McCain Was Keynote Speaker at ACORN Event in 2006

Terminal hypocrite John McCain has been working overtime lately to draw a negative association between Barack Obama and the left-leaning community organization ACORN. What McCain has failed to mention is that he has also been associated with ACORN, namely as keynote speaker at a Florida event co-sponsored by ACORN in February 2006. Perhaps McCain needs to have his memory refreshed.

McCain is pictured here seated beside Florida representative Kendrick Meek at an event held in Miami on Feb. 20, 2006 in support of comprehensive immigration reform, which McCain also supported back when he was still a little bit mavericky. The event was sponsored by ACORN, the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, People for the American Way/Mi Familia/Vota en Accion, UNITE/HERE, Catholic Charities, the Service Employees International Union, and the New American Opportunity Campaign among other progressive groups (see Politico, MarketWatch).

A video of the event including McCain's address clearly demonstrates McCain's support for ACORN's objectives: "What makes America special...," McCain's declares to an audience filled with with red-shirted ACORN members, "...is what's in this room tonight."

Once at odds with conservatives in his own party owing to his support of comprehensive immigration reform, McCain has since abandoned his former position and fallen into line with the anti-immigrant far right, as ACORN chief organizer Bertha Lewis observed in a statement issued with the photo here:

"It has deeply saddened us to see Senator McCain abandon his historic support for ACORN and our efforts to support the goals of low-income Americans. Maybe it is out of desperation that Senator McCain has forgotten that he was for ACORN before he was against ACORN; he was for immigration reform before he was against immigration reform; and he was a maverick before he became erratic. We were thrilled to partner with him to help reform the outdated immigration laws in this country, and were pleased to work closely with him on this issue.... We expected Senator McCain to support our efforts to give voice to millions of American's who have never participated in an election before. We are surprised at his efforts to villify an organization that, until recently, he saw as an ally. Maybe this surprise attack and change of heart is indicative of his state of mind, and the way he would govern.... We are sure that the extremists he is trying to get into a froth will be even more excited to learn that John McCain stood shoulder to shoulder with ACORN, at an ACORN co-sponsored event, to promote immigration reform."

The far-right Republican base to which McCain now so energetically panders would not be pleased to be reminded either of McCain's former pro-immigrant stance or of his former support for ACORN. As long as McCain insists on attempting to use ACORN as a wedge issue against Obama, this photo and video should also be used to remind everyone what a hypocrite McCain truly is.

Rachel Maddow provides an excellent analysis of the ACORN controversy at MSNBC video. As Maddow and others have reported, Obama's only relationship to ACORN was as an attorney in partnership with the US Justice Department and the League of Women Voters in addition to ACORN to sue the State of Illinois for enforcement of the 1993 federal "motor voter" registration law. The ACORN voter registration fraud case, Maddow and others also report, is most likely attributable to dishonesty on the part of people hired to register voters (it's easier to fake registrations than go out and get real ones) rather than any dark conspiracy on the part of ACORN itself; and in any case is unlikely to result in actual voter fraud since fictional people are unlikely to show up on Election Day.