CIVIL RIGHTS
Nutty Attacks On ACORN

In recent weeks, conservatives have escalated their attacks on ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Conservative lawmakers were able to remove a provision aimed at aiding low-income housing programs from the Bush administration’s $700 billion economic bailout bill by calling it a "slush fund" for ACORN. Before that, conservatives blamed ACORN for "precipitating the subprime crisis." And last week, they alleged that the "purpose" of ACORN is to engage in voter fraud. However, as columnist Joel McNally correctly noted, the "underlying motive for attacking ACORN" seems to be that it is the "nation's largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people." "It is an organization that engages in that dreaded community organizing," McNally wrote. "It actually tries to give a voice to the poor and most vulnerable among us." Indeed, after years of enacting policies catering to the wealthy, the right-wing seems to be fearful of millions of new low-income voters registered by ACORN casting their ballots in favor of progressive policies.

 

VOTER 'FRAUD': In early October, ACORN announced that it had registered 1.3 million new voters for the November election. Seizing on reports of apparently fraudulent voter registrations in some states, conservatives began claiming that the "purpose" of ACORN is to commit "voter fraud." However, all that was found during a raid of ACORN's office in Nevada was apparently fraudulent voter registration forms, which do not constitute voter fraud. "It's not voter fraud unless someone shows up at the voting booth on election day and tries to pass himself off as 'Tony Romo.'" And who would try to do that?" wrote Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL). As New York University's Brennan Center for Justice noted, "[T]here are no reports that we have discovered of votes actually cast in the names of [false] registrants." Under most state laws, in fact, voter registration organizations like ACORN are required to turn in all the forms they receive, even the suspicious ones. Furthermore, as Brad Friedman pointed out in the Guardian, "[I]f [ACORN] can't authenticate the registration, or it's incomplete or questionable in other ways, they flag that form as problematic...In almost every case where you've heard about fraud by Acorn, it's because Acorn itself notified officials about the fraud that's been perpetrated on them by rogue canvassers."

 

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS: Before alleging that it was engaging in voter fraud, conservatives claimed that ACORN was responsible for the subprime crisis and the ensuing financial meltdown. Stanley Kurtz wrote in the National Review that ACORN "had a major role in precipitating the subprime crisis," and then said in the New York Post that ACORN helped "undermine the US economy by pushing the banking system into a sinkhole of bad loans." Thomas DiLorenzo claimed that ACORN forced lenders to make bad loans to low-income people "through a process that sounds like legalized extortion." However, the claim that ACORN -- or loans to low-income people in general -- caused the financial crisis by enabling lower-income families to buy homes has been debunked again and again. As Daniel Gross wrote in Newsweek, "[D]id AIG plunge into the credit-default swaps business with abandon because ACORN members picketed its offices? Please." Most economists blame the current crisis on market failure and sparse regulation, but conservatives are attempting to draw attention elsewhere by smearing the victims of predatory lending and implicating ACORN.

A LONG-RUNNING CAMPAIGN: Last Friday, conservative members of Congress "sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey requesting the Department of Justice ensure that the actions of ACORN did not violate federal laws." But conservatives have gone down this road before, only to find nothing. In 2004, ACORN faced three lawsuits pertaining to alleged voter fraud, all of which were dismissed. As noted at the time, "several politically motivated law firms brought baseless charges of voter registration fraud against ACORN in an effort to inhibit its work to register low-income and minority voters." But the Bush administration was so intent on furthering these trumped-up charges of voter fraud that in 2006 attorneys from the Department of Justice -- including New Mexico's David Iglesias -- were fired for not pursuing fraud cases "to the satisfaction of their bosses." Revealing the shallowness of the conservative outrage though, the New York Times reported last week that "tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law." This has garnered scant attention compared to the uproar surrounding ACORN

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION -- GELLMAN: CHENEY WOULD SEE BAILOUT AS OPPORTUNITY TO REINFORCE UNITARY EXECUTIVE: Vice President Cheney has virtually disappeared from the public spotlight since last month's economic collapse. Although he has given seven public speeches since September 1, none were devoted to the economy. Cheney's absence is puzzling considering his major role in crafting economic policy during the first term. Late last week, The Progress Report asked the Washington Post's Barton Gellman, author of the new book, Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency, about Cheney's disappearance. Gellman suggested Cheney has become a less influential figure in the White House and Congress, handicapped by his abysmal approval ratings. Gellman cautioned, however, that Cheney "probably is involved behind the scenes in shaping the policy because there hasn't been many massive policies that he hasn't helped shape." In reference to the original Wall Street bailout plan, which would have given the Treasury enormous powers with no oversight, Gellman noted that Cheney may have viewed the bailout as an "opportunity" to expand executive power. "He would certainly also see [the financial crisis] as an opportunity to demonstrate and reinforce that the executive needs to be supreme on big consequential national policy," Gellman said.

