CONSERVATIVES TURN ON ASHCROFT

Drudge Report ^ | 07/23/2002 | Matt Drudge

[Pokey78]

CONSERVATIVES TURN ON ASHCROFT
Tue Jul 23 2002 20:58:38 ET

Many religious conservatives who were instrumental in pressing President Bush to appoint John Ashcroft as attorney general -- now say they have become deeply troubled by his actions, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report in a blistering Page One spread on Wednesday.

"His religious base is now quite troubled by what he's done," Grover Norquist tells the TIMES's Neil Lewis.

MORE

Several Bush advisers have begun complaining that Ashcroft has projected himself too often and too forcefully. More significantly, they say privately that he seems to be overstating the evidence of terrorist threats, the paper claims.

Conservtives cite Ashcroft's anti-terrorist positions as enhancing the kind of government power that they instinctively oppose.

Norquist: "If there hadn't been this big government problem, Ashcroft would have been talked about as the Bush successor. Instead, the talk is that 'too bad we pushed for him."'

Ashcroft was also criticized by some in the administration for declaring early on that the case of John Walker Lindh was a major terrorist case, the paper reports. Some officials in the Justice Department believed that the attorney general made needlessly harsh public comments about Lindh. The case came to an abrupt end last week, when Lindh pleaded guilty to two felonies and the department dropped the most severe terrorism-related charges against him, treating him as a far less important figure than depicted by the attorney general.

Developing...

[Reagan Man]

Ashcroft is doing just fine. The NY Times isn't a fan of conservatism or of America either. Nuff said.

[Deb]

Thanks for calling him "KING George", poopsie. I think he'd make a great King, too. I knew you'd come around.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Ditto. The louder they scream, the more confident I am that our AG's acting in our nation's best interest. Incorruptible John Ashcroft...the corrupt can't handle him.(^:

[Jhoffa_]

Geez, you're the perfect customer for leftist BS. The covered statue was a lie.

Do you ever question anything?

Of course, you know better..

And there was a story about it here on FR that generated a quite a bit of controversy at the time.

If it's a lie, then fine. If it's not then I think it's a ridiculous use of taxpayer funds.

[southern rock]

You may have missed it. Back on September 11, 19 Islamist terrorists flew two jets into the World Trade Center, destroying it and the Pentagon. In the process they killed nearly 3000 Americans.

And yet, we DID NOT declare war. Like it or not, we are not at war. Look it up, if you must.

[Deb]

Give us a call when you get "rousted".

PS: are you frightened by "Neighborhood Watch"?

[Deb]

Like I said...ever see any covered statues?

It was a media story that was false and yet you were happy to repeat it. Obviously, you want it to be true. You never miss a Bush-trashing thread.

[Torie]

How many conservatives do you know on your block that are angry at Ashcroft because he is traducing civil liberties because he is too eager to bag the bad guys? In fact, have you met anyone in the flesh at all that meets that description? What are folks saying in the mall in Euliss, or at the gambling joint in East Connecticut?

[Jhoffa_]

PS: You are correct, there is a conflict here:

Story One

Story 2

[Fred Mertz]

I said what I think, and that's the truth. I haven't bashed Ashcroft, but he has been a major disappointment.

I had such high hopes early on too.

[southern rock]

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
Thats the constitutional authority.

And we have an armed forces for that.

Please show me where in the constitution, the federal government is granted the power to run a federal neighborhood watch program. Yes, it MUST be SPECIFICALLY delagated, or it is NOT a federal power.

[Deb]

A declaration of war is not necessary. The Congress passed a resolution allowing the President to take whatever action he sees fit to stop our enemies.

Are you in the 3rd grade?

[cajungirl]

All this on Ashcroft seems contrived. I think he isn't paranoid, I think he knows a lot more about the terrorism stuff than we can imagine. And I also wonder if justice is scaring some big libeeral businessmen, maybe indicting a few big dems like Rubin terrifies them. They always use the media to attack when they are close to getting burned. And someone is going to reallly burn over the citigroup, etc., business. Poor Ashcroft, he is gonna feel the heat bigtime.

[Jhoffa_]

Obviously, you want it to be true. You never miss a Bush-trashing thread.

I never said that.. And, in case you haven't noticed I am on quite a lot of threads giving him kudos also.

Everything from abortion funding, to SDI to his initial position on the ICC.

[Cindy]

"More significantly, they say privately that he seems to be overstating the evidence of terrorist threats, the paper claims."

Hmmm....New York Times, The Drudge Report, the main-stream sensational media -- well, well....I think AG Ashcroft UNDERSTATES the danger we are in. Now, time to iron my clothes for tomorrow and take a long, hot shower.

[Anchoragite]

How many conservatives do you know on your block that are angry at Ashcroft because he is traducing civil liberties because he is too eager to bag the bad guys?

Around our neck o' the woods, in places like our mostly conservative oil industry offices, most people are saying things like, "I like Ashcroft, but I don't like all these Big Brother intrusions...," and, "If we give up all this freedom, the terrorists won. They've killed America." Then again, Alaskans are freaks. We like our privacy here in Alaska so much we wrote into our Constitution as a right.

[southern rock]

A declaration of war is not necessary.

Bull. Show me where in the constitution it says that.

[Torie]

Just avoid sniffing gasoline during those cold winters. Apparently it is addictive. I didn't know that, but now thanks to FR, I do.