01/18/2001 Clarion News Service.

   It seems a shame that just a day after the national holiday set aside to honor the hopeful message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that the country witnessed the formal opening of what is sure to be one of the nastiest episodes of race baiting in recent history. I refer to the nomination fight over former Senator John Ashcroft for Attorney General.
   Even before the first question was asked, there was already a steady drumbeat of allegations by opponents that the nominee was a closet racist, and Democrat senators wasted no time on Tuesday in continuing that smear. The general strategy in these affairs is to throw as much mud as possible and hope that something sticks.
    As in any war, truth is always the first casualty. That Mr. Ashcroft is a conservative, who has opposed affirmative action in his political career, is not in controversy. That that or any of his other political positions make him a racist is absurd.
    And yet, no doubt, there are many who are more than willing to believe that charge. After all, not only is he a conservative and a Republican, but he is a white male! Strike three!
    In an effort to score ideological points, liberal Democrats are more than willing to rub salt in the fresh wounds of the black community over the recent election fiasco. Many African-Americans believe, not totally without some basis, that they were disenfranchised by obsolete voting equipment, confusing ballots or worse. Now by tarring Ashcroft as a bigot, those emotions will be fanned even higher, but for what purpose?
    Is this path likely to lead to the new spirit of bi-partisanship that our new President has called for and the country so desperately needs? Not bloody likely! Instead we seem to be headed for a replay of the Clarence Thomas 'high-tech lynching' and other confirmation debacles of the recent past.
    These battles inevitably leave deep scars in the body politic and will surely poison the political atmosphere in Washington. And guess who the real losers will be? All Americans of every race, creed and political persuasion who would like to see the nation's business conducted in a more dignified manner.
    It is clear that the liberals real aim here is to sabotage the infant Presidency of George W. Bush, so they can regain control of the Congress in two years and the White House in four. Despite all the sugary talk of bi-partisanship, this is power politics pure and simple, but it is also a dangerous game for our country.
    We can not risk four more years of the kind of paralysis that has gripped the country for most of the Clinton years. The people's business and the problems of the world are just too pressing. Please don't stand by and let a good man be slandered.
    I learned all I needed to know about John Ashcroft when I saw how he handled his recent close defeat for re-election after the tragic death of his opponent. Rather than follow the many possible avenues of litigation that were open to him to overturn that questionable result, he did the right thing and conceded. If Al Gore had half of that integrity, our country would be a whole lot better off right now.