More Debunking
Originally published at indulgences in purgatory. Please leave any comments there.
I typed this in response to my father forwarding me his source on the ACORN voter registration news pieces. The source he forwarded to me had this at the very end of the message “Paid for byMcCain-Palin 2008″
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So, I did a bit of research on Acorn and cries of foul regarding it. This is what I found:
Ever election year has seen this same complaint.
Same news story but in 2006
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-20064771_ITM. It’s from 10/06.
and then this one from from 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/304877_acorn23.html .
and now from 2008
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/indiana_and_ohio_spar_locally.php
If you read the history of these issues you will find that the fraud is committed by people _hired_ by ACORN. These people are sub-contractors hired short-term/part time. When indictments have occurred it is because ACORN officials have submitted the fraudulent forms to prosecutors. In most cases it is ACORN that discovers the problem registrations and notifies the authorities so that if there is ample evidence, the authorities can address the issue.
Yes, voter registration is fraud: workers are registering people that don’t exist. But from all the news stories over the last 8 years (and if you google search and click “news” you will see them), they’re all the same. People have been found guilty, but this fraud does not affect the out come of an election because fraudulently registered voters don’t show up. If they attempt to vote via absentee ballot, the fake voter still must be verified. The minimum time need to verify a voter is 3 weeks. That is why this year’s deadline to register is the 20th of October.
All sources I’ve read have concluded that this is the same tactic that is played ever election year. The numbers are exaggerated to suit their desire to raise the fear level of their base.
See this URL: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Acorn_pushes_back_hugs_McCain.html?showall
I think the quote “Bertha Lewis, Acorn’s chief organizer, said in a statement that came with the photo, “It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans.”" sums up what the Republican party is doing fairly well.
So, taking the email you received from the Republican campaign at face value without looking into the matter, I can easily see how you would think that ACORN is defrauding the voting system. What is really happening is that the McCain campaign is playing on the fears and mis-education of their base voters. McCain himself, until last week was just as closely tied to ACORN as Obama.
If you have the time, I suggest this article/commentary:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/DN-hasen_10edi.ART.State.Edition1.436da28.html
It covers the basics regarding this sort of tactic in the 2006 elections.
Remember, don’t accept things from anyone at face value without adequate sourcing. If you don’t determine truths from propaganda you’re not really casting your own vote.
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Yeah my last line was kind of preachy, but now that I have him sending me his source material, I want him to actually do research. Accepting what any political party tells you without checking on your own is just not responsible.