Did ACORN Just Steal Another Election?

That’s what Doug Hoffman, Conservative Party contender of New York’s 23rd District, is claiming. Hoffman, who may still edge out Democratic challenger Bill Owens, even though Owens has already been sworn in, put up an open letter on his website asking for money and alleging he was the victim of yet more ACORN corruption.

As evidence surfaces, we find out that reported results from election night were far from accurate. ACORN and the unions did their best to try and sway the results to Obamacare supporter Bill Owens...

That is why I am writing you today. Recent developments leave me to wonder who is scheming behind closed doors, twisting arms and stealing elections from the voters of NY-23.

I'm sure you are as dismayed as I am to learn of the mischief that took place in Oswego and neighboring counties. We know this would not be the first time for the ACORN faithful to tamper with democracy.

Hoffman claimed that ACORN, which has been besieged by voter fraud investigations, altered the vote counts on election night. It's thought that they filled ballots with falsified names and addresses. Once these sham ballots were weeded out, Hoffman came within striking distance of Owens -- thanks to the uncounted absentee votes. Hoffman has provided no evidence to support his allegations and no other sources have reported ACORN's presence in the 23rd District.

So did ACORN throw the election to Bill Owens? The shadowy presence of one figure suggests they might: White House Political Director, Patrick Gaspard.

Gaspard is intimately familiar with New York politics, having spent much of his career as an activist with the radical Working Families Party (and its spin-offs) in the Big Apple. Gaspard’s political experience comes not from whipping senators in line in Washington, DC, but from coordinating left-wing community organizer groups like ACORN and the SEIU. He earned the nickname “Glue Man” for his ability to hold these organizatons together to fight for a common cause.

Gaspard has worked for the SEIU and the Working Families Party, both of which were kissing cousins with ACORN, employing the same tactics and often the same personnel. He is also close to ACORN president Bertha Lewis. In 2001, the two wrote a joint letter to The Nation magazine defending the Working Families Party. When Bertha Lewis’ Rolodex was somehow leaked to conservative blogger Erick Erickson, it was reported that one of her most detailed contacts was Gaspard.

The White House (and ACORN itself) has hotly denied that Gaspard worked for ACORN. But regardless of whether the group wrote his paycheck, he traveled in the same circles of radical community organizers. (Interestingly, Michael Gaspard, Patrick's brother, works for ACORN's lobbyist, The Advance Group of New York.)

Which brings us to NY-23. According to an administration official, Gaspard was the “air traffic controller” for that district’s election. He convinced the so-called Republican, Dede Scozzafava, to endorse Owens, a move many analysts believe sank Hoffman’s ship. Although this is farther upstate than Gaspard's usual bailiwick, the Obama administration has already used Gaspard as their go-to guy when it comes to New York politics. He has lived most his life in the Bronx and is closely involved with grassroots leftist organizations there. When Obama needed someone to signal to New York Governor, David Paterson, that the White House wanted someone else on the Democrat ticket in 2010, Gaspard stepped in again.

If Gaspard was the air traffic controller in NY-23, was he guiding in ACORN’s plane as well? He reportedly left no stone unturned in "turning" Scozzafava, including setting up a personal phone call from Bill Clinton to get her to endorse the Dem in preference to a Republican. Did he also co-ordinate with ACORN?

We can’t be sure for now, but time will surely tell.