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John Ashcroft -- The Best Man For the Job
(No. 7, January 18, 2001)The following are recent quotes on President-Elect Bush's nomination of Senator John Ashcroft for the office of U.S. Attorney General.
"Ashcroft is certainly conservative, and he is certainly religious. But 88 percent of his fellow citizens report that religion is important or very important in their lives, a figure that has barely varied over the past 20 years. Seventy percent or more believe the nation would be better off if it were more religious, and 79 percent favor prayer or at least a moment of silence in the public schools. So who's out of the mainstream on this?
"Ashcroft strongly opposes abortion on moral grounds; 55 percent of the people say it is 'morally wrong most of the time.' The nominee would like to see sharp restrictions on when an abortion would be legal; only 28 percent of Americans think it should be legal under any circumstances. He absolutely opposes partial-birth abortion; so do 66 percent of Americans. Who are the extremists on this issue? ...
"Actually, none of these left-wing, ideological attacks on Ashcroft's beliefs has much real meaning, because he has already demonstrated, as attorney general of Missouri, that he is perfectly capable of following the law as it is, rather than as he might wish it were. ...
"Maybe it is difficult for his liberal opponents to believe that he could so carefully separate his personal views from his task as chief enforcer of the nation's laws, because liberals have so much trouble doing that themselves. But we believe he can and will do so, and that the American 'mainstream' which was invoked so frequently at his hearings will be well served, and satisfied with the job he will do."
(The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Editorial, 1/18/01)"Extremists committed to tearing Mr. Ashcroft down should pause to remember the Senate's role in reviewing the president's choice. Sen. Joseph Biden, now a leading Democratic opponent of his former Senate colleague, John Ashcroft, once observed that 'the advise and consent responsibility of the Senate does not permit us to deprive the president of the United States from being able to appoint that person or persons who have a particular point of view unless it can be shown that their temperament does not fit the job, that they are morally incapable, or unqualified for the job or that they have committed crimes of moral turpitude.' No one believes this of Mr. Ashcroft. In 1993, Republicans overwhelmingly supported Mr. Clinton's choice for attorney general, Janet Reno, despite her opposition to the death penalty. "Mr. Biden should remember his own words. He should call off the special interest, partisan attack dogs. Now. The president should have his choice for an attorney general who is pre-eminently qualified and who will enforce all laws evenhandedly.
"John Ashcroft will clean up the Justice Department after eight years of scandal. He will recommend judges who interpret, not rewrite the law. Under John Ashcroft, we will have a Justice Department which does not look away, but looks to put criminals away. Under John Ashcroft, we will have a Justice Department which seeks cooperation with state and local officials rather than usurpation of state and local authority. Under John Ashcroft, we will have an attorney general who will adhere to the rule of law faithfully and enforces the rule of law fearlessly."
(Charlie Condon, The Washington Times, 1/18/01)" ... After all, if Ashcroft were truly a racial neanderthal, how could he have spent 25 years in public office and five times been elected -- twice to the job of attorney general -- without anyone in Missouri ever noticing? ...
"But facts rarely matter to witch-hunters. At Tuesday's confirmation hearing, Senator Edward Kennedy slammed Ashcroft for not having leaped to embrace massive interdistrict school busing in St. Louis.
" 'How costly was this going to be,' he shouted, 'before you were going to say that those kids going in lousy schools, that you were going to do something about it?' Does the senator from Boston -- where busing led to racial hatred, civic trauma, educational failure, and classrooms more segregated than ever -- still believe that forcing thousands of kids to take long rides to unfamiliar neighborhoods far from home is the way to 'do something' about lousy schools? Or did he just want an excuse to yell at Ashcroft on live TV? ...
"Ashcroft's enemies want to bring him down because he is a religious conservative, but they lack the integrity to admit it. So they smear him as a racist, a misogynist, a gun nut. The dress him up in a white robe and hood. They paint him as a zealot from the right-wing fringe. But it is they who are the zealots on the fringe. In their willingness to shred the good name of this admirable man, they are -- yet again -- beneath contempt."
(Jeff Jacoby, The Boston Globe, 1/18/01)"It is sad, in fact pathetic, that I must take the time to respond to charges that John Ashcroft is a racist committed to overturning Roe v. Wade if he is confirmed as attorney general. There is not a shred of evidence to support these allegations. ...
"It is unfortunate that Mr. Ashcroft's critics have decided that they would rather destroy his reputation than have an intelligent discussion of the issues on which they disagree with him, including the role of the federal government in issuing mandates to the states and the American people in the areas of education, civil rights and crime prevention. As Mr. Ashcroft's record during his years as Missouri governor clearly shows, he is not only not a racist, he appointed more blacks to positions in Missouri state government than any of his Democratic predecessors.
"As an African-American who has had the opportunity to know, and work with, Mr. Ashcroft, I certainly hope that Americans, including members of the African-American community, will take the time to learn firsthand about his commitment to affirmative access and inclusion of African-Americans and other minorities in all facets of American life. If my hope becomes a reality, it will go a long way in showing the liberal left that it is no longer acceptable to engage in character assassination by attaching the racist label to such a good and decent human being."
(Jerry M. Hunter, served as director of the Missouri Department of Labor under Gov. Ashcroft from 1986-89, and as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board from 1989-93; The Wall Street Journal; 1/18/01)" ... Most Americans applauded Al Gore's choice of Joe Lieberman as a man of faith, but not even Joe could defend the letter of Jewish law and practice if it were maligned by the likes of those distorting Mr. Ashcroft's fundamentalist faith. ...
"A person of faith of necessity must show flexibility if put in a public position that conflicts with personal faith. Jack Kennedy understood that obligation when he promised he wouldn't look to the Vatican to tell him how to run the American government, and some of the people harassing John Ashcroft today were perfectly satisfied with JFK's promise (as they should have been). An attorney general who opposes abortion can be trusted not to interfere with the rights of women to choose if we can trust an attorney general who opposes capital punishment not to interfere with a state's right to exact that punishment.
"If John Ashcroft's belief would lead him to counter the law, he should say so, and withdraw. There has been no suggestion of such conflict in his 16 years of public service. In fact, it's difficult to imagine that he could make as many disastrous decisions as Janet Reno if he tried, and no one cares whether she dances or who she dances with, or how loud she prays.
"The most important qualifications Mr. Ashcroft has exhibited are those dismissed by his critics as clichés -- Integrity, character, principle. He can be the wallflower at the inaugural ball or continue to pray at his office, but unless he stops the rest of us from dancing or forces us to kneel in prayer, he should be confirmed as attorney general. ... "
(Suzanne Fields, The Washington Times, 1/18/01)"I know him to be a truthful man. I believe him when he says he will live by the oath he takes to uphold and enforce the laws of this land, even those he disagrees with. ... Therefore, I will vote to confirm John Ashcroft."
(Georgia Democrat Senator Zell Miller, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1/18/01)
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