ACLU Non-Partisan?

The ACLU proudly claim that they are "wholly non-partisan." It portrays itself as an objective organization that is "neither liberal nor conservative, Republican nor Democrat." They say instead that they are "a public interest organization devoted exclusively to protecting the basic civil liberties of all Americans."

Roger Baldwin, the founder and main inspiration in the ACLU until his death in 1981, showed it's partisan nature and agenda stating:

"I am for Socialsim, disarmament, and ultimately for abolishing the state itself as an instrument of violence and compulsion. I seek social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class, and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal. It all sums up into one single purpose-the abolition of dog-eat-dog under which we live."

This attitude and spirit has followed the ACLU throughout it's history. You can judge this through what it does more than what it says. It can be seen clearly if one only pays attention.

"Social reform, in a liberal direction, is the sine qua non of the ACLU. Its record, far from showing a momentary wavering from impartiality, is replete with attempts to reform American society according to the wisdom of liberalism. The truth of the matter is that the ACLU has always been a highly politicized organization."Source

The public saw first hand in 1988 how the ACLU was involved in politics. "The portrayal of the ACLU as a radical liberal lobby reached its climax in the 1988 presidential campaign when George Bush used ACLU membership as a black mark against his opponent Michael Dukakis.

The perception had taken root that the ACLU of 1988 has about as much to do with civil liberties as the AT&T of 1988 has to do with telegraphs".

"Still, unwilling to believe the evidence at hand, the ACLU commissioned a survey of the American people and their attitudes about civil liberties and the ACLU. The nationwide telephone poll, conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, was the first such survey taken by the ACLU in the Union's nearly 70 years of existence. The results were announced shortly before the book was complete."Source

Here are a few samples of the results:

62% of Americans polled said we have gone too far in protecting the rights of persons accused of commiting crimes. 78% said that protecting the "constitutional rights of criminals makes law enforcement difficult. 60% said they agree with an employer's right to drug test employees. 63% said that children should be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school. The poll never asked for opinions on the legalization of drugs or prostitution. Obviously the majority of Americans can see through the their liberal agenda.

Throughout it's history the ACLU has revealed its partisanship. It opposed the Viet Nam War. It demanded unilateral nuclear disarmament. It called for disinvestment in South Africa. It violated its own policy in order to stymie the nomination of William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court. During the eight years of the Reagan Administration, it blasted the President with one invective after another. It led the fight to defeat the confirmation of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.Source It frequently writes speeches for candidates that it likes. It lobbies its cause to Congress. And it even issues scorecards on legislators evaluating their performance according to the ACLU's own ideological measuring stick(See my sidebar link).Source

Sure they're nonpartisan, so long as you identify non-partisan as gun-grabbing Social-Security-reform-killing Democrat hacks.

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