Here is a hypothetical for you I think is rather interesting (one for the real hardened hacks!):
Imagine you’re a soulless spin-doctor, a ‘crisis management’ consultant. You have no scruples about the ideological leanings of who you work for, and will do ‘whatever it takes’ to get the job done.
And you have just been given one of the biggest contracts of the year: advising ACORN.
What would you tell them to do? I mean think about it, here you have a massive organization/criminal enterprise, that’s been effectively destroyed in terms of public perception in the last week. How can they get out of it?
Should they go on the offensive? Attack the vast right wing conspiracy and tough it out? Launch an aggressive donation campaign amongst its supporters.
Or should they admit fault, and have their head resign? Should they set up a new transparency initiative?
Maybe they should go further. Repay federal tax dollars, suspend operations?
Maybe they will have to be more radical – stop their voter registration actions, split into two bodies, or ultimately shut down (and re-brand later under a different name)?
Unlike a private company, of course, ACORN relies on taxpayer and donation funding, so its incentives are obviously different. And I suspect general public opinion is not as vital to it as it is for a private company.
But any any event, leaving all value judgments aside, what would you do?
Tags: ACORN, Crisis Management
The Musings of a Burkean Libertarian 
September 22, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Here is what I would advise:
1- Change the name, and make sure the words “Community” and “Organizer” are NOT included
2- Be extremely repentant, not to the right… but to those that I KNOW would fall for any kind of “a few bad apples shouldn’t spoil the bunch” argument. Believe me, they are out there.
3- Distance yourself publicly from lawmakers, both who are defending you and disparaging you. Two reasons: One, the people who may believe you have reformed don’t like politicians. Two, the government is going to defund you anyway, regardless of how much brown-nosing ordemagoguing the group does, period.
4- Make a concerted effort to make your work as PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENT as possible… except the voting registration aspect. make it transparent, but NOT front page of what the organization is all about. The public will just associate that with the massive voter fraud that the group appeared to be committing in the 2008 election.
5- FINALLY, CLEAN HOUSE! get rid of Bertha Lewis and get her off of the TV speaking for you. That’s why companies have spokepeople.
ACORN has a long way to go…. but as long as they are ACORN, they will be known for ACORN is now famous, and infamous for.