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Carnahan brings fellow liberal ACORN apologist to Hannibal

March 6, 2010

After days of speculation over whether 2010 Democrat Days had a keynote speaker, Robin Carnahan finally announced that liberal firebrand and ACORN apologist Jim Hightower would we featured at the Saturday evening banquet.

Despite revelations of coordinated efforts to commit voter fraud across the country and undercover videotapes showing ACORN worker turning a blind eye to illegal behavior like underage prostitution, Hightower has vociferously defended the group, claiming that ACORN is just a “grassroots group” and their efforts amount to “civic education.” (Hightower column “ACORN’s Real Crime: Empowering Poor” January 27, 2010)

Carnahan’s extensive relationship with ACORN has been documented on the website www.acorncarnahan.com.  The highlights:

More than 1,400 pages of emails between Carnahan’s office and representatives of ACORN.  These emails tell the real story about what ACORN calls a ‘great team effort,’ detailing meetings in her office, events, research requests, and more.

High-level Carnahan aides—Mindy Mazur and Paula Hodges—have been shuffled between Carnahan’s official office, her campaign, and America Votes, a liberal organization with deep ties to ACORN.

In 2006, Carnahan ordered the St. Louis Board of Elections to approve more than 5,000 questionable registrations submitted by ACORN.

In 2009, Carnahan issued a report on the 2008 elections, yet she failed to mention ACORN’s organized effort to commit voter fraud across the state by submitting thousands of fraudulent voter registrations to county election boards in Missouri.

ACORN even claimed that Carnahan had been “helpful” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 24, 2008) in its lawsuit against the state of Missouri—a lawsuit that ended after the state agreed to pay ACORN $450,000.

Carnahan downplayed her relationship with ACORN, instead claiming that the group was no different than the Chamber of Commerce.

“Despite more than a dozen convictions in Missouri, the submission of tens of thousands of questionable or false voter registration forms, and shocking videos that show the group promoting criminal activities, Robin Carnahan has passed up every opportunity to distance herself from ACORN.  It is appropriate that Carnahan would introduce fellow ACORN apologist Jim Hightower to speak to the liberal activists gathered in Hannibal,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “Like Hightower, Carnahan has buried her head in the sand and pretended that ACORN is nothing more than a ‘grassroots group’ that provides ‘civic education.’”