STOP The ACLU SPECIAL BLOGBURST: Interview With William A. Donohue

Crossposted from STOP THE ACLU

William H. Donahue is the President of the Catholic League
for Religious and Civil Rights based in New York. He received his Doctorate
in Sociology from NYU in 1980. He is the author of three books, two of which
are very critical on and revealing of the ACLU. We have quoted from his books
on numerous occasions so it was quite an honor when he returned my call
requesting an interview.

His first book, The Politics
of the American Civil Liberties Union, was published in 1985. His second
book, The New Freedom:
Individualism and Collectivism in the Social Lives of Americans, was written
while Bill was a Bradley Resident Scholar at The Heritage Foundation; it
appeared in 1990. Bill's third book, Twilight of Liberty: The Legacy of the ACLU, was
published in 1994 by Transaction Press; a new afterward to this book was
published in 2001. Source

It was an honor that Mr. Donahue took time from his schedule to allow us an
interview. It was even more encouraging that he had heard of Stop The ACLU and
expressed his appreciation for what we do. I recommend reading his books to
anyone that is interested in learning more about the ACLU and how their actions
are actually harming civil rights.

Our conversation was very laid back and informal. After some small talk and
introductions I started the interview asking Mr. Donahue his general opinion of
the ACLU. Mr. Donahue's answers will be quoted in the American Flag quotes.

I believe that the American Civil Liberties Union is based upon a
noble purpose. However, they often work against that very purpose due to a radical
interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I wrote about this
extensively in my third book, Twilight of Liberty: The Legacy of the
ACLU where I focused on how their view of liberty actually works against
itself. They are an arm of the radical left. In my first book, The Politics
of the American Civil Liberties Union, I also exposed just how phony their
claim of being non-partisan is. The ACLU is not non-partisan. Social reform, in a liberal
direction, is the sine qua non of the ACLU. Its record is far from showing
impartiality. It is full of attempts to reform American society according to
the ideals of liberalism. The truth of the matter is that the ACLU has always been a highly politicized
organization.

In your opinion is the ACLU simply misguided or do they actually have a more
malicious motive and agenda?

I have asked myself that question a million times or more. I guess
that I think that some of them are just wrong headed and sincere while others
are actually more malicious and seeking to actually destroy America from its
foundation. Some that are just misguided yet sincere truly believe that they
have to defend the extremist speech in order to protect all free speech. Others
are actually malicious.

Norman Siegal is one of the few who I believe to be honest and sincere in their
passion for civil liberties. He has at least come out and debated his point of
view and that is something that is due some respect. So many others are cowards
with another agenda that works against the best interest of the
country.

At this point I asked Mr. Donahue about other ACLU members that had come into conflict with the organization over their own views and
his opinion on their sincerity. I specifically asked about Natt Hentoff.

Read the entire interview at Stop The ACLU

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