-Caveat Lector-
{{More on the intolerance of left-wingers--believe as I
believe or get out. I pretty much endorse most of this
article as most of the religious people I know are very
honest and trustworthy and do not try to force their beliefs
on others as fundamentalist liberals do.AKE}
01/23/2001 - Tuesday - Page A 34
Liberals Use Unfair Tactics With
Ashcroft
Matthew Carolan and Raymond J. Keating. Matthew Carolan is
online editor for Inter@ctive Week. Raymond J. Keating is
co-author of "U.S. by the Numbers: Figuring What's Left,
Right, and Wrong with America State by State."
SOME LIBERALS like to say that America's diversity is its
strength. We agree.
Unfortunately, the left's definition of diversity too often
is as narrow as its view of bipartisanship. That is, if you
agree with them, then you embrace bipartisanship and
diversity. If not, you are probably a narrow-minded bigot.
We tend to like people with strong and reasonable beliefs
and principles.
So we're thankful, especially after watching recent Senate
confirmation hearings and the presidential inauguration this
past weekend, that there are decent, religious people in the
public square, including apparently President George W. Bush
and his Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft.
Neither of us is an evangelical Christian. But we were
appalled at the recent insinuations emanating from inside
the Washington Beltway and from some in the establishment
media about the fitness of devoutly religious people, like
Ashcroft, to serve in government. And we know some local
evangelical Christians were upset, too.
After their recent disastrous calls of the election results
in Florida (relying on Voter News Service projections),
you'd think the major news organizations would not simply
parrot something they had heard second-hand from liberal
activists about the so-called "racism" of John Ashcroft.
This charge was so baseless that even Ashcroft's
nemesis -and alleged victim of that "racism" -Missouri Judge
Ronnie White, would disagree with it in Senate hearings.
You'd also think that if some in the media were going to
cynically describe George W. Bush's nomination of Ashcroft
as an attempt to appease the "religious right" or the "far
right," they would balance such cynicism by noting that
groups opposing Ashcroft were on the far, secular left.
Instead, they mildly identified these protesters as
"environmental," "women's" or "civil rights" groups. As a
result, the media helped fan a stereotypical attack on
devout, evangelical Christians as being nothing more than
racist, would-be theocrats.
Bill Banuchi, executive director of New York's Christian
Coalition, found the affair offensive. "They are still
trying to spread the lie that we are poor, uneducated, and
easy to lead," he said. Banuchi suggested that those
opposing Ashcroft may be more concerned about his ability to
challenge liberal views on abortion, for example. "What they
are really afraid of is Ashcroft's influence," he added.
Indeed, some liberals are remarkably fundamentalist about
their interpretations of the Bill of Rights. Ridiculously
reasoned Supreme Court decisions like Roe vs. Wade and
Planned Parenthood vs. Casey have become left-wing sacred
scriptures, against which any disagreement is considered
heresy.
In fact, the Senate confirmation hearings had more than a
whiff of a heresy trial. Sen. Ted Ken- nedy (D-Mass.) did
not so much discuss as bombastically denunciate. And Sen.
Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), lobbing hypothetical cases at
Ashcroft about abortion, became visibly impatient because
Ashcroft replied only about what the law allowed,
appropriately so for the would-be attorney general, and
refused to say anything using the word "should" which might
suggest moral endorsement.
"I think many are feeling the guilt of their own positions
...You hear the hostility in Kennedy's voice," said Roger
Bogsted, a deacon at the Bethpage Assembly of God and vice
chairman of the New York Conservative Party. "It cries out
to me of a guy who has walked away from his own faith, so to
speak, in the actions and the positions that he has taken,"
he continued. We say, Amen.
We're sure that the hysterical liberal fund-raising letters
already have been composed, citing George W. Bush's
inauguration speech, with its numerous religious references,
and Ashcroft's nomination as the signs of an impending
theocracy. Yet, in reality, all of the devoutly religious
people we've met are first-rate citizens, who revere the
Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights, even while, as with the sacred books, sometimes
disagreeing about their proper interpretation.
Copyright © Newsday, Inc. Produced by Newsday Electronic
Publishing.
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