Bertha Lewis

Last week's America's Future Now Conference, hosted by the Campaign for America's future, attracted progressive groups from around the country, including MoveOn, SEIU, ACORN's Project Vote and politicians such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Barbara Lee.

Despite ongoing investigations by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and voter fraud allegations in several states, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now or ACORN continues to maintain its innocence regarding the undercover videos that led to the “dissolution” of the national group. Prominent politicians like Pelosi and Lee have been willing to lend their credibility to ACORN and other radical organizations by ignoring details like the FBI documents released last week by Judicial Watch.

The documents include handwritten notes from FBI investigators interviewing canvassers working with Project Vote, an ACORN affiliate. Among the highlights from the FBI handwritten notes:

• [ACORN] “Told employees not to talk to the FBI. ‘FBI trying to intimidate you.’”
• Fraudulent cards:
  • To cause confusion on election day to keep polls open longer
  • To allow people who can’t vote to vote.
  • To allow to vote multiple times.
• Project Vote will pay them whether cards fake or not – whatever they had to do to get the cards was attitude.
• Constantly threatened
• Staff restricted on what to say to FBI
• “Poverty pimpin” (sic) ACORN
• ACORN HQ is wkg for the Democratic Party.
• PV [Project Vote] pays ACORN $6.00 per card…Said “You treat the cards like (cash) $”
• Some [names] went right from the phone book and made up the rest.

Tom Fitton, president of Judaical Watch raised significant points when he stated:

“These documents show the need for a national criminal investigation by the Obama Justice Department into ACORN. Is Attorney General Holder doing nothing because of Obama’s close connections to ACORN and Project Vote? The information in these new documents has national implications that cry out for further investigation.”

Lawmakers like Representative Donna Edwards who attended the conference have never worried about their connections to ACORN in the past and (considering the speakers listed below) most are willing to turn a blind eye to its transgressions.

This may explain why, when most Americans were beginning their work week, ACORN leaders like Zach Polett were welcomed at a conference called America's Future Now.

Amid numerous reports of its demise, ACORN sent various top leaders to Washington, DC last week. That statement may bring to mind ACORN's CEO Bertha Lewis.

However, ACORN's true leaders have always prided themselves on remaining behind the scenes. Zach Polett, pictured below, is the former Executive Director of Project Vote, former head of ACORN Political Operations and a founding member of ACORN. Polett in his own words, was also once the supervisor of Barack Obama when he worked at Project Vote in the 1990's

Joining Polett last week were ACORN leader, Steve Kest (picture below) and Project Vote Executive Director Michael Slater. If one can imagine the America's Future Now conference like a high school reunion, the ACORN leaders were obviously the football team.

Efforts were made to protect the already "victimized" ACORN from any unwanted scrutiny (more on that later) but it is interesting to note that facts mean little to radical liberals and their “progressive” friends. Hundreds of pages of notes, testimony and evidence exist that suggest that ACORN is a criminal organization set up in a manner that is subversive and harmful, but lawmakers, and apparently the FBI are content to ignore critical facts in fear of where a full investigation would lead.

The fact of the matter is Barack Obama is a liar who has used his position to cover up the very criminal activity that got him elected president. In May of 2009, Bill O'Reilly began to delve into the ACORN/Obama story but stopped short after my statement that ACORN operated as an “unofficial arm of the Democratic Party.” O'Reilly chose to form a truce with the White House after pressure from the administration about Fox's anti-Obama stance and the mainstream media continue to ignore the true story.

Not surprisingly, my testimony in Pennsylvania in 2008 mirrors the FBI notes released last week, and it has been over a year since Heather Heidelbaugh presented testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Yet, instead of investigating, top House Democrats wait for more “credible evidence.” Among the evidence ignored by House Democrats are:

• Project Vote receives donor lists from other Democratic and labor union sources: John Kerry campaign, [Hilary] Clinton campaign, Barack Obama campaign, Democratic National Committee, America Coming Together (“ACT”) (p.3)
• Project Vote development plan was to ‘approach maxed out presidential donors’, and ‘allegedly use the funds for voter registration drives’ (pp.3-4)
• ACORN ‘employees’ were paid through Project Vote for partisan campaign activities telling voters … “don’t vote for Albert Win (sic) or vote for this person” (p. 4)
• There were no divisions between the staff of ACORN and Project Vote, and persons working for one entity actually perform work for either or both organizations (p. 4)
• The Obama campaign’s donor list was part of the evidence admitted into the hearing on the injunction in October 2008 (p. 5)

ACORN's work has been critical to the Democrats to secure and maintain their majority in Congress. My blog posts have noted this repeatedly, but here is ACORN in its own words from page 46 of a 2006 report describing how they will leverage power with the new Democratic controlled Congress (available here). Click to enlarge.

After two full days of speakers and workshops, the attendees gathered for an awards ceremony on Tuesday night. Awardees included the leftist liberal donor Peter Lewis of Progressive Insurance Company and this reporter arrived early to the event. After inquiring about a ticket for the dinner, I decided to give the VIPs a chance to gather their tickets while I walked around.

Judging from the amount of protection that ACORN received at the America's Future Now conference, it is obvious that other liberal groups consider ACORN's work to still be critical to passing the radical agenda.

What happened next can only be described as roaches reacting to sunlight. After smiling for the camera, a stunned Zach Polett of ACORN reacted by scurrying across the room to find Michael Slater of Project Vote while Steve Kest of ACORN attempted to duck into another room with a piano in it. The group chatting so animatedly just a few minutes ago closed ranks (probably to hide other radicals from the lens of my camera).

Inside the awards event Representative Donna Edwards and ACORN insiders discussed plans for America's future, but in the hall I was denied entry to the event after words from Michael Slater to the event staff . Though it had been confirmed minutes early that there were seats available I was told that tables had just been removed. When I decided to wait in hopes of getting a seat, a staffer named Alex Lawson came rushing out with Tommy Christopher from Mediaite.

Apparently, an everyday American is no longer allowed to ask questions or attend conferences with names like America's Future Now. The ACORN leaders inside had complained of pictures being taken and I was grilled (while Mediaite videotaped the incident). ACORN could no longer ignore my statements against them so Lawson was sent to remove me from the event. Lawson accused me of working for Andrew Breitbart (which has been revealed to be a Democrat talking point) and refused to sell me a ticket to an event at which public officials, progressive organizations and ACORN celebrated their success in taking America to the far left.

Anyone who has been paying attention knows that ACORN has not disbanded but merely reformed. One has to wonder what else ACORN and its friends are hiding. SEIU, MoveOn, Media Matters and the Center for Community change have all jumped to ACORN's defense and by discounting the mounting evidence against ACORN, it appears that ACORN is "to big to fail." The implications of admitting that ACORN is a corruption, socialist organization could implicate dozens of funders, allies, partners and politicians.

Who else was hiding behind the liberal wall at the America's Future Now conference? Could it have been Jeffrey Robinson of Citizen Services Inc, the ACORN affiliate that was contracted by the Obama campaign for "get out the vote" activities.

"U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign paid more than $800,000 to an offshoot of the liberal Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now for services the Democrat's campaign says it mistakenly misrepresented in federal reports.

An Obama spokesman said Federal Election Commission reports would be amended to show Citizens Services Inc. -- a subsidiary of ACORN -- worked in "get-out-the-vote" projects, instead of activities such as polling, advance work and staging major events as stated in FEC finance reports filed during the primary."

The same leaders who covered up an embezzlement scandal, ran a massive voter registration drive riddled with fraud and coordinated with the Obama campaign to violate Federal election law are still in place. A glance at Zach Polett's friend list illustrates this point, from Heather Booth to Tom Matzzie of MoveOn, Polett's friends have been instrumental in the Democrat party for decades.

 

The one lesson I took away from the America's Future Now conference after being turned away is that America is in peril. The left is on a collision course with the Constitution and our freedoms. Among the handouts I picked out was a booklet that laid out the plan for a "Democratic and Socialist Future." I will share more about this booklet later but it's important to see that the past two years have shown Americans the political lives of ACORN and exposed the depth of deception Democrats will sink in order to protect their "vote making" machine.

Obama has lied repeatedly about his background,  and his ties to ACORN. It's time to go after the leaders behind ACORN, and the politicians who are shredding the Constitution for them.

You can follow Anita on her blog or on Twitter.

 

As an ex-ACORN insider and ex-radical who used Democrat donor lists to raise money for ACORN alter-ego Project Vote and designed the ACORN 2005, 2006 and 2007 Political Operations Year End PowerPoint presentations, I know that President Obama (for whom I now regretfully admit I proudly voted) was an ACORN guy for many years and realize that he became the instrument for the implementation of its stealth socialism agenda.

National Journal rated Obama the most "liberal" United States Senator, even more "liberal" than avowed socialist Bernard Sanders of Vermont (for whom then Senator Obama campaigned), because he earned it.

In her sensational New York Times no. 1 bestseller, "Culture of Corruption: Obama and His Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks, and Cronies," published in 2009, intrepid Michelle Malkin generously gave me "special thanks" for daring to expose ACORN corruption and wrote about it and the New York Times cover up of the Obama/ACORN relationship in detail at pages 244-49. (Since that material was added after the manuscript had been sent to the printer, I did not make the index.)

Stealth socialism in vogue

It's not surprising that on May 3, 2010 Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliot released "The Manchurian President: Barack Obama's Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists" and on May 15, 2010 former Speaker Newt Gingrich released a book titled "To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular Socialist Machine." Of course they are right about Obama's radical ties and "secular socialist machine." (I'm looking forward to Laura Ingraham's "The Obama Diaries," out on or about July 13, 2010, but I bet President Obama isn't.)

Even though on October 21, 2008 The New York Times killed the Obama/ACORN expose on which I been reporter Stephanie Strom's source and I decided to blow the whistle myself and appeared on Laura Ingraham's radio show before the end of the month, Bill O'Reilly of Fox News apparently did not learn about it until March of 2009 (the month in which attorney Heather Heidelbaugh, for whom I voluntarily became a witness in the Pennsylvania ACORN, testified before a Congressional committee about ACORN voter registration fraud and the New York Times cover up), it was inevitable that the truth about Obama, ACORN and "stealth socialism" finally would become generally known as the socialist agenda was implemented. After all, the idea was for Obama to deliver as President on that "fundamental change" that he promised as a presidential hopeful.

After an appealing generality becomes an examinable specific and the cost calculations are done, putting lipstick on a pig doesn't fool nearly as many people. For example, Obamacare is a massive wealth redistribution program and--no surprise--not long after it was enacted, an Obama Administration official acknowledged it and we learned that Obamacare would be much more expensive than it had been officially estimated before it was passed.

Defining stealth socialism

Graham L. Strachan explained the "stealth socialism" path this way:

"Why did the Western media persist in calling the social system in the Communist bloc ‘Communism’ instead of Socialism? They did it to manufacture a false reality: to protect the reputation of another form of Socialism which existed in the West....so-called ‘Democratic Socialism’, socialism by stealth, socialism achieved through the ‘permeation’ of existing political institutions by members of organisation such as the Fabian Society, in order to influence the policies adopted by those institutions towards socialism.

"Democratic Socialism itself was based on a lie: that Socialism could be implemented peacefully through the ballot box. The implication was that if the voters didn’t like it they could vote it out again. That was a hoax. Since Socialism does not permit private ownership of property, it cannot be ‘democratic’ in the sense of allowing a choice of political Parties. This is not a matter of ideology, but of logistics. It would be impossible to have a two Party system of genuine democracy, for example, under which the state nationalised all property including business when the Socialists were voted into power, then sold it all back to the people again when they were voted out. The intention of Democratic Socialism was (and still is) to be democratic just long enough to gain power. Then it will declare the ‘end of history’ and entrench itself forever, enforcing its politically correct speech and thought on everybody, and being just as tyrannical as its Marxist revolutionary counterparts."

