House Republicans Blast Democrats, Obama Over Alleged ACORN Ties

A handful of House Republicans did their best on Tuesday to shame Democrats and the Obama administration for its supposed connections to the controversial anti-poverty group ACORN.

Republicans also voiced complaints that Democrats are not moving forward with investigations into the organization that is alleged to have committed widespread voter fraud to support Democratic candidates, in violation of the group's tax-exempt status.

"ACORN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said at Tuesday's two-hour long partisan forum attended by eight Republicans but no Democrats.

Another source of frustration for Republicans is a legal decision from the Justice Department, made public last week, that says officials at Housing and Urban Development can honor its existing contracts with ACORN despite a recently passed law forbidding federal funds from going to the group. 

Congress banned federal funding to ACORN after members of the group were caught in an undercover video offering advice on how to evade tax laws to a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute.

"The White House will do everything it can to make sure ACORN will continue to get federal funding," Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., exclaimed.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who was dubbed the "ACORN king" because of the bucket of acorns displayed prominently by his side, said he's convinced that any investigation of ACORN will reflect poorly on the Obama administration. 

"These roads will lead to the White House," King asserted.

But one of the panel's guest speakers said there's no evidence to suggest there's an ongoing FBI or Justice Department investigation. Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation suggested that if the allegations made against ACORN were lodged against a mortgage company, there'd be great fanfare from Attorney General Eric Holder.

A Justice Department spokesman simply said "we decline comment" when asked about plans to investigate ACORN.

The lawmakers also heard from Anita MonCrief, a former ACORN worker-turned- whistleblower who said she saw organized illegal activity in what she described as a "culture of dishonesty." She talked about how ACORN was armed with a list of "maxed out" Obama campaign donors who were solicited for funds to help voter registration efforts.

MonCreif also discussed how the voter registration workers were pressured to meet daily quotas and even threatened with prosecution if they failed to keep pace.

"The poor will be better served when ACORN is no longer the go-to place for the poor," Issa declared.

Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita blamed ACORN for producing hundreds of bogus registration in just one Northern Indiana County. 

Rokita, a Republican, said the problem of intentional fraudulent voter registration threatens to undermine the democratic process. 

"This is an American issue," he said. "This is a constitutional issue. Americans should be mad."

Representatives from several House Democratic offices did not immediately respond to Fox News' questions about the Republican forum.

Source:http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/01/house-republicans-blast-democrats-obama-acorn/?test=latestnews