Ashcroft Leaves, Anti-Liberty Policies Remain
More from Dan Gillmor
The mistruths in this letter are worth unpacking, but the most important thing to realize is that Bush is responsible for the attorney general's "accomplishments," not the man who put Bush's policies into practice.NY Times: Ashcroft Quits Top Justice Post; Evans Going, Too. In a handwritten resignation letter to Mr. Bush, dated Nov. 2, that was released by the White House on Tuesday, Mr. Ashcroft said, "The demands of justice are both rewarding and depleting... I take great personal satisfaction in the record which has been developed. The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved. The rule of law has been strengthened and upheld in the courts. Yet, I believe that the Department of Justice would be well served by new leadership and fresh inspiration."
If it wasn't such a serious matter, you'd be tempted to laugh at Ashcroft's assertion that "securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror" has occurred. Of course this is false. Crime hasn't stopped during the Bush administration, and only a fool believes we're not going to see more terrorism in years to come. Ashcroft is not a fool, whatever else he is.
Saying the rule of law "has been strengthened and upheld in the courts" is brazen. It's actually true in a way Ashcroft plainly didn't mean: The courts have ruled in key cases that the Bush administration can't decide on its own what the law is. Remember, for example, that this government has asserted the president's right to declare an American citizen to be an "enemy combatant," and then lock the citizen away indefinitely without access even to a lawyer. The notion of the president as beat cop, prosecutor, judge and jury was too much for this Supreme Court, which did uphold the rule of law as it ruled against the administration's dictatorial stance.
No president in recent memory has given the back of his hand to the rule of law like this one. Bush has made it clear he wants to expand government's power to spy on citizens and otherwise restrict their liberties (except the right to own weapons, of course). He's also made it clear that he intends to appoint judges at all levels who will take his expansive view of government authority.
For four years, Ashcroft has been the president's oh-so-willing servant. It's good that he's leaving. But don't think for a minute that the anti-liberty policies he pursued are going to change. [Dan Gillmor's eJournal]