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Washington Watch
Confirmation Fight
Battling Ashcrofi and reaching
out for black support.
MONTH CD
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
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resident-elect George W.
Bush, whose first cabinet
selections reached for the
political middle ground, took
a sharp turn to the right last week with
the nomination of outgoing Sen. John
Ashcroft (R-Mo.) as attorney general.
That appointment, hailed by
Orthodox groups but criticized by liberal
Jewish activists, sets the stage for major
clashes over civil rights, hate crimes,
church-state separation and abortion.
"It's a very troubling nomination,"
said Sammie Moshenberg, Washington
director for the National Council of
Jewish Women. "It's disturbing that a
president-elect who is looking for bipar-
tisanship, who is trying to govern from
the center, has managed to pick the
most extreme candidate for one of the
most important posts in the govern-
ment."
Ashcroft, she said, has a "troubling
record in the areas of civil rights, separa-
tion of religion and state and women's
rights — especially reproductive rights."
Even without new anti-choice legisla-
tion, Ashcroft could affect abortion
rights by de-emphasizing enforcement of
current laws, including the law aimed at
preventing violence at abortion
clinics, she said.
Ashcroft has become the
Senate's leading exponent
of "charitable choice,"
which expands the abili-
ty of religious groups to
get federal health
and social service
money.
Critics say charitable choice will
remove barriers against using govern-
ment money for sectarian purposes, such
as proselytizing. And charitable choice,
they argue, will lead to possible govern-
ment interference in religion.
The Orthodox Union and Agudath
Israel of America support such pro-
grams, saying they will provide better
services less expensively.
"We have had a good working rela-
tionship" with Ashcroft, said Nathan
Diament, director of the Orthodox
Union's Institute for Public Affairs.
"He's been a pro-Israel senator, and
obviously he is a leader on charitable
choice initiatives."
Abba Cohen, Washington director for
Agudath Israel of America, said that
aside from specific issues such as charita-
ble choice, Ashcroft "is an excellent
choice because he is widely recognized as
a man of integrity and principle."
Cohen said Ashcroft is unlikely to
steer the Justice Department in radical
new directions.
"His conservatism will not be the issue
many people fear because of the dynam-
ics of the new Congress, and the fact that
the White House will not be inclined to
extremism in any direction," he said.
Ashcroft is a strong opponent of gun
control — putting him at odds with
most Jewish groups, including
Orthodox organizations. Jewish sup-
porters of tougher hate crimes laws
say they want senators to raise their
concerns about possible back-ped-
aling from enforcement of exist-
ing laws in Ashcroft's confirma-
tion hearings, while civil rights
and gay rights groups plan an all-
out effort to block the appointment.
WASHINGTON WATCH on page 21
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