ACLU: Conceived In Tyranny

Investors Business Daily ^ | September 21, 2006

[NCjim]

The Enemy Within: From the beginning, the American Civil Liberties Union has aligned itself with America's adversaries. Its unrelenting strategy has been to twist our Constitution into a weapon against American values and security.

ACLU founder and longtime executive director Roger Baldwin's infamous quote still haunts his organization today, a quarter-century after the radical activist's death:

"I am for socialism, 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's a statement that's been repeated and reprinted so many times, some Americans might be numbed rather than outraged upon hearing it again. But it's no urban legend. The man who started the organization that claims to be the leading safeguard of the U.S. Constitution did say it, along with plenty of statements mirroring those sentiments.

Baldwin was already steeped in communist thought when in the late 1910s he jump-started the American Union Against Militarism, which was established to oppose the U.S. effort in World War I. Within the AUAM — the progenitor of the ACLU — Baldwin formed the Bureau of Conscientious Objectors to defend war resisters. He also joined the anti-war socialist People's Council.

In 1918, Baldwin pleaded guilty to his own draft dodging and was sentenced to a year in prison. He told his local draft board he refused to perform military service and "any service whatever designed to help the war." He opposed the draft in principle, during war or peacetime, or "for any purpose whatsoever."

[mugs99]

ACLU would destroy Christianity
The majority of the ACLU membership is Christian. Roger Baldwin was an ordained Presbyterian minister.
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[piasa]

ping

[Sam Cree]

As long as the ACLU uses the Constitution as an ideal (or pretends to), they are bound to at least occasionally do something right.

The only thing is, my impression is that their actual intent is to use the Constitution in such a way that it would destroy the original concept and ideals for which the document was written.

I don't know whether or not the ACLU follows the "Constitution is a living breathing document" mantra, but I assume they do, adapting it as needed to fit whatever cause they may espouse.

I strikes me that there is not very much hard knowledge here on FR regarding the actual inner thinking of ACLU leadership, beyond the observation of their actions.

I personally know only one ACLU card carrying member; he is an avowed socialist. A very nice person, strangely.

[mugs99]

It strikes me that there is not very much hard knowledge here on FR regarding the actual inner thinking of ACLU leadership, beyond the observation of their actions
No, there isn't. I was one of the ACLU haters here on FR. It was not until I lost a bet on Conservative members of the ACLU that I delved deeper into it. Did you know that the ACLU works with the American Conservative Union?

I too believed the ACLU was a bunch of commie Christian haters. I was literally shocked to find out I was wrong. I think the impression that the ACLU supports a living Constitution comes from the cases that make the news. Very few ACLU cases are ever mentioned by the media. The ACLU is the only organization in the country that actively defends the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They may not do as good a job as we would like, but they're the only game in town.

I personally know only one ACLU card carrying member; he is an avowed socialist. A very nice person, strangely.
Lol...Nothing strange about it. The ACLU has an abundance of socialists and so does the Democrat and Republican parties. The difference is that he admits it. Most socialists, including those here on FR, don't even think of themselves as socialists let alone admit it.
Like it or not, and being a libertarian I don't, we are a socialist nation and have been since the thirties.
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[Sam Cree]

I can't say that I know who the American Conservative Union is.

I don't know if we are exactly a socialist nation, but we certainly are in many ways, even the most fundamental one - we seem to have adopted the concept that a central authority such as the federal government should shape and arrange society in the interests of the common good. Our president himself is a follower of that concept as far as I can tell. So, I believe, is most of the nation, conservative or liberal alike...this indicates to me a general lack of actual undelying guiding principles, which the citizenry should be using, but aren't, as reference for deciding what role of government should play in whatever current issues compete for attention. But given that, no wonder they expect some authority to decide everything.

Interestingly, I have heard my socialist friend (retired college prof, of course) refer to himself as a "closet Republican," - he's a supporter of RKBA, an opponent of affirmative action, and thinks we ought to "nuke the terrorists." OTOH, he usually follows the Dem Party line, although he thought Clinton should have resigned.

Conversely, I am also friends with an elderly couple who escaped from a Warsaw Pact nation many years ago and made their way to the US. They explicitly refer to Bush as a socialist. I relayed that comment to my socialist friend, who enjoys discussing politics with me - after some relflection, I think even he is ready to agree.

[mugs99]

They explicitly refer to Bush as a socialist.
They're right, he is.

Interestingly, I have heard my socialist friend (retired college prof, of course) refer to himself as a "closet Republican," - he's a supporter of RKBA, an opponent of affirmative action, and thinks we ought to "nuke the terrorists."
Lol! Closet Republican...I like that.
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[do the dhue]

Then answer me this:

Congress shall pass no law to establish a religion or limit the free exercise thereof.

A cross on a hill or a prayer in school or the ten commandments in a court room does not establish a religion. Only an act of Congress does.

If you take down the Cross on the hill, or remove prayer from school, or remove the ten commandments, then you limit the free exercise thereof.

If you are Christian, why in the world would you stand for limiting the free exercise of religion? Are the 'Christians' in the ACLU truly Christian or am I just hearing spew?

Actions speak louder then words.

[mugs99]

A cross on a hill or a prayer in school or the ten commandments in a court room does not establish a religion. Only an act of Congress does.
I agree with you on the cross on the hill, and the ten commandments in the court room does not bother me. I don't even care about the school prayer.

But, if we allow those then we must allow this:

And this does bother me.
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[<1/1,000,000th%]

...and sole control by those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal."

Isn't this a contradiction?

