Thanks From ACORN - Now Let's Move A Progressive Agenda!

We made history Tuesday.

A country created by slaveholders, that denied women the right to vote until 1920, and that needed a “second Reconstruction” in the 1960’s to guarantee the right to vote for Black Americans, elected the former community organizer and quintessentially American mixed-heritage Barack Hussein Obama to its Presidency.

Wow.

We made history despite the ugly campaign of fear and lies run by John McCain, a central tactic of which was to demonize ACORN and, in classic guilt-by-association innuendo, raise questions about President-Election Obama’s fitness for office. We know that not only did that tactic fail, but that voters responded to a campaign that challenged us to be our better selves, to believe in the promise of America, and our resilience as Americans of countless backgrounds and strengths.

We know that this campaign went beyond the impressive organization built by Obama and his chief strategists to a vast array of organizations, affinity groups, and ordinary citizens who, together, made this day possible. Our collective accomplishments on Election Day serve to remind the country both that working families are ready to vote – and organize – for change, and that we have yet to solve the real crises facing ACORN members and the American public.

In 2008, ACORN set out to change America – by helping end the foreclosure crisis, by winning affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans, and by mobilizing low- and moderate-income voters in record numbers to push for these and other issues.  Tuesday’s results provided a resounding affirmation for this agenda.

Our own contributions towards mobilizing low- and moderate-income voters included the largest non-partisan voter registration drive in U.S. history. We collected over 1.3 million voter registration applications from populations that are underrepresented in the electorate: people of color, low-income people, and young people. Approximately 900,000 people had a chance to vote in this election due to that effort. And when you add in the work that ACORN did over the previous two election cycles, we calculate that there were approximately 1.5 million more voters in the electorate from those constituencies than there were in 2002, simply due to our registration drives.

ACORN also engaged in a voter mobilization program that made 640,500 face-to-face voter contact attempts to new and infrequent voters in 10 states. This was augmented by a phone program that made approximately 311,000 live contact attempts.

But the election of 2008 ended up being deeply personal for the staff and members of ACORN. While we expected to weather assaults on the legitimacy of our work, based on our past experiences from 2004 and 2006, we were unprepared for the attack to be a nationally-coordinated assault that included the entire machinery of the Republican Party, from the RNC to the McCain Campaign to state and local GOP elected officials and the entire capacity of the conservative bamboozlement chorus.

Still reorganizing after a major staff leadership and Board transition that started over the summer, these attacks came at a time when our own internal capacity was still being rebuilt. So it was a profound and humbling experience to see an immense array of people and organizations step up and sacrifice their own priorities, time, and effort, to stand with us and fight back.

The list of organizations and individuals who need to be thanked by us is long and it is with trepidation that I even attempt to launch into it for fear of leaving someone out. But the plain fact is that the response was so generous that people deserved to be recognized by name. So here goes. If I left you out, feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Netroots and Progressive On-Line Media

AfroNetizen
AmericaBlog
Alternet
Black Agenda Report
Booman Tribune
The Brad Blog
Center for Independent Media network
    Colorado Independent    
    Michigan Independent
    Minnesota Independent    
    New Mexico Independent
    Washington Independent
Crooks and Liars
The DailyKos community
Feministing
FireDogLake
Hullabaloo
Huffington Post
Jack and Jill Politics
Media Matters for America
My Left Nutmeg
Newshounds
OpenLeft
Pam’s House Blend
Progress Illinois
Progress Ohio
The Public Record
Talking Points Media
The Uptake

Organizations
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
American Federation of Teachers
Center for American Progress
Common Cause
Communications Workers of America
DEMOS
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
League of Women Voters
MoveOn.org
NAACP
National Council of La Raza
National Education Association
People for the American Way
Progressive Accountability
SEIU
United Steelworkers of America
Watershed
Working Families Party

Individuals
Julian Bond
Donna Brazile
Hon. John Conyers
Hon. Keith Ellison
Mark Winston Griffith
Juan Gonzalez
Bob Herbert
Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Tom Joyner
Errol Lewis
Hon. Jerold Nadler
Rev. Al Sharpton
Hon. Maxine Waters

And everyone who signed our letter of support. 

If I could hug everyone at once, I would. Without everyone who stood with us it would have been impossible to fight back the way we did.

And that’s critical because we have a progressive agenda to pursue and our members’ interests to defend. We are going to be fighting for:

• An end to the foreclosure and credit crises facing ordinary Americans;
• Quality affordable health insurance as part of HCAN;
• Strengthening the public education system;
• Closing the wage and wealth gap as part of Half in Ten;
• Quality affordable housing;
• Passage of the Employee Free Choice Act;
• Achieving comprehensive immigration reform; and
• Creating a Federal budget that reflects the priorities of working families.

