Michael Gaynor
Obama administration declares war on Fox News: Anita Moncrief, Fox News now needs YOU!
By Michael Gaynor
Instead of bluster, egotism, excessive caution or a fusion of news and comedy, it's time for straight talk, the whole truth and sanity. That means it's time for a thorough interview of Ms. MonCrief by Fox News's own Sean Hannity.
On May 18, 2009, Bill O'Reilly declared war on The New York Times. New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt had just blasted him in an op-ed for presenting an edited voicemail without mentioning that it was edited. O'Reilly turned to ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief and the lawyer whom she had contacted and volunteered to be a witness for in the Pennsylvania ACORN case (Heather Heidelbaugh) to discuss The Times' killing an Obama/ACORN expose a couple of weeks before Election Day 2008.
In "The War between New York Times Bill O'Reilly and the Truth" (May 19, 20080 (http://www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=090519), I summarized Ms. MonCrief's key point: "If [Times reporter Stephanie] Strom had been allowed to go to Washington, D.C. to meet with Ms. MonCrief and to obtain documents, and then been allowed to write the truth about the Obama campaign and ACORN and Obama's connections to ACORN for publication in The New York Times before Election Day 2008, it would have shown that candidate Obama had flatly lied in the last presidential debate and may well have been the 'game changer' Ms. Strom's 'higher ups' obviously feared.
Ms. MonCrief is not only uniquely able to discuss this matter, but also to elucidate on the subject of ACORN being subversive and corrupt and serving as "an unofficial arm of the Democratic Party" (to quote what Ms. MonCrief said twice during her appearance of "The O'Reilly Factor."
O'Reilly neglected to pursue these matters, but that did not stop the Obama administration from announcing this week that it will treat Fox News as "an opponent."
That's a declaration of war!
That means Fox News needs Ms. MonCrief!
I praised O'Reilly for interviewing Ms. MonCrief (even though it was a no-brainer), refuted Hoyt's refusal to acknowledge the credibility of Ms. MonCrief and the significance of her proof (Ms. Strom had not only relied on Ms. monCrief, but called her "a gold mine" and "the best" and chided O'Reilly for not manning up and admitting his error (spinning in his elf-proclaimed "No Spin Zone").
More importantly, I concluded, "The whole truth is really bad for The Times, the liberal media establishment, ACORN, the Obama campaign and, yes, now President Obama," and that remains true and demonstrable.
Fox News needs to present the whole truth, not just sensational parts.
That includes the whole story of both ACORN and the ACORN 8.
Are the ACORN 8 covering up for Obama and Obama favorites?
Yes, the Pope is Catholic.
And yes, by the grace of God, some good did come from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development's donation of millions of dollars to ACORN.
After the Dale Rathke embezzlement scandal finally became public last year, Catholic Campaign for Human Development's Ralph McCloud emailed Executive Director of ACORN Steven Kest asking "[w]ho are people who did not disclose the fraud over [ ] eight years ago? Do they have roles with ACORN now?"
On March 24, 2009, ACORN 8 head Marcel Reid emailed to ACORN 8 national spokesman Michael McCray Kest's response to McCloud . That email is reported in the Congressional report on ACORN titled "Is ACORN Intentionally Structured as a Criminal Enterprise?" as well as discussed below.
Kest responded: "The following people were on the management council eight years ago, and were made aware of the embezzlement" and listed Steve Kest, Jon Kest, Madeline Talbott, Keith Kelleher, Mike Shea, Zach Pollett, Helene O'Brien, Amy Schur, Liz Wolff and Beth Butler.
Kest further responded that Steve Kest, John Kest, Helene O'Brien and Beth Butler were still employed by ACORN.and that Mike Shea and Beth Butler were still employed by affiliated organizations.
The complaint filed by the ACORN 8 with the United States Justice Department on January 7, 2009 named as defendants every one of the persons identified by Kest except Madeline Talbott and Keith Kelleher, (The complaint also named other persons as defendants.)
Why not Ms. Talbott and Kelleher too?
Ms. Reid had wanted the version of the complaint naming them as defendants filed even though the exhibits were not ready.
Instead they were dropped as defendants and not mentioned in the complaint.
Could their connections to President Obama explain why?
On July 28, 2009, the ACORN 8 responded to the Congressional report by issuing a very illuminating press release titled "ACORN 8 has the Power — House Oversight Committee Report Vindicates ACORN 8 and their RICO Claims."
That press release reveals even more about the ACORN 8 and its radical and partisan political agenda than it does about ACORN.
