Anti-ACORN Messages Threaten Staff and Obama (AUDIO)

Against a backdrop of GOP-backed allegations that it is involved in voter registration fraud, the activist ACORN group has been targeted with emails and voicemails threatening its staff as well as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

One of the aggressive messages, secured by HuffPost's OffTheBus, says that "all the ni**ers," including Obama, are going to get "assassinated" and "hung."

The threats come at a time when the McCain-Palin campaign has been publicly linking the non-profit Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now directly to the Obama campaign while suggesting the group is engaged in a coordinated effort to register ineligible voters.

In addition to the verbal threats and racially offensive messages, ACORN offices in two cities were recently vandalized, and a 58 year old Obama campaign volunteer wrongly assumed to be associated with the group was assaulted Saturday.

In a conference call with reporters Monday, ACORN spokesman Brian Kettenring said numerous employees of the group nationwide have started receiving threatening telephone calls, voicemails and emails and described the intimidation as "a byproduct of [the Republican] voter suppression campaign" and "what happens when you pursue the politics of fear as your electoral strategy":

In a followup interview Tuesday, Kettenring indicated that ACORN's attorneys had spoken with the U.S. Department of Justice about the threats, and are in the process of gathering evidence from all of ACORN's offices nationwide to give to the D.O.J. F.B.I. agents in Cincinnati and Cleveland contacted Tuesday had not been made aware of the problem, and the central D.O.J. press office, to which my calls were directed, declined to answer any questions directly and instead asked me Tuesday to submit my questions by email. Laura Sweeney, the D.O.J. spokesperson designated to answer all press calls concerning ACORN, including both those related to allegations of voter registration irregularities and, apparently, these new concerns about threats against ACORN, did not respond to two emails sent several hours apart on Tuesday.

Nathan Henderson-James of Citizens' Services Inc., a political consulting firm working with ACORN, provided OffTheBus with examples of the voicemails, collected, he said, directly from ACORN's internal voicemail system. Kettenring also vouched for the voicemails' authenticity. The messages, which Henderson-James indicated were left for ACORN employees in Ohio and Rhode Island, range from people expressing anger to others using harsh racial epithets and threatening the safety of ACORN employees and of Obama. The audio has been edited for content and to remove some callers' identifying information.

Caution: the following contains extremely violent and offensive language:

Henderson-James also provided reporters with examples of emails sent to ACORN employees since the Republican barrage of allegations began. In one, an ACORN manager in Ohio is told that she is "going to have her life ended."

Another refers to "corrupt ni**er Muslims." A third, with the subject line "You blue gums," says, "You blue gums are not going to steal the election. All of you porch monkeys need to go back to Africa."

ACORN, a membership organization, works largely in lower-income and minority communities but engages in outreach to all demographics, including white, African-American, Hispanic, elderly, and college student groups.

Kettenring said ACORN has asked the McCain campaign to take steps to reduce the threats of violence but that the campaign has not yet responded to that request.

Bob Bauer, Barack Obama's top campaign lawyer, said in a conference call Monday that Republican efforts to "provoke unjustified rage among McCain-Palin supporters" were "demagogic and reckless and potentially dangerous," but expressed optimism that the steps being taken by the Obama campaign and elections officials to ensure a fair election would prevent any violence:

ACORN, which submitted over 1.3 million new voter registrations nationwide this year, is at the center of several politically volatile investigations, including a U.S. Attorney-spearheaded raid on its Nevada headquarters and an F.B.I. investigation that has raised the specter of political manipulation of the Department of Justice. ACORN also has been the target of increasing attacks by the G.O.P. and its surrogates, including fraud claims by John McCain and Sarah Palin themselves, over fifty emails and twenty press conference calls by the McCain campaign and top Republican officials, several hundred negative mentions by Fox News and other media outlets, and Congressional testimony about "vote fraud" by the spokesman for a group that has nothing to do with election issues but rather advocates for predatory mortgage lenders (which ACORN has been effective at opposing).

On Monday and Tuesday, the McCain campaign issued the first of what it said would be daily press releases attempting to tie the group to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. The Republican National Committee also conducted several press conference calls Monday and Tuesday to make additional allegations of fraud by ACORN.

ACORN denies trying to falsify voter registrations and asserts that any falsified forms were submitted by dishonest employees trying to avoid work. The group also notes that fraudulent registrations seldom are used to cast actual ballots. Independent studies show that cases of actual vote fraud are extremely rare. For example, a report coauthored by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters found only four fraudulent votes out of 9 million cast in Ohio between 2002 and 2004. That report concluded that fraudulent voting was statistically rarer than being hit by lightning. This year, despite claiming widespread fraud, the only evidence Republican officials have been able to point to of fraudulent voting itself is one man whose allegedly ineligible early vote was caught by Ohio authorities last week. Late last week, G.O.P. representatives also claimed to have discovered evidence that 28 primarily Hispanic New Mexico voters had cast illegal votes in this year's primary election, but ACORN representatives on a conference call Monday morning claimed to have made contact with four of those voters, discovering that while all had registered for the first time this year (three were young voters and the fourth was an elderly immigrant who recently became a naturalized citizen), all had cast their votes legally. After learning of ACORN's findings, the RNC appeared to abandon its claim.

