program" had a segment yesterday on Fox News about the connection between ACORN and the Tides Foundation, as I noted at AmSpecBlog yesterday.

The video clip of the segment wasn't available yesterday but it's available now. I have embedded the video below at the bottom of this post.

Meanwhile, from the useful idiots file, comedian Roseanne Barr, a longtime ally of ACORN who gave the ACORN Institute $50,000 through her foundation in 2005, has leapt to the defense of the embattled leftist group.

Barr lent her name to ACORN's fundraising efforts. The full letter is available here, but immediately below is the top of the letter: 

Dear Friend,

They just can't help themselves. Turn on Fox News this week and all you hear the right wing talk about is ACORN, ACORN, ACORN.

On Tuesday, right-wing nutjob Representative Michelle Bachmann accused ACORN of getting billions of dollars in stimulus money to carry out voter fraud.

She knows it's a lie -- but these guys just really can't stop. They're so scared of ACORN they're willing to try every lie in the book. [...]

Of course Bachmann said no such thing. Bachmann told Lou Dobbs Tonight that ACORN is eligible for a lot of federal money, a point lost on ACORN's direct mail department.

Barr explained why she supports ACORN in a Huffington Post article. Michael Moore introduced her to ACORN on the campaign trail in 2004, she said.

Returning to the Beck story, the TV host said that Drummond Pike, head of the Tides Foundation, wrote a personal check for about $700,000 to ACORN to cover the bulk of the $948,000 that Dale Rathke, brother of ACORN founder Wade Rathke, embezzled from the ACORN network.

The Tides Foundation is a pass-through entity. Wealthy liberals give the charity money, take the tax deduction, and then tell Tides which causes to give their money to. The money is then given in the name of Tides and the real donor's name is withheld. Pike has said that keeping the identity of Tides donors secret is very important and that's why he covered Dale Rathke's debt. Pike is also treasurer of George Soros's Democracy Alliance, which funds ACORN and plenty of other left-wing causes.

Wade Rathke, who was expelled by ACORN's national board last summer for his role in covering up the embezzlement, is a member of the Tides board. Suspicious? You betcha.

Meanwhile, ACORN stands accused of election fraud, extortion, and racketeering, yet congressional leaders have no interest in investigating the group. House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) and House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-Michigan) refuse to probe ACORN.

Why?

In the clip shown on Beck's show yesterday, Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins asked Frank about ACORN. Frank, who claims ACORN is not eligible for $8.5 billion in federal funding, tried to blame ACORN on the out-of-office Bush administration.

The congressman probably won't do anything about ACORN. Why would he? ACORN supporters are his power base.