Is the ACLU a Liberal Organization? August 24, 2007

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2007/06/18/Anthony_Romero_In_Defense_of_America

Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, challenges mainstream characterizations of the ACLU as a strictly liberal organization.

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"In Defense of America: Fighting A Different Kind of War, Without Becoming A Different Kind of Country" with Anthony Romero, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

President Bush says the U.S. is fighting a "different kind of war," but does that mean it must become a different kind of country? Rather than justifying the usurpation of constitutional powers, this war demands that we stick to our core values more strongly than ever, says the ACLU. Romero shares examples from the legal war that he has been fighting at home.

Anthony D. Romero is the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, the nation's premier defender of liberty and individual freedom. He took the helm of the 87-year-old organization just four days before the September 11, 2001 attacks. Shortly afterward, the ACLU launched its national Safe and Free campaign to protect basic freedoms during a time of crisis. Under Romero's leadership, the ACLU gained court victories on the Patriot Act filed landmark litigation on the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody, and filed the first successful legal challenge to the Bush administration's illegal NSA spying program.

Romero, an attorney with a history of public-interest activism, has presided over the most successful membership growth in the ACLU's history and more than doubled national staff and tripled the budget of the organization since he began his tenure. This unprecedented growth has allowed the ACLU to expand its nationwide litigation, lobbying and public education efforts, including new initiatives focused on racial justice, religious freedom, privacy, reproductive freedom and lesbian and gay rights.