From February 1, 2001
Hard Feelings Remain After Ashcroft Vote, by Jim Burns
Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the 58-42 [Ashcroft confirmation vote] result an "historic vote" because the president's nomination was "divisive.""I am, for one, heartened that there were 42 votes against him. It's a shot across the bow in terms of the Justice Department and how it conducts itself. It's a shot across the bow in terms of Supreme Court nominations. It's a shot across the bow in terms of the push and pull within the Bush administration, to be moderate and bipartisan or to play to hard right. I'm proud of the job we did," Schumer said at a Capitol Hill news conference following the vote. Schumer called the 42 votes against Ashcroft real "profiles in courage."