------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Feb. 8, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- HE CAN BE DEFEATED: JOHN ASHCROFT: A RECORD OF RACISM, WOMAN-HATING AND GAY BASHING By Monica Moorehead President George W. Bush's nomination of John Ashcroft for attorney general has created an unprecedented firestorm of protest, including groups representing women's reproductive rights, civil rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans rights. If Ashcroft is confirmed by a majority of the Senate--which seems likely--he will hold one of the most influential positions in the capitalist government. The attorney general is the top prosecutor in the country and heads the U.S. Justice Department. All Senate Republicans support Ashcroft. Their Democratic counterparts aren't mounting any real opposition. This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows the history of Democratic leaders caving in to the reactionary wing of the U.S. ruling class. It would be hard to argue that Ashcroft is not a woman- hating, patriarchal, medieval, right-wing monster. His reactionary record speaks for itself. It's important to know exactly what Ashcroft's real record is--especially when he has obscured it in his testimony before the Senate. But he isn't riding into office on a strong base of popular support. He's not invincible. So the most important question is: What kind of movement will it take to stop Ashcroft's appointment? OPPONENT OF WOMEN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women and others report that as Missouri's governor, Ashcroft did everything he could to amend the state constitution and pass legislation banning women's right to terminate a pregnancy by safe, legal abortion. This included cases where a woman became pregnant through rape or incest. In 1998, as a U.S. senator, Ashcroft sponsored an amendment that would have banned common methods of birth control for women--including contraceptive pills and IUDs. The same year Ashcroft was one of eight senators who opposed legislation requiring that health insurance plans for federal employees cover the cost of prescription contraceptives. He also voted to ban the use of tax funds for emergency contraceptives. Ashcroft has called for overturning the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Ashcroft opposed the surgeon general nominations of Dr. Henry Foster in 1995 and Dr. David Satcher in 1998. Besides being African Americans, both nominees supported women's right to choose. Ashcroft has also advocated legislation that would justify murdering doctors who perform abortions as "justifiable homicide." He wanted to fire publicly employed nurses who provided contraceptives in Missouri. As Missouri's attorney general, Ashcroft sued NOW for calling a boycott of the state after it defeated ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He has also opposed legislation calling for equal pay for equal work. A far-right religious fanatic, Ashcroft opposes the separation of church and state. As governor he opposed legislation requiring church-run day-care centers to meet state health and safety regulations. Missouri was the only state to exempt religious day-care centers from these stipulations. ENEMY OF LESBIAN, GAY, BI AND TRANS RIGHTS If Ashcroft wants to turn back women's social status by hundreds of years, his view of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people runs a close second. In 1982, while speaking in opposition to the ERA, he said that "homosexuality is abnormal." He also called same-sex love "a sin." In 1995 Ashcroft backed an amendment to the Ryan White bill to authorize the cut-off of funds to community-health centers providing services to those living with HIV and AIDS. The ammendment's sponsor was Jesse Helms. In 1996, Ashcroft voted against the Employment Non- Discrimination Act, which called for a ban against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Last year, he voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. He has voted to eliminate federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts because of its support for gay-themed art and gay artists. Ashcroft, along with Helms, opposed the confirmation of an openly gay capita list, James Hormel, to be U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg under Bill Clinton. KLANSMAN IN THREE-PIECE SUIT Ashcroft would like to see people of color back in chains and the back of the bus. He's a Ku Klux Klansman in a three- piece suit. In the Southern Partisan Quarterly Review--a publication that glorifies slavery and the old slave-owning class-- Ashcroft publicly defended the views of Confederate leaders Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. In 1999, Ashcroft received an honorary degree from South Carolina's Bob Jones University and delivered the commencement address. Until recently this "university" outlawed interracial dating. Ashcroft opposes all affirmative-action programs. For instance, he voted to dilute the effectiveness of the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that prohibits banks from "redlining" minority areas in the inner cities. He opposed the nomination of Asian American Bill Lann Lee to head the civil-rights division of the Justice Department. As Missouri attorney general and governor, Ashcroft opposed federal-court-ordered desegregation for schools in St. Louis and Kansas City. He went so far as to oppose a voluntary city/suburb desegregation program in St. Louis. Ashcroft led a virulent campaign against the federal nomination of Judge Ronnie White, who was to become the first African American judge on the Missouri State Supreme Court. ASHCROFT CAN BE FOUGHT! A united and militant grassroots movement can defeat the Ashcroft nomination and win. But the movement cannot view the Ashcroft development as an isolated matter. It's true that Bush is hand-picking nominations from the Republican party that push his administration to the right of Clinton's. But what is the legacy of eight years of a Democrat in the White House? The Clinton years saw a wave of terror assaults on women's clinics and doctors who provide abortions. Black churches torched at a rate not seen since the overturning of Black Reconstruction. Stepped-up demonization of immigrants of color. Anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic attacks. A rise in violent assaults against lesbian, gay, bi and trans people. There were even issues where a Democratic administration made it easier to introduce reactionary policies. For example, Clinton eliminated welfare in 1996, something that a Republican could have never done without a storm of protest. An "anyone-but-Ashcroft" campaign won't advance the movement. But an independent mass movement in the streets--a movement that doesn't look to leadership from either party of big business--can defeat Ashcroft's nomination and fight for the interests of poor and working people. Anti-inaugural protests on Jan. 20 by tens of thousands in the streets of Washington, Tallahassee, Fla., San Francisco and San Diego created the basis for just this kind of movement. The anger over Bush's theft of this election by disenfranchising millions of Black voters in Florida and elsewhere--along with his reactionary program--has already provided a catalyst that can help build this new movement for revolutionary change. - END - (Copyleft Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
