As Attorney General, one of John Ashcroft\u2019s most important duties is to enforce the nation\u2019s civil rights laws. However, Ashcroft\u2019s own record on civil rights is highly suspect. One critic characterized Ashcroft\u2019s civil rights record as \u201cabout as sensitive as a hammer blow to the head.\u201d Ashcroft opposed anti-discrimination legislation and opposed gathering racial profiling statistics. He refused to sign a 1988 report on minorities, saying it was \u201ctoo negative,\u201d accepted an honorary degree from Bob Jones University and has contributed to Southern Partisan<\/i> magazine. Ashcroft suggested that Clinton ambassador nominee James Hormel\u2019s conduct was substandard because he was gay. And Ashcroft \u201claunched an all-out campaign\u201d to defeat the appointment of Judge Ronnie White, who is black, to the federal bench on the flimsy pretense that he was \u201cpro-criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashcroft Lauded <\/b>Southern Partisan<\/i><\/b>.<\/b> According to Time<\/i> columnist Jack White, Ashcroft lauded \u201cthe neo-segregationist magazine Southern Partisan<\/i>,\u201d citing \u201cthe publication\u2019s \u2018heritage of defending Southern patriots\u2019 from the Civil War such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.\u201d Ashcroft also lauded the efforts of the \u201crightwing magazine \u2026 for helping to \u2018set the record straight\u2019 on the Civil War.\u201d Ashcroft continued his interview, saying \u201cWe\u2019ve all got to stand up and speak in this respect, or else we\u2019ll be taught that these people were giving their lives, subscribing their sacred fortunes and their honor to some perverted agenda.\u201d [White column, Time<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; Los Angeles Times<\/i>, 1\/01\/01; London Guardian<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Crouch column, New York Daily News<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; USA Today<\/i>, 12\/28\/00; Associated Press<\/i>, 12\/28\/00; Washington Post<\/i>, 2\/18\/00]<\/p>\n Southern Partisan<\/i><\/b> Magazine Focuses on the Confederacy, Has Printed Racist Theories And Given David Duke Positive Coverage. <\/b>Southern Partisan<\/i> magazine is a 20-year-old publication that has featured articles defending Confederate figures and the Confederacy, and once sold t-shirts, according to the Associated Press<\/i>, \u201ccommemorating Abraham Lincoln with the phrase his assassin uttered, \u2018Thus always to tyrants.\u2019\u201d According to an analysis by the Missouri Citizen Education Fund, Southern Partisan<\/i> \u201csupported South African apartheid, prints racist theories presented in \u2018The Bell Curve\u2019 and gives positive coverage to former KKK leader David Duke.\u201d [White column, Time<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; Los Angeles Times<\/i>, 1\/01\/01; London Guardian<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Crouch column, New York Daily News<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; USA Today<\/i>, 12\/28\/00; Associated Press<\/i>, 12\/28\/00; Washington Post<\/i>, 2\/18\/00]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Ashcroft Accepted Honorary Degree from Bob Jones University.<\/b> In 1999, Ashcroft accepted an honorary degree from Bob Jones University, which critics have called racist and anti-catholic. Bob Jones University lost its tax-exempt status in 1970 for refusing to admit African-Americans. The school then changed its policy but still prohibited any interracial dating or marriage. The school did not lift its inter-racial dating ban until March 3, 2000 after presidential candidate George Bush\u2019s appearance at the school brought national scrutiny. In 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court supported an IRS decision to remove tax-exempt status from the school for its dating policy, which included rules such as \u201cstudents who date outside their own race will be expelled.\u201d In 1998, James Landrith, who is white, tried to apply to the school even though he is married to an African-American woman. According to NPR, Landrith received this response to his application: \u201cI noticed on your application that you are interracially married. Bob Jones University does not endorse this. It would be no problem for you to be a student here as long as your wife was not or vice versa.\u201d [Teepen column, Dayton Daily News<\/i>, 1\/2\/01; The Tax Lawyer<\/i>, Winter 1984; World News Digest<\/i>, 5\/27\/83; NPR<\/i>, 4\/15\/99; CNN, \u201cLarry King Live,\u201d 3\/3\/00; Associated Press<\/i>, 3\/5\/00; Globe and Mail<\/i>, 3\/9\/00]<\/p>\n Ashcroft\u2019s Record on Racial Issues \u201cHorrendous.\u201d<\/b> Columnist Jack White summed up Ashcroft\u2019s record on civil rights and race issues as \u201chorrendous,\u201d and called his stances on civil rights issues \u201cabout as sensitive as a hammer blow to the head. \u2026 Ashcroft has been on the wrong side of every social issue from affirmative action to hate-crimes legislation and women\u2019s rights.\u201d According to the Washington Times<\/i>, Ashcroft \u201creceived a grade of \u2018F\u2019 on each of the last three NAACP report cards because of his anti-progressive voting record, having voted to approve only three of 15 legislative issues supported by the NAACP and other civil rights groups.