Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
Press Release – 26 January 1999
January 26, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kerin Polla
Phone: (202) 485-3121
White Supremacist’s Presidential Choice: Senator John Ashcroft
WASHINGTON—Senator John Ashcroft’s attempts to paint himself as a moderate were stripped away yesterday, when the CEO of the now infamous Council of Conservative Citizens, named Senator John Ashcroft as a candidate he would have supported for president.
Aside from Christian right hero Pat Buchanan, Gordon Baum, head of the C of CC, said Senator John Ashcroft “comes fairly close to us on some of the social and cultural issues.” [“Both Sides” transcript, www.cnn.com, 1/24/99]
Abraham Foxman, head of the Anti-Defamation League, called the Council of Conservative Citizens a “racist and anti-Semitic group which has decided to camouflage its true agenda under a cover of conservatism.” [“Both Sides” transcript, www.cnn.com, 1/24/99]
“Senator John Ashcroft is trying to back peddle towards the center, but this incident proves that his base of support is the extreme right,” Joe Hansen, DSCC Executive Director said today.
Senator Ashcroft had planned to run for president, but when Governor Mel Carnahan entered the race just one day into the 2000 cycle, Ashcroft was forced to abandon his quixotic dream of the presidency to focus on his dream of holding his Senate seat at home.
“Because Senator Ashcroft is out of touch with Missouri’s voters, he is in for the political fight of his life,” Hansen said. “It is sad to think that those fighting on his team are white supremacists who hope to reverse the civil rights strides America has made since the 1950s.”
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