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The Spectacle Blog

ACORN 'Suspension' A Public Relations Ruse: Keep the Pressure On!

By Matthew Vadum on 9.16.09 @ 4:07PM

As my esteemed colleague Paul Chesser blogged earlier, the Washington Times is reporting:

ACORN, calling the actions of some of its employees "indefensible," has suspended advising new clients as part of its service programs and is setting up an independent review to see what happened.

ACORN chief executive Bertha Lewis said in a written statement that she was "ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN's service programs until completion of an independent review."

The actions were taken, she said, "as a result of indefensible action of a handful of our employees."

Videos of ACORN workers giving tax advice to people posing as prostitutes and other revelations have led to growing criticism of the organization in recent days.

Lewis continued: "We have all been deeply disturbed by what weve seen in some of these videos. I must say, on behalf of ACORN's Board and our Advisory Council, that we will go to whatever lengths necessary to reestablish the public trust. For nearly forty years, ACORN has given voice to communities, and gotten results. Right now, our nearly 500,000 member are working their hearts out for quality, affordable healthcare for every American and to help stop the foreclosure crisis. We must get this process right, so the good work can go forward." [...]

Certainly, this is progress in a sense but this sounds like yet another public relations scheme by the criminal organization known as ACORN.

I've been studying ACORN for more than a year now and have written tens of thousands of words on the organization. Clearly, ACORN management is well aware of what goes on in its offices. Management will probably use this so-called investigation as a smokescreen and throw lower-level employees to the wolves.

That's what ACORN does.

It's what ACORN has always done.

Do not be suckered by ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis's statement, which is merely a concession to the political exigencies of the moment. (Lewis isn't really in control of ACORN anyway. She's a figurehead.)

ACORN will try to stall and ride this out. It cannot be trusted to investigate itself. All of its major offices should be raided by law enforcement immediately.

These people are not mere activists.

They are gangsters and deserve to be treated as such.

View all comments (9) | Leave a comment

Hank Archer| 9.16.09 @ 4:21PM

Will Obama still do Letterman and the Sunday shows with his former employer being so notoriously in the news lately?

Maybe he is confident that no one will mention it.

I'd love to hear Letterman ask him, "So, I was thinking about setting up a brothel and I wondered if you could give me any tips?" Not a chance, but it would be hilarious.

yarrrr| 9.16.09 @ 4:42PM

ACORN thinks they can lean on their "advisory council" to help them clean up their act and get out of this mess...

http://www.washingtontimes.com.....y-council/

Which includes CAP's John Podesta , SEIU- Stern, disgraced former HUD secretary who expanded CRA Cisneros ...

chris| 9.16.09 @ 4:57PM

The dimwitted dems and libs are now realizing they can't trust ACORN especially for the census?
They have our money too. Hmmmm, if only someone would have spoke up. WAIT! WE DID!

Mary| 9.16.09 @ 5:11PM

I agree that this is a smoke screen attempt to afford them a PR op, and I'm sure their co-dependents in the Obama admin are in on it. We do need to keep up the pressure, and I've been calling my senators and rep every day, and encouraging my friends and family to do the same. This former liberal dem is mad as hell and feels a fool for ever defending the sick, twisted dem party.

Pete| 9.16.09 @ 6:58PM

All they did was suspend their "advisory" operations. Their main line of business in election year is voter registration fraud. I'll wager this activity has not been suspended.

Anon| 9.16.09 @ 7:18PM

ACORN is pretending that just a handful of employees are the problem. But if these employees were willing to do something as unbelieveable as give business advice to a brothel employing under-age, illegal alien children, what else have they helped people do? And how likely is it that this attitude is confined solely to the employees approached by the reporters?

riograndevalleygirl| 9.16.09 @ 7:27PM

Watch them closely...ACORN has many alter egos and their 'time out' may be spent funneling their human resources into another entity. Truly a monster....cut off a head and another grows in it's place.

bluecollarbytes| 9.17.09 @ 7:52AM

Most Acorn-corruption stories include Acorn stating that the employees involved were not the 'regular' Acorn personnel, but part timers, hangers-on, random human elements having nothing to do with ACORN. Do they have Any "regular personnel"? How is it that all 4 Acorn offices involved in the citizen-sting produced the same information from Acorn activists? Taken together with Acorn's vote-fraud activities, it provides a clear picture of an organization willing to act criminally to achieve its demands, fulfilling its shared goals with the messiah.