Stung by the recession and a string of scandals, the ACORN community activist organization has been shutting down in many of the communities it once worked to empower.You can say that again. Kinda funny how we're seeing all these offices closing in the immediate wake of the Hannah Giles/James O'Keefe undercover investigation.
No new clients are being signed up, said national spokesman Brian Kettenring, while the group conducts an internal investigation into how its business is conducted.
The Assn. of Community Organizations for Reform Now had already shuttered 40% of its centers -- in cities including Chicago, Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Omaha -- since its high of 105 offices two years ago, he said. The branches helped low- and middle-income clients with housing, jobs and navigating government aid programs.
Kettenring said that the closures were mostly due to the poor economy and had become more frequent in the last year.
"We're seeing the same challenges the entire nonprofit sector is seeing," he said.
But former ACORN members say the scandals that have recently dogged the organization -- including allegations of mismanagement and voter registration fraud -- have been a bigger problem.
Also, from Big Government, "San Diego: ACORN Stands By Their Employee, Until They Don’t."
And from the New York Times, "G.O.P. Checks for a Pulse, and Finds One." (Via Memeorandum.)
ACORN won't be down for long.
ReplyDeleteSoon, they will be back operating under a new name, a new logo and a new slogan, and Nancy and Harry will sneak a funding bill in under the radar, and just-like-that it will be business as usual.
-Dave