They are very selective about which civil liberties they protect, mostly just the bizzare & twisted & offensive, the wierdest interpretations, and perversely do little for the obvious and straightforward meanings.
Example: they seek to protect child pornography as "freedom of speech" (1st Amendment), do nothing to protect normal religious or political speech, and absolutely flatly refuse to do ANYTHING to protect the 2nd Amendment.
once or twice in my lifetime the ACLU has sided with the NRA
smokescreen, in my cynical opinion.