Ohmigawd! Can this be true? ACORN plotted to takeover the entire state of Oklahoma from its lawful rulers, the Republican Party? Well, a GOP state Representative for Oklahoma City says he has dock-you-minted proof, my friends.
A Republican state legislator released documents Tuesday which he says show the community-organizing group ACORN focused on helping Democrats in three legislative races in the November 2008 election and had developed a game plan to “take power” in Oklahoma within five years.
The documents, which include legislative district maps and various forms, were recovered from computers abandoned by ACORN workers in Oklahoma City, said Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City. Also found was a script apparently used in Houston to go door-to-door to encourage voters to vote for Barack Obama in November 2008.
Sounds pretty darn fiendish to me. So when were these documents discovered anyway? And by whom?
Mike Reynolds said he was contacted in late summer 2008 by people who had leased office space near SW 25 and Robinson Avenue to ACORN. He was told the group had stopped paying the lease. Reynolds said he bought two computers for which passwords were found in desks.
Oh. People. Who just happened to contact Rep. Reynolds over a year ago and sold him some computers they found at an abandoned ACORN office for which passwords were found in desks. Amazing coincidence, isn’t it? Oh, by the way, why did you wait more than an entire year to reveal this nefarious plot, Rep. Reynolds?
Reynolds, who said he had been busy with legislative matters the past several months, said about 1,600 documents are on the computers.
Oh, too busy until now. Yes, I see. I guess Mr. Reynolds doesn’t have any staff members or other Republican volunteers to whom who he could have delegated this work. Had to do it all by himself. Poor guy. I feel for him, I really do.
So, these documents — what do they look like? And how do we know they are official ACORN documents? Well …?
Most of the documents on Reynolds’ Web site, made available to The Oklahoman, are not on any letterhead.
Few have any dates or any indication who wrote them. [emphasis added]
That doesn’t matter says Rep. Reynolds. The computer files show who wrote them. Besides, he has proof that ACORN was working directly with the Democratic Party!
Reynolds said computer files show who composed them. [Oklahoma GOP Chairman Gary] Jones said several show the files were created on a computer at state Democratic Party headquarters. […]
The released documents also include what appears to be a form letter on Oklahoma City ACORN stationery asking the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite the processing of immigrant citizen applications. State Sen. Andrew Rice’s name is on the bottom of the letter; his signature is not [emphasis added].
So what do the Democrats say to all these charges? Well Todd Goodman, chairman of the Democratic Party in Oklahoma denies that anyone at Democratic headquarters worked with ACORN, or that any documents for ACORN were produced by Democratic party staffers or other workers. Goodman also claims he was unaware ACORN had an office in Oklahoma City. Senator Andrew Rice, a Democrat, denies he wrote the alleged “letter” Rep. Reynolds released with his name on it and he also denies he ever worked with anyone at ACORN.
So, to recap:
1. Republican makes accusations against ACORN based on documents he claimed he found over a year ago on computers he bought from unidentified people who claimed the laptop computers were left at an abandoned ACORN office with passwords to both in nearby desk.
2. Republican waits to make accusations against ACORN and the Oklahoma Democratic party being in cahoots for over a year because he was too busy to examine the files before now.
3. Most of documents shown to reporters are not dated and do not identify who wrote them, nor are they on ACORN letterhead. Republicans say the identities of who wrote what are in the computer files.
4. Republicans accuse Democratic Party of having prepared documents for ACORN at Democratic HQ, but don’t produce any evidence, other than to claim that the computer files prove Democrats were involved. Democrats deny these allegations and say they never worked with ACORN. Period.
5. Only document which identifies anyone has a Democratic State Senator’s name on an unsigned form letter which he claims he never wrote, never signed, and knows nothing about. The Senator also says he never worked with anyone at ACORN. Period.
So what does ACORN have to say about these charges? Well, a senior ACORN official denies the allegations:
“The documents that we have seen — ostensibly taken from these computers — do not appear to reflect the work of ACORN in Oklahoma and appear to be partially doctored versions of some ACORN documents,” said Brian Kettenring, deputy director of national operations for ACORN. […]
“We consider our computers to be stolen property, the contents thereof stolen work product,” Kettenring said in an e-mail response Wednesday to The Oklahoman. [emphasis added]
And Reynold’s response to ACORN?
Asked to respond to Kettenring’s comments, Reynolds said, “I want to see a letter from them before I make any comment.”
No comment? Demands to see a letter from ACORN? How strange is that coming from a person who doesn’t have any signed documents himself yet he’s more than willing to make accusations based on those alleged documents? Oh and about the location of that alleged ACORN office in Oklahoma City and what it did:
Reynolds said the computers were in an office near SW 25 and Robinson Avenue.
Kettenring said ACORN, officially the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, in 2008 had two offices in Oklahoma, one in Tulsa and one in Oklahoma City. Both have closed.
Kettenring said he was unsure of the Oklahoma City location, but an old ACORN Web site and letterhead on documents released by Reynolds list the Oklahoma City site as an office at 2525 Northwest Expressway.
ACORN workers in Oklahoma did not get involved in elections or politics, Kettenring said.
“Our work in Oklahoma during the period focused on issues indigenous to the local community — neighborhood organizing around community safety issues and community/police relations,” he said.
I’m not from Oklahoma City, but it sounds like an address at 2525 Northwest Expressway is not the same as an address at SW 25 and Robinson. It seems a Google Map search agrees with that assessment. Unless SW 25 and Robinson refers to some other location? Maybe Rep. Reynolds can fill us in on these matters. Or not.
It seems to me that there isn’t a whole lot of verifiable evidence (i.e., the kind that would stand up in Court) about these allegations. Nor do I see what crime, if any has been allegedly committed, much less proven, other than perhaps the possible theft of private property by certain unidentified individuals and the receipt of stolen property by Mr. Reynolds. Regarding the alleged documents, anyone can manufacture computer files of documents with a simple word processing program. Especially if they have over a year to do so. Even Republicans.
Not that Republican State Representative Reynolds would have any hidden motive or malicious intent to bring these allegations against ACORN now, over one damn year after he alleged these documents came into his possession. Or to manufacture evidence of alleged ties between the Democratic party and ACORN. No, of course not. It would be cynical of me to even suggest such a thing.
I’m sure everything Representative Reynolds and GOP Chairman Jones have alleged about ACORN’s sinister plot to seize power in Oklahoma (through elections) and its infiltration of the Democratic Party in Oklahoma is all perfectly true. So, I’m sure Messrs. Reynolds and Jones would be willing to submit to a lie detector test, yes?
You may laugh your A$$ off now.
