How the right wing made me an ACLU-supporting liberal Democrat

[Pushed To The Left]

Five years ago, I voted for Gore/Lieberman. However, in the months before, I had flirted with the idea of voting for Bush or Nader. I was pretty close to what could be called a "swing voter" at that time, even though I have to this day always voted for the Democratic presidential candidate. I disliked the ACLU, because I saw them as soft on crime and too extreme. I still had some very liberal views on issues like gay marriage and drug policy, but I prided myself on not following any party line.

In mid-2003, the Supreme Court overturned sodomy laws. Even when I was a teenager, sodomy laws made me irate! The thought of the government legislating sex between consenting adults always really bothered me. When I heard Scalia's dissent where he talked about a "culture war", and realized that the three dissenters -Scalia, Renquist, and Thomas- were the most conservative Justices, I started to feel some real hostility for the conservative ideology. When I heard the negative reactions of "family" groups and right-wing radio hosts, I saw the true colors of the conservative movement. The more I heard the right-wing speak, the more motivated I was to oppose them. It was like I was slowly waking up.

I think I started getting mail from the ACLU around the same time. I had given money to some drug policy and gay rights groups, and I had consented to let these groups share my information with like-minded groups. I ignored the mail the first few times, but after taking a closer look at what they stood for, I went ahead and became a member. It turned out I agreed with them a lot more than I thought! I started hearing their name pop up during important civil rights and voting rights news stories. I remember posting on Usenet: "I'm starting to like the ACLU!"

For the first time in my life, I actually volunteered for a political cause and phone banked for Kerry/Edwards. I went to rallies. It was a great feeling!! I discovered DemocraticUnderground in 2004 as well!
After hearing the right-wing constantly bash the ACLU and People For The American Way, I decided that I would become a monthly donor to both groups if Kerry didn't win. I wish the election results had been different, but I'm very happy to be helping these 2 progressive groups!

It's 2005 and I'm a full-fledged liberal Democrat. I am volunteering with Alliance For A Better California www.betterca.org to defeat Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's right-wing ballot measures. I will be doing some phone-banking for Planned Parenthood next week to try to defeat a sneaky anti-abortion ballot measure. I still attend several progressive meetings every month. And, because of the constant bashing of the ACLU by the right wing, I have decided to see about volunteering for them as well!

I'd like to thank the radical right wing for showing me how important it is to support the progressive movement!

[seabeyond]

1. they made me a democrat and i am not even liberal

started with going after clinton. the impeachment ect. now, i will never vote for a republican, and again i say, i am not liberal. this is what the republican did to me.

on edit: a year ago i too became an aclu member. i was having such joy with that membership, telling all

[Kurovski]

2. I enjoyed reading your personal story,

thanks for sharing it, and thanks for your activism!

[wolfgirl]

3. Welcome to the

dark side!!!! I've been an ACLU supporter for many, many years. I don't always agree with the opinions of the folks they go to bat for...but every time they go to bat, they are supporting my rights as a citizen!

Welcome!!!