The press release described that report issued by Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), the Ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as "a blistering report" that (1) "presents compelling evidence that ACORN has evaded taxes, obstructed justice, engaged in racketeering, and created a conspiracy to defraud the United States," (2) "confirms... criminal violations of ACORN 8 member's constitutional rights," (3) "provides more than enough probable cause for the federal government and large private donors to pursue injunctive relief so that ACORN assets and records are not dissipated or destroyed until the group undergoes a forensic audit," (4) "confirms that the ACORN 8's criminal complaint alleging RICO violations filed with the FBI and US Attorney's Office in 14 states and the District of Columbia... are viable causes of action, and should be investigated;" and (5) finds "that ACORN 8 members were illegally removed from the association board in order to conceal an embezzlement and obstruct justice."
The press release "commend[ed] learned counsel and the committee on this in depth report on ACORN."
But the ACORN 8 press release continued: "...we do not share all of the conclusions drawn by the committee -particularly those related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama...."
Sadly, the ACORN 8's problems with the current ACORN control group do NOT include disgust with the Obama presidential campaign's illicit coordination with ACORN affiliate Project Vote during the last presidential campaign, disappointment with Obama's misrepresentations about the extent of his relationship with ACORN or distress over ACORN functioning as an unofficial arm of the Democrat Party.
On October 6, 2009, blogger Mike Volpe wrote that he had spoken to McCray and "McCray said he and others in ACORN 8 didn't complain about ACORN being an 'unofficial arm of the Democratic Party' because ACORN 8 doesn't have solid evidence of this, or certainly of wrongdoing in this capacity," and "[a]s for Obama, McCray says that there was simply not enough evidence of wrongdoing between Obama and ACORN for ACORN 8 to go public with."
IF Volpe reported accurately what McCray said, then McCray implicitly admitted them there was some "evidence of wrongdoing between Obama and ACORN."
What was it?
Why did the ACORN 8 explicitly disassociate themselves only from the part of the report that "related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama...?
Note that the ACORN 8 press release did NOT dispute the report's reference to Ms. Talbott and Kelleher knowing of the Dale Rathke embezzlement and covering it up for years or explain why the ACORN 8 dropped Ms. Talbott and Kelleher from the complaint that they filed with the United States Justice Department on January 7, 2009.
Every other person listed by Steve Kest as knowing and covering up WERE included in the complaint as filed AND SO WERE MS. TALBOTT AND KELLEHER AS OF THE DAY BEFORE THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED.
Were they dropped for President Obama's sake and/or political purposes by persons who "do not share all of the conclusions drawn by the committee — particularly those related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama"?
If you believe that political consideration did not prompt The New York Times to spike an Obama/ACORN expose last October, perhaps you believe that those Illinois-based Obama allies were dropped accidentally!
The ACORN 8 press release also stated: "According to documents obtained from [Marcel Reid and Karen Inman, ACORN was made aware of its lax management structure but chose to ignore the problems and continue a cover-up of criminal activity."
Would those documents include the Kingsley Report?
If so, where's page 14?
The ACORN 8 peddle a myth about ACORN having been a wonderful organization.
Glenn Beck and Michael McCray, May 13, 2009:
BECK: ...I don't see this really at all about politics, what's going on in ACORN right now is just about money.
MCCRAY: Well, what I would say about that, Glenn, is that really what you need to look at in terms of ACORN is governance. I mean, what we have is an organization, a venerable organization that had a very beautiful mission and a lot of committed supporters. What's happened over time, though, is that there are certain leaders and senior staff members that have kind of, for the most part, hijacked the organization, and they're using it for their own personal games.
BECK: Can you tell me about Dale Rathke and his brother?
McCCRAY: Well, Dale Rathke is the founder of — I mean, Wade Rathke is the founder of the organization, and he is an incredible organizer. And it was his vision that allowed ACORN to progress to kind of where it is today. Unfortunately, with, you know, absolute power comes some corruption, and the board members found out about eight or nine months ago that there had been $1 million embezzlement by his brother.
BECK: But there hasn't been any prosecution. There hasn't really been — nobody has really investigated this mission dollar — this missing million dollars. Nobody has paid for this, criminally speaking?
McCRAY: That is correct, Glenn. And don't you find it very interesting that even when after word that $1 million embezzlement came out and the fact that board members and executive committee members covered up the embezzlement, that the only people that had been punished were the people that were trying to get to the bottom of where the money go?
