In a surprise vote, the Senate has defunded ACORN. Ed Morrissey writes:
Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) introduced an amendment to the HUD and Transportation appropriation bill to strip ACORN of all federal funding. A week ago, Johanns wouldn’t have gotten the amendment to the floor. Today, however, after three straight days of BigGovernment.com’s video exposés of ACORN offices in Washington DC, New York City, and Baltimore offering assistance to pimping, tax evasion, and trafficking in underage Salvadorean girls, Johanns not only got his vote — but he got an impressive bipartisan showing. The Senate passed the Johanns amendment 83-7.
Morrissey says that there were some votes changed after they were cast, leading me to believe that politicians weren’t voting the way they thought was best for the country, but what was best for their re-election chances. Or it could be that they were ignorant about the ACORN scandals and didn’t learn about them until after they had voted.
Imagine trying to explain to your constituents why you voted to give tax dollars to an organization that advises pimps and hookers how to hide their profits from the government.
There are some in the Senate that would have a harder time explaining why they voted against funding this criminal enterprise. Sens. like:
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Roland Burris (D-IL)
- Robert Casey (D-PA)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
- Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
How do you justify this vote?
