Townhall.com, Where Your Opinion Counts
Talk Radio:   Bill Bennett   Mike Gallagher   Dennis Prager   Michael Medved   Hugh Hewitt   
BREAKING NEWS  LeftArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican   RightArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican  
Columns, funnies & more in your inbox!
Login | What's Hot
  • Check the boxes and send us your email address to receveive your free newsletter
  • Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
  • Townhall.com’s weekly inside scoop on what’s happening behind the scenes in the world of politics. When news breaks, we report.
  • Signup to receive the latest daily Townhall cartoons
Wednesday, December 27, 2000
David Limbaugh :: Townhall.com Columnist
Ashcroft: A triumph for the rule of law
by David Limbaugh
Forward Print Share Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
[+] Text [-]
 
 
Poll
Was the Copenhagen Global Warming Summit Walk-Out a Win for the U.S.?


George Bush's nomination of John Ashcroft as attorney general of the United States could not suit me more. Ashcroft is an outstanding nomination, especially on the heels of the most corrupt Justice Department in the history of the nation. Ashcroft is an evangelical Christian, scrupulously honest, genuinely conservative, a former Missouri attorney general, governor and United States senator. He has stellar academic credentials, having graduated from Yale with honors and the prestigious University of Chicago School of Law. He is a man of unimpeachable integrity who is without skeletons. The wisdom of the Ashcroft appointment is further demonstrated by the quality of Ashcroft's most outspoken opponents, some of whom are paralyzed with panic. Militant feminist Kate Michelman said that Ashcroft is "a real danger to women's rights." Translation: those who are staunchly pro-life should be disqualified from public service. Ralph Neas, president of the People for the American Way, said, "I don't believe anyone in the U.S. Senate has a worse record on civil rights and civil liberties." Translation: Ashcroft had the political courage to oppose the nomination of Bill Lann Lee as Chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Lann Lee's nomination was rejected by the Senate, but Clinton illegally installed Lee anyway to head Civil Rights, completely thwarting the Senate's advice and consent role. As Ashcroft and others predicted, Lee has turned the Civil Rights Division into a zealous agency for enforcement of affirmative action initiatives deemed illegal by the United States Supreme Court. The attorney general is one of the most important positions in the executive branch. Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution vests the president with the executive power of the United States of America. He is the nation's chief executive officer. Article II, Section 3 provides that the president "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed." The Department of Justice is the primary government agency charged with the implementation of the president's constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws. The foreword to a 1927 primer on the Department of Justice emphasizes the Justice Department's central role in law enforcement: Probably the most essential function of government is the maintenance of law and order. A government that does not protect its citizens in the orderly conduct of their affairs and ensure the enforcement of its commands as expressed in law, is not only derelict in respect to one of its primary duties, but also brings itself into contempt, and thus lays the basis for failure in respect to all its other undertakings. ... This task of law enforcement presents one of the important problems of administration confronting the national government. The Department of Justice is the central agency for the performance of this task. As the Department of Justice is entrusted with the duty of impartially enforcing the law, it is important that to the maximum extent possible it stay above politics. When justice is administered unfairly, when those in power are treated as being above the law, the system tends to disintegrate. Sadly, the Clinton administration displayed an ugly contempt for the cherished institutions of our government. That attitude unfortunately trickled down into the halls of Main Justice. The Clinton-Gore-Reno Justice Department left in its wake a system corrupted under the influence of executive privilege and power. President-elect Bush and Sen. Ashcroft have their work cut out for them. The Clinton-Gore-Reno years provide a regrettable example of the horrors of politicized justice in America. Bush and Ashcroft will have this sordid legacy as a constant reminder of how bad things can be when justice is perverted and subordinated to the whims and interests of a political class of would-be elites. President-elect Bush, in nominating Sen. Ashcroft, said that Ashcroft satisfied his three requirements for the spot: integrity, executive prowess and "a commitment to fair and firm and impartial administration of justice." Amen. In accepting the nomination, Sen. Ashcroft affirmed his commitment to "equal justice under the law" and to the concept embodied in the inscription on the United States Supreme Court building, "Justice, the guardian of liberty." Ashcroft's recognition of justice as indispensable to our liberties is abundantly reassuring to those of us who long for a restoration of the rule of law for this great nation. We anxiously wait for the long overdue cleansing to begin.
Share:
Forward Print Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
 
About The Author
David Limbaugh, brother of radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, is an expert in law and politics and author of Bankrupt: The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Democratic Party.
 
TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to read David Limbaugh's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.

Join The Debate!

Post Your Comment
(0 comments so Far)
View in ascending order     View in descending order
Sign Up to Post Your CommentsSign Up to Post Your Comments
If you are already registered, click here to login. Otherwise, please take a few seconds to register with Townhall.com. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to post your comments immediately, use the action center, get podcasts, and more!
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
Salutation:
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Email:
*
Nickname:
*
Note: Nick name will be shown when you post comments.
Address 1:
*
Address 2:
City:
 *
State:
 *
Zip:
 *
Phone:
       
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
(Bi-Weekly) We highlight the best opportunities from our partners for surveys, action items and more.