QUESTION? IT'S UNCONSTITUTIONAL ON ITS FACE:

Law Blocking Acorn Funding Raises Constitutional Question (NOMAAN MERCHANT, 12/18/09, WSJ)

At issue is the Constitution's prohibition of bills of attainder, which punish a specific person or group without due process or other rights that courts provide.

"The Acorn bill was poorly drafted and poorly conceived," says Jonathan Turley, a professor of constitutional law at George Washington University Law School. "Congress, in this case, showed very little circumspection in how they went about this."

Acorn sued Congress in federal court to overturn the funding ban. Last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Gershon sided with Acorn and ordered government officials to reinstate Acorn's federal contracts. "That Acorn was singled out is obvious and undisputed by the government," Judge Gershon wrote.

Vindictiveness is fun, just not legal.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 18, 2009 1:30 PM