Ashcroft has one of the Senate's most negative voting records on civil rights. For liberals, Ashcroft's biggest liability remains his pro-life ideology.
Polls consistently show blacks siding with pro-lifers.
When interviewed regarding the issue of abortion, black women overwhelmingly oppose abortion, and black men are even more vehement in their opposition. For ideological reasons, Ashcroft opposed the nominations to federal judgeships of non-conservatives Ronnie L. White, Marsha Berzon, and Richard A. Paez. Ashcroft opposed a bill mandating that the federal government hire more teachers. Opponents believed, for ideological reasons, that the Constitution denies the federal government a role in education. Ashcroft opposed expanded hate crime legislation.