Conservative Media Raise ACORN Bogeyman To Baselessly Cast Doubt On Franken's Campaign Victory

Conservative media raise ACORN bogeyman to baselessly cast doubt on Franken's campaign victory

The Fox Nation, Gateway Pundit blog, and Mickey Kaus all highlighted a Minneapolis Star Tribune column to claim or suggest that ACORN stole the 2008 Minnesota Senate election for Sen. Al Franken (D). In fact, the column -- which Gateway Pundit and Kaus falsely claimed was a Star Tribune "report" or "story" -- did not contain a single allegation of a fraudulently cast vote, and the Minnesota Supreme Court stated that counsel for Franken's 2008 opponent, Norm Coleman, "confirmed at oral argument that Coleman makes no claim of fraud on the part of either voters or election officials."

Media cite Star Tribune columnist to tie ACORN bogeyman to Franken victory

Star Tribune columnist Katherine Kersten: "Did ACORN folks pull some fast ones to help get their favorite son Franken elected?" Kersten wrote: "Here in Minnesota, ACORN has boasted of playing a major role in the 2008 elections. It claims to have registered 43,000 new voters, which it describes as 75 percent of the state's new registrations. Franken's margin of victory in the Senate race was razor-thin: 312 votes out of about 3 million cast. And Minnesota's laws on proof of voter eligibility are notoriously loose." Kersten added: "Did ACORN folks pull some fast ones to help get their favorite son Franken elected -- a win that handed Democrats the 60-vote, veto-proof majority that they needed to enact their liberal agenda? Secretary of State Mark Ritchie assures us that Minnesota's system of voter verification protects electoral integrity. But here's an uncomfortable fact: Ritchie himself was endorsed by the now-notorious ACORN and elected with its help."

Gateway Pundit: "Figures. ACORN Was Behind Franken's Stolen Senate Seat." Following Kersten's column, GatewayPundit.com posted a piece with the headline, "Figures. ACORN Was Behind Franken's Stolen Senate Seat." The post falsely claimed that Kersten's opinion piece constituted a Star Tribune "report." The post stated, "Here's a shocker. ACORN may have helped Al Franken steal the US senate seat from Minnesota." It then added, "The Minnesot Star-Tribune reported," and then quoted extensively from Kersten's piece.

Fox Nation: "New Questions About ACORN Role in Franken's Victory." From a Fox Nation headline linking to Kersten's column:



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Star Tribune column does not contain a single allegation of a fraudulently cast vote

Star Tribune column contains no allegations about fraudulently cast votes in Minnesota. Kersten's column acknowledges that in Minnesota, ACORN "has so far been able to keep its nose relatively clean." Kersten does not point to any allegations that any vote was fraudulently cast in Minnesota. Indeed, she states that "Secretary of State Mark Ritchie assures us that Minnesota's system of voter verification protects electoral integrity." She then added, "But here's an uncomfortable fact: Ritchie himself was endorsed by the now-notorious ACORN and elected with its help."

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More: http://mediamatters.org/research/200909290013