After whore-gate, Rubio wants Crist to investigate ACORN

The videos of a fake hooker getting ACORN members in Baltimore and California to help her find tax loopholes to ply her trade (and potentially help prostitute children) is now an issue in Florida's U.S. Senate campaign. Former House Speaker Marco Rubio is asking Gov. Charlie Crist, his Republican rival in the campaign, to order an inquiry. Crist this past election season had declined to order an ACORN investigation

 Letter here:

Dear Governor Crist:

 As you are no doubt aware, the community organizing group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is now under intense scrutiny for recent reports of its involvement in questionable behavior and potentially illegal activity in several states.

 In addition to the damning video reports of ACORN employees now familiar to most Floridians, just last week the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced that arrest warrants were issued for 11 former ACORN employees accused of faking voter registration cards. While it is commendable that ACORN assisted in the investigations that led to the arrests, it begs the question: why were so many people capable of these crimes working for ACORN in the first place?

 Last Friday, the Census Bureau severed ties with ACORN. On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and George LeMieux joined 81 other Senators in an overwhelming and bipartisan vote to strip federal funding from ACORN. Just yesterday, Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger in California and Tim Pawlenty in Minnesota took similar action, asking officials to investigate ACORN’s behavior in their respective states and prevent state taxpayer funding of the group.

Based on the mounting evidence against ACORN and the serious questions surrounding this organization, I respectfully ask that you follow the lead of the other elected officials I mentioned above and take immediate steps to initiate a thorough investigation into ACORN’s activities in Florida, including a detailed accounting of what state funds, if any, ACORN may be receiving. If it is discovered that they are receiving state funds, I believe further steps should be taken to cut off any taxpayer funding of ACORN.

The St. Petersburg Times also reported yesterday that your office may have partnered with ACORN in the past on several initiatives, including your 2007 effort to restore voting rights to convicted felons in Florida. If you partnered with ACORN, I have no reason to doubt you did so unaware of ACORN’s propensity for questionable activity, and with what you believed at the time to be the best interests of Floridians at heart. However, given the recent revelations about ACORN, I believe it is now in the best interest of all Floridians for your office to provide a thorough accounting of its relationship with ACORN and what, if any, influence ACORN may have had in any actions you have taken on behalf of the people of Florida.

 Lastly, during last year’s presidential election, despite what now seems to be a prescient chorus of concerned parties asking for an investigation into ACORN’s election-related activities, you insisted that you were unconcerned with ACORN’s activities. In light of the recent allegations against ACORN, I suggest you reconsider your position, demand a full investigation of ACORN’s election-related activities, and take whatever steps available to you to prevent ACORN from engaging in voter registration and other election-related activities until the questions surrounding this organization are resolved.

 Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

 Sincerely,

 Marco Rubio

Comments

[Cynical Idealist]

MArco...he's not going to provide the information, unless it makes him look positively angelic in the matter.

[Contact the 7 Senators]

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11398780/The-Seven-Senators-Who-Voted-to-Fund-ACORN