Smearing Sen. Al Franken
Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 12:45 pm
This is some extremely shoddy journalism from Mickey Kaus. The Slate blogger asks if “ACORN chicanery” elected Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who won a razor-thin 2008 race for the U.S. Senate after eight months of legal challenges. Kaus links a “tactfully phrased Minneapolis Star Tribune story” to argue that fraudulent votes might have stolen the election for Franken.
ACORN claimed to have registered 48,000 new Minnesota voters. If just 1% were ineligible but cast ballots, or had ballots cast for them illegally, and survived the recount process … that’s 480 votes, almost certainly overwhelmingly cast for Franken.
Let’s look at this.
First, the story Kaus links to is actually a column by the conservative Katherine Kersten, whom the paper refers to as “a Twin Cities writer and speaker,” and who limns the column with attacks on the “liberal agenda.” Kersten has no proof that any illegitimate votes were cast, only that “Minnesota’s laws on proof of voter eligibility are notoriously loose.”
Second, “surviving the recount process” in Minnesota was more difficult than it sounds now. Ballots were counted once and recounted twice, and challenged ballots were counted in a hearing that was streamed live. Republicans had a lot of time, and a lot of incentive, to make the cause that thousands of ballots were illegitimate. They made their case. They narrowly lost.
Franken doesn’t have to face voters again until 2014, so the attempt to smear him here is just a way of draining the ACORN story for all it’s worth and casting illegitimacy on the Democrats’ Senate majority. It’s one thing for, say, Newsmax to engage in this; I am mystified as to why Kaus would do it. From arguing that the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore by blocked recounts to arguing that ACORN maybe, kinda-sorta, might have registered an illegal voter in Minnesota. Strange.
Update: Todd Herman, who runs new media at the RNC, heartily endorses the ACORN-Franken conspiracy.
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36 Comments
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 5:27 pm
Going Nuts – Two Dozen ACORNs
ACORN: Alien Children Offered Regularly Nationwide
ACORN: Authorities Caught One Registering “Napoleon”
ACORN: Assembly of the Complacent: Organized, Registered & Non-productive!
ACORN: Association of Crooks O’Keefe Revealed in a Nanosecond
ACORN: “Audacity” and “Change” that Obama Represents Nationally
ACORN: Assorted Crazies, Oddballs, Reprobates, and Nincompoops
ACORN: Association of Criminals Obama Represented in the Nineties
ACORN: A Crooked, Offensive, Repulsive Nut
ACORN: Agitators, Cheats, Offenders, and Repugnant Nonentities
ACORN: Advising Criminals, Organizing Radical Nutjobs
ACORN: Assisting Call-girls, Obama, Reid & Nancy
ACORN: Advancing Collectivism, Obamamania, Reparations Now!
ACORN: After Clinton, Obama Retards a Nation
ACORN: Alike Carter, Obama is Regretful and Negative
ACORN: America, Could Obama Resign Now??
ACORN: Against Conservatives, Order, Republicans, and the Nation
ACORN: American Cash Outflows to Rathke’s “Nonprofits”
ACORN: Apparently “Community Organizing” Really is Nefarious
ACORN: Andrew Clearly Outplayed the Resentful NYT
ACORN: Always Cheating, Often Ruining Neighborhoods
ACORN: Addled Crack-heads and Obnoxious Race-baiting Neurotics
ACORN: Appalling Cesspool; Obscene Revolting Nightmare
ACORN: A Clan of Odious, Ridiculed Nitwits
ACORN: Another Corrupt Obama Run Network
Others? Please suggest!
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 5:56 pm
Yeah, you seem to have awful lot of idle time on your hands, don't you have a job you should be doing instead of indulging in stupidity like this?
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
American
Conservatives
Obsessively
Ranting
“Negroes!”
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 7:33 pm
Yes, play the race card, real classy. You coward. I reject the few crazies on the right, left, and middle who have a fetish about making everything about race. Unfortunately your that group of wingnuts yourself you objectionable slime. You're afraid to stoop to that level. You cur.
Educate yourself on “thought terminating cliches”, then stop using them–at least the “racist! racist! one”. You coward.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminatin…
You obnoxious, odious, odoriferous imp.
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
ACORN: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
I know it's not nearly as scary as yours, but yours appear to be the delusions of a paranoid personality disorder, so I suppose that's to be expected.
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:30 pm
Look, this is absurd. Registering is not voting. Find just one case of a falsely registered voter casting a vote. This is how STUPID some people are… they are all hyped up about fake registrations or people registering more than once. If someone registers more than once, they get how many votes? ONE! If someone registers as “Fred Flintstone” how the hell can they go in and vote? They can't. Wow… this hype about registration is just crazy loon stuff. :-(
The only one hurt by fake registrations is… ACORN! Why? Because they paid for canvassers who went out and padded their work with fake registrations… i.e. people who can't VOTE!
