Bye, Bye Ashcroft

As you may have heard by now, Attorney General John Ashcroft is resigning. He made himself into one of the most controversial members of the Bush Administration, and a favorite target of the left.

With this turn of events it is an excellent time to review the debate over the Patriot Act. Any of the articles out there about Ashcroft and his legacy would be a good start. It is vital that ALL of my WTP students understand the controversy over the Patriot Act.

Why was Ashcroft such a lightening rod for criticism of the Bush administration? In case any of you have forgotten why, let me sum it up for you. Ashcroft had a leading role in crafting the Patriot Act and zealously used it to prosecute the war on terrorists here at home. You can certainly make one very strong argument in favor of his leadership of the justice department, and he made it in announcing his retirement: there have been no new terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

However, at what cost? Ashcrofts critics point out that he severely limited civil liberties and engaged in unfair profiling of Arab and Muslims living in the U.S. A great place to start with understanding these criticisms is with an interview Newsweek has on their website. Constitutional scholar David Cole from Georgetown University calls Ashcroft the worst Attorney General in American history. Read his criticisms carefully. You can find them at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6454887/site/newsweek/

Ashcroft was also controversial because of his combative style. In December of 2001 he lashed out at those who raised concerns over civil liberties and questioned their patriotism during testimony before a Congressional committee.

"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my
message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our unity and
diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to
America's friends.”

Just this past summer he ridiculed librarians who had concerns over the loss of privacy for patrons' records.

So, I'm happy he is gone, but unfortunately Bush has not used this occasion to reach out to those of us in "blue" America by picking a moderate to replace Ashcroft. Nominee Alberto Gonzales is equally fervent in his approach to fighting terror suspects at home. More on him another time.