How to make a socialist the ACORN way

As an ACORN insider my indoctrination as a socialist was a slow but steady progression from radical liberalism to embracing the stealth socialist methods that had made ACORN a powerful force in American electoral politics. Two years ago, in the mist of a heated presidential election year, I noticed a Facebook page of Socialism 2008. The graffiti-like picture beckoned young Socialists to Chicago, Illinois on June 19th, 2008.  I RSVPed for the event on Facebook without fully understanding what had just taken place. The line between radical, liberal Democrat and socialist was almost invisible at this point.

Working for ACORN/Project Vote facilitated my crossing the “socialist”threshold and I had become what insiders termed "one of the true believers.” True believers were instrumental in the survival of ACORN and the process of making an employee a true believer began on the very first day.

Inside ACORN offices across the country, young, idealistic liberals were being ingrained with the Saul Alinsky style of Organizing. Alinsky's Rules for Radicals was never mentioned by name, but Alinsky's tactics were used on employees and ACORN members.

ACORN's strategy of stealth socialism was aimed at gaining power through duplicity and somewhat assimilating into society. Alinsky, the "father of community organizing," taught that the path to power necessitated the use of people who would serve as pawns.

"Organizing for power was Alinsky's political end, not political party influence. When he asked his new students why they wanted to organize, they would invariably respond with 'selfless bromides about wanting to help others,' according to Ryan Lizza writing in The New Republic. Alinsky would then "scream back at them that there was a one-word answer: "You want to organize for power!'"

Saul Alinsky almost single-handedly invented the modern art of community organizing...

He was a master teacher of others, and left a legion of trained disciples and organizations, including Obama and Clinton."

Every ACORN employee was given a copy of the ACORN Organizing Model, bylaws and various information on running campaigns, but the real education was in how ACORN operated behind the scenes. Like Alinsky, ACORN openly organized to build power, but ACORN's ace in the hole was the black community.

Community organizers became the “information police” for minorities in dozens of cities. As the official representative for its members, ACORN was able to frame the debate in ways that aligned with its People's Platform.  The platform is based on the socialist idea of sharing the wealth. Members were asked, even coerced, to attend rallies and protests for issues ACORN had decided would lead to power.

As students exited schools with a “liberal arts” education and a desire to help, ACORN stood ready with the social justice flag in one hand and a cigarette lighter and American flag in the other. Attending such events like Socialism 2008 was the culmination of two years of looking the other way and accepting a little bad in order to save the “movement.” Some leave ACORN at this point but the ones who stay are trusted just a little more.

The Road from radical terrorists to professors and community organizers

With greater access comes greater understanding of the true subversive nature of ACORN. As stated last summer in my article "Liberal Fallout Zones":

"Poverty is big business and a predicate for class warfare intended to perpetuate political power in the masters of that big business. In the current climate special interest groups are writing bills and influencing votes amid a huge liberal spending binge."

That spending binge is more like a bender now because ACORN, recognizing the past mistakes of other radical groups like Weather Underground and Students for a Democratic Society decided the best way to gain power as was to pass unnoticed in mainstream America. Radicals like Frances Fox Piven and her husband Richard A. Cloward retreated into the world of Academia where they penned papers on Socialism peppered with Alinsky tactics and a new name:

The Cloward-Piven strategy

On May 2, 1966, Columbia's Professor of Social Work Richard A. Cloward, and his then research associate Frances Fox Piven, wrote a pivotal article in The Nation, articulating "a strategy to end poverty."

In what became known as the Cloward-Piven strategy, the article argued a revolutionary approach to mobilizing the poor in the form of class warfare against capitalist forces viewed as exploiting labor and oppressing the poor.

David Horowitz, a long-time student of leftist political movements in the United States, characterized the Cloward-Piven strategy as seeking "to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse."

Cloward and Piven argued a "guaranteed annual income" should be established as an entitlement for the poor, a right the poor could assert and demand to be paid."

Other radicals like ACORN founder Wade Rathke and former Project Vote executive director, Zach Polett formed organizations and began implementing their socialist agenda while using the poor and minority communities as a defense if anyone dared question their actions. According to its website, ACORN planted its seed in American politics long ago and continues to play an “insider's game” to maintain it.

“Finally, ACORN® began playing the insiders' game in American politics. Congressional lobbying is practiced by ACORN® staff. Leaders and members became a central part of the insiders' games, too. Members elected to office or serving on APACs acquired experience and skill applying power from the inside of the political process. Instead of confronting opponents in actions (something ACORN® will never stop doing), members could trade and negotiate from inside positions of power. ACORN®'s work on the savings and loan bailout provided effective means of developing and applying power for low- and moderate- income people. ACORN® members won appointment to the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) to help determine the management of the billions of dollars of assets the government seized. The payoff to these activities came, and still comes, when substantial numbers of ACORN® members developed the ability to move inside the political sphere that has for so long been closed to low- and moderate-income people.”

Wade Rathke and Zach Polett learned the path to power quickly and utilized their influence to pass the 1996 National Voter Registration Act  (the "Motor Voter" bill). Polett, seated below to the far left in a dark suit and tie, had officially brought the Arkansas based ACORN to Washington.

Interestingly, on the same page with their tales of insider dealing,  ACORN discusses how the network of unions, non-profits and corporations were created for the express purpose of pushing ACORN's socialist agenda.

“The national lobbying arm of ACORN® is only one example of the diversification within ACORN® that was basic to its success. The ACORN® Housing Corporation worked to create affordable housing in conjunction with banks and state and local government. The United Labor Unions, now Locals 100 and 880 of the Service Employees International Union, became labor organizing arms of ACORN® which organize people where they work. ACORN® Services, Inc. and the canvassing operations enhanced ACORN®'s ability to create the financial resources needed to grow. The Arkansas Institute for Social Justice became the means for developing leadership skills and political talents among the ACORN® members. What was once a relatively simple organization of community groups has became a diversified system of institutions capable of applying specialized skills to solving the kinds of problems ACORN® encounters in its work.”

Along came a socialist

In late 2006 the atmosphere in the office changed and it appeared that the senior staff were energized. Efforts to function as a real office were implemented. Project Vote began using a donor database instead of a box and attempts were made to reconcile the accounting records. In anticipation of what ACORN began calling a “once in a generation opportunity.” John Podesta from the Center for American Progress gave a speech called “Preparing for Power: The Next Cycle?" in December of that year.

After two years with ACORN I understood how they operated and took the close relationship with the Democrat party for granted. The relationship between Democrats and ACORN was that the party needed ACORN to retain their seats and ACORN needed them to pass their agenda items. ACORN's belief that indeed, all politics is local, allowed them to place people strategically in positions that would allow a run for higher office.

In 2007 when Zach Polett bragged about supervising Barack Obama and that “ACORN produces leaders,” his purpose was to energize the employees so that we would go out there and deliver. ACORN's voter registration goals and budget were unmatched and the stakes were high.

When Obama's campaign called the Project Vote offices in late 2007, I could barely contain my excitement as I relayed the information to my supervisors. After receiving the Obama 2007 2nd quarter donor list from Karyn Gillette, I had another look away moment. Were we violating FEC rules by targeting Obama's maxed out donors? Did I really want Obama to win this way? Believing that the bigger goal was helping people by implementing the ACORN agenda, I put my doubts aside and worked on pulling donors from the list (which included ALL Obama donors, not just the bigger donors required to be reported to the Federal Elections Commission).

From October 2005 until 2008, I did fundraising work with ACORN and used political donor lists. All Democrat: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Democratic National Committee. When I appeared as a guest on "The O'Reilly Factor" last year, I said that ACORN had served for years as an unofficial arm of the Democratic Party, but Bill O'Reilly didn't discuss that with me. Ignoring it is exactly what the stealth socialists want.

I once asked Marcel Reid, former ACORN national board member and President of DC ACORN, how it was possible for ACORN to push its agenda and she replied “We never use the word Socialism.” ACORN's appeal was to simply implement a Socialist agenda without ever saying the word. When Wade Rathke was interviewed by Megyn Kelly of Fox News, Kelly asked Rathke whether he would describe himself as a socialist, and Wade answered no. Kelly proceeded to point out that the ACORN People's Platform sounded socialism. Rathke weakly tried to defend ACORN against the Socialist label by pretending the "share the wealth" philosophy was not in the ACORN Platform. You can watch the video here.

Eventually Rathke conceded that the share the wealth language was indeed present, but cited some language about the right to be rich and free.

The People's Platform (or ACORN's socialist wish list)

ACORN People's Platform can be found http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=720 " href="http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=720">here and it defines what rich and free meant, and it certainly is not capitalism!

"Our riches shall be the blooming of our communities, the bounty of a sure livelihood, the beauty of homes for our families with sickness driven from the door, the benefit of our taxes rather than their burden, and the best of our energy, land, and natural resources for all people.

"Our freedom is the force of democracy, not the farce of federal fat and personal profit. In our freedom, only the people shall rule. Corporations shall have their role; producing jobs, providing products, paying taxes. No more, no less. They shall obey our wishes, respond to our needs, serve our communities. Our country shall be the citizens' wealth and our wealth shall build our country.

"Government shall have its role: public servant to our good, fast follower to our sure steps. No more, no less. Our government shall shout with the public voice and no longer to a private whisper. In our government, the common concerns shall be the collective cause."

 

Marcel Reid's explanation described "stealth socialism." Aggressive tactics like ACORN's protests and rallies were to gain the credibility that would allow the acceptance of a radical socialist agenda. While Reid was president of DC ACORN they proposed a plan to redistribute wealth in the Washington, DC metro area. This plan was proudly presented to the organization at the 2006 ACORN Year End, Year Beginning meeting in New Orleans. The excerpt below is from page 191 of the 2006 ACORN YEYB Annual Report (click to enlarge).

DC ACORN readily admits that "this proposal would essentially be a redistribution of wealth across the board," but stealth socialism is so effective that even conservative watchdogs have been fooled by the ever changing names of the ACORN empire.

Obama's agenda mirrors the ACORN People's Platform as evidenced by a review of the healthcare and energy sections of  the platform. On healthcare, the ACORN's socialist people's platform wants to "require the federal government to provide for the health care needs of recent immigrants. ACORN's position on Energy shows shades of Cap and Trade with goals like:

Prevent any single corporation or conglomerate from owning major interest in more than one of the following resources: oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, solar energy, and coal; or more than one of the following categories: source, refinery, shipping, or outlet."

Pay no attention to the white liberal behind the curtain

The "Liberals" who elected Obama President may have a "tower of Babel" moment as gay rights, civil rights, immigration rights, environmental extremists, pro-choicers and all the other special interests that supported the Obama presidential campaign strive to push America further to the left and shed all inhibitions. As with ACORN itself, it seems impossible that the coalition that put Obama in the White House and gave Democrats huge majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives will continue to work smoothly together now that Obama and the Congressional Democrats are in control and America is learning what Obama really meant by the seductive-sounding "hope and change." ACORN needed the cloak of stealth socialism to maintain its hold on the poor. ACORN's image is synonymous with blacks and other minorities and the race card has become the last bastion of its "hope."

During its greatest crisis, ACORN replaced its white leader with a black woman in order to hide behind Bertha Lewis's skin color. What they didn't want the public to see were the white liberal leaders behind the scenes who have been staying in Executive suites and partying in the mountains.

