| ACLU Receives Incredible Donation |
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| Thursday, June 19, 2008, 9:25 am | |
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ACLU Unveils Big Expansion Plans for U.S. Heartland By David Crary AP National Writer Thu, Jun. 12 2008 10:10 AM ET NEW YORK (AP) - TheAmerican Civil Liberties Union announced by far the largest fundraisingcampaign in its 88-year history Monday, eying a dramatic expansion ofits work on social justice issues in relatively conservative statessuch as Texas and Florida. The campaign's goal is $335million, with $258 million already raised through behind-the-scenessolicitations over the past year, ACLU executive director AnthonyRomero said. Major donors include billionaire financier George Soros, who gave $12 million through his Open Society Institute. "Thepurpose is to build a civil liberties infrastructure in the middle ofthe country — where battleground states are often under-resourced andour efforts are most needed," Romero said. He cited issues suchas immigrants' rights, gay rights, police brutality and opposition tothe death penalty as causes that would be pursued vigorously as theACLU expanded in heartland states. At present, the ACLU's biggestoffices are in the Northeast, the Pacific states and Illinois; targetsfor expansion include Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, NewMexico and Tennessee, with even the smallest ACLU affiliates in line toget extra funding to hire new attorneys and launch new advocacyprograms. Copyright 2008Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Romero said the ACLU envisions more than doubling thestaffs of its Texas and Florida operations, and its full-time workforce nationwide — including its headquarters and state affiliates —would increase from roughly 800 to about 1,000. Numerous new satelliteoffices would be opened. "We're going to build these offices intovibrant, muscular civil liberties machines, in places where our issuesmatter most," he said. "We've done great work in those states, butwe've always been the David to the government's Goliath." Romerosaid the fundraising campaign was designed to capitalize on a favorableclimate for the ACLU. Since he became executive director in 2001, itsannual budget has tripled to $107 million, and its membership hasnearly doubled to more than 550,000, Romero said. "It's patentlyevident that the best fundraiser for the ACLU has been George Bush andhis cadre of cronies," Romero said. "If the Republicans loses controlof Congress and the White House, we can be sure religious right will bemuch more active on the state level — our work will be critical there." Officialsof two conservative legal groups often at odds with the ACLU were notpleased by the fundraising announcement, which came during the ACLU'sannual membership conference in Washington. "The most dangerousorganization in America is trying to become more dangerous," said MikeJohnson, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. MathewStaver, founder of the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, said the ACLU"already has been an antifamily and in some cases anti-religiousliberty and anti-life organization." "Any future expansion wouldsimply increase its destructive presence and be concerning to people ofconservative, moral values," Staver said. The ACLU said itsbiggest previous fundraising campaign, to expand its endowment, endedin 2002 with a haul of about $52 million. Copyright 2008Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
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