Senate defunds ACORN after right-wing hoax

If you thought McCarthyism had died with the Cold War, think again.

The modern McCarthyists have already forced Van Jones to resign, and this spirit also lives on in an effort by right-wing Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska) to strangle ACORN.

ACORN is one of the top targets for today's thought police. For years, right-wing fraudsters have tried looking for excuses to finally break ACORN once and for all - so far to no avail.

But the right-wing thought guardians have just received an armload of help from not just Senate Republicans but Democrats as well. The Senate has now voted 83 to 7 in favor of Johanns's effort to cut off HUD funds for ACORN. This means ACORN will no longer be able to help poor people get mortgages or learn about fair housing rules.

Caving to right-wing Red-baiting is the current state of the Democratic Party? It's pretty sad when fewer Democrats support the Employee Free Choice Act or the public option than defunding ACORN.

This follows a set of much-ballyhooed videos by right-wing activists, which seem to show ACORN workers giving a prostitute advice on buying a house. The problem with these videos is that it's a hoax. ACORN organizer Bertha Lewis said the videotapes were doctored and violated Maryland wiretapping laws. ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson also said the clips were doctored, with the voice of the ersatz prostitute dubbed onto the tapes.

I'm not sure if it's wiretapping, but it's certainly fraud. These so-called "filmmakers" broke the law.

The biggest victim isn't ACORN though. It's the countless poor Americans who now won't be able to get mortgages or housing help because of this hoax. The right-wing activists responsible for this fraud need to be fined for everything they're worth.

(Source: http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/national-9/1252970691228910.xml&storylist=washington)