ACORN Political Operations Retreat November 2007 (among the pictured are senior staff Patrick Winogrond, Jessica Angus, Nathan Henderson-James, Kimberly Olson, Amy Busefink and Johanna Sharrard)

Restoring the balance

Stealth socialism allowed ACORN to set the stage for Obama's "regime" as they called it internally. Wade Rathke was willing to fall on his sword in 2008 to protect Obama, and to attain what nearly 40 years organizing the country towards socialism promised. After the embezzlement scandal, ACORN board members and staff assembled at meetings across the country and as insiders revealed, and I testified about, "fighting Capitalism" was listed as one of the things "great about ACORN."

Obama has shown himself to be unrelenting in his quest to pass healthcare, take over American industries and weaken our national security. America can't afford to be fooled by increasingly obvious tactics of the Far Left. It's time for the great majority of Americans to turn the tables back on the Far Left by getting involved and organized and voting out incumbents who vote against the traditional American way. We need a morning in America, but it's always darkest before the dawn.

You can follow Anita on her blog or on Twitter.

 

 

Last year ACORN alter ego Project Vote sued me for telling the people the ugly truth. Now the ACORN 8 are attacking me because I have acted on my belief that the people deserve truth, transparency and accountability. (The ACORN 8 slogan only calls for "truth, transparency and accountability within ACORN.") ACORN 8 spokesman Michael McCray recently noted in a hit piece on me that "others have waged a war of rhetoric and words against ACORN and President Obama" while the ACORN 8 "focused on criminality within the association" and described my allegation of "illegal coordination between Project Vote and Obama Campaign" as not having been "publicly verified."

Marcel Reid, as a former ACORN national board member and head of DC ACORN, understands the Obama/ACORN relationship AND the thuggish way ACORN pursues its goals.

Evidence exists that suggests that the ACORN 8's denial of illicit coordination between the Obama campaign and ACORN has more to do with the fact that unlike me, Reid and the ACORN 8 are still radical Obama supporters and that's why the ACORN 8 have avoided the subject of the Obama/ACORN relationship.

Fact: ACORN 8 leader Marcel Reid emailed me more than a year ago (before Heather Heidelbaugh, Esq.'s Congressional testimony based on my testimony in October 2008 in the Pennsylvania ACORN case, my appearances on Fox News and the sensational ACORN videos) that it is a "fact" that "ACORN isn't sure that it has it's fingers around Obama's throat quite as tightly as they would like" and "might do a little street theater" to "cower him into submission the way they have everyone else with few exceptions."

The Roots of Obama's Radical Agenda

Obama's poll numbers are sliding and his healthcare bill does not have public support, but he continues to push a radical agenda onto the American people. Could ACORN and its leftist allies like SEIU have Obama over a barrel? Someone like Reid, a former ACORN national board member, could have these answers.

Obama and Reid are both alums of the Marxist New Party, and Reid served as an officer of the party. The New Party is described this way:

"Co-founded in 1992 by Daniel Cantor (a former staffer for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign) and Joel Rogers (a sociology and law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison), the New Party was a Marxist political coalition whose objective was to endorse and elect leftist public officials -- most often Democrats. The New Party's short-term objective was to move the Democratic Party leftward, thereby setting the stage for the eventual rise of new Marxist third party.

Most New Party members hailed from the Democratic Socialists of America and the militant organization ACORN."

If the ACORN 8 are misleading America about their knowledge of ACORN's political activities and its relationship with Obama, what else are they lying about? Grab a cup of coffee and get comfy, we are going to dig into the accusations by McCray and the facts the ACORN 8 want to avoid. Note: Click on the pictures below to enlarge.

Fact checking the ACORN 8 Lie #1 "Mailroom MonCrief"

My article titled "For CPAC and Glenn Beck: the Truth About the ACORN 8" predictably produced a pained response from the ACORN 8: Michael McCray's article titled "ACORN Whistleblower / Anita Mailroom MonCrief" posted days later by James Murtagh. Instead of addressing allegations of an internal ACORN power struggle, the ACORN 8 have decided to present a set of lies as fact.  McCray's article is lacking in substance but high in rhetoric and misdirection, with even the title set up to misinform people and belittle the target, me.

Unsurprisingly, McCray was upset that I "refused [ACORN 8's] advice and pursued [my] own individual advocacy against ACORN and Project Vote" and he did not address on the merits the revelations about himself and the ACORN 8 in my article and instead tried to discredit me, as ACORN did. Contrary to what is stated in his article, I always knew that the ACORN 8 would cover for Obama and I declined to be a part of the group.

What was surprising is that McCray tried to discredit me with a sexist strategy ("hell hath no fury," he wrote) and a bogus description of me as a former ACORN mailroom employee.

"...perhaps the most damning revelation comes from court filed pleading by Anita MonCrief herself in her answer to Project Vote's $5 Million lawsuit against her Case No. 09-cv-01109 (RWR).

ANSWER OF DEFENDANT ASHAWNITA MONCRIEF

Paragraph #22 which reads

'22. Defendant [Anita MonCrief] admits that a Pitney Bowes postage meter machine was installed at Project Vote's Washington, D.C. office...

This is an incredible admission because it means that Anita MonCrief admits she worked in the mailroom at Project Vote...."

The ACORN/Project Vote Washington, D.C. office did not have a mailroom and, although I certainly don't disparage mailroom employees, I have never been one. I am equally surprised that a lawyer such as McCray, who is affiliated with several legal non-profits and who appears to have helped draft the ACORN 8's "civil RICO" complaint, would make such a demonstrably false claim.

In December of 2009 I appeared at a House Government Oversight and Reform Committee's  GOP Forum on ACORN and submitted the followed description of my duties at ACORN/Project Vote. A copy of the testimony is available here.

While at ACORN/Project Vote, I worked in the Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD) within ACORN’s Political Operations (POLOPS). As part of the SWORD staff my title was Writer/Researcher. My salary was paid by Project Vote, with which I held the title of Development Associate, but I had an ACORN email address.

In addition, to combat more revisionist history from the ACORN 8, here is an unmodified copy of ACORN's own 2006 Year End Year Beginning (YEYB) Report, the same one quoted recently at Andrew Breitbart's Big Government.

The ACORN 8 appear to be so comfortable with the fact that the lies they have told on national television about ACORN have largely gone unchallenged that McCray has decided to invent more.

Perhaps McCray did not check with other ACORN 8 people as to the access I had. And unfortunately for the ACORN 8 few of his outlandish accusations would pass muster at a middle school newspaper.  Using tactics honed through years of ACORN campaigns and organizing strategies, the ACORN 8 exhibit exactly the type of mentality that founder Wade Rathke encouraged in his ACORN Community Organizing Manual.

McCray strove to discredit me because the ACORN 8 could not disprove any number of facts stated in my previous article, so they resorted to common Alinsky tactics of ridiculing, polarizing and attacking the enemy. It is worth noting that ACORN and its affiliate Project Vote have taken legal action against its real threats, Andrew Breitbart, Hannah Giles, James O'Keefe and myself. All of us are victims of multimillion dollar lawsuits.

As this leaked internal ACORN email posted by National Review shows, ACORN talked to the lawyers about an employee because "he knows too much. He can hurt us." Surprisingly, besides a cease and desist letter, ACORN has largely left the ACORN 8 to spread their revisionist history. A history that did not pose a threat to ACORN's survival.

The other explanation could be that the leader of the ACORN 8 had signed a joint defense agreement (JDA) with ACORN that none of the other members were aware of. Did that include the other members of the ACORN 8?

In sharp contrast to McCray, the Republican National Lawyers Association expressed a different opinion of me in a blog post after I spoke at CPAC 2010.

"leading figure in the fight for fair elections" and the "ACORN whistleblower ACORN [who] had the CPAC crowd on its feet" by describing her experiences working with ACORN and how the organization engaged in a concerted effort to learn the provisional and absentee ballot laws in each of the 50 states in an effort to see where they could get away with mischief" and "achieved their ultimate goal of the Presidency with the election of Barack Obama"

Lie #2 Muscle of the Money?

Another excerpt from McCray's poorly written diatribe states:

"Mailroom MonCrief made two powerful allegations which have never been publicly verified (1) illegal coordination between Project Vote and Obama Campaign / Donor List and (2) SEIU Muscle for Money program which are two of the rights favorite accusations."

The funny thing about lies is that it is often hard to keep track of them. In October of 2008, as the ACORN 8 were struggling to gain attention with their lawsuit against Wade Rathke, I testified under oath about the Muscle for Money Program was the first mention of the program. ACORN 8 leaders Marcel Reid and Karen Inman feigned surprise and then recounted stories of reluctant participation.

“Muscle for Money has generated significant opposition within ACORN.

"'I don’t mind being up on a soapbox to get someone’s attention but I would much rather talk an' negotiate, said Karen Inman, a Minnesota resident and former ACORN national board member. “But I just refuse to go someone’s home, that’s a privacy issue and I think this 'Muscle for Money' program really went too far.”

"Inman and Marcel Reid, a former board member based in Washington D.C., formed ACORN 8 in October 2008 …The lack of financial transparency and the continued use of Muscle for Money techniques remain top concerns for the whistleblower organization, which has about 30 dues paying members in multiple states, Inman said."

Reid also seems to have selective memory about her numerous press statements regarding Muscle for the Money and she apparently does not recognize the very evidence she provided. The following email provided by Reid, president of DC ACORN, is from Inga Skippings of the SEIU Equity Project regarding the Carlyle Group.

Reid also provided a similar email to CNN regarding SEIU/ACORN and bank bailouts.

The Fox News special titled "The Truth About ACORN" and broadcast on October 2, 2009 did not address the illegal coordination, but it certainly covered the second, with guest Marcel Reid claiming that she was shocked to learn what "Money for the Muscle" involved when she participated in it with National Paint and Coating as the target. The video can be accessed here and Marcel's statement begins around minute 16.

Lie #3 The ACORN 8 exposed a one million dollar embezzlement scandal

Further proof of the ACORN 8's self-serving revisionist history lies in the following statement from their “response article":

Marcel Reid a former ACORN Board member (DC) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and co-founder of ACORN 8;

Karen Inman a former ACORN Board member (MN) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and co-founder of ACORN 8;

Michael McCray a former ACORN Board delegate (GA) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and ACORN 8 spokesperson;

Nonsense. There is a whistleblower to credit. Neither Marcel Reid, nor Karen Inman, nor Michael McCray was that whistleblower. While working as a confidential source for the New York Times, I found out that not only is the real anonymous whistleblower known to the ACORN 8 but also New York Times Reporter Stephanie Strom. The ACORN embezzlement story was made public by The New York Times on July 9, 2008:

"A whistle-blower forced Acorn to disclose the embezzlement, which involved the brother of the organization’s founder, Wade Rathke. 'We’ve told them that when the process is ended, we’ll have a look at it,' said Dave Beckwith, executive director of the Needmor Fund, which has given money to some of Acorn’s charity affiliates for at least 10 years and was contacted by the whistle-blower in May."

So here is the time-line:

May 2008- ACORN funder, the Needmor fund was contacted by a whistleblower in May.

July 2008- Bertha Lewis, Marcel Reid and Karen Innman all appointed to positions of power within ACORN. New York Times article appeared.

August 2008- After the proposed hand over to Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union was declined by ACORN and CCI, Marcel and Innman sued CCI and Rathke.

That time-line hints at the truth behind ACORN insider allegations that the plotters of a successful coup began to immediately fight amongst each for control. Court documents point to Reid's relationship with KAPFCU and the question of whether she was really acting on behalf of ACORN:

So far it has been established that the ACORN 8 have a serious problem with the truth if it does not suit their needs and/or financial goals and we have learned that they are hesitant to debate the facts of my argument.