[syriacus]

In the 1940s, Baldwin led the campaign to purge the ACLU of Communist Party members.

Did his campaign succeed?

[mugs99]

Did his campaign succeed?
Yes. The Communist Party was big in America. His book, "A New Slavery" awakened Americans to the danger of Communism and caused the downfall of the Communist Party in America. That downfall led to the House unAmerican activities hearings.
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[syriacus]

But, if we allow those then we must allow this

We already have "enforced" Muslim prayer in schools.

NYC OK'S PRAYER IN SCHOOL - - FOR MUSLIMS

Chicago Public Schools set up Muslim Prayer Rooms

Chicago Schools Create Prayer Room for Muslims

Prayers room, Picture of Mecca

Rock Bridge accommodates Muslim students: "It sounds like we set up a mosque

I used the word enforce, because the Muslim students who don't make good use of the state established prayer rooms are probably "ratted out" to their local imams.

I feel sorry for any Muslims who came to America in order to practice their faith in a more relaxed manner than they were forced to practice it in the old country.

Fat chance their school-age kids will get to distance themselves from Islam, in "the land of the free."

[mugs99]

They are trying to do an end run around the court rulings by using separate "prayer rooms". I'm surprised no Christian group has challenged this. They could even get help from the ACLU just like Jerry Falwell did.

[Fedora]

The ACLU has gone through periods when it was more and less communist/socialist in its national leadership. Its roots lay in the WWI antiwar movement, and during that period (before it was called the ACLU), the nucleus of the ACLU worked closely with the US arm of Lenin's international organization, in cooperation with Germany's espionage/sabotage apparatus. In this context it sowed the seeds of what became CPUSA, and CPUSA and the ACLU were closely intertwined throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s. A close relationship with CPUSA continued until the late 1930s, about the time of the Soviet purge trials (which along with the Nazi-Soviet alliance alienated many American leftists from CPUSA). At this time the ACLU's Morris Ernst secretly became an informer for the FBI and agreed to promote the internal purge of CPUSA elements mentioned previously in the thread. From about this time until the Vietnam War, the ACLU was less influenced by CPUSA, though some pockets of CPUSA influence remained in elements linked to more radical civil liberties groups like the NLG. The NLG element regained a foothold during the course of the 1960s, though an element tied to William Kunstler and the Center for Constitutional Rights, and has gained increasing influence in the organization since the Vietnam War. I have seen some recent indications of conservative attempts to counter this trend by encouraging cooperation between the ACLU and less radical civil liberties groups, but there is certainly a strong element of the ACLU that remains aligned with the CCR and similar groups.

[mugs99]

At this time the ACLU's Morris Ernst secretly became an informer for the FBI
Secretly? Ernst was a strong supporter of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Ernst and Hoover were old friends. There was no secrecy involved.

Care to cite the source of this copy and paste?
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[do the dhue]

I understand your concern, but we do not have to allow a violent religion to spew its spew. If worshipers kill in the name of God, this action does not have to be accepted by any people.

If those worshiping Allah, wish to pray in peace and not harm any person, then I say they have the right to do so. They must be stopped when they wish to kill the infidel though.

[SvdByFaith]

Does anyone know of any Bill Clinton/ACLU links? My mother-in-law is a dem. and loves Bill Clinton. He can do no wrong in her eyes. He was the BEST president we ever had...in her eyes. It's very hard to get her to read or listen to anything negative about him.

She hates the ACLU and what they're doing to Christianity. She sends out emails about destroying the ACLU and I was wondering if anyone knows of any news stories linking him to the ACLU? I've been trying to find one and keep coming up with nothing.

[do the dhue]

We already have "enforced" Muslim prayer in schools.

Then how about someone telling me why a Christian can not pray in school?

[mugs99]

I agree, but I still don't want to see a Madrassa in a public school.

[do the dhue]

While the bulk of the ACLU's cases involve the First Amendment, Equal Protection, Due Process, and the right to privacy (see, e.g., the Louisiana chapter [9]), the organization has taken positions on a wide range of important issues. Broadly, the ACLU supports:


Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa speaking at an ACLU event. Villaraigosa is a former board member and president of the ACLU Southern California affiliate.separation of church and state; under this mandate, the ACLU:
Opposes the government-sponsored display of religious symbols on public property;
Opposes official prayers, religious ceremonies, and some kinds of "moments of silence" [10] in public schools or schools funded with public money;
full freedom of speech and of the press, including school newspapers;
reproductive rights, including the right to use contraception and to have an abortion;
full civil rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people, including government benefits for homosexual couples equal to those provided for heterosexual ones;
affirmative action as a means of redressing past discrimination and achieving a racially diverse student body [11];
the rights of defendants and suspects against unconstitutional police practices;
the decriminalization of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and marijuana [12];
privacy as it "works to preserve the American tradition that the government not track individuals or violate privacy unless it has evidence of wrongdoing." [13]
immigrants' rights by "challenging unconstitutional laws and practices, countering the myths upon which many of these laws are based." [14]
The ACLU has opposed some campaign finance laws such as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which it considers an inappropriate restriction upon freedom of expression. It does not have a policy of blanket opposition to all laws on campaign finance.

Regarding gun control laws, the official policy of the national ACLU argues that the Second Amendment is "intended mainly to protect the right of the states to maintain militias to assure their own freedom and security against the central government" and is not intended to "confer an unlimited right upon individuals to own guns or other weapons." [15]

The ACLU has been noted for vigorously defending the right to express unpopular, controversial, and extremist opinions from any part of the political spectrum.


To many things the ACLU stands against that I believe in. My money goes to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).