Obama, Democrats, ACORN and the Census…..

In February, President Obama and his political cronies decided to take “Chicago style” politics nation wide when they added ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) as a partner in the 2010 U.S. Census. This is an incredible move considering the reputation of the organization. ACORN, is supposed to be a non-partisan grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people. However, in recent years they have become more and more active in voter registration activities. In 2007, ACORN came under fire when Washington State filed felony charges against several paid ACORN employees and supervisors for more than 1,700 fraudulent voter registrations. In March 2008, an ACORN worker in Pennsylvania was sentenced for making 29 phony voter registration forms. The group’s activities frequently drew fire during the 2008 presidential election.

From Fox News:

The U.S. Census is supposed to be free of politics, but one group with a history of voter fraud, ACORN, is participating in next year’s count, raising concerns about the politicization of the decennial survey.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now signed on as a national partner with the U.S. Census Bureau in February 2009 to assist with the recruitment of the 1.4 million temporary workers needed to go door-to-door to count every person in the United States — currently believed to be more than 306 million people.

But ACORN’s partnership with the 2010 Census is worrisome to lawmakers who say past allegations of fraud should raise concerns about the organization.

“It’s a concern, especially when you look at all the different charges of voter fraud. And it’s not just the lawmakers’ concern. It should be the concern of every citizen in the country,” Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland, R-Ga., vice ranking member of the subcommittee for the U.S. Census, told FOXNews.com. “We want an enumeration. We don’t want to have any false numbers.”

Not surprisingly former community organizer and ACORN lawyer, President Obama promised a gathering of community organizers in December 2007 that he would involve them in the policy process if elected. "Before I even get inaugurated, during the transition, we're going to be calling all of you in to help us shape the agenda. We're going to be having meetings all across the country with community organizations so that you have input into the agenda for the next presidency of the United States of America." Apparently President Obama is a man of his word. In the stimulus there is $5.2 billion for community-development block grants and “neighborhood stabilization activities,” which ACORN is eligible to apply for.

According to various websites the Community Development Block Grant Program is described as follows:

The Community Development Block Grant Program is a federal program that provides funding for housing and community development. In 1974, Congress created the program by passing the Housing and Community Development Act, Title I. The national objectives of the program are to:

• Benefit low- and moderate-income persons
• Prevent or eliminate slum or blight
• Address urgent community development needs
  

The program, administered and funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, consists of two components:

• Entitlement - provides funds directly to urban areas
• Small Cities - provides funds to the states for distribution to rural areas

ACORN was already doing pretty well in the area of federal grant money -

From the website of House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH):

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) repeatedly urged President Bush and other federal officials to withhold taxpayer funds from ACORN, including $17.2 million in federal grants awarded in December 2008 after numerous allegations of wrongdoing in connection with ACORN’s election activities were reported by the news media.

Leader Boehner also released a study of federal records in October 2008 listing tens of millions in federal grants received by ACORN. A new updated and more expansive study reveals that ACORN has actually received millions more than first thought. A review of the Federal Register and news releases issued by federal agencies showed that ACORN was awarded more than $53 million in taxpayer dollars. This amount does not reflect the millions more ACORN has received in federal block grant funds awarded to state and local agencies which passed them on to ACORN.

Remember the when Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his name from consideration for Commerce Secretary after he learned the White House was planning to put the agency under the control of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. That idea drew intense criticism so the administration backed off. However, the ACORN move could net the same result - oversight of Democrat interests in the process.

Since some of the main functions of the census data are to help draw the boundaries of legislative districts; calculate the number of U.S. representatives each state gets and determine how the federal government allocates $300 billion in local aid each year, it is understandable why concerns are so high. This program is one of the largest in the federal government. It is also one of the only ones specifically required by the Constitution.

Considering the cozy relationship between the administration and the democrats in general with ACORN shouldn’t this latest development be cause for concern by all. Think about what is at stake! We need a fraud free census without controversy to ensure that there is no question about the integrity of the results. Especially since these results will once again shift legislative balance based on the growing population and shifting demographics of our country.

The founding fathers must be rolling in their graves!