Plouffe Fights ACORN Smears: It's A Smokescreen

After days of withering attacks against ACORN and implications that the Obama campaign was using the community organizing group to perpetuate voter fraud, aides to the Illinois Democrat fought back on Tuesday.

In a conference call with reporters, campaign manager David Plouffe called the charge that ACORN was illegally registering voters (and that Obama had nefarious ties to the organization) a cynical "smokescreen" and an attempt to discourage people from going to the polls.

"This is just the start of what is going to be a very deliberate and cynical attempt to try and create confusion and challenge people inappropriately," he said. "They clearly, strategically, believe the more people who vote in this election, the less their chances are [for victory]."

At one point, Plouffe chided the conservative echo chamber that had painted ACORN -- which helps poor communities with a number of issues including voter registration and affordable housing -- as a criminal enterprise.

"Fox News has turned themselves into the 24-hour ACORN channel," he said, adding later: "We are not particular concerned with these predictable Republican tactics."

The voter registration debate is, in fact, highly predictable. Each cycle, Democrats cry afoul about voter suppression, while Republicans bemoan fraud. Victory in such political trench-warfare is usually defined in media narratives rather than registration numbers. Although the New York Times recently reported that,"Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law."

In fact, despite a week of constant complaints, there has been only one lawsuit filed by a Republican group against ACORN's efforts -- The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio-based think tank, filed a state RICO action on Tuesday.

To a certain extent, the faux-outrage of conservatives this go around seems painfully transparent. John McCain, for example, gave the keynote speech at a rally co-sponsored by ACORN in 2006. Other Republicans have also praised the organization's efforts.

Nevertheless, on the conference call, the Obama campaign said it was prepared for legal battles over voter rolls should they occur either before or after the election. The team, as the Huffington Post reported, has a bevy of volunteer lawyers willing to go to work on local levels. But they don't necessarily foresee it getting to that point.

"We have a very active aggressive legal operation," said Obama's legal counsel, Bob Bauer. "But we are not terribly worried. I'm not quiet sure what Sarah Palin [who warned of ACORN stealing the election] has in mind... It is something we are going to be prepared to deal with."

Comments

[walk0nwalls]

This is the first time I've seen Plouffe's picture and...does he work on 30 rock?

[MadFae]

Accusing Obama of wrongdoing by association with ACORN is like accusing me of being responsible for the employees at a Taco Bell I once went to when they get caught spitting in the food. Sure, I gave them money...once...but I wasn't in charge of their entire operation, nor does that mean they work for me, even if they all really like me. The fact that management hired bad employees has nothing to do with me, and if they spit in your taco, it ain't my fault.

[mystiqal]

Thanks for the early morning visual...no more Taco Bell for me!

[paddymeehan]

LOU DOBBS, R A C I S T: http://radicallyrightugly.blogspot.com/2008/09/cnn-lou-dobbs-endorses-obama-waffles.html

[SShaw490]

It's curious to me that Acorn gets castigated for filling out voter registration cards and finding out - themselves - that some are fraudulent, and everyone gets all wound up about it. Then the Republicans purge tens of thousands of legal voters off the voting roles - in predominately Democratic districts - and nobody really says much about it.

That just goes to show you - even if the Acorn thing WAS a Democratic effort to commit voter fraud (and it's not), you can sure tell which party is BETTER at cheating. The Republicans blow a few hundred thousand people right off the roles and never leave their comfy chair. Democrats go out and work and sweat to turn in one thousand duplicate registration cards and then show the States which ones are bogus.

If the Democratic party is ever going to get anywhere, they have to learn to perform the art of voter fraud better. We're completey outclassed in that area.

[fiorastar]

This is exactly the strategy. Use ACORN as a way to intimidate the MSM about even mentioning the loss of tens of thousands of newly registered Democratic voters--at a time when voter registration efforts are bolstering the confidence of a whole new generation that they can actually DO something about the mess that's been created for them by the Republicans while they were growing up. It's the ultimate in creating cynicism. Thousands of idealistic, hard working, young new voters go to the polls only to find they've been purged and cannot vote. The MSM is too frightened of their Republican Overlords who pay the bills to actually report on it--especially since there is that whole "ACORN fraud" thing they can bring up.

www.gregpalast.com

[WendyKa]

Oh Man, CNN is trying to make this story out to be something more sinister than it is.

ACORN has been hap hazzard about how they hire people to do this job of registering people. Homeless, drug addicts, destitute and ACORN required them to meet a quota and they would lose their job if they did not meet it. So they made up names or duplicated names to fill it up. THAT IS IT. MSNBC just made it all very clear and also made it clear that there is no voter fraud and will not be any. You need an ID. What CNN does to have a story I swear. They look silly.

This will be a landslide and there will be no dispute.

[mredder4]

Check out the 23/6 investigation of the ACORN scandal hearings:
http://www.236.com/news/2008/10/14/inside_the_acorn_investigation_9529.php

[TiaL27]

CSPAN interviews ACORN spokesperson - if you want to know the truth behind the ACORN controversy listen to this:

http://cspanjunkie.org/?p=797

[Bitsko]

Fortunately, when most people hear ACORN they think of squirrels in the park. The two people I've talked to over the past week who were highly critical of ACORN are still voting for Senator 0bama.

