ACLUDNC?
I saw this ad on Facebook today and wondered two things about it.
1. Did ACLU use member donations to pay for a pro-Obama ad formatted in the Obama campaign style, with the familiar blue-white center gradient? Or did the Obama campaign sponsor it or independently pick up on the ACLU petition to run their own ad, labeled as something from ACLU?
2. Did ACLU run internet ads and a thank-you petition when Dick Cheney made history by being the first US VP to stand up for gay marriage, with the same states' rights caveat, eight years earlier? VP, of course, is a lesser office, but taking that stand as a Republican in 2004 was quite notable, and celebrating that break from the then-bipartisan orthodoxy against this LGBT-rights advancement could have sped progress. If ACLU did run such an ad, was it designed to look like an ad from the GOP?
posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy at 6:23 AM
8 Comments:
I think you've beaten this horse enough. I don't have a problem with it. The ACLU has sued the admin enough to prevent itself being labeled DNC. And the Cheney thing is no big deal, I'm sure they supported Kerry and saying thanks to Cheney wouldn't have any political point.
While the ACLU is at it, they should thank the President for assasinating American citizens without due process, right? They should thank him for the executive order making it illegal to express opinions which do not support the government of Yemen. There are so many things the ACLU should be thanking him for.
Mark, thanks for your concern.
Do let me know when the ObamaDem community at large has contextualized Obama's federalist gay marriage statement with Cheney's, then I will dutifully ratchet down my emphasis of that point.
Gotta go with Mark on this, ACLU has been one of the most vocal critics of the administration and has been quite successful at exposing the government's wrongdoings.. There is nothing wrong with giving the President credit for supporting gay marriage.. (as delayed a statement that might have been ) Just because they didn't say thanks to Cheney doesn't mean they're working for the DNC, as you said vice presidency is a less significant office and that may have well been the reason.. It's not fair to imply they're in cahoots with the DNC..
I'm perplexed by why they would run such an ad. In their legal actions and public statements, they have been critical of Obama's policies.
Perhaps because I'm an ACLU donor, my thought is that they are doing this as a fundraising activity. Obama's statement, however non-novel it is, was popular amongst progressives, the same crowd that would donate to the ACLU. So why not ride its coat-tail.
The landing page does not have a Donate button, but it does subscribe the user to their mailing list. A way to followup with the user and get them to donate. At least that's what I would do.
Despite that, I think ACLU needs to stay staunchly non-partisan, and this ad, whatever the intent, gives the impression of being partisan.
This looks to be the ACLU trying all the methods of influencing politicians. They've waged court cases against the Obama admin, and criticized him harshly ("I'm disgusted with this president" -- A. Romero), and now they're showing that they can reward good behavior with words of support -- at least, words directly aimed at one issue where Obama actually moved closer to their position. I'd contend it's certainly no endorsement, though. The ACLU staff surely already knows that we members are the last people to jump on the Obama 2012 Express based on this one issue!
P.S. VLC, I don't think your link was fair to Mark.
Surely there are better ways of "influencing" the administration than by adopting its trade dress?
This is particularly ironic, since the gays threatened Obama with losing campaign contributions. ACLU should do the same, not suck up to him.
Also, too, the National Lawyer's Guild.
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