Last Wednesday, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, in he wake of James O'Keefe's and Hannah Giles's embarrassing video barrage, went into damage control mode:
As a result of the indefensible action of a handful of our employees, I am, in consultation with ACORN’s Executive Committee, immediately ordering a halt to any new intakes into ACORN’s service programs until completion of an independent review. I have also communicated with ACORN’s independent Advisory Council, and they will assist ACORN in naming an independent auditor and investigator to conduct a thorough review of all of the organization's relevant systems and processes.
The Politico entry from Ben Smith linked above reports that the (cough, cough) "Independent Advisory Council" consists of the following eight members:
•John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
•Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Board Member, RFK Foundation, former MD Lt. Governor
•Andrew Stern, International President, Service Employees International Union
•Henry Cisneros, Executive Chairman, Cityview
•John Banks, Vice President of Government Relations Con Ed
•Eric Eve, Senior VP of Global Consumer Group, Community Relations, Citigroup
•Harvey Hirschfeld, President, Lawcash
•Dave Beckwith, Executive Director, Needmor Fund
Concerning the first four, I'll quote from Karl at Hot Air's Green Room:
•"Podesta runs the (George) Soros-funded Center for American Progress, which has been coordinating the public defense of ACORN this summer."
•" Townsend is so inependent that she called the stories of ACORN’s frequent involvement in voter fraud a 'desperate smokescreen maneuver' masking an extensive coast-to-coast GOP push to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters in 2008. "
•"Stern heads SEIU, which has a very cozy relationship with ACORN. How cozy? ACORN controls or significantly dominates several SEIU chapters."
•"Cisneros, who worked regularly with ACORN as HUD Secretary, would later plead guilty to lying to the FBI to cover up a political embarrassment."
Thus, half of the people on this board appear to be personally vested in a whitewash audit, and should have recused themselves from the selection of an outside auditor, but more than likely haven't. The the other four gentlemen may be compromised because their entities have had dealings with ACORN. I'll look at them later in the post.
In other words, not a single person on the "Independent Advisory Council" may be truly independent. Yet this motley crew is supposed to pick an independent auditor. If the selection is not a very large public accounting firm upon which ACORN has imposed no scope limitations, look out below.
SEIU's Stern wasn't even able to keep his mouth shut for the sake of appearances for 48 hours, issuing a scathing press release on Friday that began as follows:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union, issued the following statement today regarding recent attempts of right wing extremists to silence working families by attacking progressive individuals and community organizations:
"This is a moment of profound change for this country -- from kitchen tables to town halls to the floor of the Senate, this nation is engaged in a vigorous and heated debate about how we rebuild our economy, solve our national healthcare crisis and restore the American Dream.
"As has always happened when progressive change is in the air, the backlash gets fierce, ugly and anti-American. This time is no different. Right now, there is an insidious and coordinated effort on the part of the extreme right to target individuals and grassroots community groups as a way to silence the voices of women and men who have suffered the most under 8 years of right wing policies.
"These extremists will attempt to shut down and shout down anyone with a different point of view.
"Let's be clear who we are talking about -- call them attack dogs, call them Teabaggers, call them Glenn Beck -- these are the same folks who cheered the policies that crashed our economy. Who make up lies about death panels to try to kill healthcare reform. Who scream about democracy while denying workers a voice on the job. Who target anyone who poses a threat to a status quo that for too long has rewarded greedy CEOs while leaving people who work out in the cold.
"This is not the America we believe in.
"Their lies, their stunts and their smears will not silence us. ....
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/09/21/acorn-independent-advisory-council-member-stern-lets-loose-acorns-critic
