Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The End of the ACLU


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.

6 comments:

Sam L. said...

Trump has pushed the ACLU?????? No, the ACLU has pushed itself, or allowed itself to be pushed by donors.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

I 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..."

I 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.

Anonymous said...

I find the idea that the ACLU has only recently become "far left" rather amusing.
Denial of due process.
Yeah, those right-wingers, facists, every one.

sestamibi said...

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.

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

I 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?

Thomas GB said...

I 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.