Congress cuts ACORN $$$ ... will Virginia Dem candidates return donations?

ACORN has been proven to be a corrupt organization that has squandered taxpayer money and caused questions to be raised in Congress and, yet, Virginia Democrats have accepted donations from them. A check of VPAP shows the following:

Creigh Deeds - $200,000
Jody Wagner - $5,000
Steve Shannon - $21,500
Democrat Party Committees - $220,000

That a lot of tainted money. In fact, RPV Chairman Pat Mullins called on Democrats to return the money, saying:

"ACORN is a corrupt organization that has its finances closely intermingled with SEIU's finances. The right thing to do would be for all Democrats to return the tainted money as soon as possible."

A press release from the Republican Party of Virginia laid it out:

All Democrat Candidates Should Return ACORN-Tainted Money

- SEIU Contributions to Statewide, House Candidates at Issue -
- Nearly $525,000 Distributed Statewide to Democrats -

RICHMOND - Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins today expanded his call for Democratic candidates to return all contributions received from the Service Employees International Union, a big labor group closely affiliated with the scandal-plagued organization ACORN. Following up on his demand that all three statewide Democratic candidates return the campaign cash, Mullins noted that SEIU has contributed almost $525,000 to Democrats, including a number of candidates for the House of Delegates or other offices.

"ACORN is a corrupt organization that has its finances closely intermingled with SEIU's finances," Chairman Mullins said. "The right thing to do would be for all Democrats to return the tainted money as soon as possible."

The relationship between ACORN and SEIU is well-documented. The union's president, Andy Stern, sits on ACORN's advisory council. During the years 2006 and 2007, SEIU gave more than $4 million to the organization, according to Department of Labor filings.

More ACORN-SEIU Links:

1. One SEIU local union, the Illinois Homecare Workers and Home Childcare Providers, sprouted from ACORN's organizing efforts and pays rent to ACORN.

2. SEIU Locals 100 and 880 are identified as allied organizations on ACORN's website.

3. U.S. Department of Labor LM-2's (financial disclosure forms) point to over $600,000 in transactions between SEIU Locals 100 and 880 locals and other ACORN operations .

4. ACORN founder S. Wade Rathke referred to mega-union SEIU 880 as "one of the pillars of the ACORN Family."

5. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern handpicked ACORN's Rathke to direct SEIU's nationwide organizing projects.

ACORN, which bills itself as a "grassroots community organization," has been mired in scandal for some time. Already under investigation for fraudulently registering voters, the group has been rocked by recently released videos from across the United States showing ACORN employees " willing to abet prostitution, tax fraud, illegal immigration, and sex trafficking in minors ." In the wake of the scandal, Congress is moving to eliminate federal funding for ACORN, which has received $54 million in federal dollars since 1994.

SEIU/ACORN and Virginia Democrats - Perfect Together

Creigh Deeds $200,000
Jody Wagner $5,000
Steve Shannon $21,500
Democratic Party Committees $220,000
(Source: www.vpap.org )

"The only conclusion to be drawn from this pile of campaign cash is that Democrats running statewide and all across Virginia are beholden to the interests of a big labor union that is clearly in bed with ACORN," Mullins said. "These candidates should return this tainted money today."