ACORN Versus Conservatives' A Battle To The Death?

[whatwasthequestion]

I do not say much here on the DU most days. Manly, I read and discuss with folks face to face what the issues are after I've had a chance to peruse a post on a topic and investigate it at length. On occasion, I ask a question to clarify an issue for myself. Never before have I posted. In fact, I had to read the FAQs just to figure out how to start a thread, because I had never before tonight intended to do anymore more than post my two cents, but I could not find any discussion on this particular blog...yes, part of it is my thin-skinned concern about being flamed.

But, tonight I make an exception:
While reading Mr. James' blog on the NPR, I was disturbed by his last two paragraphs (end of post and linked here.)
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/09/acorn_versus_conservatives_bat.html

The Acorn's mission is one of empowerment, and I believe that as a group, they have a better record of "good" than of "bad", but:
What is he saying, or better, trying to say?
This is not what we believe is it?
Really, this is not a viable defense of Acorn is it?
A little help, here, please.


ACORN Versus Conservatives' A Battle To The Death?
By Frank James

"This "ACORN versus conservatives" contest of wills is beginning to look like some new version of the Cold War with either side claiming the other is evil and vowing to never give in until it prevails."

"The latest salvo came Monday when the Senate voted 83 to 7 in favor of a bill to stop the Housing and Development Department from awarding grants to the ACORN. The bill, sponsored by Nebraska Republican senator Mike Johanns would prevent ACORN from getting grant money to counsel low income people on qualifying for mortgage loans, among other things."

"ACORN has drawn renewed conservative scrutiny following a right-of-center film maker's undercover sting stunt in which he and a beautiful female conservative dressed as a pimp and prostitute, respectively, walked into ACORN offices in Baltimore, Washington and New York and received advice from workers there on a number of ways to advance illegal schemes. ACORN says it has fired the workers."

"Last year, ACORN came under conservative fire for allegations that it was not only behind voter-registration fraud but also the recession, with conservatives charging that the organization forced banks to give the subprime mortgage loans to unqualified low-income borrowers. That, in turn, led to the housing crisis and the credit crunch that triggered the economy's decline, the argument went."

......

"It's also important to keep in mind that ACORN's workers are coming from the same low-income neighborhoods the organization serves, with all that entails -- poor schools, high crime and the sorts of social problems that have been documented for decades."

"So the flaws conservatives are pointing out about ACORN are not so much problems associated with that organization per se but more about the problems of being poor and minority in urban America."

[BlooInBloo]

1. Too bad for ACORN that, as in so many other things, DUers are on the side of conservatives....

EDIT: And the meaning of the last grafs is perfectly clear: black folks cannot be trusted.

[shotten99]

2. This is ridiculous.

When I see this unfolding, it reminds me a rich spoiled brat and his 10 friends harassing a school kid to the point where he won't go to school anymore.
Something along those lines. Is ACORN perfect? Hardly. Do they deserve the amount of attention they're getting? Hardly.
This entire series of events is one of the most repugnant I've ever seen.

It's too bad no one beat down PNAC in the same matter. Talk about "communism." Sheesh. Do most people even realize that Neo-conservatism is based in part on Trotsky's ideas? *shakes head*