CONSERVATIVES TURN ON ASHCROFT

Drudge Report ^ | 07/23/2002 | Matt Drudge

[Pokey78]

CONSERVATIVES TURN ON ASHCROFT
Tue Jul 23 2002 20:58:38 ET

Many religious conservatives who were instrumental in pressing President Bush to appoint John Ashcroft as attorney general -- now say they have become deeply troubled by his actions, the NEW YORK TIMES is planning to report in a blistering Page One spread on Wednesday.

"His religious base is now quite troubled by what he's done," Grover Norquist tells the TIMES's Neil Lewis.

MORE

Several Bush advisers have begun complaining that Ashcroft has projected himself too often and too forcefully. More significantly, they say privately that he seems to be overstating the evidence of terrorist threats, the paper claims.

Conservtives cite Ashcroft's anti-terrorist positions as enhancing the kind of government power that they instinctively oppose.

Norquist: "If there hadn't been this big government problem, Ashcroft would have been talked about as the Bush successor. Instead, the talk is that 'too bad we pushed for him."'

Ashcroft was also criticized by some in the administration for declaring early on that the case of John Walker Lindh was a major terrorist case, the paper reports. Some officials in the Justice Department believed that the attorney general made needlessly harsh public comments about Lindh. The case came to an abrupt end last week, when Lindh pleaded guilty to two felonies and the department dropped the most severe terrorism-related charges against him, treating him as a far less important figure than depicted by the attorney general.

Developing...

[Dog]

I hate the media!!!!!!!

[The Vast Right Wing]

Given that this is coming out in the NY Slimes, I suspect it is a hit job. The Slimes is trying to set the agenda.

[Pokey78]

Dear Grover Norquist,

Know your role & shut your hole. Especially to the NYT.

[Dog]

Instead, the talk is that 'too bad we pushed for him."'

One known fact .....this White House doesn't leak...

[Pokey78]

It's got Howell Raines'fingerprints all over it, but Grover was stupid enough to be quoted.

[LarryM]

Norquist is a muslim lackey. He's mad at Ashcroft for going after his terrorist buddies.

[Alissa]

Just remember the Slimes is the 'official' talking points for 'all the news' to follow all day long across all time zones. It's time to squash/expose this procedure!!!!!

[Dog]

Wasn't there an article earlier about Bush rebuffing Powell over that UN funding ......now this article. Someone is working real hard to cause trouble..

[Thane_Banquo]

I have a severe problem with Ashcroft okaying using private citizens to spy on Americans and spying on places of worship.

[Texasforever]

I have a severe problem with Ashcroft okaying using private citizens to spy on Americans and spying on places of worship.

Tough.

[mdittmar]

The NY Times reporting conservatives turning on conservatives!

Wow,that's a first.

I was getting damn tired of all those liberals turn on liberals stories.

[fineright]

Ashcroft is not perfect. Don`t go and pull a "Pitt" on him though.

[Paul Atreides]

Well, at least it is conservative women who turn him on.

We don't need another Janet Reno in there.

[Alissa]

As a postscript to my post above, the New York Times is the catalyst for Hillary Clinton winning her Senate seat. She would have never won that seat without the SLIMES!!!!!

[Ted]

I am not AT ALL troubled by anything Ashcroft has done thus far. I know people who have known him personally for many years, and am very confident we have a great man on the job. May God help him ignore this media drivel.

[demkicker]

"Just remember the Slimes is the 'official' talking points for 'all the news' to follow all day long across all time zones. It's time to squash/expose this procedure!!!!!"

Eggggzactly! Too bad Drudge is a willing accomplice in spreading this trash. Ashcroft is definitely getting the negative propaganda Gingrich treatment. Lucky for us, John Ashcroft is a man of substance, moral fiber and strength, which will hopefully keep him above the ghouls and their wicked plot to bring him down.

[sinkspur]

Norquist is a muslim lackey. He's mad at Ashcroft for going after his terrorist buddies.

He may be. But he, like most other Washington insiders, craves media attention, and never met a microphone or notepad he could bypass.

I suspect Grover Norquist is largely speaking for himself and the "patriots" who've made "fascist state" a staple in their vocabulary.

[jwalsh07]

I have a severe problem with Ashcroft okaying using private citizens to spy on Americans and spying on places of worship.

Does this mean you won't be reporting suspected terrorists in a community near you?

[rdb3]

Look for these talking points to be picked up by even those on the far-far-Right.

INCOMING!