BECK: So there you have it — when news of corruption and embezzlement arose, those in the right were fired by those in the wrong. And perhaps worst of all, the weakest and poorest of our neighbors have been abused, neglected and exploited in the process. Those whom ACORN was designed to serve the most have been victimized the most. That's quite a one-two punch. I've been saying all along that we've got to stop thinking of cases like this in terms of 'right and left.' Lies, deception, and the clawing for money and power are non-partisan. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, this is a simple matter of RIGHT and WRONG. We've got to stop thinking about it as Politics and start thinking about it as CRIME. We need more people like Marcel, Michael and Karen...those who'll put their personal principles ahead of their professional goals. (And tragically, by coming forward these men and women have had their safety threatened — I urge you to pray for them as I am.)
Look, I live in the real world...I know that life is a full contact sport, especially when there are millions of dollars at stake. But if we don't keep a firm grasp on our moral center and a keen eye on those who say their acting and spending for the public good, we stand to lose a whole lot more than money. Politics gets people crazy, and sometimes the simple truths can be obscured by a lot of fancy talking. At the end of the day, it's really quite simple: There are good guys and there are bad guys, but they don't always wear hats so we know who's who. But at least this time...when it comes to ACORN...I'm seeing those in the black hats pretty clearly. And after being lucky enough to talk to some of those in the white hats, I hope you see them, too.
Beck can be simplistic, but he's right that "sometimes the simple truths can be obscured by a lot of fancy talking."
Tragically, Beck's blind to a reality that does not fit HIS agenda — that the ACORN scandal is a Democrat scandal — and eager to believe that the dispute between ACORN and the ACORN 8 is between "black hates" versus "white hates."
The truth is much uglier, more complicated...and dangerous: ACORN was created to be a subversive, corrupt, partisan organization intent on fundamentally transforming America from a capitalist society to a socialist society, NOT recently hijacked, and the ACORN 8 leaders are radicals who protect President Obama and his favorites.
CAN BECK HANDLE THE WHOLE TRUTH?
To date, he hasn't.
If only Beck had Ms. MonCrief's courage, knowledge, insight and...humility.
If only O'Reilly was bolder and fresher?
He's not.
With the Obama Administration now openly at war with Fox News, Fox News needs leadership and can't afford more miscues.
Instead of bluster, egotism, excessive caution or a fusion of news and comedy, it's time for straight talk, the whole truth and sanity. That means it's time for a thorough interview of Ms. MonCrief by Fox News's own Sean Hannity.
© Michael Gaynor
October 14, 2009
Instead of bluster, egotism, excessive caution or a fusion of news and comedy, it's time for straight talk, the whole truth and sanity. That means it's time for a thorough interview of Ms. MonCrief by Fox News's own Sean Hannity.
On May 18, 2009, Bill O'Reilly declared war on The New York Times. New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt had just blasted him in an op-ed for presenting an edited voicemail without mentioning that it was edited. O'Reilly turned to ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief and the lawyer whom she had contacted and volunteered to be a witness for in the Pennsylvania ACORN case (Heather Heidelbaugh) to discuss The Times' killing an Obama/ACORN expose a couple of weeks before Election Day 2008.
In "The War between New York Times Bill O'Reilly and the Truth" (May 19, 20080 (http://www.webcommentary.com/php/ShowArticle.php?id=gaynorm&date=090519), I summarized Ms. MonCrief's key point: "If [Times reporter Stephanie] Strom had been allowed to go to Washington, D.C. to meet with Ms. MonCrief and to obtain documents, and then been allowed to write the truth about the Obama campaign and ACORN and Obama's connections to ACORN for publication in The New York Times before Election Day 2008, it would have shown that candidate Obama had flatly lied in the last presidential debate and may well have been the 'game changer' Ms. Strom's 'higher ups' obviously feared.
Ms. MonCrief is not only uniquely able to discuss this matter, but also to elucidate on the subject of ACORN being subversive and corrupt and serving as "an unofficial arm of the Democratic Party" (to quote what Ms. MonCrief said twice during her appearance of "The O'Reilly Factor."
O'Reilly neglected to pursue these matters, but that did not stop the Obama administration from announcing this week that it will treat Fox News as "an opponent."
That's a declaration of war!
That means Fox News needs Ms. MonCrief!
I praised O'Reilly for interviewing Ms. MonCrief (even though it was a no-brainer), refuted Hoyt's refusal to acknowledge the credibility of Ms. MonCrief and the significance of her proof (Ms. Strom had not only relied on Ms. monCrief, but called her "a gold mine" and "the best" and chided O'Reilly for not manning up and admitting his error (spinning in his elf-proclaimed "No Spin Zone").
More importantly, I concluded, "The whole truth is really bad for The Times, the liberal media establishment, ACORN, the Obama campaign and, yes, now President Obama," and that remains true and demonstrable.
