Statement of Sen. Herb Kohl on the Nomination of Sen. John Ashcroft to be Attorney General of the United States

Mr. Chairman, we all started this process prepared to defer to the President's choice for Attorney General. The President should be able to surround himself with the people he trusts.

But, deference does not mean blind acceptance of the President's nominee. Not only must the President trust his attorney general; the nation must trust him too. For after all, the Attorney General is America's lawyer.

As Senator Ashcroft's record has become better known, my belief in deference has been truly tested, though not because of his conservative views. He should not be condemned, nor be rejected, for that.

I believe he will not be the people's lawyer. He will push and prod the law to conform to his own strongly held beliefs. Because I believe his views are far out of the mainstream of American life, my vote will be no.

His record is out of the mainstream on issues central to the Department of Justice: women's rights, civil rights, voting rights, gun control, and the nomination of judges.

He has spent his entire public life devoted to reversing some of the very laws he will be asked to administer. And there are indications that when he was responsible for enforcing Missouri's laws, he often chose to use the resources at his disposal to undermine them.

Based on his record, he had the burden of persuading the committee that he would enforce all of the laws, even the ones with which he strongly disagreed. During his testimony, the nominee responded to many questions with the pat answer that he would enforce the law regardless of his feelings. He wanted us to accept that he could do his job like a robot without involving his personal views.

But we all know that the law is subject to interpretation, manipulation and priorities. The law is not a simple mathematical formula. The Attorney General is not a machine.

Senator Ashcroft's appearance before the Committee and his record in public life stretches the presumption of deference to its breaking point, and in my judgement snaps it.

We need an Attorney General who is in the mainstream of public life. We need an Attorney General who will help people who need help the most.

In the case of civil rights, Senator Ashcroft has a poor record. His conduct during the St. Louis school desegregation case was out of the mainstream. It demonstrated a disrespect for the law and the people it was designed to protect.

His opposition to a woman's right to choose is extreme. He has devoted his public life to taking this right away from women. To now put him in charge of protecting it would be a mistake.

His radical view on gun safety issues repeatedly put politics above the safety of America's children. How can we ask him to guard them now?

Few incidents stand out more sharply than the treatment of Ronnie White and James Hormel. Both of these respectable men were deliberately injured for political and personal purposes. It is a frightening preview of what the Ashcroft Department of Justice might do to the many people over whom it will have power. Let us hope it is not an accurate preview.

Unfortunately, hope is not a sufficient basis for voting to confirm Senator Ashcroft.

We have heard many times from Senator Ashcroft and his supporters that he should be confirmed if he promises to enforce the law. But the Justice Department and its mission are too central to our democracy to be entrusted to someone about whom we have such genuine skepticism. The balance of his past record and his current statements leave too much doubt about the future of the Justice Department under him.

This has not been an easy decision to reach. We all know Senator Ashcroft. We respect him. In the event – which is likely – that he is the next Attorney General, we will do all in our power to work effectively and cooperatively with him.