Transcript:

OLBERMANN: Today, McCain tried a new old tactic against Obama, claiming widespread voter fraud, hinting Obama‘s involvement discussing recent accusations against ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a national network of community groups working on issues like voter registration, housing, and minimum wage.

McCain telling the Telemundo Network that alleged voter registration fraud by ACORN employees, quote, “Deprives Americans of their most precious right. I am very worried about it and I am worried about Senator Obama‘s connections with ACORN.”

Specifically in Nevada, ACORN submitted voter registration forms including names of non-residents like Tony Romo who happens to be the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, although there‘s been very little evidence of that the last three weeks.

Anyway, today, Obama was asked about his ACORN connection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: First of all, my relationship to ACORN is pretty straightforward. When—it‘s probably 13 years ago when I was still practicing law, I represented ACORN, and my partner in that representation was the U.S. Justice Department, in having Illinois implement what was called the Motor Voter Law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: That‘s right. The U.S. Justice Department, Obama‘s they nefarious co-conspirator. In fact, the voter registration charges are not against ACORN but against the handful of employees, part-timers hired by the dozens to sign up voters. ACORN, not the perpetrator but itself a victim, paying for real voter registrations and required by law to submit the registration sheets in their entirety even if they do contain bogus names.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: My understanding, by the way, in terms of the voter fraud, because having run a voter registration drive, I know how problems arise. This is typically a situation where ACORN probably paid people to get registrations. And these folks, not wanting to actually register people because that‘s actually hard work, just went into a phonebook or made up names and submitted false registrations to get paid.

So there‘s been fraud perpetrated on—probably, ACORN if they paid these individuals and they actually didn‘t do the registrations. But this is isn‘t a situation where there‘s actually people who are going to try to vote because these are phony names. And, you know, it‘s doubtful that Tony Romo is going to show up in Ohio to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: When he‘s not busy doing any quarterbacking.

Even though non-existent voters obviously cannot vote, McCain‘s tactic is not a new one for the past several election cycles. Karl Rove and other GOP insiders have used trumped out claims of widespread voter registration fraud to imply widespread voter fraud and justify clamp downs and laws that let them purge thousands of real voters from their roles. Most of those fired U.S. attorneys having lost their job, in fact, after resisting White House pressure to pursue voter registration cases despite Justice Department guidelines against filing such charges during election run-ups because it smacks of—gosh—politics.

Fired prosecutor, David Iglesias, later revealing that even the Justice Department knew those cases were bogus. In fact, while McCain wildly implied some sinister meaning to Obama‘s ACORN ties of 13 years ago, Marc Ambinder of “The Atlantic” reporting today that the McCain‘s campaign secretly asked the Montana GOP in vain to stop its current attempt to purge thousands of voters from the rolls.

And one of McCain own ties to ACORN, not 13 years ago but two years ago, McCain was the keynote speaker at a rally co-sponsored by ACORN in a tape obtained by Ambinder, the speaker identifies ACORN as a sponsor and ACORN red-shirted members are seen in great number and McCain is heard giving ACORN hell for their nefarious deeds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: What makes America special is what‘s in this room tonight.

That‘s what makes America special.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: That‘s telling them. According to Ambinder, McCain chief council, Trevor Potter argued this spring against using the GOP‘s old voter fraud claims this year because in 2004 and 2006, they backfired.