01/18/2001 Clarion News Service.
It seems a shame that just a day after the national
holiday set aside to honor the hopeful message of Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. that the country witnessed the formal opening of what is sure to be
one of the nastiest episodes of race baiting in recent history. I refer
to the nomination fight over former Senator John Ashcroft for Attorney
General.
Even before the first question was asked, there was
already a steady drumbeat of allegations by opponents that the nominee
was a closet racist, and Democrat senators wasted no time on Tuesday in
continuing that smear. The general strategy in these affairs is to throw
as much mud as possible and hope that something sticks.
As in any war, truth is always the first casualty.
That Mr. Ashcroft is a conservative, who has opposed affirmative action
in his political career, is not in controversy. That that or any of his
other political positions make him a racist is absurd.
And yet, no doubt, there are many who are more than
willing to believe that charge. After all, not only is he a conservative
and a Republican, but he is a white male! Strike three!
In an effort to score ideological points, liberal Democrats
are more than willing to rub salt in the fresh wounds of the black community
over the recent election fiasco. Many African-Americans believe, not totally
without some basis, that they were disenfranchised by obsolete voting
equipment, confusing ballots or worse. Now by tarring Ashcroft as a bigot,
those emotions will be fanned even higher, but for what purpose?
Is this path likely to lead to the new spirit of bi-partisanship
that our new President has called for and the country so desperately needs?
Not bloody likely! Instead we seem to be headed for a replay of the Clarence
Thomas 'high-tech lynching' and other confirmation debacles of the recent
past.
These battles inevitably leave deep scars in the body
politic and will surely poison the political atmosphere in Washington.
And guess who the real losers will be? All Americans of every race, creed
and political persuasion who would like to see the nation's business conducted
in a more dignified manner.
It is clear that the liberals real aim here is to sabotage
the infant Presidency of George W. Bush, so they can regain control of
the Congress in two years and the White House in four. Despite all the
sugary talk of bi-partisanship, this is power politics pure and simple,
but it is also a dangerous game for our country.
We can not risk four more years of the kind of paralysis
that has gripped the country for most of the Clinton years. The people's
business and the problems of the world are just too pressing. Please don't
stand by and let a good man be slandered.
I learned all I needed to know about John Ashcroft
when I saw how he handled his recent close defeat for re-election after
the tragic death of his opponent. Rather than follow the many possible
avenues of litigation that were open to him to overturn that questionable
result, he did the right thing and conceded. If Al Gore had half of that
integrity, our country would be a whole lot better off right now.
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