ACORN, Soros Linked to Franken Vote Grab
Monday, December 22, 2008 9:22 PM
By: David A. Patten

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who orchestrated the recount that gave Democratic challenger Al Franken a lead some six weeks after incumbent GOP Sen. Norm Coleman appeared to win by 725 votes on Election Day, has extensive ties to both the ACORN organization now under federal investigation for vote fraud, and to MoveOn.org ultra-liberal kingmaker George Soros.

In 2006, ACORN endorsed Ritchie in his bid to become secretary of state, and Ritchie also received a campaign contribution that year from Soros.

Indeed, Ritchie has credited his own political career in large part to an obscure, Soros-funded group called the Secretary of State Project (SoS), whose express purpose is to seed state election bureaucracies nationwide with partisan activists -- Ritchie among them -- who are strategically positioned to influence the outcome of close recounts like the one now underway in Minnesota.

The SoS Web site lauds Ritchie as “arguably the most progressive secretary of state in America,” and states: “Thanks to SoS Project donors, Minnesota’s Mark Ritchie – a true champion for Democracy – was able to defeat a two-term incumbent Republican by less than 5 points. We helped close the gap and make the difference with cable television ads targeting women and seniors.”

Nor does Ritchie downplay the role of the Soros-funded nonprofit in his own election win.

“I want to thank the Secretary of State Project and its thousands of grassroots donors for helping push my campaign over the top,” he states on the partisan political site.

Soros is becoming the real power broker behind liberal Democrats. For all their whining about Karl Rove, "The Architect" never bought or fixed an election.