The national body of ACORN, the organization of state community-organizing groups that has come under fire since the 2008 election for voter fraud and other abuses, has not disbanded — contrary to some reports that say the organization has “cracked.” (Get it? Like a nut? Dropped out of a tree by a squirrel?) But some state organizations have split off, including California, Massachusetts, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
The New York outpost has been rebranded as New York Communities for Change, a group with a new board that still includes many old ACORNers. But though the national organization’s website was down for a while today, it’s back up, and a spokesman says it continues to function. “It is not true that ACORN is closed for business all across the country. It still exists,” Kevin Whelan told the American Prospect. “Bertha Lewis is still the CEO.”
Whelan wasn’t terribly optimistic about the organization’s future, though, as it continues to be a target of criticism from the right and faces a hold on government funding. “We know that organizers and leaders in different states are having to have discussions and making some choices,” he added. “I don’t think there will be announcements like this from every place ACORN is now, but I would expect that there could be some more like this in the coming days or weeks.”
Empty On Funding, ACORN Shutters Around the Country [City Hall]
ACORN Dissolved [Ben Smith/Politico]
