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I think I can be annoyed with the ACLU IN PARTICULAR for their recent track record which runs away from the principled defense of civil rights in the abstract, even defending the most unpalatable of parties for the sake of achieving good precedent for everyone, and towards defense of the rights of particularized subgroups whose interests sometimes run counter to the larger popuplation.
I'm sure their policy positions are internally consistent, Birthright Citizenship is a 'civil right' after all. But their choice of which principles to defend has been suspect to me since I noticed they decline to treat the Second Amendment with the same deference as the rest. My BIG issue with them came when they threw religious liberty under the bus since they wanted to ensure that gays could force people to bake wedding cakes.
Where in the hell do they derive "The Right to Equal Treatment" anyway?
I made a donation to the ACLU because one of their canvassers approached me on the streets of Portland, Oregon in July of 2011. I gave them $20. I felt a little warm and fuzzy about this at the time.
I've wanted my money back ever since.
So anyhow, if they want to argue Originalism one day and living constitutionalism the next, especially with regard to different issues, that is their prerogative.
I don't think I'm required to respect them for it.
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