You’ve got to give it to the ACLU. It has run one of the most effective PR machines in America for nearly a century. Founded by a communist subversive, today’s ACLU has honored its founder’s vision by carrying the torch as the nation’s pro bono Fifth Column.
The ACLU is the most unpopular organization in America, but that hasn’t translated into its demise. The ACLU not only maintains a mega-million-dollar support base and an army of Useful Idiots, but, maddeningly, is still viewed as respectable in many elite circles. Even so, every time the ACLU acts according to its seditious nature, my hope is renewed that all Americans will shake themselves awake, recognizing that the image of the ACLU as a “defender of freedom” is a carefully cultivated deception. But I’m not sure what it’s going to take. The evidence against the ACLU is already decisive – given a chance, the ACLU never fails to take the side of the enemy, especially since September 11.
A small sampling of the ACLU greatest hits:
Want to put New York City commuters and tourists at risk by suing to halt perfectly constitutional, common sense policies? The ACLU does.
Want to cripple America’s intelligence gathering capability? Want overseas terror suspects to be able to communicate freely with contacts in the United States? You’ve got a friend in the ACLU…even if you have never been subject to surveillance!
The ACLU has launched an initiative called the “John Adams Project.” The unmitigated gall in defaming one of history’s greatest Americans seems suspiciously flavored by the recent success of the HBO Adams miniseries. Yes, the PR machine hums along, no matter how laughable a stretch it is for the ACLU to link itself with great men. What is it? In a nutshell, the ACLU has assembled a “Dream Team” of attorneys with an $8.5 million budget to defend terrorists currently held at Guantanamo. Who’s the primary object of the ACLU’s affection? Khalid Sheik Mohammed.
The ACLU, true to form, impugns the professionalism and competence of men and women of infinitely more honor than their accusers by referring to tribunals as a “kangaroo courts.” But could the ACLU really be so scandalized that this mass murderer will stand before a military tribunal? Could the ACLU truly be standing up for his “fundamental rights?”
What is the true purpose of a multi-million-dollar campaign to get KSM off the hook?
The ACLU explains: “The ACLU chose to focus on Mohammed’s defense, Romero said, because he appears to be “the government’s top priority in the prosecution. And whether or not they are able to convict Khalid Sheik Mohammed under these rules may well determine the fate of the almost 300 other men who are detained at Guantanamo.”
So that’s it. The ACLU wants to set KSM and 300 other terrorists free or at least make it impossible for the tribunals to serve their function. Because KSM is the worst of the worst, because he is the terrorist in custody most responsible for 9/11, the ACLU is his champion.
This PR stunt can only serve to undermine American credibility by creating the illusion – sure to be propagated by the mass media – that mass killers are somehow being denied “justice.” Think our enemies don’t appreciate the ACLU’s efforts on their behalf – on both legal and the PR fronts? Clearly, this will leave America more vulnerable to attack.
Admittedly, the ACLU is right at times when it defends individual free expression. But even in many of these cases it can’t resist defending evil. The ACLU has defended a thrice-convicted child rapist’s “right” to cruise parks for his next victim. It argues that child porn distribution can’t be disrupted lest the First Amendment’s fraying thread snap.
So even if you argue that the ACLU has done some “good,” the logical outcome of its body of work is the destruction of the ideals upon which this nation was founded. And what replaces the America we know in the ACLU’s perfect world? An America dominated by an extremist, internationalist agenda, ripe for the terrorists’ picking.
If the ACLU had a good faith interest in finding solutions to the tough questions we now face as a nation, it would have approached the Bush Administration, offering itself as a resource. Instead of being a partner for freedom and security, the ACLU has set itself as, at best an obstacle to national security, and at worst, a valuable tool for the enemy.
Hopefully, not even good PR will save the ACLU this time.
John Stephenson blogs at Stop the ACLU
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