Media Takes Parting Shots at Ashcroft

Posted by Matt aka Bear

The liberal press is taking their parting shots at John Ashcroft. The
substance of their attacks shows the disconnect existing between the
media and religious America.

From the NYTimes: "The gospel-singing son of a minister, Ashcroft is a
fierce conservative who doesn't drink, smoke or dance. His detractors
said he gave religion too prominent a role at the Justice Department
-- including optional prayer meetings with staff before each work
day."

From John "gracious loser" Kerry:
Ashcroft is "one of the most divisive faces in this administration.
"With the end of the era of John Ashcroft, the president now has an
opportunity to heal those divisions and make good on his promise of
renewed bipartisan cooperation."(NYTimes.com)

Ashcroft was vilified as an opponent of civil rights, but his real
crime was religous conservatism:
In his four years at the helm of the Justice Department, Mr.
Ashcroft left his mark by promoting a variety of conservative causes.
He overruled prosecutors to push for more aggressive use of the death
penalty, expanded prosecutions for Internet pornography, advocated a
broader interpretation of gun ownership rights and subpoenaed the
medical records of abortion providers.(NYTimes.com)

But from foxnews.com:
According to a senior Justice Department official, though Ashcroft
was frequently "attacked and vilified" for allegedly ignoring civil
liberties, he was actually the voice of restraint and reason in
high-level meetings about the War on Terror, repeatedly insisting the
country would be best served by sticking to constitutional principles
in its treatment of U.S. citizens captured as enemy combatants.
Ashcroft also repeatedly disagreed with the Pentagon on how it was
treating the prisoners at Guantanamo, who also did not get lawyers or
due process, according to the official.
Ashcroft, however, was repeatedly overruled by senior White House
officials who chose to side with the Pentagon. Even though he
disagreed and had been overruled, Ashcroft "took the heat" for those
cases.

To America's liberals (esp. media), being proudly Christian, and
proudly conservative are a combination that can't be ignored or
forgiven.