Leaders of more than two dozen national organizations crowded the stage of a Washington news conference to denounce the nomination of former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft to be Attorney General of the United States. It was just a tip of the iceberg of opposition that has swelled passed 200 national groups united under the umbrella of "Stop Ashcroft!"
"This campaign will educate the American public, the media, and most importantly the United States Senate about Senator Ashcroft's pubic record, the responsibility of the Attorney General, and what is at stake should the Senate vote to confirm him," said Wade Henderson at the Jan. 9 event. He is executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights ( LCCR ) , the coalition that has pressed for all of the nation's civil-rights legislation.
Henderson said that the decision was not taken lightly, but "Ashcroft's views on a range of issues … are simply too extreme. His open hostility to the very laws and policies that protect the civil rights of all individuals in our society left the LCCR no choice but to actively oppose his nomination."
He called Ashcroft "a divider not a uniter," whose selection "strips bare any pretense about bringing this country together. Only a bipartisan majority of the Senate can right this wrong by rejecting the confirmation of John Ashcroft to be Attorney General."
Nan Aron, executive director of the Alliance for Justice, charged that Ashcroft "has played politics with the judiciary for years" with "vicious and baseless attacks" on judicial nominees. "He is guilty of obstructing, not championing of justice," though lies to his colleagues about those nominees.
Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion Rights Action League ( NARAL ) , lambasted Ashcroft's strong right to life position. He "has spent his entire public career trying to undo a woman's right to choose," she said. He has even "proposed legislation that would establish life as beginning at fertilization, which could outlaw some of the most commonly used forms of birth control." She called Ashcroft's past "a harbinger of what he will do in the future."
Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, said that in the decades he has spent as legal council on the Hill and as director of the LCCR, "this is the worst executive branch nomination I have ever seen." He cited the respected National Journal as ranking Ashcroft as the most conservative Senator in 1999, "to the right of Sen. Jesse Helms."
Calling the position of Attorney General "the lawyer for all of the people," Neas said that Ashcroft "has a public record of indifferent if not outright hostility to equal opportunity for all Americans." He urged George W. Bush to "withdraw this nomination."
GAY CONCERNS
At the core of Bush's campaign was his pledge "to unite the nation," said Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) . "The nomination of Sen. Ashcroft represents the extreme antithesis of that goal."
"We are gravely concerned that an Ashcroft tenure would be more about judgement than justice," Birch said. "He has shown a strong predisposition to only support people and policies that can successfully pass through the eye of an extremely narrow ideological needle."
During his six years in the Senate, Ashcroft "has an absolutely perfect record of abandoning gay Americans at every turn," said Birch. She cited his opposition to the nomination of James Hormel as Ambassador to Luxembourg, "based not on the merits but by labels and categories." He has opposed hate-crimes laws and she questioned his ability to enforce those already on the books.
Birch asked members of the Senate "to put aside the tradition of loyalty and collegiality within that body long enough to withhold judgement so that they can seek a full and fair presentation of the facts." She was confident that would lead to rejection of the nomination.
In a discussion following the news conference, Alexander Robinson said that Ashcroft "has opposed provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act." That legislation provides legal protection against discrimination in employment and the provision of services for people living with HIV infection, explained the former member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said they had made their discomfort with Ashcroft known to the Bush organization. He did not seem inclined to publicly work against Ashcroft, nor did he criticize others for doing so. "Each organization has their role," he said.
STRATEGY AND TACTICS
Reporters questioned whether the nominee could be defeated. NOW's Patricia Ireland seemed to speak for all of those present when she said they have "a strong, grassroots, experienced, angry constituency" that recently mobilized for the fall election. She called that "a huge advantage" in fighting this battle.
Questions from reporters suggested that it would be difficult to defeat Ashcroft, and that perhaps the groups were doing it primarily to raise money from their base of supporters. Michelman found the comment "very insulting."
She said, "It is the Bush administration that should be questioned as to their motives and their intent."
Other speakers suggested that the effort would lead to further spending rather than fundraising in educating and activating their members.
It will be difficult to defeat Ashcroft. Few, if any, Senate Republicans are likely to defect from supporting Bush on one of the first votes of his administration. Perhaps the most liberal Republican, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, sings in a barbershop quartet with Ashcroft. Tafel and those on the stage in opposition acknowledge that the collegiality of the Senate is a tie that works in Ashcroft's favor and will be difficult to overcome.
Robinson calls it "a challenge for both sides" of the ideological spectrum. There are "activated, motivated constituencies" in both parties that are taking stands on principles that they represent. "Are we really serious? And to what extent is the Senate going to be held accountable?" he asked.
Later that same day, Jan. 9, Linda Chavez withdrew as nominee to be Secretary of Labor. She said that controversy surrounding whether or not she employed an illegal alien was distracting from the process of putting together a government.
HRC had been preoccupied with the Ashcroft nomination and had not yet focused on Chavez, Birch said earlier in the day. Now it will look at the nomination of Gale Norton for Secretary of the Interior, who is opposed by many environmental groups. Birch said they "probably will end up being very supportive" of opposition to Norton, but likely will not formally oppose her "because it is not really our set of issues" as an organization.
