Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Membership in the American Civil Liberties Union is soaring and its leaders attribute the growth to one of their chief opponents: Attorney General John Ashcroft. The ACLU has seen its membership increase more than 30 percent to 400,000 since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. That far surpasses any membership increase in the organization's 83-year-old history. "The more people find out about the policies of John Ashcroft, the more concerned people get," said Laura W. Murphy, director of the organization's legislative office in Washington. "He has made himself the poster child for...

Several board members of the American Civil Liberties Union expressed concerns at a meeting yesterday over proposed standards that would prohibit board members from publicly criticizing the organization's policies and internal operations. "I cannot vote for these proposals, as I have violated them nearly every time I have written an op-ed piece or spoken to the press," said Mary Ellen Gale, an at-large member. Bennett Hammer, a board member representing the organization's New Mexico affiliate, cited examples of decisions in the last few years that he said had embarrassed the A.C.L.U. and contended that adopting the proposals would be yet...

WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Membership in the American Civil Liberties Union and similar groups has soared since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an increase that is especially noteworthy because the ACLU appears to be making significant headway among conservatives, who have traditionally despised the organization. The ACLU has signed up such prominent conservatives as former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), a firebrand whom liberals loved to hate when he was in Congress. It has formed lobbying alliances with right-leaning groups from the American Conservative Union to the Eagle Forum to Americans for Tax Reform. "You name it, we've gone into...

ACLU Membership In Florida Up 35% Since Sept. 11 Published: Jun 22, 2003 MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has seen a 35 percent jump in members and supporters since the Sept. 11 attacks. The ACLU now has 17,600 members in Florida, up from 13,000 two years ago, the group said Thursday in a news release. National membership has increased to 400,000, an increase of 50,000, during the same time span. ACLU Florida Director Howard Simon said the membership surge is primarily related to people who are worried about protecting their constitutional freedoms. ``The public is...

ACLU, Once Branded Ultraliberal, Sees Membership Surge After Sept. 11 Terror Attacks The Associated Press W A S H I N G T O N, Dec. 1 — Whether protecting the disenfranchised or standing up for the right to offend, the American Civil Liberties Union has sided with those claiming they were wronged, even if it meant a distinctly minority stand. But since Sept. 11 and the government's expansive campaign of monitoring and detention, people are turning to the 82-year-old organization to help safeguard their liberties. Among them are conservatives who made the phrase "card-carrying member of the ACLU"...