People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert released the following statement:

“On Wednesday night, John McCain outrageously claimed before a national television audience that ACORN was ‘maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy.’ In the two days since, the community organizing group has suffered vandalism at its Boston and Seattle offices and has faced an onslaught of threats and hostile emails.

“An ACORN employee in Cleveland received an email from a McCain-Palin supporter that said she would “have her life ended.” Another employee, this one in Providence, received a threatening call. Meanwhile emails with racial epithets have poured into ACORN offices around the nation.

“We call on McCain and the RNC to take responsibility for their outrageous and inflammatory rhetoric and take steps to defuse the situation. Political rhetoric has real consequences. Both John McCain and Sarah Palin need to start acting accordingly.”

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