Finally, having been the target of a vicious, multi-layered, nationally coordinated attack by the Right on ACORN’s voter registration work, we lay down the gauntlet: put us out of the voter registration business and help us ensure that the government registers every eligible American to vote. We’d much rather organize to keep winning on the issues.

To steal and paraphrase from our friends at MoveOn, thank you for all you did and all you do.

Comments

[Papa D]

Thank you Ms. Lewis and ACORN. Is anyone investigating the false voter registrations that the Repugs tried to make into an issue? It is obvious that the people who submitted them were not trying to get away anything, (Mickey Mouse, Dallas Cowboys) they were trying to embarrass ACORN. I would bet that these people were McCain supporters who either volunteered or took entry level jobs to sabotage ACORNs efforts. I hope that they will be exposed!

[CorinneA]

Thank you and the wonderful dedicated ACORN members so much for all that you have done and will do.

[justobserve]

Thanks ACORN! McCain-2008 and especially Palin have disgraced the Republican Party. They exposed the racists, extremists and anti-intellectuals within the party to the ugliest level. Thanks to them, now I view Republican Party as the Racist Party forever unless they change their game in the next election. Obama had campaign a very spirited one with class and real love for this divisive country of ours. Many times, I doubted if voters would be for their own interests or listen to the worst of our nature but fortunately voters have answered the dirty and lying tactics from McCain and Palin with a resounding win for Obama. It's a shame that as a democracy we still have to fight frauds, malfunctioned machines, long delay that made exercizing our constitutional right deliberately difficult. What did it show the world? ACORN and other organizations for democracy should push hard for VOTING BY MAIL as in Oregon. It's convenient and have paper trail to fight fraud.

[pons1595]

Thank you, Acorn! Yes, the Republican Party is a nest of racists. Their very existence is an affront to decency and dignity; John McCain and Sarah Palin are lowlifes whose efforts to smooth over their outrageous behavior will fail. I for one can never forget their insidious campaign and actions.

[Pquilson]

Odd, your post speaks of racism. The only party I recall in this election that mentioned race was the democrat party.
We shall see if Mr. Obama can lead in a "post-racial" manner. I hope that he can. If he can not, then this country is in a big mess.

[tangelan]

Are you serious? President Elect Obama will lead dispite McCain/Palin divisive campaign tactics. Now they've skulked home with their proverbial tails between their legs, you're still trying to place the blame for the change in tone of this campaign at Obama's door?

Heads up. This country has been a mess for eight long years. We shall hope that President Elect Obama can reverse the damage. It's a tall order. I hope you'll be patient. If not, 65 million of us has his back.

[nellie]

Thank YOU for all you've done for us. You helped make Obama's victory a reality.

[jeffrey678]

Voting should be much easier than it is now! The Oregon system sounds good . This would bypass many of the problems like 10 hour lines, bad weather, and broken voting machines. Many of the conservative blogs tell their readers to stand in voting lines of Democratic areas to reduce the number of Democrats that can vote on election day.

[sean6886]

I live in Washington State and we also have the mail in ballots. They work great. We've have them since about the 2000 election I believe.
Although I can mail mine in, I prefer to drop it off on election day since the drop off spot is down the street from my house. That way I know for sure it made it in the ballot box.
I felt so terrible for anyone who had to wait in long lines. I hope Obama and Biden work to change the voting laws to be more of a mail in system.

[Palmz]

Thank you Ms. Lewis

Great job. We knew the truth.

Send a special thanks to Robert Kennedy Jr.

He was a champion of our cause too.

[Cil]

The entire REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ALL OF IT'S AFFILIATES SHOULD
HANG THEIR HEADS IN SHAME! This party has shown AMERICA WHAT
IT REALLY MEANS TO FIGHT DIRTY!

How could so many essentially good people allow themselves to
BE LED BY A BUNCH OF NAME THRASHING, CHARACTER
ASSASSINATING RATS!

I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE PROUD OF AMERICANS THAT I DID
ON TUESDAY NIGHT! (I have always been proud) IT REALLY
SENT A CHILL UP MY SPINE, WHEN I REALIZED THAT WOW! SO
MANY AMERICANS GOT THE MESSAGE, EVEN IN THE FACE OF ALL
OF THE REPUBLICANS LAST MINUTE EFFORTS TO PAINT BARACK
BLACK, (sorry no pun intended) THE MESSAGE GOT THROUGH
LOUD AND CLEAR!

