ACORN: Victim of Beck's racist smear campaign

September 10, 3:07 PMPortland Progressive ExaminerMichael Stone

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    Glenn Beck

ACORN is the latest victim of Fox news personality Glenn Beck's racist smear campaigns. Beck aired a staged video on his program entrapping a couple of low level members of ACORN. ACORN is a non-profit organisation that works to serve low income and working Americans.

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities. These are good Americans working for the benefit of those less fortunate.

ACORN has over 400,000 members and more than 850 neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities across the United States. In addition, ACORN has chapters in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and Peru.

Beck finds two questionable low level members of ACORN who were set up by a couple of right wing operatives and tries to smear the whole organisation. Beck wants to argue that two out of 400,000 makes an entire organisation corrupt? His logic, as always, is ridiculously inadequate. Beck is not interested in truth, he is interested in sensationalism and feeding the right wing fringe.

Beck is no stranger to controversy. Beck recently brought shame to himself and his network by accusing President Obama of being a racist. As a result of his disgraceful behavior Beck's program is the subject of a large and successful boycott.

Beck's racist and demented rantings are humorous to many, and by some estimates at least half of his audience watches not for news, but entertainment. Beck, always the buffoon, is a constant source of rantings and hysterics. He is a clown.

That Fox even allows Beck to broadcast is an indication that the network lacks any journalistic standards or integrity. This should not be a story. Yet irresponsible right wing journalists are propping up Beck's smear campaign, some out of ignorance, and some out of malicious intent.

It all comes back to the fact that some Americans, a frightened and ignorant minority, can not accept Barack Obama as president. Beck seduces these gullible and weak minded folks, telling them all sorts of outrageous tales, feeding their fear and hysteria. If such people were not so dangerous, the whole thing would be comical.

 UPDATE:    Acorn loses Census; Fox and Beck win