Some people, apparently upset by exaggerated news reports and political rhetoric, have become angry enough at ACORN and Obama to threaten -- and even inflict- - violence against ACORN property and personnel and those involved with the Obama campaign, including the candidate himself.

The day after McCain said in the final presidential debate that ACORN "may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history" and "destroying the fabric of democracy," ACORN offices in Boston and Seattle were vandalized, and computers the group uses in "get out the vote" efforts were stolen. In Rhode Island, a female ACORN staffer received a telephone call from a man making racial epithets who said he knew what time she got off work, and and on Saturday a 58 year old female Obama canvasser from the Chicago area allegedly was assaulted -- according to one report, grabbed by the neck and struck in the head -- in Wisconsin by a man expressing anger at ACORN.

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Comments

[letuckerchicago]

The fear and hate-mongering promulgated by McCain and Palin in the closing weeks of the campaign are putting people's lives at risk. Unless we are extremely lucky, the Republican ticket will be accessories to hate crimes. McCain's reticence on this issue is particularly disturbning. Country First? McCain has thrown away every single shred of his honor.

[BeltwayBette]

TRUTH;

11/15/08
C-Span: Joint House Subcommittee Hearing on Election Preparation
James Terry, spokes person for a group calling themselves Consumer Rights League said that ACORN "has a ten year history of vcoter fraud. He accuses ACORN of embezzlement, fraud and "systemic abuse."
Asked about any indictments against ACORN in that period, Department of Justice Acting Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said there has been only one indictment and that was of an ACORN worker who cheated ACORN. She said prior to that reply, "There is no place for politics in this election. "

Nor is there a place for racism. Why is Sen.McCain not speaking out against the recent Ashley hoax defaming black men and by inference Barack's supporters?

[fem56]

These dangerous allocation being made by the McCain-Palin camp are so over the top. I just wonder who can stop it. Perhaps Acorn should take the McCain camp to court. It is most interesting to note that the 58 year old woman and her canvassing partner were never identified by the press. Do you know why? I know the truth and I think you can guess. Ironically The faker who accussed a big black man (another scary black man right!) of attacking her and writing a B on her check was all over the news. I am surprised she didn't make it an H. Was she scared of retaliation? I am so angry about what this twirp did. Isn't this smearing and slander against the law. When is okay to slander an organization like Acorn just because they were doing what they were suppose to do which was to turn in suspecious registration card.

[BeltwayBette]

The truth about the Rep's abuse of ACORN to distract us from their voter fraud gameplan:
11/15/08
C-Span: Joint House Subcommittee Hearing on Election Preparation
James Terry, spokes person for a group calling themselves Consumer Rights League said that ACORN "has a ten year history of vcoter fraud. He accuses ACORN of embezzlement, fraud and "systemic abuse."

Asked about any indictments against ACORN in that period, Department of Justice Acting Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said there has been only one indictment and that was of an ACORN worker who cheated ACORN. She said prior to that reply, "There is no place for politics in this election. "

Brian O"Leary,an Iraqi veteran testified that miitary personnel on front lines are being deprived of their right to vote. He referenced the "Pew Report on Military Voters."
He said voting was being blocked by late receipt of the absentee ballots, late returns, being challenged by partison counters who chuck their votes " 48,628 miitary votes were rejected, he said -- and that the Dept Of Defense has known about the many ways front line miitary were cheated of their right to vote and have done nothing.

O"Leary testified that a bill befor the Senate to help our military vote did not get enough votes to pass. My question: Which of our Senators did NOT VOTE FOR THIS BILL?

Recommended by Robert Kennedy, Jr. 2 videos
www.stealbackyourvote.org
www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote

[TomSawyer]

LOL

in second audio "7:27"

LOL

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

Yep! That's good, though the short, very last one is my favorite. It's the tone of voice as well as the succinct message.

Dawn Teo's post today about the psyops tactics and psychological pathology behind calls like these, and why they're so harmful to the nation, is a must-read, by the way: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/mccain-palin-and-the-luci_b_136572.html

[LeviCro]

This is so dissappointing to watch as a National candidate for the presidency and his VP choice crank up the hate with lies, smears and innuendo. If something happens they should be implicated. They have done almost everything except sign death warrants.