Fox News needs to present the whole truth, not just sensational parts.
That includes the whole story of both ACORN and the ACORN 8.
Are the ACORN 8 covering up for Obama and Obama favorites?
Yes, the Pope is Catholic.
And yes, by the grace of God, some good did come from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Catholic Campaign for Human Development's donation of millions of dollars to ACORN.
After the Dale Rathke embezzlement scandal finally became public last year, Catholic Campaign for Human Development's Ralph McCloud emailed Executive Director of ACORN Steven Kest asking "[w]ho are people who did not disclose the fraud over [ ] eight years ago? Do they have roles with ACORN now?"
On March 24, 2009, ACORN 8 head Marcel Reid emailed to ACORN 8 national spokesman Michael McCray Kest's response to McCloud . That email is reported in the Congressional report on ACORN titled "Is ACORN Intentionally Structured as a Criminal Enterprise?" as well as discussed below.
Kest responded: "The following people were on the management council eight years ago, and were made aware of the embezzlement" and listed Steve Kest, Jon Kest, Madeline Talbott, Keith Kelleher, Mike Shea, Zach Pollett, Helene O'Brien, Amy Schur, Liz Wolff and Beth Butler.
Kest further responded that Steve Kest, John Kest, Helene O'Brien and Beth Butler were still employed by ACORN.and that Mike Shea and Beth Butler were still employed by affiliated organizations.
The complaint filed by the ACORN 8 with the United States Justice Department on January 7, 2009 named as defendants every one of the persons identified by Kest except Madeline Talbott and Keith Kelleher, (The complaint also named other persons as defendants.)
Why not Ms. Talbott and Kelleher too?
Ms. Reid had wanted the version of the complaint naming them as defendants filed even though the exhibits were not ready.
Instead they were dropped as defendants and not mentioned in the complaint.
Could their connections to President Obama explain why?
On July 28, 2009, the ACORN 8 responded to the Congressional report by issuing a very illuminating press release titled "ACORN 8 has the Power — House Oversight Committee Report Vindicates ACORN 8 and their RICO Claims."
That press release reveals even more about the ACORN 8 and its radical and partisan political agenda than it does about ACORN.
The press release described that report issued by Rep. Darrell Issa (CA), the Ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as "a blistering report" that (1) "presents compelling evidence that ACORN has evaded taxes, obstructed justice, engaged in racketeering, and created a conspiracy to defraud the United States," (2) "confirms... criminal violations of ACORN 8 member's constitutional rights," (3) "provides more than enough probable cause for the federal government and large private donors to pursue injunctive relief so that ACORN assets and records are not dissipated or destroyed until the group undergoes a forensic audit," (4) "confirms that the ACORN 8's criminal complaint alleging RICO violations filed with the FBI and US Attorney's Office in 14 states and the District of Columbia... are viable causes of action, and should be investigated;" and (5) finds "that ACORN 8 members were illegally removed from the association board in order to conceal an embezzlement and obstruct justice."
The press release "commend[ed] learned counsel and the committee on this in depth report on ACORN."
But the ACORN 8 press release continued: "...we do not share all of the conclusions drawn by the committee -particularly those related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama...."
Sadly, the ACORN 8's problems with the current ACORN control group do NOT include disgust with the Obama presidential campaign's illicit coordination with ACORN affiliate Project Vote during the last presidential campaign, disappointment with Obama's misrepresentations about the extent of his relationship with ACORN or distress over ACORN functioning as an unofficial arm of the Democrat Party.
On October 6, 2009, blogger Mike Volpe wrote that he had spoken to McCray and "McCray said he and others in ACORN 8 didn't complain about ACORN being an 'unofficial arm of the Democratic Party' because ACORN 8 doesn't have solid evidence of this, or certainly of wrongdoing in this capacity," and "[a]s for Obama, McCray says that there was simply not enough evidence of wrongdoing between Obama and ACORN for ACORN 8 to go public with."
IF Volpe reported accurately what McCray said, then McCray implicitly admitted them there was some "evidence of wrongdoing between Obama and ACORN."
What was it?
Why did the ACORN 8 explicitly disassociate themselves only from the part of the report that "related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama...?
Note that the ACORN 8 press release did NOT dispute the report's reference to Ms. Talbott and Kelleher knowing of the Dale Rathke embezzlement and covering it up for years or explain why the ACORN 8 dropped Ms. Talbott and Kelleher from the complaint that they filed with the United States Justice Department on January 7, 2009.
Every other person listed by Steve Kest as knowing and covering up WERE included in the complaint as filed AND SO WERE MS. TALBOTT AND KELLEHER AS OF THE DAY BEFORE THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED.