Yet, the Republicans were seriously confusing “registration” and “voting.” They did this at the top! They were seriously (I'm not joking) thinking that there was some massive voter fraud based on ACORN's actions.
There was no VOTE fraud where people walked in and voted who should not have. NONE! There could well have been counting fraud or problems with the machines though and there are actual cases of that (more votes in a county than voters). That's another topic if you want to get on that… well just google it… I'm not on this story's boards to debate that.
Again… there was no vote fraud where people with bad registrations voted. NONE!
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
Well, at least mine are a little bit more fun.
And, truly, yours is as much of a lie and a delusion as any of mine are…the scary thing is I think you actually believe your acronym is an accurate.
That, or your affinity for *young* girls compels you to defend your local community whoreganizers…
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
Well, at least you're willing to admit that yours are lies and delusions. That's a start. The first step is admitting you have a problem. The next step is seeking help.
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
The only way to effect an election through fake voting is to have a SECOND identity. See? You need MORE votes, not just fake registrations. You'd have to have a way to vote more than once. IF someone did that, that's a fake ID/vote fraud case and you would have read of such an arrest in the paper. It's easy to spot check records against registered address's and names. Read of anyone finding such an event? NOPE!
Think this through folks. It's absurd crazy talk from a bunch poor losers. It makes them all look like loons. :-(
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Lighten up, jupe. Strangely_enough's entry was funny. Yours are just angry.
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 8:59 pm
Yes.
ACORN: Authorities Caught One Registering “Napoleon”
This may have been a lie as it was mostly cartoon characters that they registered, but I needed something to go with the N.
ACORN: America, Could Obama Resign Now??
That might be a little delusional, as I don't think The One's ego would permit him to resign.
Otherwise, I think they are more accurate than yours. Seriously. Mine are clearly in jest (jokes that strike at something true, though). Yours? You are serious. You really think that's an accurate description. Both of your parents had the recessive gene for autism didn't they?
Comment posted September 29, 2009 @ 10:10 pm
ACORN: Against C@#%$^#%ing Republicon Nitwits
ACORN: Against Conservative Or Republicon Nonsense
ACORN: All Crap Out of Republicon Nazis
ACORN: All Crooks Own Republicon Names
Pingback posted September 30, 2009 @ 12:56 am
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Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 12:51 am
Al won fair and square. He is already doing a fabulous job.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 1:07 am
GOP=Greedy Oil Perverts. And here is one proven example of voter fraud: ANN COULTER! She registered in THREE states and even used her real estate agent's address rather than her own Florida condo.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 1:32 am
Aren't all the Teabaggers angry? That's what they're all about, isn't it?
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 3:50 am
Who said anything about Teabaggers? Can't say that I am one. Though from what I can tell not all of them are angry, though it's unlikely that Maddows and Olbermanns of the world would dare to let you know about it. Nice try though
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 4:03 am
Sorry, but insinuating that anyone is a racist when there is no evidence or reason to assume that they are (and Strangely's comment did that about me) is one of the worst things that can be said to a person. It is a problem in our culture and it is a smear that people get away with all the time. Like being a racist, it too is cowardly. It too is scrofulous. And as with racism we should not tolerate it. Period.
Calling people racists without good reason only exacerbates racial tension, it fuels the firs. Why would you defend such a low action?
Also, I thought all of my acronyms were pretty damn funny if I do say so myself (well, maybe some were a stretch) and I am willing to believe Strangely's was attempting to be funny too–even though she/he did the slimy, low, cowardly thing of playing the race card.
Bonus questions: What color is my skin? What religion am I? What sex? What party do I vote for?
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 4:08 am
Cute play on GOP. I'm not interested in defending the Coulter-Beck crowd too strenuously. I won't ask you to defend the Michael Moore, Keith Olbermann, et al.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 4:16 am
#1. Goes a bit far, plus most of the folks practicing fellatio have been shunned from the Republican party…much to the parties detriment.
#2. That's not bad actually
#3. Again, too far. Crying “Nazi” is just too much to be funny. Also, semantically this third phrase makes little sense–if it does your meaning is not clear
#. Again, this is nonsensical. What is a “Republican Name”?
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 3:31 pm
How noble of you, defending the race-baiters. Way to perpetuate the cycle of racial hatred…you coward. You fart.
Crying racist is the last refuge of the liberal scoundrel.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 7:50 pm
Why not just call them n*ggers, like we know you want to? At least be honest, if no less repugnant.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
Excuse me? Non sequitur much?? What does race have to do with the price of tea in China? Where in ANY of my comments do I even notice the race or religion of anyone? And, if you do want to make EVERYTHING about race–you filthy, dumb jerk–ACORN is not a black organization…it was founded by a white guy…so WTF?
How does opposition to child sex slavery suggest that anyone is a racist?
