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Bipartisanship Unravels As U.S. Senators Grill Bush Pick For Attorney General
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Party battle lines were drawn as U.S. senators on Tuesday began their nomination hearing of Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft, in what swiftly became a bruising first test in Congress for Republican President-elect George W. Bush.
Questioning Ashcroft's ability to separate his personal beliefs from his public office, Democratic senators moved quickly to let their opposition to the ardent Missouri conservative be known, while Republicans defended Ashcroft's record as a politician.
The question facing the equally divided Senate - split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans - is whether Ashcroft "will be capable of fully and fairly enforcing the nation's laws for the benefit of all Americans, even though he profoundly disagrees with many of the most important of those laws," said Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy.
"His past actions strongly suggest that he will not," Kennedy said.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch quickly defended his former colleague, praising the former Missouri governor and state attorney general's "distinguished 30-year record of enforcing and upholding the law."
As U.S. attorney general, Ashcroft would be the country's chief law enforcement officer. He also would have a key role in deciding judiciary appointments across the country.
One of Bush's more conservative cabinet choices, Ashcroft has raised the hackles of a wide coalition of women's and civil rights groups for his anti-abortion stance as well as his record on race issues and gun control.
The former Missouri senator's role in derailing the appointment of black Judge Ronnie White to a federal district court of appeals also has led to questions on his impartiality.
Ashcroft defended his record and nomination.
"I understand that being Attorney General means enforcing the laws as they are written, not enforcing my own personal preferences," he told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which opened several days of hearings on the Ashcroft nomination.
Ashcroft gave his testimony as crowds of detractors and supporters - including his wife, Janet, and bible-reading friend Joy Collins - looked on.
At one point Ashcroft raised his right hand as if taking an oath, and solemnly said: "As a man of faith, I take my word and my integrity seriously. So when I swear to uphold the law, I will keep my oath, so help me God."
The hearing, which is expected to last several days, comes just one week after Bush's labor secretary nominee Linda Chavez, who also faced wide-spread union and liberal opposition, withdrew her candidacy amid accusations she harbored an illegal immigrant in her home.
The clear party split indicates the type of tough partisan fights Bush will face as of his inauguration January 20th when he tries to move away from his proclaimed centrist line toward the more conservative hardline of his party.
But Bush and Republican supporters have proclaimed their faith in Ashcroft, and rather than bow to pressure against his nominee, Bush will be taking to the phones to make sure his pick wins the necessary majority of Senate votes.
"The president-elect has indicated that he's prepared to make phone calls, but typically the process would be that you wait until it approaches the vote before you start making phone calls," spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday.
Cabinet nominees need a simple majority approval to pass the Senate hearing process. While the upper body of the U.S. Congress is evenly divided, some Democrats have made it clear that ideological differences were are enough to keep them within party lines.
"Let me also repeat my conviction as this hearing begins, that voting records and conservative ideology are not a sufficient basis to reject a Cabinet nominee, even for Attorney General," said Senator Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin.
Muslim Americans are split on Ashcroft's nomination. In some web-forums, American Muslims have voiced support for Ashcroft based on his anti-abortion stand and pro-family values, and dismissing his record on race relations.
Other Muslim Americans, fearing this exact track record with minorities, have voiced concerns that, as most Muslim Americans belong to one or another ethnic minority in the U.S., Ashcroft may do more harm than good, not only for ethnic, but religious minorities as well.
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