Finally, I need to CONGRATULATE ALL BARACK SUPPORTERS
WHO MADE IT ALL HAPPEN. YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB, AND
WHAT I FIND SO VERY MOVING, IS JUST HOW MANY, DID SO
MUCH, EVEN IF IT WAS JUST GETTING OUT AND MAKING THEIR
VOTE COUNT!

Americans....CONGRATULATIONS!

YES YOU DID! YES YOU DID! YES YOU DID!

[WetNoodle]

I Think that the Republican Party is on the way out, and they seem to be getting desperate, because of this landslide victory for Barack. I have listened to some Conservative talk radio programs lately and the subject of the wholesale use of the filibuster as a tool to control Democratic proposed Legislation, has been discussed at length. The gist of the conversations is that the only recourse that the Republicans have anymore is to play hardball in the Senate by using the filibuster to try to get their way, to block all Legislation proposed by the Democrats, that the Republicans do not agree with. Someone even suggested that it be called the "Filibuster Power Play, or FPP". Talk about an arrogant attitude, by a bunch of sore losers?

[jeffrey678]

The Republicans want to redistrict the Democrats at the state level in 2010. They did this in Georgia in 1990, and Texas in 2000. They want to make it impossible for Democrats win anymore seats. They can't win by their ideology.

[thinkagain2]

They did it in Kansas, too. The mostly blue eastern part of the state, and the most populous, was hacked up to prevent a democratic majority.

[ProFromOre]

The Failure Party does not get the prerogative nor the control of re-districting. The party in control does.

It will take a concerted effort on everybody's part to accomplish Obama's goals for the country. Educating people as to the depths of amoral and non-ethical philosophy, beliefs and actions of the Failure Party is essential.

The collapse of 'free market - trickle down' economics has to be final. The Failure Party CANNOT be allowed to resurrect this false and failed theory a fifth time, the country will not survive. Read your history books. The current crisis, brought on by a dominance of the false economic theory, is worse than the 1930's. The Great Depression was worse than the crisis in the late 1800's and the collapse int he late 1880's was worse than the collapse earlier in the century.

All were brought on by Republican control and their pushing of this false theory. The country's recovery this time around is in doubt; if 'free market - trickle down' economic theory is not killed once and for all, the country WILL NOT survive a future resurrection.

THAT is NOT in doubt.

[Kiba]

Thank you Ms. Lewis, thank you ACORN, and thanks to everyone involved in building and strengthening a Progressive base.

[thinkagain2]

Should Senator Stephanie Tubbs Jones be added to your list of individuals? HOw sad she didn't see this new day.

[knowBuddhaU]

O sister my Sister Bertha, you led the way, you inspired me personally. Although I feel I did little (other than fending off tr0lls from your posts here on HuffPo), I accept your thanks, and return them a million-fold.

I like your suggestion about the gov't putting ACORN out of the registration business. Michael Moore said something that seems like a no-brainer.

"[M]ake everyone automatically a registered voter. Simply by the fact that you"re a citizen of the country, you"re automatically registered at that moment. So if you were born here"like in Canada, essentially your birth certificate is your voter registration card, and you"re registered at Elections Canada, you know, when you"re born."

I'm all for electoral reform. How did our system get so badly screwed up? How do we straighten it out? I know I'm not alone in wanting to know. I'm not at all willing to go through one more stolen federal, state, or local election.

My euphoria, in having Poet-President-Elect Obama (as a poet myself, I say with some authority: his speaking style is poetry in motion) as our leader, doesn't blind me to injustice. In fact, it encourages me to see to it that we "Let justice roll down like a mighty stream."

Ready, America? "Let's roll."

[Kiba]

Yep, every American citizen should be automatically registered, and participation should be made as easy as pie. Oregon's system of voting by mail is good. I'd like to see it done online. Everyone gets a secure page that delivers their local, state, and federal races, and provides in depth information on candidates, propositions, and so on. Of course, participation can also be done offline by dropping off a ballot at any number of convenient locations.

[UKlondongal]

Sorry but on-line voting is too vulnerable to hackers. Paper ballots are the only way to go. That and a non-partisan federated voting system across all states.

[wulfsbane]

You know I'd like to acknowledge the people who solidified the victory of Barack Obama.

The bankers, and practitioners of predatory lending policies whose malicious unfettered greed finally convinced a nation of nervous fence sitters to overcome their fear of a black president, if only out of a sense of economic necessity.

Thank you greedy SOB's for this nations first black president.