‘Independent’ Report Reveals: ACORN’s Problems Are Sooo 2008

by Kyle Olson

The “independent” investigation of ACORN has been completed, and the final report is in.

The verdict? ACORN has done nothing illegal, and most of its problems stem from the subpar leadership of its founder and former “chief organizer,” Wade Rathke. As long as Rathke and his allies are out of the picture, everything should be good to go at ACORN headquarters, according to Scott Harshbarger, former attorney general of Massachusetts.

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I get the feeling Mr. Harshbarger produced exactly the type of report (which can be viewed at ACORNcracked.com) that the ACORN board of directors paid him to produce: a rationalization of the group’s behavior, designed to deflect the growing chorus of criticism and breathe new life into the organization.

I doubt that anybody will be fooled by the silly conclusions in Harshbarger’s report. But I fear that ACORN’s friends in the White House and Congress may use it as an excuse to allow the organization back into the federal government’s good graces.

One of Harshbarger’s most startling conclusions was that ACORN Housing Corp. employees committed no crimes when they were caught on video repeatedly giving advice to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute. He even suggests that the employees may have been represented in a false light, and were not as guilty as they appeared on video.  From the report:

While some of the advice and counsel given by ACORN employees and volunteers was clearly inappropriate and unprofessional, we did not find a pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staff; in fact, there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers.

The videos that have been released appear to have been edited, in some cases substantially, including the insertion of a substitute voiceover for significant portions of Mr. O’Keefe’s and Ms. Giles’s comments, which makes it difficult to determine the questions that ACORN employees were responding to. A comparison of the publicly available transcripts to the released videos confirms that large portions of the original video have been omitted from the released versions.

The report also implies that ACORN has become a functionally sound organization, now that Rathke is allegedly out of the picture.

ACORN’s governance and managerial weaknesses are deeply rooted in the policy and philosophy of the founder and his leadership team, and stem from the errors and poor judgments they made. The reform leadership, many of whom also served in the Rathke era, is now reaping what Rathke sowed, in combination with the fallout from their own failure to question or challenge him.

There is a general consensus among leaders, organizers and observers that, under the prior administration, ACORN grew too large too quickly, and efforts were not made to grow in a reasonable, cautious manner or with an adequate infrastructure.

Harshbarger goes on to urge ACORN to take “any additional actions needed to sever ties with its founder, his external allies, as well as any ongoing board and/or staff litigation.”

So everything will be fine, as long as Rathke is gone and nobody allows him to sneak back in. Is that really your final answer, Mr. Harshbarger?

I trust that Harshbarger knows he’s really not doing ACORN any favors. The only way for that organization to reform, and clean up its sullied reputation, is to face up to all of its wrongdoing. I’m talking about the pimp and prostitute videos, the alleged voter registration frauds, the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, etc.

ACORN leaders should also be forced to reconsider their slimy tactics, like “seizing” foreclosed homes or bullying corporations into making cash contributions.

Only clear acts of atonement, and clear changes in policy, will begin to convince the public that perhaps ACORN deserves a second chance. That will take a great deal of time and real effort on the part of ACORN’s leadership.

Unfortunately, there’s reason to fear that Harshbarger’s report may indeed pay dividends for ACORN. There are plenty of ACORN alumni in the Obama administration and Congress who are eager to forgive the organization, and Harshbarger’s report may be the excuse they’ve been waiting form.

I’ve already seen movement in this direction, even before the report was made public. Obama’s Justice Department recently weighed in with a legal opinion, saying the federal government may honor all contracts it made with ACORN prior to the Congressional cutoff of funds.

That ruling alone could put ACORN back in business, if it withstands the likely legal challenges. So hold your breaths, everyone. Despite all of the unbelievable misdeeds that have been exposed in recent months, ACORN is still alive and kicking.


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Posted Dec 9th 2009 at 7:01 am in ACORN, Big Labor, Justice/Legal, News, Politics | 31 Comments