King Street Patriots using Fox News’ questionable ACORN/Occupy Wall Street link to elicit donations
An anonymously sourced Fox News story claiming the defunct voter mobilization organization ACORN is behind the Occupy Wall Street movement has served as a
Jul 31, 202022.6K Shares732.1K Views
Image has not been found. URL: http://images.americanindependent.com/ACORN_OccupyWallStreet.jpegAn anonymously sourced Fox News story claiming the defunct voter mobilization organization ACORN is behind the Occupy Wall Street movement has served as a springboard for the latest fundraising effort from the Houston-based tea party group King Street Patriots, and its nationwide drive to recruit poll watchers.
The recent FoxNews.com articlesuggests ACORN is “playing a key role” in OWS by “organizing ‘guerrilla’ protest events and hiring door-to-door canvassers to collect money under the banner of various causes while spending it on protest-related activities.”
Former ACORN employees, now with New York Communities for Change (NYCC), are paying former ACORN-affiliated staff $100 an hour, and homeless people $10 an hour, to attend Occupy events in other cities, Fox reports. From the article:
“„Sources said cash donations collected by NYCC on behalf of some unions and various causes are being pooled and spent on Occupy Wall Street. The money is used to buy supplies, pay staff and cover travel expenses for the ex-ACORN members brought to New York for the protests.
NYCC representatives disputed the story, which relies on unnamed sources to back up its claims. In a response on its site, the group says Fox is trying to discredit Occupy Wall Street, and called the attack a “smear campaign.”
“„New York Communities for Change is a new organization that fights for low- and moderate-income families. We don’t pay protesters and any monies raised by NYCC’s canvass are used in support of our ongoing issue campaigns. Period. […] We call on Fox News to stop its unseemly attacks and to respect the views of the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that our nation needs a more equitable distribution of wealth.
Despite the denial, KSP — a group that routinely targets ACORN at its meetingsand on more than one occasion have invited ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCriefto speak to its members – seized the opportunity to use the questionable Fox News exposé as a means to generate donations to its poll watcher training program, True the Vote.
“ACORN has reared its ugly head again,” the email message reads. “Major news sources like Fox News have reported that ACORN operatives are intrinsically connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, going door-to-door seeking donations for bogus organizations then funneling the proceeds to the Occupy effort.”
“Fraud is what ACORN does best, and I have no doubt their support of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a warm-up for the 2012 elections […] Will you take a stand for free and fair elections by making an immediate donation of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote?”
Media Matters for America, a research organization that closely monitors conservative news, http://mediamatters.org/research/201110270020″>found the Fox article’s allegations questionable, citing NYCC’s denial, and the headline’s suggestion that ACORN has played a behind-the-scenes role in the Occupy movement, despite the fact that it’s disbanded.
“The story is incredibly misleading from the get-go,” said Eric Boehlert, a Senior Fellow at Media Matters. “Fox clearly wanted to pretend ACORN officials are directly tied to Occupy Wall Street — but ACORN doesn’t exist anymore, so the entire claim is a problem.”
Boehlert said the story is driven by the desire to marry the two great “boogeymen” of Fox News, ACORN and Occupy Wall Street.
“No matter how quickly a story is debunked,” Boehlert added, “it will get passed around as thought it’s legitimate in conservative circles.”
Here’s True The Vote’s full fundraising pitch:
“„Fellow Patriot,
“„They say if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. The same holds true for ACORN, the disgraced community organizing group responsible for registering untold numbers of Disney characters to vote in the 2008 election.
“„Thought to be dismantled after the 2010 elections when even many Democrats were disgusted by the organization’s lengthy resume of scandals, ACORN has reared its ugly head again. Major news sources like Fox News have reported that ACORN operatives are intrinsically connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, going door-to-door seeking donations for bogus organizations then funneling the proceeds to the Occupy effort.
“„If it’s organized by former ACORN staffers and it’s using the ACORN business model, then it’s ACORN.
“„Fraud is what ACORN does best, and I have no doubt their support of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a warm-up for the 2012 elections. So what are we going to do about it? Fight back, of course! That’s why I founded True the Vote, an organization dedicated to restoring integrity to our election processes by training thousands of citizens to volunteer as poll watchers in all 50 states.
“„Will you take a stand for free and fair elections by making an immediate donation of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote?
“„We both know that just a few months from now ACORN’s real focus will be what is always has been: subverting our electoral process, overwhelming county offices with fraudulent voter registration applications, and then mobilizing those illegitimate voters on election day. To them, the ends justify any means necessary to assure the continued reign of the Community Organizer in Chief, Barack Obama.
“„Make no mistake about it, ACORN is playing to win. But this time, True the Vote is too. We urgently need your help to cover the costs of our training programs before primary season begins. That’s why I’m asking you to follow this link right now to make the most generous contribution you can afford to True the Vote.
“„Don’t look back two years from now and wonder why ACORN got away with election fraud again. Stand with True the Vote today and support our efforts to restore the integrity of America’s election.
“„Sincerely,
“„Catherine Engelbrecht
President and Founder, True the Vote
“„P.S. ACORN is using the Occupy Wall Street movement to practice their fraudulent activities ahead of the 2012 elections. They’re determined to deliver a second term to the Community Organizer in Chief, but this time they’ll have to get past True the Vote first. Will you stand with True the Vote to restore the integrity of our elections by helping us train thousands of volunteer poll monitors in every state? Please follow this link right away to make a contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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