Senate Confirms Ashcroft As Attorney General Thursday, February 1, 2001 By John P. Martin
WASHINGTON — The Senate narrowly confirmed John Ashcroft as attorney general on Thursday, ending a bruising battle over the nominee's conservative record and beliefs and handing President Bush his strongest taste yet of the Washington partisanship he has pledged to overcome.
A day and a half of debate ended at 1:40 p.m., when eight Democratic senators joined all 50 Republican senators and voted 58 to 42 to support Ashcroft, who represented Missouri as governor, attorney general and U.S. senator.
Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska joined six other Democrats who had previously pledged to back Ashcroft. The others were Sens. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Zell Miller of Georgia.
The nomination was the most contentious for any presidential nominee since Senate Democrats defeated John Tower as defense secretary in 1989. It also marked the first time the Senate had not unanimously approved an attorney general since Edwin Meese III won confirmation by a 63-31 vote in 1985.
The White House did not immediately respond to the vote.
Ashcroft was expected to be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a private ceremony late Thursday. In a statement, he promised: "I will confront injustice by leading a professional Justice Department that is free from politics; that is uncompromisingly fair; a Department defined by integrity and dedicated to upholding the rule of law. The Justice Department will vigorously enforce the law guaranteeing rights for the advancement of all Americans."
Democrats used the splintered vote to suggest that the divisions reflected in the disputed presidential election won't quickly be healed.
"It has not been a nomination that has united us," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "It literally has divided us."
But Sen. Majority Leader Trett Lott, R-Miss., ended the debate by urging his colleagues to move forward in a spirit of bipartisanship.
"Maybe the raven will be heard nevermore," Lott said, "but for evermore, you can quote me on this and remind me on this: John Ashcroft will go on to be one of the best attorney generals we've ever had."
The confirmation was widely expected, but the vote became a test of the Democrats' political muscle against a Republican-led Congress and White House.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., had said Democrats would not stall the vote but hoped to get at least 41 votes — the amount needed for a filibuster — to signal to Bush their ability to block other conservative appointees, especially to the nation's highest court.
So despite the loss, Democrats were claiming victory.
"It's a shot across the bow," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., one of the most vocal critics of the nomination. "It's a shot across the bow in terms of the Justice Department and how it conducts itself. It's a shot across the bow in terms of the Supreme Court nominations."
But Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Judiciary Committee chairman, called the battle a "disgusting" display of kow-towing by Democrats pressured by liberal special-interest groups.
"I think it will hurt them," he said. "Look, there's a basic issue of fairness in this country. They trashed John Ashcroft."
To the end, both sides squared off over Ashcroft's conservative record and beliefs.
Democrats charged that throughout his political career, Ashcroft had demonstrated insensitivity to civil rights. They questioned his role in fighting school desegregation in his home state, his visit to Bob Jones University, which once banned interracial dating, and his efforts to block several Clinton administration nominees, including Ronnie White, an African-American judge nominated for a federal judgeship, and Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee.
They also questioned whether such a vocal adversary of abortion and supporter of gun owners could enforce laws that he personally opposed.
"Suffice it to say that on issues ranging from civil rights to privacy rights, [former] Senator Ashcroft has repeatedly taken positions considerably outside of the mainstream of American thinking," said Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
But Republicans contended that Ashcroft was a man of well-known integrity and the most qualified attorney-general candidate in history. They said he had become the victim of what some called "religious profiling" spurred by a few powerful liberal special-interest groups.
"As I listen to this organized campaign against John Ashcroft, I sometimes wonder if there's not an effort to make the love of traditional values a hate crime in America," said Republican Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas. "The plain truth is we may have 'In God We Trust' on our coins, but we do not have it in our hearts."
Repeatedly, Democrats insisted religion had no role in the debate. If anything, Leahy said, questions swirled not "not because of John Ashcroft's religious beliefs but because of the level of tolerance he might show."
Outside the Capitol, leaders of the liberal coalition that spearheaded the opposition to Ashcroft painted the defeat as a victory and pledged to keep Ashcroft accountable.
"The progressive coalition stood up and they fought," said Ralph Neas, who heads People for the American Way, "and that's going to happen from now on."
But even Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who voted against Ashcroft, said he hopes the new attorney general succeeds.
"The very best thing that can happen to America," Durbin said, "is for John Ashcroft to prove me and all of his critics wrong."
Ashcroft expected to be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas...!!!!!!!
-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), February 01, 2001