Yesterday on
Face the Nation, Thomas Friedman made a refrence to the Republicans turning President's illegal spy program around on the Democrats.
We're gonna put this on the Democrats. We're gonna turn you into the ACLU.
A perfect example of how much damage the Republicans have done to America's Defenders of Civil Rights. The Republican Party has enough money to buy negative images of positive places in American politics and they have used the power of propaganda to tarnish an almost selfless organization. It was a necessary step in removing the civil rights of Americans.
Decades of false accusations against the American Civil Liberties Union has also served the purpose of recreating the image of the Constitution as a flexible document, which should be readjusted at the whims of the Chief Executive.
We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis that may play out in the Neocon's favor. The obsession in Congress for constitutional amendments that would restrict Americans' individual rights would be a little harder to swallow if the status of the
ACLU was elevated.
The ACLU is the pillar of non-partisan protection of constitutional rights in America. This organization will defend any person, no matter how much they disagreed with their views, if their constitutional liberties are in danger.
The ACLU even defended Rush Limbaugh.
But only the fights picked by the ACLU that can be used to discredit these defenders of freedom seem to make it to the television sets of America. The ACLU must be salvaged from Savage Nation, which promises six million listeners on a daily basis that this Left Wing organization will be prosecuted under RICO Laws! The ACLU needs friends to ward off statements from the likes of Bill O'Reilly, who claims the ACLU is America's most dangerous organization!
Critics of the ACLU are heard far more often by the general public than any supporters. There are high traffic websites like Stop the ACLU and many Americans think of the ACLU as a defender of pornography and a proponent of turing the Boy Scouts of America into a homosexual orginazation.
The most maligned not for profit organization in America needs the help of Americans now for the defense of our freedoms. This carefully planned negative perception is most harmful to our cause.
The ACLU cannot crawl from the wreckage of the Republican spin machine without the help and support of every American who understands the true purpose of the defenders of the Constitution.
As we are shocked at Bush's use of the NSA for Domestic Spying, many Americans are sleeping soundly in the knowledge that their president is taking drastic measures to protect the public. As once again terrorism proves to be a very useful tool of the government, the average American is reassured that the President is watching over the masses.
The President has admitted his repeated violations and announced his intention to continue violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and far too many Americans are not upset by this fact. Both Bush and Gonzales are spinning with all of their minions in place and the American public's lack of understanding of the rule of law is making their spin almost plausible.
Something must be done to educate the public about our basic freedoms.
If you are not a card carrying member of the ACLU and you can afford the dues, I urge you to consider the fact that this organization is a lobbyist group for our civil rights and the fact that they only have four hundred thousand members is not very impressive when they march into courtrooms. You can join the ACLU, here.
If you are a member, have you finished your Christmas list? Perhaps you could buy a copy of ACLU Freedom Files DVD and open a few eyes. Or better yet a gift membership for good friends.
In the early days of the Patriot Act, John Ashcroft called the ACLU unpatriotic for questioning the rights lost as results of the Patriot Act and accused those who wanted those rights returned of "aiding and abetting the enemy."
At the risk of sounding critical of the Democratic Party the ACLU could have used a helping hand back then. They have shown unwavering support for the Democrats once it became obvious that the goals of the Republican Party have become to strip Americans of their basic rights.
Granted the fact that the Republican Party had succeeded in turning the ACLU into a hot potato and the perception that defending them would have cost votes was probably an accurate decision.
But today when the perception is changing, now is the time for Democratic Party to declare allegiance or at least come out in defense of The ACLU. In light of the present goings on in Washington, Liberal is becoming much less a filthy slur but in the minds of many Americans, ACLU is still a four letter word.
I have written a letter to both of my Senators, requesting a banner on their homepage for the ACLU. It is a very small step but I urge you to do the same. The least the People's Party could do is place a banner for the ACLU on the home pages of our Congressional leaders.