Nutroots Nation 2008 – ACLU takes a pass on Pelosi

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has apparently came, spoken and conquered at Netroots Nation earlier today. Per my blogging yesterday, I’ve heard nothing of the ACLU or ACLU of Texas, convening a press conference, let alone a protest, about Passive Pelosi™ and her FISA vote, or other things.

Note: Note only had I e-mailed the ACLU of Texas from my personal e-mail account more than once, asking if it had plans for a news conference, if not a protest or rally, for Pelosi visiting Netroots Nation, I also used my editor's newspaper company e-mail address yesterday. I got no response to either my personal or editorial e-mails.

Then, to add to the hypocrisy value, I get this e-mail from the national ACLU this afternoon:

Did you know that Congress has signed away our right to privacy?

It’s true! By making FISA law, the President and Congress have made it legal for US agencies to spy on our text messages, email, and phone calls to people outside the US, without any cause, reason or warrant. Does that sound like a right to privacy to you?

Help the ACLU overturn FISA by sharing your message of support now!

Well, I pretty much told the ACLU what it could do with the e-mail.

To me, I think the ACLU is becoming like the Sierra Club vis-à-vis younger, smaller and, yes, less co-opted environmental movements.

Has the ACLU co-opted itself at times? Well, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero teaching Fortune 500 companies how to “beat” the Patriot Act would say yes.

Now, the ACLU is not a fossil. But, on a lot of civil liberties issues in the Bush Administration, smaller groups like the Center for Constitutional Rights have often been quicker to the trigger.

Along with their other foibles, this is part of why, without being conscious of it at first, I’ve decided to drop my paid membership with both.