\u201d [White column, Time<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; Washington Times<\/i>, 1\/2\/01]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Opposed Approval of Ronnie White to Federal Bench.<\/b> Ashcroft waged an all-out campaign to defeat the nomination of Missouri\u2019s first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Ronnie White, to the federal bench. Ashcroft seriously distorted White\u2019s record, portraying it as pro-criminal, and anti-death penalty, and even suggested that \u201cthe judge had shown a tremendous bent toward criminal activity.\u201d Critics called the charges \u201coutright slander\u201d and \u201cflimsy,\u201d and pointed out that White \u201chad voted to uphold the death sentence in 41 of the 59 cases that came before him, roughly the same proportion as Ashcroft\u2019s court appointees when he was Governor.\u201d [London Guardian<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; New York Newsday<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Washington Post<\/i>, 1\/1\/01; Kansas City Star<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Boston Globe<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Shelly column, Kansas City Star<\/i>, 12\/28\/00; White column, Time<\/i>, 1\/8\/01; editorial, Chicago Tribune<\/i>, 1\/7\/01]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Refused to Sign Report on Improving Lives of Minorities. <\/b>Ashcroft was one of two members of a commission on America\u2019s minorities who refused to sign a final report which said that the nation was slipping in efforts to achieve equality for blacks, Hispanics and Indians. The report, \u201cOne.Third of a Nation\u201d by the Commission on Minority Participation, proposed a 20.year effort to close the gap between the races in income, education and other areas. Ashcroft indicated he found the report, which said that America had not only \u201clost the momentum of earlier minority progress\u201d but suffered reversals in the drive for full equality, \u201ctoo negative.\u201d Ashcroft\u2019s office issued a statement saying that, \u201cHe (Ashcroft) could not fully subscribe to the commission\u2019s final report because of its inordinate emphasis on federal government programs as compared to the crucial initiatives of individuals, states and localities.\u201d [Associated Press<\/i>, 5\/24\/88; UPI<\/i>, 5\/24\/88; London Guardian<\/i>, 1\/3\/01; Washington Post<\/i>, 1\/1\/01]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Opposed Anti-Discrimination Legislation. <\/b>In 1996, Ashcroft opposed legislation that would prohibited discrimination against individuals based on their sexual orientation. <\/i>\u201cI believe when we consider enacting legislation that gives special standing to a particular category of conduct, that sends a signal that says that conduct is to be elevated, it is to be approved\u2026In my view, it is clear that the signal we send in this bill is the wrong signal. It contains seed of real instability and inappropriate activity<\/i>\u2026,\u201d said Ashcroft. [Congressional Record<\/i>, 9\/6\/96, S9999-S10001; S10005]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Said Homosexuals Died Because of Their Lifestyle. <\/b>In 1996, Ashcrof said that homosexuals died because of their lifestyle saying they met an early death \u201cin part as a result of the practice, I believe, of their lifestyle, and it is a tragedy.\u201d <\/i>[Congressional Record<\/i>, 9\/6\/96, S10000]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Supporting Keeping Homosexuals Out of the Boy Scouts, the Military.<\/b> In 1996, Ashcroft said that he agreed that homosexuals should not be allowed in the Boy Scouts of America and the United States military. He said he was worried about the young people in society and who their role models were, \u201cI think there are times when young men are unsure about themselves when they are in transition, when they have identified perhaps more with their mothers than with their fathers, and they move from boyhood to manhood. Those are critical times when role models are very important.\u201d <\/i>[Congressional Record<\/i>, 9\/6\/96, S10000]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Opposed First Openly-Gay Nominee To Be Ambassador To Luxembourg. <\/b>In 1998, Ashcroft said that he voted against President Clinton\u2019s nominee to be Ambassador to Luxembourg, James Hormel, in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and that he would vote against his confirmation on the Senate floor. \u201cPeople who are nominated to represent this country have to be evaluated for whether they represent the country well and fairly. His conduct and the way in which he would represent the United States is probably not up to the standard that I would expect<\/i>. He has been a leader in promoting a lifestyle \u2026 And the kind of leadership he\u2019s exhibited there is likely to be offensive to \u2026 individuals in the setting to which he will be assigned,\u201d said Ashcroft. [Boston Globe<\/i>, 6\/24\/98]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Has Given Control of Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division to Conservative Appointees.<\/b> As Attorney General, Ashcroft has turned over control of sensitive issues in the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights division, including voting rights, to conservative political appointees. According to the Washington Post<\/i>, Ashcroft has taken this action \u201cto consolidate his control over the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division.