ACORN's Very Bad Days Go On
No one wants to be ACORN's friend anymore. Not even Barney Frank. Or the IRS. But, never fear, because the group still has some fighting spirit: it's suing James O'Keefe III, the filmmaker who shot those sexy pimp videos.
In a suit filed yesterday, ACORN attorney Alan Z. Schwartz accuses that O'Keefe and his cohort Hannah Giles of "trying to destroy an organization whose principal purpose is to help poor people," which isn't much of an accusation. O'Keefe has made no secret of his disdain for ACORN, whose CEO Bertha Lewis once thanked O'Keefe for exposing her staff's dark side. They have a funny love-hate thing going on here.
Schwartz and company also filed a suit against conservative web guru Andrew Breitbart because he posted and distributed the videos. Breitbart doesn't seem that concerned, though, and called the suit "intimidation tactics by bullies."
This legal drama's just one of ACORN's many headaches. Longtime friend Barney Frank has distanced himself from the group, which he says is guilty of "gross impropriety" and shouldn't receive public funding.
Through a misunderstanding with a member of my staff, it was incorrectly reported that I said I would have voted against the motion to defund ACORN. In fact, I would have voted for the motion at that time. I am very disappointed in the actions that were taken by members of ACORN, and I do not believe that ACORN's response has been adequate for an organization that has received public funding.
Meanwhile, the IRS said it revoked ACORN's powers to prepare people's taxes for no fee. ACORN, however, claims it severed that relationship itself.
We knew these videos would set off a big story, but we had no idea it would be such an intricate web of compelling political drama. Can a cable series be far off?