Over a once Mighty Oak, Tiny Nuts Fight for Control

ACORN insiders paint a tale of internal strife and power struggles that date back to at least 2006. On page 37 of the aforementioned ACORN YEYB report, ACORN Wade Rathke hinted at this struggle:

“Leadership Maude Hurd, as President, and her team continue to be somewhat embattled but opposition has become more specific and marginalized on many issues. It is easiest to understand the national board though these days as having two parties: the ruling party and the opposition party. Some progress was made in some ways in the October meeting in moving the opposition party to being more of a 'loyal' opposition, and that is a hopeful sign, if it continues to trend.”

Evidence exists to suggest the departure of Wade Rathke as a result of a whistleblower disclosing the embezzlement scandal permitted the opposition party to use the embezzlement to gain control. ACORN board meeting notes seem to suggest at the alliance between Marcel Reid, Karen Inman and Bertha Lewis that was exposed in my prior article

Bertha takes control:

 

 

 

Lie #4 KAPFCU

In addition, Michael McCray appears to be very upset that his connection to KAPFCU has been exposed and so he tried to rewrite history.

"KAPFCU was contracted by an ACORN management committee to investigate and perform due diligence following the $1 Million embezzlement...."

I told the real story in "For CPAC and Glenn Beck, The Truth About the ACORN 8," backed with citations and screen shots but I do have additional research.

Apparently, Reid's unsolicited proposal from Michael McCray's Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU) could be considered part of  the opposition party of the ACORN board strategy to control ACORN for their own gain.

The proposed agreement between ACORN and KAPFCU was an attempt to wrestle control of CCI's ACORN business for the benefit of KAPFCU without disclosing a potential conflict of interest.. As a member of the associate board, McCray had significant financial interest in this deal. Fourth quarter reports show a net worth of just over $831,083.41 for KAPFCU, so one can assume that millions of dollars a year and control of ACORN's vast financial network may have been incentive for the ACORN 8's next actions.

When the proposal was not immediately accepted, Inman and Reid descended on New Orleans with an attorney ACORN insiders claim was hired and paid for by the KAPFCU. The ACORN 8 hired James Gray, the former law partner of William “Cold Cash” Jefferson.

What followed can only be described as misleading press pieces and self-serving statements such as the ones below. The ACORN 8's lawsuit filed in Louisiana District Court (ACORN vs. Rathke, et al., case no. 08-8342,) was dismissed, but a number of misleading articles and statements made their way into the press.

ACORN insiders state that Reid manipulated the situation. When their deception was revealed to the board, a number of members voted to withdraw the lawsuit and then to remove Reid and Inman. According to ACORN Association board meeting notes dated June 20, 2008, Bertha Lewis and Steve Kest were tasked with hiring professional consultants, not Reid. Inman and Reid's positions were temporary and the committee reported to the entire board. Reid was expected to  step down at the next board meeting in October of 2008.

The ACORN 8 paint a scenario of ACORN leadership throwing them out, but their peers voted for each action including one of their own ACORN 8 members. Coya Mobley initially voted to withdraw the lawsuit, but changed her mind three days later in a rambling email to the board:

“He is beating us down as if he was our Slave Master with a whip and still creeping into our homes to take what ever he can get. And, all we are going to do is say Master please don't whip me any more, don't rape me any more, don't master don't!!!!!!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE..........SLAVERY IS OVER..........STOP THIS MADNESS AND GET OFF OF WADE RATHKE'S TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!. “

Mobley repeated the same sentiment on the 6/22/2009 episode Glenn Beck show in a video that has been yanked from the web.

As this is the only video of the ACORN 8 on Glenn Beck that has disappeared, one has to wonder if the removal of the video may have something to do with the embarrassing admission of active participation in the Muscle for Money program.

The Root of All Evil

Michael McCray's KAPFCU is the nation's first "virtual credit union” and as a small credit union, KAPFCU is constantly looking for opportunities to grow:

“In 2008, KAPFCU has applied for $100k in financial assistance and $500k in technical assistance.

...Vic also announced that there’s a $1.2B credit union in Baton Rouge that is designated as a low-income institution. This allows them to take in secondary capital, and not affect their net income ratio. KAPFCU is currently at 3.18%. The NCUA would like us to be at 7%. So, the low-income designation is one of the vehicles that KAPFCU plans to utilize to increase its net income ratio."

In what appears to be a closely knit network of affiliated organizations with the same board members and suspect motives the ACORN 8 are really similar to ACORN. PRWeb searches show press releases where the related organizations laud each other (here, and here)  and in some cases bestow newly created awards on members of the group. My prior article touched on this network, but research has uncovered additional affiliates of the ACORN 8. The new list is as follows:

The Congress Against Racism and Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE)

Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR)

The ACORN 8

The International Association of Whistle-blowers (IAW)

National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project

The 3.5.7 Commission (appears to be inactive)

The E-Accountability Project

Focus on Indiana

National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA), the official network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability (CFOJA)

As the KAPFCU Administrator of Community Development Financial Initiatives, McCray seems well placed to coordinate the activities of the organizations, including lending the KAPFCU name to rival ACORN projects:

By starting an organization in direct competition with ACORN and then “Whistle-blowing” on ACORN, the ACORN 8 appears to have deceived America into believing that their intentions were noble.

 

The biggest PR move involved the so-called Department of Justice complaint. The complaint to the DOJ addressed the embezzlement scandal and used a number of examples to support their "civil RICO" complaint. No disputing the facts here, ACORN is corrupt. However, what is missing from the complaint is intriguing and ties the ACORN 8 back to Obama. Reid appeared eager to file the complaint and was even ready to send it to the press without some exhibits being prepared by the lawyers (screenshot below).

 

 

 

At the last minute the complaint was amended to protect Obama’s mentor, former ACORN leader, Madeline Talbott and her husband, Keith Kelleher. Talbott, is also a fellow New Party alum of Reid and Obama. National Review Online provides the background:

"ACORN’s leading role in the New Party as the result of a conscious decision by the organization to move into electoral politics in a more substantial way than they had been able to solely through their political action committee. In addition to [Wade] Rathke and [Zach] Polett, a key early supporter of the New Party was Obama’s closest ACORN contact, Madeline Talbott."

The startling fact about the "Department of Justice Complaint" is that when filed in District Court by an ACORN 8 member, it was dismissed. Despite the presence of lawyers McCray, and Zena Crenshaw Logal in the ACORN 8, the complaint was found to lack the basic requirement of a cause of action.

"In the law, a cause of action (sometimes called a claim) is a set of facts sufficient to justify a right to sue."

 

 

 

The judge dismissed on the grounds that the complaint lacked standing and a cause of action, but it did generate the desired media attention the ACORN 8 needed after the Rathke case was dismissed. Click here to read the entire decision.

Dissecting McCray's Final Lies Lie #5 Disparaging other ACORN Whistleblowers

McCray, a co-chair of the International Association of Whistleblowers, used the "MGM" acronym for myself, Michael Gaynor and Michelle Malkin without crediting the originator, blogger Michael Volpe. McCray seems to adopt the same faulty logic as Volpe, who assumes that if someone I know writes a piece about a person or even mentions their names, that is disparagement. For the record, I have never attacked Greg Hall, Hannah James, James O'Keefe or any of the others named in McCray's rant. Mentioning someone or pointing out facts in regards to the ACORN 8 is not meant to disparage (unless the truth is damaging for that individual).

"Mailroom MonCrief, offered one piece of information purporting to link Project Vote and the Obama campaign which has yet to be publicly proved. She studied the ACORN 8 website and presented our arguments and information as her own until the ACORN 8 cut her off. She became frustrated and resentful having no other contacts or access to inside information, and so she began to attack Marcel Reid, the ACORN 8 and any other noteworthy ACORN critic."

Two quick things here;  first, besides some puff pieces about the embezzlement and a failed lawsuit against ACORN, the bulk of the ACORN 8's accusations only involved actions related to the board and their financial rival in the KAPFCU deal, CCI. It was only after my October 2008 testimony, that the ACORN 8 started to acknowledge real ACORN criminality.

Second, if one were to apply McCray's logic, then HE would be accused of attacking James Murtagh, the other co-chair of the International Association of Whistleblowers, or these statements by Volpe, who wrote at length about Murtagh,

"Dr. Murtagh was paid off to the tune of 1.6 million dollars and silenced at the exact same time that the NIH was investigating Grady Hospital..."

Volpe continued:

"Former Grady trustee Bill Loughrey tells me that the settlement with Dr. Murtagh was never approved or even accurately described to Grady’s board of trustees. He says that he was stunned to learn that tax dollars were paid to Dr. Murtagh, conditioned on his silence. He thinks the agreement is invalid and that the judicial process has been misused."

Volpe is a minor character in the ACORN 8 story, but he offers an opening to explore a pattern of behavior by Marcel Reid of lying and manipulating bloggers and some media persons.

Volpe's reward for writing hit pieces on Reid's enemies was a recommendation of his Wade Rathke interview to Breitbart's Big Government. Reid helped a so-so writer with a very small following gain access and attention he could not have gotten on his own . As the screen shot of a misdirected email below illustrates, Reid is quite content to pull the strings and let others do her dirty work. While she "lols", her fingerprints are covered by so-called bloggers like Volpe.

Bloggers and journalists who have written favorable pieces on the ACORN 8 have been granted appearances on "Beck". Including the late blogger Nancy Armstrong (MsPlaced Democrat).

Print journalists Kevin Mooney and his friend Matthew Vadum, associates of both myself and the ACORN 8, both made appearances during “ACORN 8 week.” Marcel and I worked on a number of pieces with both Vadum and Mooney, who have been responsible for a number of breaking pieces on ACORN. Vadum and I have also appeared on the G. Gordon Liddy Show.

Lie #5 "Rage Against the Beck"

In yet another ridiculous error-filled and sexist claim McCray states that:

“On March 13, 2009 [This should be May 13, 2009] U.S. Representative Michelle Bauchman [It's Michele Bachmann] (R-MN) appeared on the Glenn Beck show and announced a press conference she was having on Capital [This should be Capitol] Hill. Rep. Michelle Bauchman [Michele Bachmann] disclosed the topic was ACORN and she invited both Marcel Reid and Anita MonCrief to participate in the event. In response, Glenn Beck encouraged Michelle Bauchman [Michele Bachmann] to continue to put pressure on ACORN but he advised her to be careful with Anita MonCrief considering her checkered past. From that day forward Anita MonCrief has engaged in a personal vendetta against Beck, Reid and ACORN 8 for the slight she believes she received from Glenn Beck on March 13, 2009 [May 13, 2009] - hell hath no fury. “

What McCray does not state is that Marcel Reid had promised Beck's producers that she would deliver me as she had promised other whistleblowers and ACORN experts to Beck. On May 10, 2009 while reviewing the Elizabeth Kingsley report with Marcel, I took a call from Susan Wertheim of the Beck show on Marcel's phone. Here is the follow up email Susan sent.

I had begun working with a Eric Shawn of Fox's America's News Headquarters. I trusted Shawn's work on ACORN and finally decided to go on TV and tell my story. On Mother's Day, I appeared with Shawn and the Nevada Secretary of State.

This appearance had been in the works for sometime and Marcel was aware of this, so when I got the following email from Beck's Producers, I assumed that Marcel had arranged it and gave her the back story.

Megyn Kelly interviewed me the next day, and Beck wanted me for that evening. Things went a little haywire because, as a novice, I did not know that by accepting Megyn's invitation that I would upset Beck's producer Susan, and what followed is a clear indication of how alliances can compromise the integrity of a story. Susan lectured me on the competition for guests at Fox and indicated that I had committed some type of faux paus by appearing on anything but Beck first.

Just two short months after the March show with the RNLA's  Cleta Mitchell, on which I declined to be interviewed, but for which I provided important background on the AIG bus tour, Beck began warning others, including Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, to stay away from me in favor of the ACORN 8.

Michael McCray appeared in my place in what became "ACORN 8 Day."

