The ongoing controversy over the community organizing group ACORN -- spurred by several undercover videos shot for a conservative blog known as biggovernment.com -- has emboldened Republicans to use the group's troubles as a political cudgel against Democrats."If the Democrats continue to ignore the apparent fraud taking place with taxpayer money, they will pay a price politically," predicted former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) in an e-mail exchange with the Fix late Wednesday.
Bush's Republican colleagues are already moving to exact that political price.
Minnesota Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is widely expected to run for president in 2012, announced on Wednesday that he had ordered all state funds going to the group frozen until a review of the organization had been completed.
Pawlenty's decision comes less than 48 hours after the Senate voted on a measure to restrict all federal funding devoted to ACORN -- a piece of legislation that drew wide bipartisan support with only seven senators (all Democrats) voting against it.
And, Republican leaders in the House continue to push the idea of bringing a similar bill up for a vote in the near future. "Simply put, ACORN should not receive another penny of American taxpayers' money," wrote House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) in a letter to his colleagues earlier this week.
The ACORN effect is even hitting the campaign trail. In New York's 23rd district special election, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is hitting state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R) for her alleged ties to ACORN.
The efficacy of these attacks remain to be seen -- John McCain attempted unsuccessfully to link President Obama to ACORN during the 2008 campaign -- but it's clear from the reaction of the White House that leading Democrats understand that being seen as defenders of the community group is political suicide.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the tapes "completely unacceptable" during his daily briefing on Wednesday, adding "the administration takes accountability extremely seriously."
Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster, said the ACORN controversy poses a "huge risk" to the Democratic party. "Swing voters are almost certainly going to put off by the constant barrage of stories about their abuses, the videos, and their unrepentant approach to the way they operate," he added.
Jon Lerner, a Republican consultant, argued that the ACORN problem is one that plagues whichever party is in the majority in Washington. "When Republicans were in control, their fringe organizations became fodder for the perception that they were too extreme," Lerner noted.
ACORN has long been a hot button issue for conservatives who believe the group engages in shady (at best) voter registration and turnout efforts. But, to date, conservatives have been unable to draw strong enough links between ACORN and the Democratic Party to score real political points.
With more undercover videos allegedly on the way, expect more Democratic elected officials to follow the White House's lead and begin not only distancing themselves from ACORN but also siding with those who are calling for investigations into its conduct.
"Any Democrat who acts or votes to protect ACORN will have an impossible time justifying it, and it will almost be too easy for us to make them pay politically for doing so," predicted Republican strategist Kevin Madden.