ObamaOdrama

Nevada’s attorney general filed criminal charges against the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and two of its employees for implementing an illegal quota system requiring canvassers to gather at least 20 voter registrations a day to keep their jobs.

The complaint names the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, as well as Chris Edwards, the group’s former Las Vegas field director, and Amy Busefink, who was regional director for voter registration.

In all, there are 26 charges of compensation for registration of voters and 13 charges of being a “principal” in the incident. An initial hearing has been set for 7:30 a.m. June 3 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

“In Nevada, it is unlawful for a person to provide compensation for registering voters that is based on the total number of voters a person registers,” said state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

ACORN’s canvassers, she said, had to gather at least 20 voter registrations a day to keep their jobs. There was also a bonus program, known as “blackjack” or “21 plus,” which rewarded employees with $5 extra per shift if they brought in 21 or more completed registrations.

Canvassers under pressure to keep their jobs turned in registrations with fake names and phony addresses — even, in one case, the starting lineup for the Dallas Cowboys.

“These practices are clearly a violation of Nevada law,” Cortez Masto said. “By structuring employment and compensation around a quota system, ACORN facilitated voter registration fraud in this state.”

The organization is being targeted, she added, because it shouldn’t “hide behind or place blame on its employees” when the group’s policies required “illegal acts in performing the job.”

ACORN is no stranger to voter fraud, but how does ACORN defend itself to this latest charge?

“We’re just community organizers, just like the president used to be.”

Indeed.

Back in June, as the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee, Obama made the following statements at an annual American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) meeting in Washington:

“There’s no greater threat to Israel or to the peace and stability of the region than Iran.”

“The danger from Iran is grave and real and my goal will be to eliminate this threat.”

Speaking before 300 major APAIC donors on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel addressed how Obama plans to eliminate that threat:

Thwarting Iran’s nuclear program is conditional on progress in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, according to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Israeli TV reports said Monday that Emanuel made the comments in a closed-door meeting the previous day with 300 major AIPAC donors.

Last month, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Israel that it risks losing Arab support for combating threats from Iran if it rejects peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Clinton said Arab nations had conditioned helping Israel counter Iran on Jerusalem’s commitment to the peace process.

Not really a surprise considering back in June, Obama also said:

“As president of the United States, I would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader at a time and place of my choosing…”

And backed that statement up with a special Nowruz YouTube message for Iran’s mullahs.

Just another example of the Obama administration pushing the reset button.

At first I thought I was hearing things because I could have sworn Kareem Dale was talking about farts being cut, but its confirmed. The White House loves MSNBC!

No… really?

Corky Boyd over at Island Turtle posted an incredibly revealing morning talk radio interview with bankruptcy attorney Tom Lauria who represents a handful of hedge funds holding Chrysler debt.  In the interview, Tom Lauria revealed that the Obama administration threatened to destroy his client’s reputation via “the full force of the White House Press Corps” if the client didn’t accept the government’s proposed Chrysler restructuring plan.

Here is the tape of Beckman’s interview of Lauria. The relevant portions begin at the 1:30 mark. Listen to it.

Lauria: Let me tell you it’s no fun standing on this side of the fence opposing the President of the United States. In fact, let me just say, people have asked me who I represent. That’s a moving target. I can tell you for sure that I represent one less investor today than I represented yesterday. One of my clients was directly threatened by the White House and in essence compelled to withdraw its opposition to the deal under the threat that the full force of the White House Press Corps would destroy its reputation if it continued to fight. That’s how hard it is to stand on this side of the fence.

Beckman: Was that Perella Weinberg?

Lauria: That was Perella Weinberg.

Naturally, the White House denies the claims.  It appears that so does Perella Weinberg (bold text added for emphasis)?

Suggestions have been made that the Perella Weinberg Partners Xerion Fund changed its stance on the Chrysler restructuring due to pressure from White House officials. This is incorrect. The decision to accept and support the proposed deal was made by the Xerion Fund after reflecting carefully on the statement of the President when announcing Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing. In considering the President’s words and exercising our best investment judgment, we concluded that the risks of potentially severe capital loss that could arise from fighting this in bankruptcy court far outweighed any realistic potential upside.

We have a very specific mandate from our investors, and that is to carefully weigh investment risks and rewards. It is not our investment mandate to pursue political or risky legal campaigns with our investors’ money. This was our assessment of investment risk and reward, nothing else.



While we did and still do believe that the lenders would be justified in pressing their objections under conventional bankruptcy law principles, we believe a settlement would now be in the best interests of all parties in the context of avoiding a drawn out contested bankruptcy litigation proceeding, and we encourage our colleagues in the loan syndicate to pursue this immediately.

In outlining the plan for Chrysler’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy announced on Thursday, April 30 and Obama’s recent statements about shrinking the financial sector by heavily regulating risk-taking, there is no mistaking Obama’s position. 

When Obama wants to change the fundamentals of what makes America the strongest economy in the world, when he looks to lesser economies for direction, and he punishes individuals for the benefit of others, it’s clear the Obama doesn’t think very highly of capitalism or those who practice it.