Despite Beck's slight, even he can not deny that I have provided much evidence connecting ACORN/Project Vote and Obama. The problem with me seemed to lie in the fact that Reid could not control me and make me appear on "Beck" at her command, and it apparently became easier to spread lies than to deal with someone who would not compromise herself for Reid's power grab. Just a month later,  Beck did not mind relying on my blog for information that would serve as the background for at least two of his shows.

Realizing that we can not let the Left silence us, I put my feelings about Beck's comments to Bachmann aside, and supported Beck during a summer boycott of his advertisers by the Van Jones affiliated Color of Change.

McCray insinuated that I attacked Beck in my first piece, but instead I pointed out the same inconsistencies in his approach that many other conservatives like Mark Levin have pointed out. Did the ACORN 8 fool Beck? After all, McCray portrays himself and his ACORN 8 allies as friends of the conservative movement.

"MonCrief is featured favorably in the OGR committee report along with Karen Inman, Michael McCray, the ACORN 8 and Marcel Reid who also attended the conservative convention."

Marcel Reid is about as conservative as Max Blumenthal, who also showed up for his own purposes at CPAC 2010.

Lie #6 The ACORN 8 are allies of the conservative movement

The ACORN 8 use conservatives for their own purposes and those conservatives either do not know the reality of the ACORN 8 or accept the ACORN 8 as an enemy of their enemy.

McCray went on to state:

"We have never professed to be anti-ACORN or anti-Obama. Although many other conservative activists want us to be; which brings us back to Anita MonCrief."

"While others have waged a war of rhetoric and words against ACORN and President Obama we have focused on criminality within the association.... We have not criticized others for their activism and collaborate with those whom we share common interests; and we respectfully disengage from those who do not share our goals or approach."

As one blogger put it at Hot Air in a post about Beck, "Its not conservative"

Lie #7 Anita MonCrief is a thief

Beck's CPAC speech mentioned 'redemption' a number of times and like it or not, he did make some powerful points. By admitting that he is not perfect, he opens a door to himself and let's people in. People love him for his boldness and the way he interacts. Redemption means acknowledging fault and being vulnerable in a public way. I'm not perfect, as I've explained repeatedly (here,  here,  here, and here ) but I admitted that I was on the wrong path.

Despite the way Beck speaks of redemption, he still used the fact that I put personal expenses on a Project Vote credit card to warn Bachmann away, a tactic used repeatedly by the ACORN 8. The ACORN 8 have joined ACORN in trying to discredit me now that I am exposing them. I testified under oath regarding the credit card matter and discussed it on "The Laura Ingraham Show" in October 2008. Contrary to what McCray would like you to believe, I did not try to pass my expenses off as company expenses and was paying the balance. I wrote about it extensively here.

Conclusions

I have addressed the allegations made by McCray in his piece without alliteration, slogans or lies.  On the other hand, the ACORN 8 have done everything to paint themselves in a favorable light while bullying and marginalizing anyone who dares to speak the truth about them

The irony is that as America fights back against Obama's dictator-like attitude towards passing healthcare, we are continuing to make the same mistakes of the past. ACORN was funded during Republican administrations because we did not have our own infrastructures in the minority and low-income areas. Unfortunately for Republicans and conservatives is that what was most expedient was also most harmful. ACORN invaded our schools, toyed with our banks, wrecked havoc on the electoral system, and laid the groundwork for a permanent leftist majority. By aligning ourselves with radicals to solve one problem, we create others. The ACORN 8 have been conning conservatives and protecting Obama and his dangerous agenda.

My article titled "For CPAC and Glenn Beck: the Truth About the ACORN 8" predictably produced a pained response from the ACORN 8: ACORN 8 spokesman Michael McCray's article titled "ACORN Whistleblower / Anita Mailroom MonCrief" posted days later by James Murtagh. Lacking in substance but high in rhetoric and lies, even the title set up to misinform people and belittle the target, me.Unsurprisingly, McCray was upset that I "refused [ACORN 8's] advice and pursued [my] own individual advocacy against ACORN and Project Vote" and he did not address on the merits the revelations about himself and the ACORN 8 in my article and instead tried to discredit me, as ACORN did.What was surprising is that McCray tried to discredit me with a sexist strategy (hell hath no fury," he wrote) and a bogus description of me as a former ACORN mailroom employee.

"...perhaps the most damning revelation comes from court filed pleading by Anita MonCrief herself in her answer to Project Vote's $5 Million lawsuit against her Case No. 09-cv-01109 (RWR).

ANSWER OF DEFENDANT ASHAWNITA MONCRIEF

Paragraph #22 which reads

'22. Defendant [Anita MonCrief] admits that a Pitney Bowes postage meter machine was installed at Project Vote's Washington, D.C. office. Defendant affirmatively states that she [Anita MonCrief] was named by Project Vote as the registered user of the machine and therefore subsequent mailings from Pitney Bowes were addressed to her. Defendant denies each and every remaining or inconsistent allegation contained in paragraph 22.'

This is an incredible admission because it means that Anita MonCrief admits she worked in the mailroom at Project Vote...."

The ACORN/Project Vote Washington, D.C. office did not have a mailroom and, although I certainly don't disparage mailroom employees, I have never been one. I am equally surprised that a lawyer such as McCray, who is affiliated with several legal non-profits and who appears to have helped draft the ACORN 8's "civil RICO" complaint; would make such erroneous legal conclusions. Especially considering that there is demonstrable evidence to the contrary.

In December of 2009 I appeared at a GOP ACORN Forum and submitted the followed description of my duties at ACORN/Project Vote. A copy of the testimony is available here.

While at ACORN/Project Vote, I worked in the Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD) within ACORN’s Political Operations (POLOPS). As part of the SWORD staff my title was Writer/Researcher. My salary was paid by Project Vote, with which I held the title of Development Associate, but I had an ACORN email address.

Of course, to combat more revisionist history from the ACORN 8, here is an unmodified copy of ACORN's own 2006 Year End Year Beginning (YEYB) Report, the same one quoted recently at Andrew Breitbart's Big Government.

The ACORN 8 appear to be so comfortable with the fact that the lies they have told on national television about ACORN have largely gone unchallenged so  McCray has decided to invent more:

"Anita MonCrief is not a high-level associate she worked in the mailroom;

"Anita MonCrief did not have access to boardroom minutes or financial information she worked in the mailroom

"Anita MonCrief has no way of knowing the inner workings of SEIU whether official or unofficial she worked in the mailroom;

"Anita MonCrief couldn't know how much the embezzlement really was she worked in the mailroom...."

Apparently McCray did not check with other ACORN 8 people as to the access I had. And unfortunately for the ACORN 8 few of his outlandish accusations would pass muster at a middle school newspaper.  Using tactics honed through years of ACORN campaigns and organizing strategies, the ACORN 8 exhibit exactly the type of mentality that Wade encouraged in his ACORN Community Organizing Manual.

McCray strove to discredit me because the ACORN 8 could not directly address any number of facts stated in the previous article and they resorted to common Alinsky tactics of ridiculing, polarizing and attacking the enemy.

In sharp contrast to McCray, the Republican National Lawyers Association identified me as a

"leading figure in the fight for fair elections" and the "ACORN whistleblower ACORN [who] had the CPAC crowd on its feet" by describing my "experiences working with ACORN and how the organization engaged in a concerted effort to learn the provisional and absentee ballot laws in each of the 50 states in an effort to see where they could get away with mischief" and "achieved their ultimate goal of the Presidency with the election of Barack Obama"

when I spoke at CPAC 2010 last February 2010. Similarly, the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Governmental Reform staff report titled "Follow the Money: ACORN, SEIU and Their Political Allies" described me as

"a former political operations staff member for ACORN and Project Vote" (p. 8), reported that "information obtained by our committee confirms MonCrief's allegations" (p. 46).

Another excerpt from McCray's poorly written diatribe states:

"Mailroom MonCrief made two powerful allegations which have never been publicly verified (1) illegal coordination between Project Vote and Obama Campaign / Donor List and (2) SEIU Muscle for Money program which are two of the rights favorite accusations."

The funny thing about lies is that it is often hard to keep track of them. In October of 2008, as the ACORN 8 were struggling to gain attention with their lawsuit against Wade Rathke, I testified under oath about the Muscle for Money Program which was the first mention of the program. ACORN 8 leaders Marcel Reid and Karen Innman feigned surprise and then recounted stories of reluctant participation.

“Muscle for Money has generated significant opposition within ACORN.

'I don’t mind being up on a soapbox to get someone’s attention but I would much rather talk an' negotiate, said Karen Inman, a Minnesota resident and former ACORN national board member. “But I just refuse to go someone’s home, that’s a privacy issue and I think this “Muscle for Money” program really went too far.”

Inman and Marcel Reid, a former board member based in Washington D.C., formed ACORN 8 in October 2008 …

The lack of financial transparency and the continued use of Muscle for Money techniques remain top concerns for the whistleblower organization, which has about 30 dues paying members in multiple states, Inman said.

Reid also seems to have selective memory about her numerous press statements regarding Muscle for the Money and she apparently does not recognize the very evidence she provided. The following email provided by Reid, president of DC ACORN, is from Inga Skippings of the SEIU Equity Project regarding the Carlyle Group.

Reid also provided a similar email to CNN regarding SEIU/ACORN and bank bailouts.

The Fox News special titled "The Truth About ACORN" and broadcast on October 2, 2009 did not address the illegal coordination, but it certainly covered the second, with guest Marcel Reid claiming that she was shocked to learn what "Money for the Muscle" involved when she participated in it with National Paint and Coating as the target. The video can be accessed here and Marcel's statement begins around minute 16.

Further proof of the ACORN 8's self serving revisionist history lies in the following statement from their “response article:”

Marcel Reid a former ACORN Board member (DC) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and co-founder of ACORN 8;

Karen Inman a former ACORN Board member (MN) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and co-founder of ACORN 8;

Michael McCray a former ACORN Board delegate (GA) who blew the whistle following the $1 Million Embezzlement and ACORN 8 spokesperson;

Nonsense. There is a whistleblower to credit. Neither Marcel Reid, nor Karen Inman, nor Michael McCray was that whistleblower. While working as a confidential source for the New York Times I found out that not only is the real anonymous whistleblower known to the ACORN 8 but also New York Times Reporter Stephanie Strom. The ACORN embezzlement story was made public by The New York Times on July 9, 2008:

"A whistle-blower forced Acorn to disclose the embezzlement, which involved the brother of the organization’s founder, Wade Rathke.

"We’ve told them that when the process is ended, we’ll have a look at it,' said Dave Beckwith, executive director of the Needmor Fund, which has given money to some of Acorn’s charity affiliates for at least 10 years and was contacted by the whistle-blower in May."

May? Lets stay here for a second because the ACORN 8's heroic story is starting to unravel. According to court documents filed in Louisiana in August of this year, the scandal was discovered in April of 2008 by the full board of ACORN. So here is the timeline:

April- ACORN board discovers embezzlement

May- ACORN funder, the Needmor fund was contacted by a whistleblower in May.

July- Bertha Lewis, Marcel Reid and Karen Innman all appointed to positions of power within ACORN

August - After the proposed hand over to Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union is declined by ACORN and CCI, Marcel and Innman sue CCI and Rathke with KAPFCU as co-plaintiffs.

That time-line hints at the truth behind ACORN insider allegations that the plotters of a successful coup began to immediately fight amongst each for control. Court documents point to Reid's relationship with KAPFCU and the question of whether she was really acting on behalf of ACORN:

So far it has been established that the ACORN 8 has a serious problem with the truth, if it does not suit their needs and/or financial goals and we have learned that they are somewhat hesitant to debate the facts of my argument. Grab a cup of coffee and get comfy, we are going to dig into the accusations by McCray and the facts the ACORN want to avoid.

