[mgc1122]

It seemed to me the a**wipe limp dic* Senators must have been reading the polling numbers PRIOR to Ashcroft's appearance. They were relatively subdued if contrasted to their venomous display during Big John's nomination hearings.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

It appears that Ashcroft has gravitas.

[AmishDude]

The Democrats had called Ashcroft before the committee to discuss the civil liberties implications of various Bush antiterrorism initiatives . . .

What a dishonest writer. His whole article tells you what they wanted to do and why they were so disappointed. They wanted to Get Ashcroft. Maybe, just maybe, they could Get Bush, too. Creeps, every single one.

[DrNo]

Ashcroft ate their lunch.

When he held up the al queda training manual, it was like throwing a hand grenade in Senator Leaky's lap.

Even Ted Kennedy was trying to slide under the table.

[Elihu Burritt]

If the Democrats had any real understanding of what this country is supposed to be, they could have given Ashcroft a very hard time. But they don't, and besides that, it's still too early to backstab for no real reason. That will come later.

Besides, that old maxim of Napoleon still applies; "Never interfere with your opponent while he is making a mistake."

We don't know for sure if anybody in the administration is messing up here big time, but if they are, we will hear of it later. Odds are anything our sprawling nonsensical government does will have it's overreach.

[Alberta's Child]

It's worth noting that until last year Ashcroft was a U.S. senator himself. He knows better than anyone else how these mediocre, limp-wristed pr!cks work.

[YaYa123]

Well for goodness sake!!! David Corn has correctly described the hearing! I'm simply astounded.

The only quibble I have is how he relayed the Cantwell-Ashcroft exchange. When Cantwell got off her punchline, that not all in America was laughing, Ashcroft was certainly not laughing. He was scowling at the implication of the cartoon, that he was some kind of evil, government Big Brother.

[Dane]

Around the corner, Feingold was angry about those comments. "The entire Administration," he said, "appears to be trotting out phrases to stop people from talking about these issues.... We have to stand up to that."

Oh yeah Senator Feingold, just like you would stand up to anybody who dared to try to air a political ad on TV, 60 days before an election by throwing them in jail.

What a hypocrite.

[MinuteGal]

Hah! The Demorats came in to the hearing unprepared because they didn't want to expend the effort to prepare themselves. They know the American public is four-square behind the military tribunals and they didn't want to expend any political capital on a frontal assault on Ashcroft.

I watched the few parts of the hearing shown live on TV. Ashcroft is not as soft as some conservatives think he is. His earnest demeanor covers a very canny mind. In fact, the few Dem attack dogs never got to first base with him.

Leni

[okiedust]

"Democratic aides...apologetically explaining to reporters why the hearing had fallen flat."

They had been promised a lynching and I guess the rope broke or something. What a disappointment for the press. This was all about getting Ashcroft, a political hatchet job that didn't work. Leahy the velociraptor will be back, hell just have to figure out another angle of attack.

regards

[Carolina]

The sharpest barb from Maria Cantwell????

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I'd say the hearings fizzled.

[Cultural Jihad]

Then he went on to assert that the critics were threats to the nation's security: "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 national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."

Whether it's the DNC, the Greens, the Spartacist League, or the self-marginalizing LP, Ashcroft gave good advice to these seditious moral-liberal ideologues.

[Cyber Liberty]

It does my old heart good to see David Corn cry like this. It tells me that Ashcroft did very well, indeed.

[thucydides]

This was the best comeuppance these low life politicians have had since Ollie North's testimony. It is pretty comical to watch the likes of Leahy posing as a civil libertarian. Remember his attempt to use subpoenas to vacuum clean the editorial offices of the American Spectator, a magazine that opposed Clinton's abuses of power?

[freedomcrusader]

The Democrats did not present much of an argument that Ashcroft and Bush were trampling civil liberties unnecessarily.

That's because there isn't an argument there to make. Hence the main reason the hearings fell flat.

[prophetic]

I'm grinning from ear to ear now :-)

I was listening to a sound bite on NPR radio and it so pissed me off (my humble apologies to Freepers here) to hear their unabashed leftist diatribe
Anyways, I was saying that I am very pleased how Ashcroft powerfully shredded his enemies and defended the administration's effort on fighting terrorism.

IMHO the DEMs are finding life so unbearable and are grasping at the 'civil liberties' issue as ammo to tear down Bush's overall popularity ratings.

[wny]

Ashcroft-----------2
Senate demholes---0

[WarPaint]

"...with committee chair Pat Leahy and other members of Congress (though not many) grousing that the White House had decided on these policies without consulting Congress."

This is the real agenda. Leahy was left out of the loop. The administration does not recognize the pedestal Leahy seems to think he occupies.

[Reagan's_Mom]

"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 national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."

Good for Ashcroft. This should be on every Republican ad.

[EternalVigilance]

John Ashcroft is a good man...humble, honest, and very smart to boot...O that we had thousands like him in DC, instead of a mere handful.

He also knows the RAT pack well, having watched their petty tactics for years as a member of the Club himself.

They didn't lay a glove on him, which doesn't surprise me one bit.

The difference between Bush/Ashcroft and the Clinton/Reno Gang could not be more striking...thank God.