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This piece was submitted to several newspapers; it appeared in the Springfield News-Leader on January 15, 2001.
I was interested to read a January 11th press release from the American Legislative Exchange Council, which characterizes Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft as "a champion of Jeffersonian principles." While it's not unexpected that a certain amount of "spin" will accompany both the attacks on, and the defense of, any nominee to high office, I believe that ALEC has spun itself right out of orbit and into the far reaches of unbelievability with such a claim.
Let's make a comparison:
*Jefferson authored Viriginia's constitutional protections of free speech and freedom of religion, which were the models for the First Amendment.
*Ashcroft: "They say you can't legislate morality. well, you certainly can." (Chicago Tribune, 5/5/98) Ashcroft has consistently worked to codify his religious beliefs into law, without regard to, and even in direct opposition to, the Constitution that Jefferson defended with every bone in his body. As a sponsor of the Methamphetamine Anti-Proliferation Act and the Child Online Protection Act, he advocated imprisoning those who published "offensive" or "drug-related" material on the Internet. As a U.S. Senator, he attempted to read his personal, religious opposition to homosexuality into the law. When it comes to freedom of speech and religion, Ashcroft is no Jeffersonian.
*Jefferson: "No free man shall be debarred the use of arms."
*Ashcroft was the Senate sponsor of the law extending the Brady Bill to purchases at gun shows. Gun Owners of America gave him a rating of C-. When it comes the the Second Amendment, Ashcroft is no Jeffersonian.
*Jefferson: "Bind [the government] down with the chains of the Constitution."
*Ashcroft has proven that his personal ambitions -- like prosecuting the war on drugs, which is authorized nowhere in the Constitution -- transcend any oath he may have taken or commitment he may have made to support the law of the land. His version of federalism is "states' rights -- as long as the states do what I want them to." He supported the Defense of Marriage Act, a direct attempt to contravene Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution. In every instance where a "conservative" issue is at stake, Ashcroft's dedication to the Tenth Amendment, and his opposition to an activist federal government or judiciary, have gone right out the window. When it comes to federalism, Ashcroft is no Jeffersonian.
On more nebulous issues of personality, Ashcroft is also found wanting. Where Jefferson was known as a man of personal integrity, Ashcroft continues to falsify his autobiography to suit his desired public image. To this day, he still falsely claims to have been a "law professor" at Southwest Missouri State University; in fact, he was a "supply professor" -- a substitute teacher, as it were. Where Jefferson placed his "life, fortune and sacred honor" on the line to free America from British rule, Ashcroft's actions have run more to abuse of personal power to free his own progeny from the consequences of the drug war he supports -- when it means sending other peoples' children to prison.
John Ashcroft is no Jeffersonian, unless that appellation is now used by way of comparison with the middle name of our current president -- in which case, it is entirely apt. He is also not fit to serve as the Attorney General of the United States; that office should be reserved to someone with a little more respect for the laws and institutions to which such an official must pledge his service.