[webro56]

My biggest fear is that someone will attempt to harm Obama and/or his family. DOJ, FBI, SBI and local police should be all over this, doing what is necessary to find and prosecute these hate mongers. McCain/Palin want to win so badly they'll do and say anything to make it happen. They have their best interest at heart, not this countrys.

[janep576]

Our secretary of state in Alabama,Beth Chapman stated today that all new registered voters would be checked for possible voter fraud,what she really means to do is voter suppression.This is an on going problem ,with the republicans in control of this state,I expect quite a few votes for Obama will not be counted.

[JerryCaldwell]

PLEASE SEND TO YOUR CONGRESS PERSON.

Attn: Democratic Congress and Staff

The RNC and assorted thugs are gearing up to commit the crime of the century¦again. THEY ARE STEALING THE ELECTION RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES!

I have heard nothing in response to ongoing Republican efforts to suppress voters at the polls, in the registration process and by purging voters. Many thousands of Democratic votes have already been lost. Reports from early voters indicate rigged elections; voter intimidation and faulty equipment are already impacting the outcome of this election!

We need to hear your voice now! Whatever you are doing or plan to do soon is not enough! Our nation is on the brink of losing its very identity as the leader of the free world.

Democratic voters need to hear your voice in print, radio, TV, at rallies and wherever you are. Please get on the phone, get on Meet the Press, CNN and yes FOX NEWS! To quote a friend of mine "This is a back alley knife fight for the future of our country and we cannot lose!"

WHERE ARE OUR DEMOCRATIC LEADERS?

We, your humble constituents, are doing all that is asked of us. Phone Banks, door to door, neighbor to neighbor, donating money we need for food. Thousands have quit their paying job to work full time for Obama. Your voices are glaringly absent at this crucial time. Please make sure all election officials will be held to the rule of law!

[BeltwayBette]

the truth about the acorn setup by the repubs...meant to distract us from their own voter registration frauds going on across America:

11/15/08
C-Span: Joint House Subcommittee Hearing on Election Preparation

James Terry, spokes person for a group calling themselves Consumer Rights League said that ACORN "has a ten year history of vcoter fraud. He accuses ACORN of embezzlement, fraud and "systemic abuse."
Asked about any indictments against ACORN during that period, Department of Justice Acting Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said there has been only one indictment and that was of an ACORN worker who cheated ACORN. She said prior to that reply, "There is no place for politics in this election. "

Robert Kennedy,Jr., in an appearance on the RAchel Maddow show two eveing ago, recommends these two sites to all voters:

www.stealbackyourvote.org
www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23638322/block_the_vote

Another Navy veteran for ObamaBiden and our democracy

[MINDROTH]

WA 2007 Three ACORN employees pleaded guilty, and four more were charged, in the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington state history. More than 2,000 fraudulent voter registration cards were submitted by the group during a voter registration drive.

OH 2007 A man in Reynoldsburg was indicted on two felony counts of illegal voting and false registration, after being registered by ACORN to vote in two separate counties.
2004 A grand jury indicted a Columbus ACORN worker for submitting a false signature and false voter registration form. In Franklin County, two ACORN workers submitted what the director of the board of election supervisors called "blatantly false" forms. In Cuyahoga County, ACORN and its affiliate Project Vote submitted registration cards that had the highest rate of errors for any voter registration group.

thats 9 guessed you missed those And those are about 20 others in the last 5 years would you like me to post those. Truth isn't a part of Obamas campaign

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

1. As the post explains, there's no dispute that some ACORN workers cheated the group by taking $8/hour to register voters then falsifying names. ACORN itself turned over thousands of questionable registrations, flagged by its own internal quality control program, to elections and law enforcement officials. Some of its employees -- at ACORN's urging -- have been prosecuted and convicted.

2. Retail stores on average have about a 2% "shrinkage" rate, largely due to theft by employees. If ACORN has a 2% bad-registration rate due to dishonest employees, then that would be 26,000 fraudulent registration forms in 2008 -- which is in the right ballpark for what's being found and publicized now. It sounds like a huge number but pales next to the 1.3 million voters it registered. Do you blame WalMart for the fact that some of its employees are thieves?

3. As the post also explains, bad registrations seldom translate to illegal votes, because the crooks are just trying to skip work, not rig the election, and Mickey Mouse et al. don't show up on election day. You note 29 actual illegal voters over 20 years. The number's probably higher than that -- again, 4 out of 9 million in Ohio over three years -- but still pales next to the number of eligible voters registered by groups like ACORN, or the number of eligible voters turned away by bureaucracy or suppression.

Where's the lack of "truth" in those facts? And where's the evidence of wrongdoing by ACORN

[BeltwayBette]

Liar,liar,pants on fire.

