What Would You Do If You Were ACORN’s Crises Management Consultant?

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?