In a recent article Alan Dershowitz, former board member of
the American Civil Liberties Union decries the radicalization of that
organization. No longer willing to promote civil liberties, it has transformed
itself into a political advocacy group, promoting leftist policies and
candidates.
Dershowitz writes:
The
director of the American Civil Liberties Union has now acknowledged what should
have been obvious to everybody over the past several years: that the ACLU is no
longer a neutral defender of everyone’s civil liberties; it has morphed into a
hyper-partisan, hard-left political advocacy group. The final nail in its
coffin was the announcement that for the first time in its history the ACLU
would become involved in partisan electoral politics, supporting candidates,
referenda and other agenda-driven political goals.
Why has it happened?
If you want to know the reason for
this shift, just follow the money. ACLU contributors, including some of its
most generous contributors, are strong anti-Trump zealots who believe that the
end (getting rid of Trump) justifies any means (including denying Trump and his
associates core civil liberties and due process).
When the Trump
administration seems to deny civil liberties the ACLU ought rightly to
criticize it Yet, the ACLU has become an extremist organization whose
purpose is to end the Trump presidency.
Trump himself has denied fundamental
civil liberties by his immigration policies, his attitude and actions regarding
the press, and his calls for criminal investigations of his political enemies.
The ACLU will criticize those actions as it should. But the Trump presidency
has also pushed the ACLU further to the left and into partisan politics.
President Trump is so despised by contributors to the ACLU that they have
increased their contributions, but also demanded that the ACLU be on the
forefront of ending the Trump presidency, either through impeachment, criminal
prosecution or electoral defeat.
One cannot help
but be amused and horrified by the notion that the ACLU wants to overturn the
results of a fair election… in the name of liberty and democracy.
Trump has pushed the ACLU?????? No, the ACLU has pushed itself, or allowed itself to be pushed by donors.
ReplyDeleteI have been very pleased with Dershowitz's devotion to principle since the election of Trump. I would offer the slight correction to his statement that Trump has "denied fundamental civil liberties...by his attitude and actions regarding the press..."
ReplyDeleteI don't think you can deny civil liberties with an attitude. Even if a president has a continually adversarial relationship with the press and says bad things about it, they remain free to do their jobs.
I find the idea that the ACLU has only recently become "far left" rather amusing.
ReplyDeleteDenial of due process.
Yeah, those right-wingers, facists, every one.
Many years ago I worked for the NYCLU for about seven months as a legal clerical assistant. The arrogance and contempt for the "bridge and tunnel" people like myself was quite a wake up call for me, and I credit the experience for making me the right-wing reactionary I am today.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that no one has actually pointed to the real contrast: Trumpism vs. Corporatism. One is genuinely populist in the classic American sense, the other is Peronist. This past week of lugubrious whining (each newspersonality trying to outdo the other) isn’t about the poor immigrant families. It’s the latest iteration of “Le Resistance.” You see, the D.C. stock portfolios are doing well, but their not nearly as high as they would be with the UniParty prevailing on immigration policy. And now we see the ACLU is now firmly ensconced in the Peronist camp — which is a consequence of Obama. And the NRA is the right-wing pariah?
ReplyDeleteI have gotten questionnaires from the ACLU and talk about biased polling. I have to write in answers as the provided choices are all usually just different views for leftists.
ReplyDelete