IRAQ -- TIME RUNNING OUT ON SECURITY AGREEMENT WITH U.S., IRAQI OFFICIALS SAY: The United States and Iraq are currently in contentious talks on reaching a security agreement authorizing the U.S. military presence in the country. "The United Nations mandate that authorizes the U.S. military presence in Iraq will expire on Dec. 31 and without a so-called status of forces agreement, it's questionable whether the U.S. will have a legitimate right to maintain its troops in Iraq," Vice President Tariq al Hashimi said, according to McClatchy. Without an agreement, "the U.S. forces will be confined to their bases and have to withdraw from Iraq," Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. So far, multiple scenarios are being debated. "One possibility is an extension of the United Nations mandate that expires at the end of the year," notes the Washington Post. Another alternative would amount to a "handshake agreement" between Maliki and President Bush "to leave things as they are until a new deal, under a new U.S. administration, can be negotiated." The deals have stalled over the past year in part over the issue of whether Iraq has jurisdiction to "prosecute U.S. troops when they aren't on their bases," which the Bush administration has opposed. Maliki reiterated Saturday that the agreement is for "final withdrawal by the end of 2011."

ECONOMY -- OMB OFFICIAL: 'WE'RE NOT PREDICTING' RECOVERY OF BAILOUT COSTS: During the negotiations surrounding passage of the $700 billion bailout bill, the Bush administration frequently claimed that the bailout would pay for itself. "This is not an expenditure. ... Money will come back in," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke agreed: "There's going to be a substantial amount of recovery." "Money will flow back to the Treasury as these assets are sold, and we expect that much, if not all, of the tax dollars we invest will be paid back," Bush declared. However, in an interview with the Washington Times, a senior official at the White House Office of Management and Budget said "that it is unlikely that all of the assets purchased by the government will result in positive earnings." "You have to make a lot of assumptions in order to conclude that we're going to make a profit on these purchases," the official said. "There will be some purchases where we profit, but we're not predicting that the program as a whole would be [profitable]." White House spokesman Tony Fratto, however, rejected that assessment, saying "it's reasonable to expect the program will recoup the investment." These claims are reminiscent of the rhetoric before the Iraq war, when those advocating war repeatedly insisted the war would pay for itself. For example, in 2002, Richard Perle, chair of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, said  that Iraq could "largely finance the reconstruction of their own country. And I have no doubt that they will."

Think Fast

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL) -- who replaced former congressman Mark Foley (R) -- "is facing scandalous allegations of his own." ABC News reports Mahoney paid $121,000 to "a former mistress who worked on his staff and was threatening to sue him." He has called on the House ethics committee to investigate his own behavior.

President Bush announced this morning that the Treasury Department will "invest up to $250 billion in banks, receiving an equity stake in return." Under the proposal, which is similar to those initiated by European governments on Monday, the U.S. will "also guarantee new debt issued by banks for three years" in order to encourage banks to resume lending to one another and to customers.

A record 91 percent of Americans are "dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States," according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll. Another 84 percent of those polled "predict the economy is going to get worse." 

Aaron Zelinsky writes that the "secret memo" that controls the rules of presidential debates should be released. "The memorandum of understanding is a vital part of the 2008 election and the democratic process. However, both campaigns have refused to divulge the memorandum's contents. Such a stance is antithetical to the fundamental American notion of transparency in government."

"House Democrats are contemplating a huge infusion of public cash -- as much as $300 billion -- to stoke economic growth by creating public jobs and padding the wallets of struggling consumers." The spending package “would be nearly twice as big as the stimulus measure President Bush signed in February."

During a speech in Singapore today, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker said, "The economy, I believe, is in recession." He added, "The first priority is to stabilize the financial system. It is necessary even though the cost involved is heavy government intrusion in markets that should be private."

Despite conservatives claiming otherwise, federal records show that the subprime lending boom which led to the current financial crisis was initiated by "the private sector, not the government or government-backed companies" like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The subprime lending crisis was enhanced "by a dramatic weakening of underwriting standards for U.S. subprime mortgages" a federal report found Friday.

And finally: In May, Sgt. Gwen Beberg and another soldier rescued a puppy from a burning pile of trash in Iraq. Beberg has been taking care of the dog, Ratchet, ever since, but the Army won't let her take him home with her when she returns to the United States next month. More than 10,000 people have now "signed an online petition urging the Army to let an Iraqi puppy come home," and Beberg’s congressman, Keith Ellison (D-MN), has written to the Army. Berberg fears that if Ratchet is left in Iraq, he could be killed.

Good News

Progressive New York Times columnist and Princeton economist Paul Krugman has won the Nobel Prize in economics "for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity."

State Watch

CALIFORNIA: Gay couples "are feverishly tying the knot ahead of Election Day to avoid missing out if voters approve a ballot initiative aimed at banning same-sex marriage."

MICHIGAN: U.S. District Judge tells "state officials to immediately halt the practice of striking from voter rolls newly registered voters whose registration cards are returned as undeliverable by the post office."

CIVIL RIGHTS: "Over the last 10 years, about 200 black politicians have won positions once held by whites in legislatures and city halls."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate is a global warming denier.

WONK ROOM: We can't wait for a global boiling bailout.

YGLESIAS: Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) is on a crusade to destroy the economy.

GRASPING REALITY WITH BOTH HANDS: The right wing's collective head explodes over Paul Krugman's Nobel prize.

Daily Grill

"Rove also mentioned the [actor's] use of the f-word, which Rove said he can't remember ever hearing from Bush in 35 years."
-- Wall Street Journal, 10/10/08, on Karl Rove's criticism of the new film "W."

VERSUS

"F___ Saddam. we're taking him out."
-- Bush, March 2002