TOP COP PICK FACING TOUGH QUESTIONS

Top Cop Pick Faces Grilling

Liberals Question Stance On Black Judge, Abortion

Washington -- Democratic senators warned yesterday that Sen. John
Ashcroft, R-Mo., President-elect Bush's nominee for attorney general,
faces tough cross-examination over his opposition to a black judicial
appointment and his willingness to enforce a law guaranteeing access
to abortion clinics.

"We'll have a very fair hearing," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont,
the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on ABC's "This
Week." But, he stressed, "there will be tough questions."

No senators said they are prepared to vote against Ashcroft, and
liberal opponents of the nomination are pessimistic about their
prospects of defeating Ashcroft.

But both Democrats and leaders of liberal advocacy groups see the
Ashcroft hearings as an opportunity to begin to mobilize two key
constituencies -- African Americans and suburban women who support
abortion rights -- in preparation for both future battles over
nominees to the Supreme Court and for the 2002 House and Senate elections.

Likewise, some conservatives are urging that Bush steadfastly refuse
to bend to liberal pressure on his nominees and say they will oppose
any with even a hint of liberalism.

"This is when compassion runs head-on into conservatism," said
Democratic media consultant Bill Knapp, who worked on the unsuccessful
campaign of Vice President Al Gore.

"The Bush campaign was a brilliant selling job," Knapp said. "They
worked hard and aggressively to hide the public differences. . . .
They made real public policy differences mind-numbingly dense to
people. Now, Bush has to make real political choices every day."

Ashcroft, Leahy said, will be asked to explain his opposition to the
appointment of Ronnie White, a black Missouri Supreme Court judge, to
a seat on the federal bench. Ashcroft will also be asked whether his
adamant opposition to abortion will interfere with his ability to
enforce federal laws protecting abortion rights.

Leahy was already prepared yesterday to challenge Ashcroft's charges
that White was too favorable to criminal rights and excessively
opposed to the death penalty. With documents in hand, Leahy quoted the
Missouri Fraternal Order of Police defending White, and he pointed out
that White supported the death penalty in the majority of cases before
him and had often joined with Ashcroft-appointed judges when he
overturned death penalties.

Along similar lines, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., warned on CBS' "Face the
Nation": "There are going to be a lot of questions about Senator
Ashcroft. Mainly I think they will focus on the question of whether
the instance of Judge White represented a credible basis for his
change in position and ultimate rejection of that nomination or
whether it raises some troubling questions as to a pattern of dealing
with issues of minorities."

Republican senators defended Ashcroft's record. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.,
said on "This Week" that Ashcroft "has a great record of equal justice
for all. As a matter of fact, he's received awards for his support of
the African American community in Missouri."

Ashcroft's prospects for winning Senate approval are strong because
ex-senators have traditionally won the backing of their former
colleagues, and many moderate-to-liberal Democrats have indicated that
barring new, damaging disclosures, they are not inclined to oppose the
nomination.

Nevertheless, liberal groups are putting together material encouraging
that Ashcroft be questioned about his acceptance of an honorary degree
from Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., and an interview he
gave to the pro- Confederate Southern Partisan magazine. In the
interview, he stressed the importance "of defending Southern Patriots
like (Robert E.) Lee, (Stonewall) Jackson, and (Confederate president
Jefferson) Davis."

Officials of Bob Jones University have denounced the Catholic and
Mormon faiths, and, until recently, prohibited interracial dating.

Even before Bush announced the selection of Ashcroft, leading abortion
rights, civil rights and civil liberties groups had begun to mobilize
for what they expect will be major judicial confirmation fights.

They said they anticipate that Bush will live up to his campaign
promise to appoint federal judges, most importantly Supreme Court
nominees, in the mold of conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas, and if he does so, they will do all they can to defeat the
nominations.

The mobilization of forces in opposition "would be unprecedented in
its scope," said Ralph Neas, the president of People for the American
Way who led confirmation fights in his past role as head of the
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.