11/15/08
C-Span: Joint House Subcommittee Hearing on Election Preparation
James Terry, spokes person for a group calling themselves Consumer Rights League said that ACORN "has a ten year history of vcoter fraud. He accuses ACORN of embezzlement, fraud and "systemic abuse."
Asked about any indictments against ACORN in that period, Department of Justice Acting Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said there has been only one indictment and that was of an ACORN worker who cheated ACORN. She said prior to that reply, "There is no place for politics in this election. "
Brian O"Leary,an Iraqi veteran testified that miitary personnel on front lines are being deprived of their right to vote. He referenced the "Pew Report on Military Voters."
He said voting was being blocked by late receipt of the absentee ballots, late returns, being challenged by partison counters who chuck their votes " 48,628 miitary votes were rejected, he said -- and that the Dept Of Defense has known about the many ways front line miitary were cheated of their right to vote and have done nothing.
O"Leary testified that a bill befor the Senate to help our military vote did not get enough votes to pass. My question: Which of our Senators did NOT VOTE FOR THIS BILL?
The GOP 2008 voter suppression
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdNgMKPV9xQ

[BillCarson]

>A grand jury indicted a Columbus ACORN worker for submitting a false signature

Did a google search for this phrase, but only far right-wing web sites came up. No offense, but could you provide a link to a legitimate news source.

Acorn fact sheet link: http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=650

Despite all the hype and hysteria by the right-wing pundits and politicians, here are the numbers for the Acorn registration drive... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/us/politics/24acorn.html?_r=3&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Of the total 1.3 million registrations,
34% were new registrations
34% were address changes
25% were duplicates
5% were incomplete
1.5% were possibly fraudulent

Now compare that with "rule of thumb" numbers for large registration drives...
35 percent of voter drive applications are new voters
35 percent are change of address,
30 percent are duplicates or incomplete.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/us/politics/15vote.html?_r=1&hp&oref=login

The Acorn numbers are pretty much in line with a typical large registration drive.

[M.S. Bellows, Jr. - Huffpost Blogger]

James Terry and the Consumer Rights League are advocates for payday loan shops and deceptive subprime mortgage lenders -- the people who created the foreclosure crisis. (The "Consumer Rights" they fight for are the right to sign on to 99% interest loan, balloon-payment mortgages, etc. -- ie, it's just an astroturf group backed by bottom-rung financial outfits.) Terry is a mortgage fraud lobbyist, not a voting rights expert, though he pretends otherwise.

ACORN has long fought against such loans -- and against the creation of mortgage-backed securities tradeable on Wall Street -- precisely because it doesn't want to see low-income homeowners tricked into getting impossible loans then getting foreclosed. The Consumer Rights League hates ACORN for that reason and that reason only and is using voter fraud as a way to skewer its enemy.

The connection between the attacks on ACORN and the folks who brought us the financial crisis is important, and underreported, but I wrote about it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/gop-battle-against-acorn_b_135696.html

[billw8017]

So... What exactly is happening here? Is this a last outburst of racist fury and the beginning of its end, or is it an abiding taint in the American soul. More than ever, it is important to elect Obama and discredit the nuts.

[demfriend]

Acorn did the legal thing and turned in every single registration as required by law. They also showed those regiatrations which also required by law, were considered bogus/fake/fraud. All of these things are done across the country every election. SOme get paid for getting the regitrations and are paid either by piece or quota. The whole procedure was doine legally and just a couple of years ago McCain spoke to them and told them what a great service they were doing. Cannot have two sides from one mouth without the message getting jumbled. I would love it to have the one ad with McCain speaking to ACORN run in all of these states where he is slandering them all and Obama. Hate isn't directed at a few, it is directed at us all and any show of tolerating of it shows our own bad to the world.

[whatsup]

WOW....those 'people' who left those venomous ramblings have a collective IQ of 5. They need to be medicated and sent to an aslyum. I do blame this on the McCain campaign and those rallies which have fueled the anger of those already on the edge. My guess is that most of these insane people have never heard about ACORN without McCain and his campaign making ACORN, fraud, and other lies a constant part of their stump speeches, etc. What a pathetic, grumpy, angry old man McCain has become.

[Jaradan]

McCain and Palin can pretend they're not stirring this up in their rallies all they want, but I know the truth - and so do millions of other sane Americans who are watching this crap on TV. One "No ma'am, no ma'am..he's not Muslim. He's decent, family man." isn't enough to convince me, McCain. Also, being Muslim and a "decent, family man" isn't mutually exclusive.

[mocha59]

smells like brain washing.....Hann ity anyone? Rush.....


Good news: Keith & Rachel beat Sean and Billy in the ratings.....

[mocha59]

What is soooo interesting is that these people act as if WE'VE been 'in charge' of America ALL this time!
And the blame game goes on.....

oh yeah....who just got ar res ted the other day?

We are ALL in this together! Stay strong everyone. we WILL do this and be better for it!

That one / the other one 08 12