[Sparty1]

What's sad is that they're talking about the so-called voter registration fraud, but no one's talking about the voter rolls that are being illegally purged 30 days before the election. I mean the voter registrars are there to weed out duplicate registrations. I mean we know that Tony Romo or Terrell Owens are not planning to show up in NV to vote come election day. We also know that if you're a legally registered voter and you get to the polls on election day and you're name's not on it, that's wrong. How can they do this without notifying people that they're not on the rolls? In doing this less than 30 days before the election, these people can't even go and appeal or re-register. Now tell me which situation is worse.

[Frenchy9]

The vote purging is almost final so it's much worst.

Now, how is it that CNN (the only US channel we can see in Taiwan) speaks so much about
ACORN problem but extremely lite about registration suppression?

[Kerra52]

Obama announced that he has a team of HUNDREDS of attorneys volunteering all over the country helping with Voter Suppression this year. They have already started working on this and will be there on Election day. But again, this is why we have to not become complacent and assume we are ahead enough to win. This MUST be a landslide so that there is no dispute.

[TiaL27]

YEAH!

[Leon72]

tHE BRADLEY EFFECT IS A COMPLETE MYTH. THIS SO-CALLED PHENOMENON SO CALLED OCCURED 26 YEARS AGO. USA DEMOGRAPHICS ARE DIFFERENT. THIS BS IS AN ATTEMPT BY NEO CONS TO HAVE ALIBI WHEN WEIRD THINGS HAPPEN ON ELECTION DAY.

[WendyKa]

I just saw a report on CNN. Acorn hires HOMELESS PEOPLE, DRUG ADDICTS, people who are destitute and need money. They give them quotas to meet and if they cannot make them, they lose their jobs. So obviously some are making up names make it look like they were busy to keep getting paid $8. They probably do not know it is illegal.

But THAT point needs to be made. Nothing to do with Obama. Plus who thinks Mickey Mouse is gonna be able to vote without an ID? It is not considered voter fraud until they vote.

However, this is a really important election and it was very irresponsible for ACORN to hire irresponsible people. I know that is what they do, help the poor in many ways but this could have been done better.

[Frenchy9]

CNN presents this information in a way that implies strong links with Obama!

Repeatedly and everyday the "information" becomes heavier and more biased!

What is their goal? We should protest to all the CN channels, ask Campbell Brown, Jack Catterfly to intervene.

[Kerra52]

YES! I noticed that. But in this report today there was an interview with an official who said they had problems with ACORN for years because of the people they hire. That was it. That one comment the official made. They did not reiterate that point, just went on to make it appear more sinister than it was. But many would not have caught that. I think most who watch CNN and Fox do thing it was something more organized and sinister.

THEN I go to MSNBC and the afternoon show makes it clear that it is a nothing and not an organized thing like CNN and FOX imply. They even interviewed Obama and others who have been involved with "paid" workers registering voters in other organizations and this happens a lot. AND guess what? Mickey Mouse needs an ID to vote and the guy whose name is registered 75 times can only vote once. And Keith's show made the same point and Rachel Maddow's show as well.

I don't know what to make of CNN anymore.

[KickerBoard]

Watch Wolf Blitzer and his "Special Investigations Team" on today's S*h*ituation Room, slandering Obama with ACORN "voter fraud". Pity they're never as interested in the disenfranchisement of black and poor voters that keeps stealing elections every four years. And, surprise, surprise, it doesn't occur to any of these "investigators" that ACORN may be subject to sabotage. Some journalists they have at CNN! Jack Cafferty and Jeffrey Toobin should be given The Situation Room. Wolf is a relic.

[Kerra52]

CNN is too worried about being "in the tank" with Obama or slanted like Fox so they try and sensationalize stories that are really non stories.

READ MY COMMENT ABOVE how they left out a very important part of the whole report all week yet MSNBC always gets it right and gets it all.

I guess CNN still wants that interview with Sarah Palin. I think they should give it up and do a better job at what they are paid to do. Report ALL the news. Don't leave stuff out LIKE FOX that might give a perfectly sound reason why things are done.

CNN is really disappointing this election year. And I hear that a lot from people.

[rebelrebel]

Technically it's not voter fraud, because these registration forms will be disallowed. You could certainly say it's an attempt at fraud, but not a very effective one. The bogus forms are so obviously fakes --- same handwriting on dozens of forms, fake names that stand out like a sore thumb --- that you have to wonder why anyone would think they could get away with this nonsense. Perhaps they hoped that the sheer number of ballots would make it harder for the election boards to spot, but that seems pretty unlikely.

Of course I don't believe the Obama campaign would have anything to do with this childish, criminal idiocy. ACORN has had problems since the beginning, so if they want to maintain their reputation they need to institute some kind of quality control. This does considerable damage to the integrity of the electoral process and shows a fundamental disrespect for democracy.

It's conceivable that this is the work of some anti-Obama people who are trying to make him look bad, but that might be tough to prove.

[truegreen]

wait a minute? McCain himself went to various ACORN meetings. STUPID! STUPID!