Over a once Mighty Oak, Tiny Nuts Fight for Control

ACORN insiders paint a tale of internal strife and power struggles that date back to at least 2006. On page 37 of the aforementioned ACORN YEYB report ACORN Wade Rathke hints at this struggle:

“Leadership Maude Hurd, as President, and her team continue to be somewhat embattled but opposition has become more specific and marginalized on many issues. It is easiest to understand the national board though these days as having two parties: the ruling party and the opposition party. Some progress was made in some ways in the October meeting in moving the opposition party to being more of a 'loyal' opposition, and that is a hopeful sign, if it continues to trend.”

Evidence exists to suggest the departure of Wade Rathke as a result of a whistleblower disclosing the embezzlement scandal permitted the opposition party to use the embezzlement scandal to gain control. ACORN board meeting notes seem to suggest at the alliance between Marcel Reid, Karen Innman and Bertha Lewis that was exposed in my prior article

Bertha takes control:

 

McCray appears to be very upset that his connection to KAPFCU has been exposed and so he tried to rewrite history.

"KAPFCU was contracted by an ACORN management committee to investigate and perform due diligence following the $1 Million embezzlement...."

I told the real story in "For CPAC and Glenn Beck: the Truth About the ACORN 8," backed with citations and screen shots but I do have additional research.

Apparently, Reid's unsolicited proposal from Michael McCray's Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU) could be considered part of  the opposition party of the ACORN board strategy to control ACORN for their own gain.

The proposed agreement between ACORN and KAPFCU was an attempt to wrestle control of CCI and turn all asset and decision making over to an organization that none of the ACORN 8 disclosed was a potential conflict of interest. As a member of the advisory board, McCray had significant financial interest in this deal. Fourth quarter reports show a net worth of just over $831,000 so one can assume that millions of dollars a year and control of ACORN's vast financial network may have been incentive for the ACORN 8's next actions.

When the proposal was not immediately accepted, Innman and Reid descended on New Orleans with an attorney hired and paid for by the KAPFCU. The ACORN 8 hired James Gray, the former law partner of William “Cold Cash” Jefferson.

What followed can only be described as misleading press pieces and self serving statements such as the ones below.

ACORN insiders state that Reid manipulated the situation and made demands outside of her power. When their deception was revealed to the board, a number of members voted to withdraw the lawsuit and then to remove Reid and Innman. According to ACORN Association board meeting notes dated July 13, 2008, Bertha Lewis and Steve Kest were tasked with hiring professional consultants, not Reid. Innman and Reid's positions were temporary and the committee reported to the entire board. Reid was expected to  step down at the next board meeting in October of 2008.

The ACORN 8 paint a scenario of ACORN leadership throwing them out, but their peers voted for each action including one of their own ACORN 8 members. Coya Mobley initially voted to withdraw the lawsuit, but changed her, mind three days later in a rambling email to the board:

“ He is beating us down as if he was our Slave Master with a whip and still creeping into our homes to take what ever he can get. And, all we are going to do is say Master please don't whip me any more, don't rape me any more, don't master don't!!!!!!!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE..........SLAVERY IS OVER..........STOP THIS MADNESS AND GET OFF OF WADE RATHKE'S TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!. “

Mobley repeated the same sentiment on the 6/22/2009 episode Glenn Beck show in a video that has been yanked from the web.

As this is the only video of the ACORN 8 on Glenn Beck that has disappeared, one has to wonder if the removal of the video may have something to do with the embarrassing admission of active participation in the Muscle for Money program.

The Root of All Evil

Michael McCray's KAPFCU is the nation's first "virtual credit union” and as a small credit union, KAPFCU is constantly looking for opportunities to grow:

“In 2008, KAPFCU has applied for $100k in financial assistance and $500k in technical assistance.

...Vic also announced that there’s a $1.2B credit union in Baton Rouge that is designated as a low-income institution. This allows them to take in secondary capital, and not affect their net income ratio. KAPFCU is currently at 3.18%. The NCUA would like us to be at 7%. So, the low-income designation is one of the vehicles that KAPFCU plans to utilize to increase its net income ratio."

In what appears to be a vast network of affiliated organizations with the same board members and suspicious motives the ACORN 8 is really similar to ACORN. My prior article touched on this network, but research has uncovered additional affiliates of the ACORN 8. The new list is a follows:

The Congress Against Racism and Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE)

Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR)

The ACORN 8

The International Association of Whistle-blowers (IAW)

National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project

The 3.5.7 Commission (appears to be inactive)

The E-Accountability Project

Focus on Indiana

National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA), the official network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability (CFOJA)

As the KAPFCU Administrator of Community Development Financial Initiatives, McCray seems well placed to coordinate the activities of the organizations, including lending the KAPFCU name to rival ACORN projects:

By starting an organization in direct competition with ACORN and then “Whistle-blowing” on ACORN, the ACORN 8 appears to have deceived America into believe their intentions were noble.

Dissecting McCray's Final Lies

McCray, a co-chair of the International Association of Whistleblowers, used the "MGM" acronym for myself, Michael Gaynor and Michelle Malkin without crediting the originator, blogger Michael Volpe. McCray seems to adopt to came faulty logic as Volpe who assumes that if someone I know writes a piece about a person or even mentions their names, that is it disparagement. For the record, I have never attacked Greg Hall, Hannah James, James O'Keefe or any of the others named in McCray's rant. Mentioning someone or pointing out facts in regards to the ACORN 8 is not meant to disparage (unless the truth is damaging for that individual).

"Mailroom MonCrief, offered one piece of information purporting to link Project Vote and the Obama campaign which has yet to be publicly proved. She studied the ACORN 8 website and presented our arguments and information as her own until the ACORN 8 cut her off. She became frustrated and resentful having no other contacts or access to inside information, and so she began to attack Marcel Reid, the ACORN 8 and any other noteworthy ACORN critic."

Two quick things here, first besides some puff pieces about the embezzlement and a failed lawsuit against ACORN, the bulk of their accusations from bIf one were to apply McCray's logic, then HE would be accused of attacking James Murtagh, the other co-chair of the International Association of Whistleblowers,  for these statements by Volpe's, who wrote at length about Murtagh,

"Dr. Murtagh was paid off to the tune of 1.6 million dollars and silenced at the exact same time that the NIH was investigating Grady Hospital..."

Volpe continues:

"Former Grady trustee Bill Loughrey tells me that the settlement with Dr. Murtagh was never approved or even accurately described to Grady’s board of trustees. He says that he was stunned to learn that tax dollars were paid to Dr. Murtagh, conditioned on his silence. He thinks the agreement is invalid and that the judicial process has been misused."

Volpe is a minor character in the ACORN 8 story, but he offers an opening to explore a pattern of behavior by Marcel Reid of lying and manipulating bloggers and some media persons.

Volpe's reward for writing hit pieces on Reid's enemies was a recommendation of his Wade Rathke interview  to Breitbart's Big Government. As a so-so writer with a very small following, Reid  helped Volpe gain access he could not have gotten on his own. As the screen shot of a misdirected email below illustrates, Reid is quite content to pull the strings and let others do her dirty work. While she sits back and laughs, her fingerprints are covered by so called bloggers like Volpe.

Bloggers and journalists who have written favorable pieces on the ACORN 8 have been granted appearances on "Beck". Including the late blogger Nancy Armstrong (MsPlaced Democrat).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUE7tWigD8A

Print journalists Kevin Mooney and his friend Matthew Vadum associates of both myself and the ACORN 8 both made appearances during “ACORN 8 week.”

In yet another ridiculous error- filledand sexist claim McCray states that:

“On March 13, 2009 [This should be May 13, 2009] U.S. Representative Michelle Bauchman [It's Michele Bachmann] (R-MN) appeared on the Glenn Beck show and announced a press conference she was having on Capital [This should be Capitol] Hill. Rep. Michelle Bauchman [Michele Bachmann] disclosed the topic was ACORN and she invited both Marcel Reid and Anita MonCrief to participate in the event. In response, Glenn Beck encouraged Michelle Bauchman [Michele Bachmann] to continue to put pressure on ACORN but he advised her to be careful with Anita MonCrief considering her checkered past. From that day forward Anita MonCrief has engaged in a personal vendetta against Beck, Reid and ACORN 8 for the slight she believes she received from Glenn Beck on March 13, 2009 [May 13, 2009] - hell hath no fury. “

What McCray does not state is that Marcel Reid had promised Beck's producers that she would deliver me as she had promised other whistleblowers to Beck. On May 10, 2009 while reviewing the Elizabeth Kingsley report with Marcel, I took a call from Susan Wertheim of the Beck show on Marcel's phone. Here is the follow up email Susan sent.

I had begun working with a Eric Shawn of Fox's America's News Headquarters. I trusted Shawn's work on ACORN and finally decided to go on TV and tell my story. This appearance had been in the works for sometime and Marcel was aware of this, so when I got the following email from Beck's Producers, I assumed that Marcel had arranged it and gave her the back story.

Megyn Kelly interviewed me the next day, and Beck wanted me for that evening. Things went a little haywire because, as a novice, I did not know that by accepting Megyn's invitation that I would upset Beck's producer Susan, and what followed is a clear indication of how alliances can compromise the integrity of a story. Just two short months after the March show with Cleta Mitchell, where I declined to be interviewed, but provided important background on the AIG bus tour, Beck began warning others to stay away from me in favor of the ACORN 8, including Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg7eQK64Ymw

Despite Beck's slight, even he can not deny that I have provided much evidence connecting ACORN/Project Vote and Obama. The problem with me seemed to lie in the fact that Reid could not control me and make me appear on Beck at her command, and it apparently became easier to spread lies than to deal with someone who would not compromise herself for Reid's power grab. Just a month later,  Beck did not mind relying on my blog for information that would serve as the background for at least two of his shows.

SCREENSHOT

Despite the invitation being lifted from my blog and the comments to Bachmann, I managed to put my hurt feelings behind me and support Beck during a summer boycott of his advertisers by the Van Jones affiliated Color of Change.

Finally, McCray portrays himself and his ACORN 8 allies as friends of the conservative movement.

"MonCrief is featured favorably in the OGR committee report along with Karen Inman, Michael McCray, the ACORN 8 and Marcel Reid who also attended the conservative convention."

Marcel Reid is about as conservative as Max Blumenthal, who also showed up for his own purposes at CPAC 2010.

The ACORN 8 use conservatives for their own purposes and those conservatives either do not know the reality of the ACORN 8 or accept the ACORN 8 as an enemy of their enemy.

McCray goes on to state:

"We have never professed to be anti-ACORN or anti-Obama. Although many other conservative activists want us to be; which brings us back to Anita MonCrief."

"While others have waged a war of rhetoric and words against ACORN and President Obama we have focused on criminality within the association.... We have not criticized others for their activism and collaborate with those whom we share common interests; and we respectfully disengage from those who do not share our goals or approach."

@@@Add something like "That doesn't sound conservative to me."

@@@How about closing with something like: "I'm not perfect, as I've explained repeatedly [insert link to

Click here: Anita MonCrief: How This Ex-Liberal Found Fortitude and Her Way Home], but the ACORN 8's problem with me is that I do tell the truth and I rejected them last year [insert link to

Friday, October 30, 2009

How I Overcame Fear and Rejected the ACORN 8 Alternative ].

 

What began in 2009 as a quiet rumble of discontent blossomed into a movement over health care and rocked the nation with the election of Scott Brown. Now fired up Conservatives are bringing that energy to DC for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Thursday CPAC began with an abundance of Conservative leaders coming together from across the country. Republicans, Conservatives and Libertarians will mingle with the tea partiers, now recognized as a force even by The New York Times that buried an ACORN/Obama expose before the 2008 presidential election. The perceived and much hyped divides that exist within the movement have many taking sides and others looking to assume control and dictate how President Obama and his radical Administration should be contested.