Were they dropped for President Obama's sake and/or political purposes by persons who "do not share all of the conclusions drawn by the committee — particularly those related to ACORN's political operations or any purported connections to President Obama"?
If you believe that political consideration did not prompt The New York Times to spike an Obama/ACORN expose last October, perhaps you believe that those Illinois-based Obama allies were dropped accidentally!
The ACORN 8 press release also stated: "According to documents obtained from [Marcel Reid and Karen Inman, ACORN was made aware of its lax management structure but chose to ignore the problems and continue a cover-up of criminal activity."
Would those documents include the Kingsley Report?
If so, where's page 14?
The ACORN 8 peddle a myth about ACORN having been a wonderful organization.
Glenn Beck and Michael McCray, May 13, 2009:
BECK: ...I don't see this really at all about politics, what's going on in ACORN right now is just about money.
MCCRAY: Well, what I would say about that, Glenn, is that really what you need to look at in terms of ACORN is governance. I mean, what we have is an organization, a venerable organization that had a very beautiful mission and a lot of committed supporters. What's happened over time, though, is that there are certain leaders and senior staff members that have kind of, for the most part, hijacked the organization, and they're using it for their own personal games.
BECK: Can you tell me about Dale Rathke and his brother?
McCCRAY: Well, Dale Rathke is the founder of — I mean, Wade Rathke is the founder of the organization, and he is an incredible organizer. And it was his vision that allowed ACORN to progress to kind of where it is today. Unfortunately, with, you know, absolute power comes some corruption, and the board members found out about eight or nine months ago that there had been $1 million embezzlement by his brother.
BECK: But there hasn't been any prosecution. There hasn't really been — nobody has really investigated this mission dollar — this missing million dollars. Nobody has paid for this, criminally speaking?
McCRAY: That is correct, Glenn. And don't you find it very interesting that even when after word that $1 million embezzlement came out and the fact that board members and executive committee members covered up the embezzlement, that the only people that had been punished were the people that were trying to get to the bottom of where the money go?
BECK: So there you have it — when news of corruption and embezzlement arose, those in the right were fired by those in the wrong. And perhaps worst of all, the weakest and poorest of our neighbors have been abused, neglected and exploited in the process. Those whom ACORN was designed to serve the most have been victimized the most. That's quite a one-two punch. I've been saying all along that we've got to stop thinking of cases like this in terms of 'right and left.' Lies, deception, and the clawing for money and power are non-partisan. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, this is a simple matter of RIGHT and WRONG. We've got to stop thinking about it as Politics and start thinking about it as CRIME. We need more people like Marcel, Michael and Karen...those who'll put their personal principles ahead of their professional goals. (And tragically, by coming forward these men and women have had their safety threatened — I urge you to pray for them as I am.)
Look, I live in the real world...I know that life is a full contact sport, especially when there are millions of dollars at stake. But if we don't keep a firm grasp on our moral center and a keen eye on those who say their acting and spending for the public good, we stand to lose a whole lot more than money. Politics gets people crazy, and sometimes the simple truths can be obscured by a lot of fancy talking. At the end of the day, it's really quite simple: There are good guys and there are bad guys, but they don't always wear hats so we know who's who. But at least this time...when it comes to ACORN...I'm seeing those in the black hats pretty clearly. And after being lucky enough to talk to some of those in the white hats, I hope you see them, too.
Beck can be simplistic, but he's right that "sometimes the simple truths can be obscured by a lot of fancy talking."
Tragically, Beck's blind to a reality that does not fit HIS agenda — that the ACORN scandal is a Democrat scandal — and eager to believe that the dispute between ACORN and the ACORN 8 is between "black hates" versus "white hates."
The truth is much uglier, more complicated...and dangerous: ACORN was created to be a subversive, corrupt, partisan organization intent on fundamentally transforming America from a capitalist society to a socialist society, NOT recently hijacked, and the ACORN 8 leaders are radicals who protect President Obama and his favorites.
CAN BECK HANDLE THE WHOLE TRUTH?
To date, he hasn't.
If only Beck had Ms. MonCrief's courage, knowledge, insight and...humility.
If only O'Reilly was bolder and fresher?
He's not.
With the Obama Administration now openly at war with Fox News, Fox News needs leadership and can't afford more miscues.
Instead of bluster, egotism, excessive caution or a fusion of news and comedy, it's time for straight talk, the whole truth and sanity. That means it's time for a thorough interview of Ms. MonCrief by Fox News's own Sean Hannity.
© Michael Gaynor
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
