Discussing the ACLU

Check out this bit of email dialogue between Jay at Stop The ACLU and a sometime reader.

Original email from Travis to Jay:

Dear Jay

I probably have some agreement with you that the ACLU takes seperation of church and state way too far.I don't see that a prayer at a graduation is any violation of a so-called seperation of church and state.Jay my problem arises when we look at some of the ultra conservative ideas to expand we have seen lately from the Bush Administration when it comes to shredding our Fourth Amendment and on those issues I'm thankful for the ACLU.In addition with our economy going into a tailspin in part because of the supply-side economics and sillly idea that the markets can regulate themselves of BUsh and MCCain.What I"m trying to say Jay is that the GOP and far right wing pro corporate agenda of the right is almost as sickening as some on the hyper secular left that you talk about.Look we are in a mess Jay, and its not democrats its the 6 years of GOP policy from 2000-2006 so when you combine your rehetoric against the ACLU with rhetoric attacking Obama and complimenting Bush and McCain you have destroy your credibility.TThere are many on the left who are not part of the secular left and would have some agreement with you but any effort to join the GOP team and group together absolutely destroys your credibility and doesn't help our cause to fight for more relisgous liberties and unlike you something i cherish "civil liberties.

Travis

Jay's response to Travis:

I'm gonna guess that you are a conservative leaning libertarian. I could be wrong, with the way you talk about the "right wing" though. However, I proudly call myself a conservative, and embarrassingly call myself a Republican. It isn't about party. I don't disagree with everything the ACLU does. I just think they are a fraud and dangerously misguided far to the left. I believe in civil liberties. I just think the ACLU take those liberties too far, to a dangerous level. Their advocacy of having child molesters live across the street from playgrounds and elementary schools is too far for me. Their advocacy that looking at child porn should be freedom of speech is too far. Their hypocrisy in fighting against listening in to phone calls to known terrorist over privacy issues while keeping a database of their member's personal financial history is too far. Their attacks on free speech for Christians are too far, and on top of that hypocrisy they have restricted their own board member's speech. I don't want to stop the defending of the bill of rights. I want to stop the perversion of the Constitution. I also want to stop taxpayer funding paying the ACLU's cases they convince left wing judges of, that the majority of American taxpayers don't agree with. I'm tired of these legal groups destroying the foundation of our Constitution. If homosexuals want equal rights, then convince enough people to amend the Constitution like they did for abolishing slavery. They only hurt their cause when they convince judges to push it on a population not ready to accept it. Then they only get reactions from politicians ready to represent the will of the people who put Constitutional amendments to ban such things before the people. The people react, just as you would expect, and it makes everything that much harder. They hurt their own cause by going the route of the judiciary. The ACLU is a partisan organization that should not receive any tax exemption as they do. They separate their organization into two so they can lobby and play the courts. They are evil.

Check original post for links.

My take? Cease paying the ACLU with taxpayer dollars every time they file a lawsuit. If the ACLU contributors had to cover the cost of court cases, maybe it's supporters would provide some oversight of the ACLU's activities. Right now, despite the merit of cases, the ACLU files lawsuits with abandon because it knows that payment is assured. Win or lose, the ACLU is paid. It shouldn't be that way. Losses in court should lead to the ACLU digging in its own pocket.