In a message to supporters, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich quoted Ronald Reagan in unveiling the new Contract From America

“In a message that resonates to this day, President Reagan proclaimed, 'Our people look for a cause to believe in,' and then asked: 'Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?"

The 2010 CPAC promises to be exciting, invigorating and, most importantly, a journey for many Conservatives. Glenn Beck will deliver the closing speech on Saturday. The choice of Beck is an interesting one for CPAC, but as the rising star of the movement, Beck will pull large crowds and attract media attention.

CPAC's invitation to Beck is interesting because he is a polarizing figure, but after his move from CNN to Fox in January 2009, pundits on the left and right appear to hang on his every word. Beck drew anger and derision from the left after focusing on the then emerging ACORN Scandal in early 2009. In March of 2009 an ACORN affiliated bus tour terrorized the families of AIG executives and Cleta Mitchell of the Republican National Lawyers Association appeared on Beck's television program to discuss ACORN.

However, it wasn't until a showdown with ACORN spokesperson Scott Levenson that ended with Beck directing Levenson to leave after Levenson had told him, off air, that he was "afraid of black people" that Beck's ACORN hunt began in earnest.

After that, Beck recruited guests (black and white) to appear with him and expose ACORN. Chief among them was Marcel Reid, former National Board member of ACORN and president of the ACORN 8. Interestingly, many of the guests were in some way affiliated with Reid and her quest for “truth and transparency" within ACORN. More on that in a later post, but for now let's examine how this star of the new conservation movement becomes tied to the very radicals that are exposed on the famous Glenn Beck chalkboard.

Can The ACORN 8 Pass Beck's Chalkboard Test?

Whistleblowers rarely come forward without enduring much agonizing and trepidation, and usually there is not a ready support network for them. But what happens when conditions are set in such a way as to “create a whistleblower” for personal and financial gain?

The top leaders of the ACORN 8 are Marcel Reid, Karen Innman, Michael McCray, and Zena Crenshaw Logal. In 2007 all four ACORN 8 leaders became actively involved in a number of organizations that would set the stage for an internal power struggle within ACORN that would eventually spill into courts and onto television screens across America. Among the ACORN-life affiliates controlled by these four are:

• The Congress Against Racism and Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE),

• Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR)

• The ACORN 8

• The International Association of Whistle-blowers (IAW)

• National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project

• The 3.5.7 Commission (appears to be inactive)

• National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA), the official network of Community Forums on Judicial Accountability (CFOJA)

A number of the above ACORN 8 affiliates operate out of a modest apartment building at 3870 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, Washington, DC. While it is not a funeral home, let's take it to Beck's Chalkboard to compare the two ACORN-related front buildings:

An Internet search of one of the progressive ACORN 8 organizations reveals that the The International Association of Whistle-blowers (IAW) was established in 2007, and was founded by Michael McCray, Esq, Dr. James J. Murtagh MD and Zena Crenshaw, Esq. Amazingly, the initial meeting of the IAW was held the week of May 11-18 2008, just as the ACORN embezzlement scandal broke.

Back at Glenn Beck's chalkboard. It appears that a group of friends may have established a network in direct competition with ACORN while serving as board members and used this same network to, among other things, boost their credibility with awards and sham conferences while using the ACORN scandal as a spring board into the national spotlight.

One of the ACORN 8 affiliates, Power Over Poverty Under Laws of America Restored (POPULAR) has even started an “Obama Lights the Way” campaign in order to push their agenda on Capitol Hill.

The ACORN 8 and the Making of a Whistleblower

Conveniently for America, at the very moment that ACORN was imploding, a group materialized and offered a solution to “save America.” The group appeared non-threatening and often exclaimed shock at the very mob protest activities that ACORN had engaged in for decades. With the help of several well placed Republicans and Conservatives whom they used for credibility, the ACORN 8, offered a revisionist history of ACORN while peppering stories with innuendos of danger. In a op-ed piece published in 2009, the co-founder of McCray's IAW posted this  prepackaged ACORN 8 statement (emphasis mine).

"The ACORN 8 is America’s last, best chance to empower low and moderate income members of society through Integrity in Community Organizing.

"If you love ACORN and its original mission; you should support the ACORN 8. If you hate ACORN and its corrupt practices; you should support the ACORN 8. If you are an ACORN member and tired of being ignored; you should support the ACORN 8. If you are an ACORN employee and tired of being sacrificed for senior management; you should support the ACORN 8. If you are an ACORN donor and want to be sure you were not a victim of funder fraud and that your contributions are not being used for illegal political activities; you MUST support the ACORN 8. If you are a taxpayer and want to be sure your tax dollars are not funding a corrupt organization; you MUST support the ACORN 8."

The situation is almost too convenient and according to ACORN insiders with knowledge of the events that led to the formation of the ACORN 8, it is. Insiders paint a tale that began with an alliance among Marcel Reid, Karen Innman, Carol Hemingway and most importantly, Bertha Lewis. According to reliable evidence,

Reid, Innman and Hemingway provided Lewis with the crucial votes to elect her as interim Chief Organizer of ACORN after founder Wade Rathke was removed from the organization. Apparently Lewis agreed to help elect the trio to the ACORN interim management committee, with substantial perks like trips, computers and hotel stays.

The ACORN 8's claim that they were denied access to the financial records of ACORN has also been debunked by inside information and research. Every December ACORN held the Year End, Year Beginning or YEYB conference in New Orleans and staff from around the country submitted reports on the status of their local operations. Immediately following YEYB in January, the ACORN executive committee met and they are given financial reports and all of the YEYB local reports. Some within ACORN have concluded that this information was used to make an outlandish power grab in 2008.

After being elected to the interim management committee, Marcel Reid submitted a proposal from the Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU) to take over ACORN accounting operations from Citizens Consulting Inc. (CCI). Insiders at ACORN claim the proposal was for $3 million a year. A look at the 4th Quarter report of the KAPFCU show that this deal would have been a major coup for the "country’s first virtual credit union."

Oddly, none of the ACORN 8 members ever mentioned that the lawsuit they filed against Rathke, ACORN and CCI was the result of their refusal to turn operations over to a credit union of which Michael McCray is an associate board member.

“KAPFCU’s Administrator of Community Development Financial Initiatives Michael McCray says of his CU:

'As a virtual institution, we’ve been an ugly duckling for nearly four years. Our balance sheet and profit/loss profile differs from most community based credit unions.

We don’t have a physical office, we operate through a 20 member advisory board and management team. KAPFCU provides service to the entire country - instead of a local geographic market. We just don’t look like the typical low income or community development credit union. Consequently, it has been very difficult for us to successfully receive financial support from credit union or philanthropic communities'

Independent columnist Michael Gaynor has done the legwork on this one:

"...McCray had opportunistically responded to the ACORN embezzlement scandal by pushing for Kappa Alpha Psi Federal Credit Union (KAPFCU) to replace Citizens Consulting, Inc. (CCI) as ACORN's accountant and ACORN 8 leaders and former ACORN national board members Marcel Reid and Karen Inman quietly helped him.

The truth is that the ACORN embezzlement scandal presented a golden opportunity to take control and make lots of money and McCray recognized it and acted, with the assistance of ACORN 8 leaders and without disclosing McCray's interest in KAPFCU (http://www.kapfcu.org).

KAPFCU's bid to replace CCI and do ACORN's accounting work failed, despite the best efforts of McCray, Ms. Reid and Ms. Innman.

As reported in ACORN's Submission in Support of Its Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto in the now dismissed ACORN v. Rathke case filed in a Louisiana state court (available at http://www.capitalresearch.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/acorn-v-rathke1.pdf):

..."These two Board members, and their attorney, further attempted to coerce the Board by reporting that the Temporary Restraining Order had been granted, attaching a copy, instructing the Board, IMC, Senior Staff, and the Executive Committee to comply with its terms, and warning the Board that it may otherwise be participating in concealment of evidence and violations of federal law. In fact, at the time Mr. Gray wrote the Board, IMC, Senior Staff, Executive Committee and Corporate Counsel, he and his clients knew that the bond had not and would not be paid and that the TRO was not in effect. This pesky fact was not reported to the members of the ACORN Board, all of whom are non-lawyers or to ACORN's Corporate Counsel."

Even more significantly, the Submission continued: "ACORN is also concerned about the relationship between the two Board members who filed the suit, their attorney, and KAPFCU, an organization that the two Board member promoted to take over the financial responsibilities of ACORN from CCI, one of the named defendants in the Petition. Mr. Gray holds himself out as representing both ACORN and KAPFCU in this matter, which appears to present a conflict of interest. ACORN has not hired KAPFCU, the KAPFCU proposal is not responsive to the Board's resolution for financial review, and KAPFCU has no legal interest in the litigation. KAPFCU's only interest in this litigation is in taking over ACORN's business from CCI. Mr. Gray has ignored ACORN's request to explain the relationship, and ACORN specifically refuses to waive the conflict."

Screen shots of the proposed agreement illustrate the complete control that KAPFCU wanted over ACORN in what had become a full power struggle complete with press releases and leaking articles to New York Times reporter Stephanie Strom.

The ACORN 8 began to paint themselves as whistleblowers and use the specter of ACORN to drive the story on the right. By claiming ignorance, the ACORN 8 have always stopped short of blasting Obama to the Conservative Press and this has allowed these radical Democrats to effectively hoodwink conservatives into supporting their cause. ACORN 8 affiliates are already setting up a network across the country in anticipation of absorbing ACORN offices and continuing its radical progressive agenda. Below is a comparison of the ACORN 8 affiliate National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) and a 2006 ACORN office expansion map.

Besides a penchant for card check, government health care, and cap and trade; the ACORN 8 have on a number of occasions taken deliberate steps to protect Obama from the ACORN scandal. As previously reported in another blog, the ACORN 8 concealed a copy of the Elizabeth Kingsley ACORN report and it was deliberately leaked to Strom to stop an expose on ACORN and Obama.

“...'Moncrief finally agreed to go on the record' and Strom had scheduled a meeting with her. It was when she called Moncrief to cancel the meeting that Strom allegedly told her that her bosses had killed the investigation to protect Obama. Obviously, if Strom was about to hit pay-dirt with an on-the-record witness, Daley's assertion that she killed the story because Strom 'had come up empty-handed' is false.

Hoyt interviewed Strom, of course, but--rather remarkably--he does not reveal what Strom told him about her conversation with Daley in which Daley killed Strom's ongoing investigation. That's a rather significant omission, isn't it? Instead, Hoyt merely quotes Strom's observation that she did write a story on ACORN that appeared on October 22:

Before they were to meet, Strom said, another source gave her an internal report detailing concerns about impermissible political activity by Acorn and its tax-exempt affiliates. The resulting article was published on Oct. 22.”

After halting The Times Obama/ACORN investigation, Reid's loyalty to the progressive cause may have led her to befriend a reluctant whistleblower who had the goods on Obama and ACORN. As noted in the recently released report by the the House Oversight Committee, Reid and I began as allies exposing ACORN wrongdoing. We were both radical Obama supporters and she urged me not to hurt Obama's election prospects by accepting an invitation to do Fox News on the days before the election.

Beck's "Rosa Parks": Pay No Attention to the Radical on the Conservative Bus

Before Election day 2008 Fox News was the only major media outlet willing to take on the Obama Campaign machine, but as a frightened radical, I listened to Marcel Reid, a women who was mentored by the radical Ron Karenga and she discouraged me from working with Fox by citing racism, bias and a hatred for Obama. Documents show that Reid, who was still negotiating with ACORN to retain her position on the board, agreed to signed a joint defense agreement with ACORN and, it was decided to not "go after Wade" until AFTER the last presidential election:

"IF the idea for ACORN to go after Wade is decided upon--the recommendation is to wait until after December--elections, ACORN needs to get their corporation in order, clean house in terms of getting paperwork in order, etc."

