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I don't understand why the EFF (and ACLU for that matter) are considered liberal. Aren't they libertarian, if anything? Don't conservatives care about privacy,

I don't understand why the EFF (and ACLU for that matter) are considered liberal. Aren't they libertarian, if anything? Don't conservatives care about privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, religious freedom, and other civil rights? Rejecting the EFF and ACLU looks to me like partisanship over country or principle: We don't care what they are doing, we're going to reject them because there is some association with liberalism. Fighting liberalism is more important than civil rights or anything else.

kazazes 11y ago
The ACLU specifically was on the opposing end of plenty of Bush-era legislation and got labeled as such. My childhood memories are pocketed with soundbites of Bill O'Reilly denouncing the ACLU as a bastion of American liberalism.
- GeneralMayhem 11y ago
  Ah, Bill O'Reilly, that endless font of rational thought and uncannily accurate characterization.
- pdkl95 11y ago
  It's not the ACLU's fault that reality has a liberal bias. (for a Bush-era, Bill O'Reilly-ish-style definition of "liberal")
- hackuser 11y ago
  > The ACLU specifically was on the opposing end of plenty of Bush-era legislation and got labeled as such. My childhood memories are pocketed with soundbites of Bill O'Reilly denouncing the ACLU as a bastion of American liberalism. They've been labeled as such for much longer than that. My point is, the label doesn't make sense. Bill O'Reilly doesn't like them because they are a threat to some of his political causes, like civil rights for people he doesn't like (prisoners, alleged terrorists, illegal immigrants, etc.). The ACLU opposes the much of what every President does - that's the main threat to civil liberties - including Obama's surveillance programs, for example.
odinduty 11y ago
The ACLU is also a liberal association[1], although I agree liberals and conservatives work together in some issues. There's no doubt about it. And yes, I think it's okay to reject them, because I am afraid of them gaining affection from everybody just to push an agenda later. If they wanted to herald digital freedom, they should have remained completely neutral in political issues, but they chose not to... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union#Positions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union...
- iza 11y ago
  How can they be neutral on issues directly related to civil liberties? It seems to me the liberal positions happen to align on issues of personal freedom, not that they are pushing a liberal agenda. edit: The only questionable thing listed is their position on gun rights.
- hackuser 11y ago
  I don't buy Wikipedia editors' version of a political debate. I don't see the ACLU take political positions; can anyone name some (based on something besides Wikipedia)?

kazazes 11y ago

The ACLU specifically was on the opposing end of plenty of Bush-era legislation and got labeled as such. My childhood memories are pocketed with soundbites of Bill O'Reilly denouncing the ACLU as a bastion of American liberalism.

GeneralMayhem 11y ago
Ah, Bill O'Reilly, that endless font of rational thought and uncannily accurate characterization.
pdkl95 11y ago
It's not the ACLU's fault that reality has a liberal bias. (for a Bush-era, Bill O'Reilly-ish-style definition of "liberal")
hackuser 11y ago
> The ACLU specifically was on the opposing end of plenty of Bush-era legislation and got labeled as such. My childhood memories are pocketed with soundbites of Bill O'Reilly denouncing the ACLU as a bastion of American liberalism. They've been labeled as such for much longer than that. My point is, the label doesn't make sense. Bill O'Reilly doesn't like them because they are a threat to some of his political causes, like civil rights for people he doesn't like (prisoners, alleged terrorists, illegal immigrants, etc.). The ACLU opposes the much of what every President does - that's the main threat to civil liberties - including Obama's surveillance programs, for example.

odinduty 11y ago

The ACLU is also a liberal association[1], although I agree liberals and conservatives work together in some issues. There's no doubt about it. And yes, I think it's okay to reject them, because I am afraid of them gaining affection from everybody just to push an agenda later. If they wanted to herald digital freedom, they should have remained completely neutral in political issues, but they chose not to... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union#Positions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union...

iza 11y ago
How can they be neutral on issues directly related to civil liberties? It seems to me the liberal positions happen to align on issues of personal freedom, not that they are pushing a liberal agenda. edit: The only questionable thing listed is their position on gun rights.
hackuser 11y ago
I don't buy Wikipedia editors' version of a political debate. I don't see the ACLU take political positions; can anyone name some (based on something besides Wikipedia)?