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The '''Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now''' ('''ACORN''') was a [[left-wing]] activist group that described itself as ''"a non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization"'' <ref>[http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12342 ACORN website]</ref> geared to helping the poor achieve jobs and control over their communities. Founded in Arkansas in 1970, ACORN advocated higher minimum wages, access to affordable housing and increased voter registration in low-income communities, though many charge that they often focused on voter registration in swing political states like Ohio.  On March 22, 2010, it announced that "it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1" and try to resolve its outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/us/23acorn.html Acorn to Shut All Its Offices by April 1], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

The '''Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now''' ('''ACORN''') was a [[left-wing]] activist group that described itself as ''"a non-profit, non-partisan social justice organization"'' <ref>[http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12342 ACORN website]</ref> geared to helping the poor achieve jobs and control over their communities. Founded in Arkansas in 1970, ACORN advocated higher minimum wages, access to affordable housing and increased voter registration in low-income communities, though many charge that they often focused on voter registration in swing political states like Ohio.  On March 22, 2010, it announced that "it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1" and try to resolve its outstanding debts.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/us/23acorn.html Acorn to Shut All Its Offices by April 1], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

Some conservatives targetted ACORN because of its liberal agenda. Stanley Kurtz calls it "the largest radical group in America,"<ref name=kurtz-inside>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI= Inside Obama’s Acorn: By their fruits ye shall know them] - Stanley Kurtz, [[National Review]]</ref>

Some conservatives targeted ACORN because of its liberal agenda. Stanley Kurtz calls it "the largest radical group in America,"<ref name=kurtz-inside>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI= Inside Obama’s Acorn: By their fruits ye shall know them] - Stanley Kurtz, [[National Review]]</ref>

working "to take over the system from within, rather than futilely try to overthrow it from without."<ref name=kurtz-inside-2>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI=&w=MQ== Kurtz, page 2]</ref>  

working "to take over the system from within, rather than futilely try to overthrow it from without."<ref name=kurtz-inside-2>[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDZiMjkwMDczZWI5ODdjOWYxZTIzZGIyNzEyMjE0ODI=&w=MQ== Kurtz, page 2]</ref>