The ACORN 8's habit of ignoring or hiding evidence to protect Obama was evident last year when a so-called Department of Justice complaint was amended at the last minute to protect Obama's mentor, former ACORN leader, Madeline Talbott and her husband, Keith Kelleher.

."ACORN is a Democrat scandal and it is hard to separate one from the other. Corruption is the overriding theme and it comes mostly from the left. Another particularly odd pairing continues to be the radical reformers of ACORN and top Conservatives and Republicans. The ACORN 8, a group of former ACORN board members, have formed a [Dede] Scozzafava-like partnership with the Republicans. In attempting to expose ACORN, some appear to have ignored key facts and overlooked a pattern of withholding key information to coincide with opportunistic timing aimed at aiding Democrats.

An example of this is the complete removal of two longtime Obama ACORN cronies from a complaint filed with the United States Justice Department last January by the ACORN 8. Madeline Talbott is described by Stanley Kurtz of the National Review Online as 'the woman who first drew Obama into an alliance with ACORN.' And Keith Kelleher is Talbott’s husband, the Chief Organizer of SEIU Local 880 in Chicago.”

Using the Glenn Beck Show as a launching pad, the ACORN 8 continued to conceal their radical roots and desire to protect Obama. In fact, ACORN 8 leader, Marcel Reid began her career with ACORN as a member of the Marxist New Party:

"The fact that Obama received the New Party’s endorsement in his first run for office cannot be dismissed as insignificant. On the contrary, Obama’s ties to the New Party and the New Party’s backers at ACORN and the SEIU are long-standing, substantial, and reveal a great deal about his personal political allegiances.

The New Party’s biggest wins in the country were in Chicago, including Obama’s victory in his 1996 run for the Illinois Senate. Chicago’s New Party was formed around two core elements, ACORN and the SEIU’s local 880. SEIU 880 was itself an ACORN offshoot."

Beck's appearance at CPAC will send a message to the thousands of conservatives who have traveled to DC. As Conservative meet and network many are realizing that we did not need liberal grassroots organizations to reach into communities of color. Conservatives are door knocking and creating real grassroots movements.  Conservatives do not need the ACORN 8 to defeat ACORN. Beck has exposed much about the radicalness of Obama, his administration and his supporters, particularly ACORN and SEIU, but he needs to research the ACORN 8.

 

Wade Rathke, former chief organizer of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), spoke at the University of Memphis yesterday and expressed his dismay at the current predicament ACORN finds itself in:

“Rathke stepped down from ACORN in 2008. Since his departure, ACORN's been accused of voter registration fraud, embezzlement and worker misconduct. Hidden camera video made public earlier this year shows ACORN employees telling a couple posing as a pimp and a prostitute how to get around tax laws to make money.

'It's very worrisome to me,' says Rathke, 'having spent 38 years there. The notion that within one and a half years since I left, the organization could almost evaporate is just stunning and startling to me."

According to reports, Rathke is pessimistic about the future of ACORN:

"The organization has become the focal point of the Right," Rathke said during an interview before his speech.

"I don't know if it can survive another year," he said....

'ACORN, Rathke said, serves an important function in a democratic society, in that it 'provides a vehicle for community residents, particularly lower and middle income, to have a voice in affairs.'

'You are going to have some people who cut corners, and do things that are irregular. ACORN made mistakes,' he said.

Rathke said he was glad to be in Canada when the Baltimore video surfaced. “

Unfortunately, Wade Rathke is still peddling the myth that ACORN actually works to help the poor. Grant applications to various foundations describe ACORN as:

“ACORN is one of the nation’s largest and most successful networks of community organizations, with over 230,000 low and moderate-income members organized into 1200+ neighborhood chapters in 104 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has been building solidly rooted and powerful community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and have taken action and won victories on thousands of issues of concern to our members, through direct action, negotiation, legislative advocacy, and voter participation. Fundamentally, ACORN’s goal is to ensure that low and moderate income families have the power to act effectively on their own behalf in the struggle to build a more progressive America. ACORN helps those who have historically been locked out become powerful actors in our democratic system.”

Liberals cling to the myth of ACORN so they can claim that the “right” is trying to stop persons of color from getting ahead, or as it in known in an ACORN “rap,” “the man keeping a brotha down.”

Wade Rathke, a former member of the Students for A Democratic Society (SDS) and The National Welfare Rights Organization (NWRO) never intended for ACORN to be an organization that really helped poor people. Rathke, from all indications, wanted to use ACORN as a vehicle for political power. It is very telling that ACORN International - now Community Organizations International (COI) - was started after the embezzlement scandal. It appears as if Rathke wanted to secure his future and keep the money rolling in. Screen shots of his international work illustrate that Rathke intends to use COI to corrupt foreign electoral systems in the same way that ACORN has worked domestically. COI may have been started using tax dollars and non-profit tax exempt funds, but the organization has become a critical addition the the political landscape of quite a few countries.

Not only are Rathke's statements self serving, but he fails to admit that the initial cover-up of the embezzlement by his brother Dale Rathke may have contributed to ACORN's current troubles.

Furthermore, it appears that the Interim Staff Management committee (ISM) - which included members like Maude Hurd, Marcel Reid and Karen Innman - acknowledged  the difficulties associated with dealing with COI and Rathke, but decided to wait until ACORN could “get its paperwork in order."

ACORN may be on the ropes, but its not down for the count. Wade Rathke  is successfully meddling in international affairs and Holder's Justice Department continued reluctance to investigate ACORN may offer them a reprieve. Rathke appears ready to shake things up and start ACORN all over again, one country at a time.

ACORN’s chief organizer and CEO Bertha Lewis appeared on Bill O’Reilly’s ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ on May 29, 2009 to combat the growing criticism that ACORN is a criminal enterprise that is operating as an arm of the Democrats. Well, a watered down version of Bertha Lewis appeared, for those who are not familiar with her colorful character see Youtube. ACORN spokespersons have never had a problem lying on camera, but under oath is a different story (as witnessed by Karyn Gillette’s swift departure from a courtroom in Pennsylvania back in October of 2008). ACORN National spokesman Scott Levenson and other ACORN spokespersons have defended their actions and blamed rogue employees. During ‘The O’Reilly Factor’, Lewis asserted that she is in charge and that no criminal activity will be tolerated on her watch. Really.

For background, Lewis assumed control over the organization, that is, became Chief Organizer after it was revealed that ACORN’s founder Wade Rathke had covered up the embezzlement of almost $1 million dollars by his brother Dale, ACORN’s longtime chief financial organizer. The embezzlement occurred around December of 2000 and was reported by the New York Times

I have been following the on going ACORN debacle very closely, and for anyone growing up in an underprivileged situation you value the most basic of life's virtues. The most highly regarded one being honesty. When you live hand to mouth you expect that if you work hard 40 hours a week you will be paid for that work. You do not expect for someone to to tell how sorry they are that you have worked so hard , and then not be paid. Also they're sorry for the fact that you were counting on the money to pay your rent, buy groceries, and provide child care for your children. Well in a since that's exactly what ACORN has done. The self proclaimed voice of the disenfranchised, have used a most overlooked commodity in America : "Poverty." A natural resource that is in abundance not only due to the current financial strain that our country is suffering from; but also due to the systematic exploitation of those who are less fortunate than the ones who control the means to provide assistance  to the poor , that they so desperately need.

ACORN has not only exploited those in our country's most destitute neighborhoods. i.e. (Washington D.C.,and New Orleans), but they have instituted the tactics of using what some would consider the cream of the crop of these poverty stricken areas to speak for them. What better way to show that you're for the people then to use the people.

 

This is nothing more than Non profit-ography:the use of the socially and economically deprived to provoke emotional connectivity to non-profit based upon "leaders" within the organization being of the same social and economic background. By using this most overlooked resource, they acquired a Fortune 500 size profit base. And where has this money gone one might ask? Well as of lately straight into the pockets of the founding members. Obviously it seems to be the purpose of the new "progressive" social non profits.

 

The exploitation of poverty for any means - not just fiduciary - is unacceptable,especially when using those exact same people who are suffering from this systematic disease. To rein in the forgotten in society, those who feel they are being lead by someone who has suffered the same plights in life and understands them. Most members feel like they have found a haven of some sorts – unfortunately for them, the shelter was made of straw.

 

OpenLeft, a must read of lefty blogs and infrastructure, somewhat uncharacteristically invites Bertha Lewis, who runs a clearly opaque and un-Open organization, ACORN to defend her organization.

Lewis's statement is simply full of lies, many of which are refutable with recent statements by ACORN officials and recent media reports from right-wing hit-job press like the New York Times.

She starts the substance of her piece with:

Let’s be clear about one very important thing. The reason ACORN is the focal point of the combined national efforts of the Republicans is because we recently completed the largest non-partisan voter registration drive in U.S. history. We helped 1.3 million low-income people, people of color, and young people complete voter registration applications.

No. They filed 1.3 million forms. The New York Times gets the breakdown right, according to an ACORN official:

On Oct. 6, the community organizing group Acorn and an affiliated charity called Project Vote announced with jubilation that they had registered 1.3 million new voters. But it turns out the claim was a wild exaggeration, and the real number of newly registered voters nationwide is closer to 450,000, Project Vote’s executive director, Michael Slater, said in an interview.

Don't let the "Project Vote" name fool you. They are essentially the same organization. A NYT story from two days before noted that Mr. Slater's predecessor would have reported directly to ... ACORN's Chief Organizer:

She wrote that the same people appeared to be deciding which regions to focus on for increased voter engagement for Acorn and Project Vote. Zach Pollett, for instance, was Project Vote’s executive director and Acorn’s political director, until July, when he relinquished the former title. Mr. Pollett continues to work as a consultant for Project Vote through another Acorn affiliate.

Back to Bertha... She argues that they have good integrity checks:

The attacks on ACORN are spurious to say the least. Here a few key facts that our accusers aren’t telling you.

• ACORN has implemented the most sophisticated quality-control system in the voter engagement field but in almost every state we are required to turn in ALL completed applications, even the ones we know to be problematic.

• ACORN flags in writing incomplete, problem, or suspicious cards when we turn them in. Unfortunately, some of these same officials then come back weeks or months later and accuse us of deliberately turning in phony cards.  In many cases, we can actually prove that these are the same cards we called to their attention.

Again... Not so much. That's not what ACORN told the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Board of Elections. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Local representatives of the organization told Cuyahoga board members that they don't have the resources to identify fraudulent cards turned in by paid canvassers who are told to register low- and moderate-income voters. [...]

"This is not something you can catch with your internal controls, apparently," said board member Sandy McNair at the meeting.

"Not perfectly, no," replied Mari Engelhardt, ACORN political director for Ohio.

That's ACORN. They lie about their numbers. They lie about their processes. According to their own attorney's they even lie publicly about embezzlement that they knew occurred:

The June 18 report, written by Elizabeth Kingsley, a Washington lawyer, spells out her concerns about potentially improper use of charitable dollars for political purposes; money transfers among the affiliates; and potential conflicts created by employees working for multiple affiliates, among other things.

It also offers a different account of the embezzlement of almost $1 million by the brother of Acorn’s founder, Wade Rathke, than the one the organization gave in July, when word of the theft became public.

This is a criminal organization. Bertha Lewis is the chief of the organization. And OpenLeft is providing a forum for defenses that are simply saturated with lies about the most basic facts that are already disproven by statements by their own organization.