By Fred Jackson and Bill Fancher

(AgapePress) - John Ashcroft spent yesterday preparing for tough questioning he no doubt will face as he begins Senate hearings today on his nomination for Attorney General. Since President-elect Bush announced the former Missouri senator as his choice for the Cabinet post, Ashcroft has been the target of liberal attacks -- some accusing him of being a racist, some over his pro-life stance, and some because of his well-documented Christian beliefs.

As they have been doing the past couple of weeks, Ashcroft's enemies are expected to use during the confirmation hearings is to try to paint him as a racist. Liberal black activists like Jesse Jackson were quick to jump on the Ashcroft nomination right from the start. They have continually pointed to one case where Ashcroft rejected the Clinton nomination of a black state supreme court justice for a federal judgeship. Ignored by those critics has been the fact that Ashcroft has voted to confirm more than 20 other black people into federal judge jobs.

Many conservative black people have come forward to counter the attempts of Jackson and others to play the race card. One of them is Pastor Steve Gooden, President of the conservative youth group No Compromise. He says blacks have nothing to fear from John Ashcroft.

"Here is a man who is truly representative of ... the nucleus of the black community, which is the church," Gooden says. "This has always been, on a political basis, that thing in which we circulate our issues around, and I believe John Ashcroft best represents that, and any opposition to him is an opposition to the black community."

Gooden adds that John Ashcroft's civil rights record is above reproach.

Parshall on Nomination
Janet Parshall of the Family Research Council says there is nothing in his actions or in his record that in the remotest sense indicates Ashcroft is racist. She offered several examples to support that statement.

"As governor [of Missouri], he signed into law a state holiday that celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. He fought to protect Lincoln University, a school founded by black soldiers. He created an award that acknowledges and honors George Washington Carver, a black educator. He declared Scott Joplin's home -- that great ragtime musician -- a Missouri historic site," Parshall says.

She then adds, "As senator [from Missouri], John Ashcroft's rate of confirmation of black judicial nominees during the Clinton Administration was 26 of 28."

Parshall says one of those nominees was withdrawn by Bill Clinton himself, which makes Ashcroft's approval rate of black judges 96%. She also points out the fact that Ashcroft convened the only Senate hearing every held on racial profiling. She insists those actions are not the actions of a racist.

Christian Call to Action
Another conservative leader is urging conservative Christians all across America to stand with Ashcroft. Lou Sheldon, founder and president of Traditional Values Coalition, says those who are using lies to attack the nominee must be countered.

"This is ... definitely a call to action on the part of all of us to stand with [Ashcroft], who is a man of God," Sheldon says.

Sheldon points out that the only two Bush Cabinet nominees that have come under heavy attack are Ashcroft and Linda Chavez -- two conservative people of faith. He thinks those attacks are indicative of a new bigotry taking hold in the United States.

"There's no question that we've moved into an era where people are sharply polarized against what is morally right," he says.

Sheldon says that means Christians are now targets for criticism simply because they follow God's Word.

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