September 30th, 2008, Fairfax, VA–Americans for Limited Government today announced the launching of a new nationwide campaign, StopAcorn.org, urging President Bush to investigate allegations of serious wrongdoing by the left-wing community action organization ACORN.
“With the launching of StopAcorn.org, and a massive outreach efforts to grassroots activists nationwide,” ALG president Bill Wilson said, “we are today asking the President to defend our country by launching immediate investigations into a wide range of possible ACORN illegal activities.
“These range from voter fraud, for which ACORN has already been implicated in more than a dozen states this year alone, to the pivotal role ACORN played in bringing about the financial collapse Americans are enduring today.”
According to Wilson, ACORN’s voting fraud abuses have allegedly occurred nationwide, including:
• Michigan, where municipal clerks have reported that ACORN has been responsible for fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications statewide.
• Seattle, Washington, where felony charges have been filed against ACORN in the states largest voter-fraud case ever.
• New Mexico, where officials in Bernalillo County have notified federal authorities of more than 1,000 fraudulent voter registration cards, with ACORN as the prime suspect.
• And Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where election officials have accused ACORN of filing multiple fraudulent voter registrations during the 2008 primary.
“These incidents are just the proverbial tip of the iceberg,” Wilson said. “And it’s an iceberg fully intended to chill the rights of honest citizens across the country. Now, to make matters worse, ACORN is attempting to run away from its complicity in corrupting our financial markets by conniving with left-wing politicians to forcing banks to make sub-prime loans to unqualified home buyers.”
According to Wilson, ACORN began pressuring banks to issue high-risk “affirmative action” loans under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as far back as 1977. And, in fact, ACORN leader, Madeline Talbott has admitted “dragging banks kicking and screaming” into what had theretofore been considered highly dubious loans for bad-credit risks. ACORN also was able to profit from its community pressure tactics by positioning itself as an “advisor” to banks seeking regulatory approval.
In response to ACORN’s nationwide track record of voter fraud and coercive high-risk loan activities, StopAcorn.org is calling upon President Bush to take the following actions:
• Direct the Attorney General to investigate the voter registration programs of ACORN to determine the extent to which a coordinated effort at voter fraud has been undertaken.
• Direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct an immediate audit of all tax money sent to ACORN or any of its affiliates to determine if public money has been diverted to partisan political operations and to refer any evidence of such diversion to the appropriate U.S. Attorney for prosecution.
• Direct the Secretary of State and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to investigate the efforts of ACORN International in efforts to undermine democratically elected governments and to determine the full extent of the relationship between ACORN and ACORN International with the governments of Cuba and Venezuela.
“Through highly questionable activities, ACORN has clearly undermined our electoral system. And with its outrageous efforts to force government to underwrite sub-prime loans, ACORN played a primary role in undermining our financial system as well. It’s time for the President to bring the full force of the law to bear in exposing this radical organization’s destructive activities.”
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