Bernard Madoff May Be a Hero When It's All Said and Done

First, we learned that the three largest abortion providers in America, including Panned Parenthood, were facing serious financial problems after one of their cash cows, the Picower Foundation, was wiped out by the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme. Now, it turns out that Picower and another Madoff victim, JEHT, were also bankrolling the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Don't let the euphoria over Obama fool you. Liberal activism may be headed for some hard times.

The American Civil Liberties Union, impacted by the unfolding economic crisis, laid off ten percent of its national workforce this week. Thirty-six staffers lost their jobs, including five in the Washington, D.C. legislative office, a source familiar with the firings told the Huffington Post.

A source in the ACLU's Washington office confirmed that there had been layoffs, but couldn't confirm the details. The ACLU has two separate Washington offices: a local branch that works on District of Columbia issues and an arm of the national ACLU, which works on legislative issues. The layoffs impacted the legislative office -- though the District office is not necessarily immune to a budget shortfall.

The loss of the staffers means a likely reduction in influence for the civil liberties organization just as Democrats begin to push a legislative agenda as ambitious as any since the mid-sixties. Liberal advocacy organizations have been hit hard across the board by the economic downturn, as donations have fallen off and returns from investments have gone negative.

UDPATE: Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, issued a statement to the Huffington Post explaining the layoffs. Two foundations that had heavily backed the ACLU were wiped out by fraudulent hedge-fund manager Bernard Madoff.

UPDATE II: Sources familiar with the ACLU's situation say that the two major foundations were the JEHT and Picower Foundations, which were wiped out by Madoff. Another major ACLU donor, Peter Lewis, has also been pounded by the economic crisis. Lewis' centrality to the funding of progressive organizations is hard to overstate. The name of the ACLU's Washington office is "The Peter B Lewis Center for Civil Liberties."