Got questions about ACORN? Keep 'em

No opportunity to obtain clarification about group's influence on census

Posted: March 23, 2009
11:33 pm Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily


The White House appears to be providing the message that if you've got questions about ACORN, just keep them to yourself.

That's after Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House and the third-most senior correspondent on that particular beat, came to today's new briefing prepared to ask two questions.

He proposed asking:


1. The Washington Times reports that the president wants the organization ACORN to "partner with the Census in counting the number of Americans in the country." Question: Considering the number of ACORN members in a number of states accused of wrongdoing why does the president believe these people should have any connection to the Census, which determines seats in the U.S. House of Representatives?

2. Could you briefly summarize the extent of the president's past connections with ACORN?

However, he was not allowed to ask the questions. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also refused to recognize 45 other reporters at the briefing.

In contrast, Gibbs allowed Bloomberg and Fox News reporters each to ask six questions, CBS Radio to ask five and the Wall Street Journal and American Urban Radio four each.

In the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the top Republican Party official in that state accused President Obama of "trying to inject politics" into the 2010 count.

Party chief Bob Gleason charged Obama with "enlisting" the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now to be a "national partner" in the work.

WND already has reported on allegations of misbehavior on the part of ACORN and a U.S. House subcommittee recently heard GOP lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh and a fired ACORN employee who alleged the organization falsified voter records and violated federal tax and campaign finance laws.

Gleason warned Obama "is trying to interject politics into the 2010 U.S. census, hoping to increase the reach of his party throughout the country."

He said ACORN's results simply won't be trustworthy.

It was the fifth straight news briefing at which Kinsolving has not been allowed to ask a question. A week ago, among 73 reporters present, Gibbs recognized 18 to ask questions. He allowed NBC to ask eight questions, ABC to ask seven, Fox News to ask five, CBS, Wall Street Journal and Mother Jones Magazine to ask four each, and CNN, AP, AP Radio and CBS radio to ask three apiece.

A week before that, Gibbs recognized only 15 of the 75 reporters on hand. At that time an ABC reporter was allowed to ask four questions, and seven others were allowed three each.