Civil Liberties in a Polarized Time: An Interview with Nadine Strossen

“In Congress, no matter how strongly I agree with somebody on some issues, I’m going to strongly disagree on others. But, it is this stance that has enabled the ACLU to work in odd bedfellow coalitions to advance our agenda.”

Nadine Strossen was not only the first female President of the American Civil Liberties Union—but also its youngest, leading the organization from 1991 to 2008. She has used her platform to forward the cause of civil liberties in the United States from Fourth Amendment issues to calling for drug liberalization. Currently a professor at New York Law School, Professor Strossen continues her work in policy by sitting on the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank dedicated to U.S. international affairs. On July 24th, Professor Strossen joined Merion West’s Erich Prince to discuss issues of civil liberties, from post-9/11 security to drunk driving checkpoints to the future of the “War on Drugs.”

The ACLU sometimes finds itself taking policy positions that fall outside of the typical partisan divide. Some policies the ACLU supports are favored by folks on the libertarian right. Other positions, such as your organization’s stance on abortion, are clearly favored by Democrats. Is the ACLU trying to steer clear of 2018’s sharply partisan politics?

The ACLU, by its own nonprofit corporation charter, is strictly non-partisan. We never take positions for or against a particular candidate, official, party or organization. Rather, we take positions on civil liberties issues, and therefore for any individual or group, we would issue either criticism or praise on an issue-by-issue basis. One of the many wonderful things about that stance is that no matter who you are or no matter how strongly I disagree with you on some issues, there are always some issues that are deeply important to both of us where we share common concerns. Hopefully, then, we can work together to advance those concerns.