Nolan Finley, the editorial page editor of The Detroit News, has something a lot scarier than Halloween for you to think about.ACORN may be down, but don't count it out.
The elaborate propaganda apparatus erected to support the Obama agenda is already at work spinning the downfall of the community organization into a vicious right-wing plot to destroy the presidency of Barack Obama, who sprouted from ACORN.
The group was cut off from some of its taxpayer dollars after conservative bloggers duped ACORN staffers into offering advice on setting up a child prostitution ring. ACORN had no defense -- it was caught on tape and posted on the Web.
But ACORN is too important to Democrats and Obama in particular to allow it to wither away. Much of the taxpayer money that funds ACORN's activism ends up benefiting Democratic interests.
Stories are showing up about ACORN's diligent efforts to purge itself of bad apples. News reports document how ACORN's ability to help foreclosure victims has been hamstrung by the misdeeds of a few gullible staffers.
University of Northern Iowa professors substantiate the right-wing conspiracy by noting a flurry of negative stories about the group prior to the 2008 election. (It doesn't occur to the profs that this was when ACORN was caught registering cartoon characters and dead people to vote, which tends to make news.)
Expect soon a major national publication to go in-depth on ACORN's rehab. It's the pattern the Obama machine follows to push his major issues and marginalize his critics...
Googling ACORN comes up with a lot of hits about how Republicans are trying to use the scandal to derail housing aid programs, and almost none about the inner workings of the group. ACORN's foibles didn't trigger anywhere near the frenzy of investigative reporting that Joe the Plumber did.
Similarly, you'll find a ton of stories debunking claims that health care reform will lead to death panels and rationing. But there's little critical analysis of Obama's assertion that the bill will save money...
So of course ACORN can come back. With the press cozily tucked into bed at the White House, what's to stop it?
