![\"\"](\"http:\/\/i.usatoday.net\/communitymanager\/_photos\/on-deadline\/2010\/03\/22\/acornx-large.jpg\")
On Friday the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN, announced that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. While ACORN has been in the eye of a firestorm fanned by the right-wing, it was never the conspiratorial radical organization as painted by conservative pundits. Very little evidence of illegal activities undertaken by the organization has emerged, despite multiple investigations. Over the forty years that it has been active, ACORN has been a source of empowerment within low-income communities, undertaking voter registration drives, and providing advice on everything from home loans to taxes. However, bad press and harmful allegations have taken their toll on the organization. As a result of constitutionally questionable defunding by Congress and a sharp dropoff in donations, some of ACORN\u2019s offices, including its New York and Washington DC offices, will shut down and disband from the greater organization. But what are the lessons that progressives can take from the ACORN debacle? Writing for Colorlines Magazine, Rinku Sen says “the attack on ACORN isn’t about ACORN alone. It’s an important element of a conservative strategy to discredit the Obama administration, destroy organizing capacity among progressives and quiet voices for real change. They’ve helped shut ACORN’s doors. Now, it’s up to us to make sure the onslaught stops there.”<\/p>\n