# What does the acronym ACORN stand for? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 12, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634 "2008-10-12T21:24:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/221 "2008-10-20T13:43:25Z")
I get it! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/222 "2008-10-20T13:49:18Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > No problem, I just got back to the computer myself just now. I went back and reread the original post I responded to and it appears that I misread that paragraph. Sorry for the confusion. My apologies. You’re forgiven. Sorry for the snarkiness of my reply; yesterday was a long day. ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/223 "2008-10-20T13:58:16Z")
As an interesting addition to this conversation, consider that Superpages has a number of people listed with either exactly the name “Mickey Mouse”, or with the last name “Mouse” and a first name that begins with M. [Mickey Mouse](http://www.whitepages.com/10866/search/FindPerson?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=Mickey&name=Mouse&where=) 28 listed people, plus another 9 who are unlisted [M. Mouse](http://www.whitepages.com/10866/search/FindPerson?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=M&name=Mouse&where=) 70 listed people, plus another 13 who are unlisted Sure it’s possible that some, or maybe many, of these are fake. But, if even one of them is real, you simply cannot put any registration screening system in place that would prevent them from being able to register. This is why it would be a bad thing for ACORN to be able pick and choose which registrations they will submit. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/224 "2008-10-20T17:09:33Z")
And somewhere, there’s probably a guy actually named Heywood Jablome. If so, he’s got as much right to vote as anybody else. Actually, this stuff almost cheers me up. Two weeks 'til the election, and they’re pushing nothing but bullshit that’s not going to sway anybody who might have voted for Obama anyway. Why? They got nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/225 "2008-10-20T17:11:40Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > You’re forgiven. Sorry for the snarkiness of my reply; yesterday was a long day. Apology certainly not needed, as the snarkiness dial was low/appropriately set. But I appreciate the civility. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/226 "2008-10-20T19:29:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > You, madam, are an idiot of the first water who wouldn’t understand the alphabet were it recited to you slowly. Or, as an alternative, you are a troll. I’m honestly on the fence. It’s difficult to accept that a human being could be burdened with this degree of weapons-grade stupidity, and still manage to find the power button on her computer, press it, connect to the internet, and type words on a message board, without somehow blinding herself with a paper cut across the cornea or strangling herself with the mouse cord. It has to be an act. _Has to be._ And yet, over the many moons of Ms. **Stream** ’s posting history, many of us have concluded that she is, really and truly, that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/227 "2008-10-20T19:45:46Z")
Once more unto the breach, because I think I may have the tack that will drill this into **Carol** ’s head once and for all. **Carol Stream** , do you actually _want_ ACORN to be able to toss registration cards at will? Do you _want_ ACORN to have the legal allowance to use their own discretion to determine who gets their registrations forwarded to the county voter board? You don’t think that maybe, possibly, fewer Republican registrations might end up going forward were that allowable? This is what we mean when we say that ACORN is required by law to forward ALL of their registrations, including ones that they think may be false. Yes, it means that ACORN will be forwarding false registrations to the voter board, but it also means that if ACORN were to receive Republican registrations, they have to forward THOSE as well, regardless of their feelings about that party. It’s the absolutely only way to ensure that all voters get their registrations registered, because it’s an absolutely non-partisan (or omni-partisan) benefit…all parties benefit because all voter-registration organizations, both conservative and liberal, both Democratic and Republican, are required to treat all voter registrations as functionally sacrosanct. The fact that a small percentage of false registrations get sent along is inevitable when they HAVE to forward ALL of the registrations they get. It benefits YOU and YOUR PARTY as much as it benefits ME and MY PARTY. You’re buying far too much into the “Anything that benefits your party hurts mine” mentality. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/228 "2008-10-20T21:03:11Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Once more unto the breach, because I think I may have the tack that will drill this into **Carol** ’s head once and for all. > > **Carol Stream** , do you actually _want_ ACORN to be able to toss registration cards at will? Do you _want_ ACORN to have the legal allowance to use their own discretion to determine who gets their registrations forwarded to the county voter board? You don’t think that maybe, possibly, fewer Republican registrations might end up going forward were that allowable? > > This is what we mean when we say that ACORN is required by law to forward ALL of their registrations, including ones that they think may be false. Yes, it means that ACORN will be forwarding false registrations to the voter board, but it also means that if ACORN were to receive Republican registrations, they have to forward THOSE as well, regardless of their feelings about that party. It’s the absolutely only way to ensure that all voters get their registrations registered, because it’s an absolutely non-partisan (or omni-partisan) benefit…all parties benefit because all voter-registration organizations, both conservative and liberal, both Democratic and Republican, are required to treat all voter registrations as functionally sacrosanct. The fact that a small percentage of false registrations get sent along is inevitable when they HAVE to forward ALL of the registrations they get. > > It benefits YOU and YOUR PARTY as much as it benefits ME and MY PARTY. You’re buying far too much into the “Anything that benefits your party hurts mine” mentality. No, she doesn’t want those things. She’ll deny it, but the desire that she’s dancing around is that she wants ACORN to stop collecting voter registration applications in areas where their expertise (such as it is) tells them that votes for Democrats are likely to outnumber votes for Republicans (in the event that the applicants wind up voting). She’s such a tease. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/229 "2008-10-20T23:02:36Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Once more unto the breach, because I think I may have the tack that will drill this into **Carol** ’s head once and for all. > > **Carol Stream** , do you actually _want_ ACORN to be able to toss registration cards at will? Do you _want_ ACORN to have the legal allowance to use their own discretion to determine who gets their registrations forwarded to the county voter board? You don’t think that maybe, possibly, fewer Republican registrations might end up going forward were that allowable? > > This is what we mean when we say that ACORN is required by law to forward ALL of their registrations, including ones that they think may be false. Yes, it means that ACORN will be forwarding false registrations to the voter board, but it also means that if ACORN were to receive Republican registrations, they have to forward THOSE as well, regardless of their feelings about that party. It’s the absolutely only way to ensure that all voters get their registrations registered, because it’s an absolutely non-partisan (or omni-partisan) benefit…all parties benefit because all voter-registration organizations, both conservative and liberal, both Democratic and Republican, are required to treat all voter registrations as functionally sacrosanct. The fact that a small percentage of false registrations get sent along is inevitable when they HAVE to forward ALL of the registrations they get. > > It benefits YOU and YOUR PARTY as much as it benefits ME and MY PARTY. You’re buying far too much into the “Anything that benefits your party hurts mine” mentality. I already tried pointing that out. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634/230 "2008-10-21T02:59:47Z")
> [@wring](#): > > I already tried pointing that out. I believe you mean, I’ve already told Carol Stream this! CMC +fnord! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-acronym-acorn-stand-for/467634.md?page=11)