If anyone is a bigot here, you are. Misogynist too, why else would you defend a group that (repeatedly!) encouraged enslaving you girls into prostitution?
You coward, how dare you make this charge. What a low, slimy, not to mention uncreative and stupid thing to say to a person. You louse. Playing the race card: the last refuge of the liberal scoundrel.
You should be ashamed of yourself. You, you sir, you coward, you perpetuate the race problems in the country in equal measure to the racists in this country.
You scrofulous cur. You coward. Shame on you.
Comment posted September 30, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
Follow up: what is my racial background?
Any idea? No? No idea? You have no idea, do you? You cowardly little rat turd.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 3:37 am
brendanm was just trying to prove a point. And that point is: conservatives have no sense of irony. I mean really, just a sense. It would be a sign of life.
Meanwhile, Jupiter has posted the exact same comment on a similar citypages article:
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2009/09/kers…
So, not only is jupter's reply to Brendan proof of a lack of sense, but the original post is evidence of a lack of spontaneity. Jupiter has no life, no sense, no spontaneity, and as a troll deserves to be dragged under a bridge and left there. Have fun arguing your talking points, idiot.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 5:18 am
Articulate Guy, baloney. bredanm was not trying to probe an ironic point, he was trying to insinuate that conservatives, and myself in particular, are racist. Mr. Articulate, what is the sense of irony that I am missing that his pokes fun at? Please, enlighten me. A cop-out along the lines of “you're just a wingnut and will never get it” will be taken as an admission that you had no idea what you were talking about. If you're right about his purpose he surely did not make it clear. Do you even know what irony means? Your suggestion about bredanm's post is nonsensical. Doofus.
Also, I've posted the same list of acronyms on numerous comment threads reading about this scandal. It's hard to encapsulate all the problems with this group, it's much easier just to share the list in the hopes that people can remember one or two and share them with others. It gets a nice reaction…look at how irritated all you protectors of the corrupt got on just this comment thread. It's been most enjoyable!
But, way to defend the race-baiter. It must be hard for you Articulate Guy, knowing you're a coward.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 5:23 am
I just find you entertaining. Have fun with your earnest crusade.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
JupSweet: I love how you pivot from a posting which is quite simply a juvenile waste of everybody's time (you really ran that acronym schtick into the freakin' ground), then to the heighth of righteous indignation that someone should reduce your interminable infantalia to its essence—then from jowl wiggling indignation into a marathon name-calling tirade. Give it a rest, clown.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 7:14 pm
First, thank you for setting such an adult example and demonstrating how far beneath you name calling is.
Second, I'm having a ball here with you irritated defenders of the indefensible.
Third, “it's essence”?? So you're defending the race-baiter too? Seriously, what happened to your brain as a child that taught you to see race in all things? Are you so bigoted that you believe anyone criticizing a liberal sacred cow is a racist? (And again, as you make this charge do you have clue what race I am? Not a clue?) You're a coward and a bigot for defending that charge.
I challenge you to find a trace of anything racial in my original post–go for it.
Again, crying “racism” is the last refuge of the liberal scoundrel. Nice work, coward.
Comment posted October 1, 2009 @ 7:18 pm
crisjay, since you enjoy my child's play so much, a handful more, just for you sweetheart:
ACORN: Associated Congressmen Ought to be Replaced in November 2010
ACORN: Anyone Can Observe that this is Rank Nonsense
ACORN: Ascent by Creepy Operation / Resented in the Nation
ACORN: Almost as Commendable as an Outflow of Rectal Necrosis
Comment posted October 9, 2009 @ 1:39 am
Maybe cut down on the racial code words and racial resentment and you won't get called out on it, okay, scumbag?
And who is the coward, again? I'm using my name, at least, and am not resorting to paragraphs of petty insults; I kept it short, simple, and accurate.
Comment posted October 9, 2009 @ 2:32 am
Ah yes: Brendan M. That's your last name, M? Or is your name Bren Danm? Quite courageous of you.
My name is Ryan Tetrick, for what it's worth. And while I forthrightly admit that maybe I was more vituperative than may be necessary in some spots above, I stand by the my remarks. That is, I think my original post is instructively playful and I think my detestation of the race-baiters is warrented.
Why do you insist on *finding* a racial aspect here?
Bren Danm, please do me a favor and go through my post and find these “code” words that you refer to. Really, it would be instructive to me know what signals it is I am inadvertently sending to all the klansmen out there.
Again, now that you know what my name you might have some clues, but what race am I? Do you know?
Further, I live in Chicago and have voted for Obama twice, once in the Democratic primary last year (though not in the general). I also donated several hundred dollars to his campaign during the primaries (google for my name and “donation” and you can verify this). So what do you think happened, did I notice he was black sometime during the summer of 2008??
Brendan M, you are either a coward for playing the race card, or you're cerebrally challenged.
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