ACORN Considered Name-Change

A community service organization by any other name would still be attacked by the GOP, according to an internal ACORN memo obtained by Politico. According to the memo, picked by Republicans from a dumpster outside a San Diego ACORN branch, ACORN might as well keep its name since it "spent 39 years building [its] reputation and track record"; the scandals are likely to "blow over" in a few years; and "right-wing attackers will say we are ACORN in disguise," negating the advantages of a new name. On the other hand, the group currently finds it "much harder" to work with elected officials, gain funding from foundations, and work with organizations and individuals because of the political stigma attached to ACORN. This year, ACORN weathered several scandals, from voter registration fraud allegations to an undercover investigation that showed employees offering advice on establishing a brothel and evading taxes, charges that resulted in a law cutting off the group's funding.