The ACORN vote explained

I’ve been on the phone to Senators Burris and Durbin to express my displeasure over their vote to continue funding ACORN.

Here’s the text of the amendment:
SA 2358. Mr. VITTER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 3288, making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
After section 414, insert the following:

Sec. 4__. None of the funds made available under this Act shall be directly or indirectly distributed to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).

Voting record:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00275

As you can see, Illinois and Vermont are the only two states where both senators voted to continue funding ACORN.

Burris’ office told me there would be a statement on the website shortly. (I’ll post it if and when that happens.)

A woman at Durbin’s DC office was very defensive of his actions and read a short statement to the effect that Durbin did not feel that the actions of a few employees warranted excluding ACORN as an organization from the funding.

I told her it appeared to be a systemic problem with three separate offices giving advice that amounts to tax fraud.

I also told her that there have been several cases of voter fraud at the hands of ACORN employees and that ACORN workers had broken into foreclosed homes and moved squatters into private property.

She didn’t say anything after that, only that she would pass along my opinion.

Gee, I didn’t even get to tell her that the Census Bureau had severed there relationship with ACORN last week because they had had enough.

It can never be proved but I will continue to believe that the White House contacted Burris and Durbin and asked them to vote to support ACORN. Obama once did work for ACORN and has a fondness for community organizers. Emanuel is also from Illinios.

The senate could have saved the ACORN funding had they voted along the party line. But they didn’t. 48 democrats agreed to pull ACORN funding. 2 dems did not vote.

And when 14 senators pile on as co-sponsors you know the idea has traction.

But ACORN is too powerful to kill entirely. There are a couple of possibilities here.
1) There will be another amendment restoring funding after ACORN humbles itself and agrees to get a handle on things (and people have a chance to cut some deals and twist some arms).
2) ACORN will come back under some other name with the same leaders and the same agenda.

Wait for it.