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Alarmed Republicans, Conservatives Swell ACLU Ranks
_POSTEDON Jun 14, 2003 - 02:12 PM |
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 Membership in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has surged dramatically
-- and a large part of that increase is from conservatives and Republicans.
That's striking, because conservatives have traditionally loathed the ACLU. So why the change?
It's because lots of liberty-minded conservatives are becoming alarmed that the
Bush administration's draconian anti-terrorism measures (such as the
police-state USA PATRIOT Act) are threatening the Constitution, the Bill of
Rights, and fundamental American liberties.
So alarmed, in fact, that they're willing to form unlikely alliances andrncoalitions in order to defend those values.
Arch-conservative former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) is now a consultantrnfor the ACLU. And the ACLU has formed lobbying alliances with conservativerngroups such as the American Conservative Union, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum,rnand Americans for Tax Reform.
In all, a whopping 100,000 new members have joined the ACLU since the Sept. 11rnattacks. The ACLU and other observers believe that a large percentage of thosernnew members are conservatives. This new conservative support has pushed the
rnACLU's membership to an all-time high: 400,000 dues-paying members.
The new funds have in turn allowed the ACLU to publicize the Bushrnadministration's war against our liberties. An example: a new $3.5 televisionrnadvertising campaign -- the ACLU's first-ever TV ad -- has a narrator saying,rn"Look what (Attorney General) John Ashcroft is doing to our Constitution," whilernhands cross out and cut up the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The USA PATRIOT Act and similar Bush administration measures have "scared a lotrnof conservatives," Bob Barr says. "They now recognize that we do have commonrnground with the ACLU."
Similarly, David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, observes:rn"On the right and left -- for different reasons and coming from different placesrn-- there is concern about the government listening to everyone's phonernconversations and reading people's mail. And when you share those kinds of
concerns with other people, you damn sure better get together with them."
Needless to say, conservatives are not embracing the whole ACLU agenda. Manyrnconservatives remain horrified at the ACLU's support of gay rights, abortionrnrights, gun control and similar non-conservative positions.
But the police state that Ashcroft and Bush seem to be busily erecting hasrnscared enough liberty-minded conservatives to convince them to make at least arntemporary, conditional alliance with liberals (and libertarians).
And for now, at least, the ACLU has positioned itself as the biggest and mostrneffective voice speaking out against the new anti-terrorism acts.
(Source: Chicago Tribune:rnhttp://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/politics/6033039.htmrn |
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