NOT SUITED FOR POSITION

Ordinarily, I'd support the nomination of Sen. John Ashcroft for no other
reason than I believe a president must be able to gather people around him
who he can rely upon. But as a person who firmly believes in the U.S.
Constitution in letter and spirit, I find Ashcroft's position on the
multiple facets of the war on drugs to be anathema to civil liberty.

Ashcroft supports mandatory minimum sentences that have sent thousands of
low-level, nonviolent drug offenders to prison for years, even decades.

Ashcroft has sponsored legislation that would gut the First Amendment by
criminalizing discussions on drug topics on the Internet and destroy the
Fourth Amendment by allowing police to conduct secret searches of private
homes. When President-elect George W. Bush begins looking for Supreme Court
justices, Ashcroft's outlook will not serve Bush well.

Ashcroft disregards the problem of racial disparity in the criminal justice
system, and has blocked legislation to study the problem of racial
profiling. This issue has polarized mi nority communities throughout the
country.

The attorney general has enormous power and influence over drug policy, and
Ashcroft is not well-suited to the position in this time of social evolution.

BRAD PIERSON

Westminster