ACLU Votes Out Another Board Member Who Clashed With Leaders

Posted on September 12, 2006

Just another day at the ACLU as they use the democratic method for a change to vote to oust another board member who just happens to be an internal critic.

Another American Civil Liberties Union board member who clashed with leaders of the group has been voted off the organization’s national board.

An attorney and veteran civil rights activist, John Brittain, was the only person among 12 at-large candidates to fail to get enough votes to win election or re-election, according to a tabulation done last week.

“I’m free at last, at least from the ACLU,” Mr. Brittain quipped in an interview from Washington, where he serves as chief counsel to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Mr. Brittain, who has served more than five years on the ACLU board in two stints, said he believes his ouster was tied to a recent controversy over a proposal some viewed as an attempt to prevent board members from publicly airing disagreements with the organization.

“I feel I was probably purged,” Mr. Brittain said.

The ACLU tried to get this policy to silence its own dissenters after some objected to suppressing the fee speech of pro-lifers. So, of course the logical conclusion….if you can’t shut em up kick em out! You’re holding up progress for the agenda! Of course Mr. Brittain wasn’t the first such case of purging the “weak links”.

Last year, the ACLU voted a vocal dissident, Michael Meyers, off its board. Another critic of the organization’s leadership, Wendy Kaminer, left in June after choosing not to run for re-election. However, the departure of Mr. Brittain is notable because he was rarely quoted in the press and generally confined his critiques to board meetings and online discussions among board members.

“Is the bar becoming so low that you can’t even look askance?” one current ACLU board member, who asked not to be named, said.

Asked if Mr. Brittain’s decision to tell board colleagues about the call from Mr. Spitzer’s office played a role in his defeat, a board member from Los Angeles, Alan Toy, said: “I think any board member’s actions are noticed by the other board members and the electorate at large. You represent a large group of people, and people notice things and they vote accordingly.”

Asked if there was an organized effort to oust Mr. Brittain, Mr. Toy said, “There’s always a certain amount of politicking.”

Shut up an color or suffer the consequences. Ahhh! Democracy at work in the ACLU, the guardians of free speech and dissent.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post