Dear ACLU Supporter,
I’ve never done this before. In my entire seven years as the ACLU’s executive director, I have never asked you to sign a presidential petition written in appreciation and support, rather than in outrage and protest. That’s how dramatically different things can be now.
After eight years of a Bush administration that thumbed its nose at the Constitution and the rule of law, it was incredibly gratifying to see President-elect Obama in his “60 Minutes” interview affirm his intentions to reject torture and put an end to the Guantánamo prison camp and its sham military commission system which have been a stain on America’s name at home and abroad.
Just last week, you helped the ACLU run a full-page ad urging Barack Obama to take the lead on these critical issues. And now, using language strikingly similar to the words we use to describe the horrors of Guantánamo Bay, the President-elect has confirmed his promise.
I hope you felt a special sense of achievement upon hearing his close Guantánamo pledge because it wouldn’t have happened without you and the ACLU.
Watch Barack Obama’s strong words. (This will take you to CBSnews.com.) Then,
affirm your support for bold action!
Our task now is to do everything we can to maintain momentum for a January 20th executive order. Immediately closing Gitmo and shutting down the military commissions can be a powerful first step on the long road to a full restoration of our fundamental freedoms.
The naysayers are already working to snuff out our hopes for immediate action with their “go slow” warnings.
They want us to believe that our greatest aspirations for American freedom are “impractical,” “too difficult,” or “better left for another day.”
In the face of that kind of resistance, we’ve got to have Barack Obama’s back. We have to be as loud and vigorous as ever -- supporting the President-elect’s clearly-stated intentions and sweeping aside any and all objections to swift action righting the intolerable wrongs of the Bush administration.
Watch Barack Obama’s strong words. Then, affirm your support for bold action!
Don’t miss this opportunity to sign the first freedom-affirming ACLU petition of the Obama era.
Let the President-elect know that we’re eager to support energetic Day One efforts to defend freedom and advance justice.
For freedom,
Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director, ACLU
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