\u201d [Washington Post<\/i>, 3\/15\/02]<\/p>\n Washington Post<\/i><\/b>: \u201cCareer Lawyers Contend Their Division\u2019s Enforcement Of Civil Rights Laws Is Being Compromised.\u201d<\/b> Ashcroft and his aides, in some cases, have limited the input of career lawyers in the department and have met with defendants without informing the career lawyers handling the case. According to the Washington Post<\/i>, \u201c[C]areer lawyers contend their division\u2019s enforcement of civil rights laws is being compromised.\u201d [Washington Post<\/i>, 3\/15\/02]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Justice Department Hired Two Conservative Operatives as Lawyers for the Voting Rights Task Force.<\/b> The Justice Department has hired two conservative operatives as career lawyers for the Voting Rights Task force: Hans A. von Spakovsky, a former board member of the Voting Integrity Project which headed the purging of Florida voter rolls of alleged felons during the 2000 election and Hugh Joseph Beard, former senior counsel for the anti-affirmative action Center for Equal Opportunity. <\/b>[Washington Post<\/i>, 3\/15\/02]<\/p>\n Justice Department Hindered Senate Committee Investigation of Pickering.<\/b> During the Senate Judiciary Committee\u2019s investigation of District Judge Charles Pickering, Viet D. Dinh, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, directed six former division lawyers and one current lawyer not to discuss \u201cinternal communications or deliberations\u201d with Senate Judiciary staff members. On February 13, during a Judiciary Committee phone-interview with former division lawyer Bradford M. Berry, Dinh faxed a letter to Senator Leahy and directed Berry not to answer any questions concerning \u201cdeliberative discussions\u201d of Pickering. [Washington Post<\/i>, 3\/15\/02]<\/p>\n DOJ Political Staff, Not Career Lawyers, Headed Consideration of Mississippi Redistricting.<\/b> Political staff at the Department of Justice\u2019s Civil Rights Division took control of Mississippi\u2019s redistricting plan and rejected the recommendation of the division\u2019s career lawyers to approve a plan created by the Democratically-controlled state legislature. Because of Mississippi\u2019s history of racial tension, the state must win Justice Department approval of its redistricting plan after each census. The delays caused by Justice\u2019s rejection of the Democratic plan allowed a panel of three Republican federal judges to draw new congressional lines that favored the GOP. As of late-November 2002, the case was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. [Associated Press<\/i>, 5\/9\/02, 11\/25\/02; Washington Post<\/i>, 3\/15\/02]<\/p>\n Esbeck Heads the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives.<\/b> Carl Esbeck was Ashcroft\u2019s choice to lead the Justice Department\u2019s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Bush created the faith-based office in the Justice Department and in four other departments with an executive order on 1\/29\/01. The offices were created to help religious organizations obtain federal funding for their social work programs. [White House Press release, 1\/29\/01; Bush Executive Order, 1\/29\/01]<\/p>\n Esbeck Wrote Law Review Article Criticizing Supreme Court\u2019s Decision against Bob Jones University.<\/b> Esbeck co-authored a 1985 article that said the Supreme Court overstepped when it ruled that the government could prohibit funds from going to religious organizations that discriminate. The Supreme Court decision against Bob Jones University ruled that the government was within its rights to revoke the school\u2019s tax-exempt status because it does not permit inter-racial dating. Esbeck said that the decision \u201chas some in the religious community worried,\u201d and that it was \u201ca troubling step for religious educators.\u201d [editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/i>, 8\/6\/92; San Jose Mercury News<\/i>, 6\/2\/02]<\/p>\n Ashcroft Considered Appointing Esbeck to Missouri Supreme Court, Support for Bob Jones Became an Issue.<\/b> Esbeck was one of the final candidates Ashcroft considered for an appointment to an open seat on the Missouri Supreme Court. During the vetting process, Esbeck\u2019s writings in support of Bob Jones University became an issue and Esbeck was not given the appointment. [San Jose Mercury News<\/i>, 6\/2\/02]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Lott Wrote an Amicus Brief for Bob Jones University.<\/b> During his time in the U.S. House, Lott wrote an amicus brief to the Supreme Court supporting the tax-exempt status of Bob Jones University, despite the school\u2019s policy banning inter-racial dating. \u201cRacial discrimination does not always violate public policy. Schools are allowed to practice racial discrimination in admissions in the interest of diversity,\u201d Lott said in his brief. Lott also said that he was defending the concerns of constituents who were worried that their religious schools would lose their tax-exempt status if the Supreme Court ruled against Bob Jones. [Boston Globe<\/i>, 12\/12\/02]<\/p>\nAshcroft Has Handed Doj\u2019s Civil Rights Division Over To Conservative Political Appointees<\/h2>\n
Carl H. Esbeck \u2014 Director Doj\u2019s Office Of Faith Based Initiatives<\/h2>\n