Some of Ashcroft's opponents have portrayed his opportunistic scuttling of White's nomination as racist. This charge backfired, however, because there was no smoking gun and Ashcroft would almost certainly have torpedoed a white Clinton nominee with the same ruthless determination. By making unsubstantiated allegations of racial discrimination, Ashcroft's opponents left themselves open to charges that they were playing the race card. I t is appalling, of course, that the absence of explicit racism has become tantamount to a clean bill of health. But that is what has happened.
Slavery is abhorrent.
Put aside that many white supremacists, including Grant himself, supported the Union. Put aside that many white supremacists abhorred slavery. The crucial fact is that Ashcroft's record shows little in the way of authentic support for the great struggles on behalf of racial justice that have taken place in his own lifetime. Some who opposed Ashcroft deployed rhetorical formulas that liberals ought to reject. For example, liberals should not condemn him because he is outside the mainstream.