Think Progress

Ashcroft: Bush is ‘the most respectful’ ever of civil liberties.

In a speech to Missouri Republicans yesterday, former attorney general John Ashcroft defended President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program and his record on civil liberties, declaring that Bush is “among the most respectful of all leaders ever” when it comes to “respecting the civil liberties and rights of individuals.” Bush “respects liberty so profoundly that he has protected it and has safeguarded civil liberties more than any other president in wartime that I know of,” Ashcroft said. Ashcroft’s comments come on the heels of Bush’s decision to allow the civil liberties oversight board to go vacant.




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62 Responses to “Ashcroft: Bush is ‘the most respectful’ ever of civil liberties.”

  1. Dirty Hippie Says:

    Down is up. Black is white. The surge is working......

    Heckuva job.

    Shitheads.......


  2. Peter C Says:

    I think it is time to put Ashcroft in a "free-speech zone".


  3. whatevah Says:

    Earth to Ashcroft! This man is seriously deluded and has had a bit too much fascist juice to drink.


  4. Krazny Says:

    Doesn't really mean anything coming from Ashcroft. These guys lie to cover up other lies, and other crimes. They don't even think about anymore. It is a matter of trying to mold the republican group think to a specific idea.


  5. whatevah Says:

    Ashcroft knows that he's factored among the Bush criminal cabal and is fighting desperately for his future here. Desperation personified - Ashcroft.


  6. VerbalKint Says:

    Unreal. Surreal.


  7. Peter C Says:

    When we fail to prosecute these criminals, every day we are forced to drink a little more of their poison. These people should not have the luxury of a position of respect within our society; it just gives credence to the lies they spread. Unless we convict them, they will return, just like Cheney and Rumsfield.


  8. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    It's just fascinating.

    They really think that if they say something that is the complete opposite of reality, it will convince people.

    Well, truth be told, it will work on some. (I'm talking to YOU, 29-percenters.)

    And I guess, if you're into the crap these guys are into, it's a better strategy than just saying something that is a little bit false. Who was it again who said "in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility"?

    Oh yeah. Hitler.


  9. Winski Says:

    and...the earth is flat!!!


  10. Guido OBGYN Lover Says:

    Ashcroft has been soundbiting that for a very long time.
    NPR did an interview with Ashcroft when he was pushing his book and he has the line down pat.

    History will show that the "war" the Neocons speak of is a war of choice they started a generation ago against dark skinned people in the Mideast, and that their spying on Americans was the only choice they had to protect Americans because the USA created so many enemies.


  11. singe_101 Says:

    Ashcroft added, "Wocka Wocka Wocka!"


  12. Wayne Says:

    Ashcroft made a fresh batch of koolaide. Drink up neo-kiddies.

    Orwell is spinning in his grave.


  13. Fritz Says:

    These people lie so fluently and often, they must know that it works with a significant portion (~30%) of the American public.
    It really is astonishing that so many people swallow these lies.


  14. Peter C Says:

    Sorry singe_101, but "wocka wocka wocka" are the words of a liberal. Ashcroft, more likely concluded with a few well chosen explitives.


  15. dlet Says:

    What really gets me are the people in the audience just lap it up....."uh..yep....if he said it, it must be true...and I'm an important person because I was invited to see Ashcroft speak...uh yep..."


  16. Doc Rock Says:

    . . . and up is down; in is out; bad is good; and Ashcroft si bananas.


  17. batbird Says:

    Just when you thought that you have heard the most outrageous, preposterous absurdity along comes another one.
    When will Americans have enough?


  18. Witch1 Says:

    bush is most respectful even of civil liberties.? BS.....Creating a war that has killed over a million, allowing or helping create 9/11, waiting 4 day's to help N.O..on and on...He and this administration have denied all these and more of their civil right's to the extreme.....Every one of them should be tried and in prison for life......Blessings


  19. Bullsmith Says:

    Who would've thought America could become a country where blatant Orwellian doublespeak- saying things that are obviously the exact opposite of the truth (i.e. "Democrats want the terrorists to win")- would become the normal level of discourse for the government and its members.

    Ashcroft, like Bush, spits on the Bill of Rights when he spews such obvious falsehoods about such important issues. Personally I think he has no idea how odious his words are, as the reality of what he has helped wreak is something he cannot face.


  20. bilbobaggins Says:

    The President who is responsible for taking away our civil liberties is somehow the most respectful President of civil liberties. My head is spinning here.

    Do they really think that the American public is going to buy this $hit? They have been on to the Bush Crime Family for some time now and know who and what he is. And the last thing he is is a defender of civil liberties.

    I'm seeing a trend here. His sycophants are out there on the talk show circuit addressing the worst things he has done to this country in a desperate bid to convince us that it was all good stuff.


  21. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Jack AssCrack........Bizarro World/Orwell spokesperson extraordinaire!

    Now go and cover some statue's breasts, arrest all the calico cats, and whatever you do.......DO NOT DANCE!!


  22. Bluestocking Says:

    Considering that Ashcroft is the same man who came up with the idea for "Operation TIPS" -- a measure encouraging American citizens to spy and report on each other, a truly Orwellian proposal in every sense of the word -- his remarks should be taken with a whole mine of salt, never mind just a grain.


  23. gummitch Says:

    I’m seeing a trend here. His sycophants are out there on the talk show circuit addressing the worst things he has done to this country in a desperate bid to convince us that it was all good stuff.

    Comment by bilbobaggins — February 10, 2008 @ 11:33 am

    The "trend" has been going on since 2000: the Bushies just lie and lie and lie.


  24. Saint Augustine Says:

    Crap, just when I thought we might have some peace a poster like Frank MORON shows up. Phuck off jerkwad.


  25. flex Says:

    This is why America is in such a state of turmoil, these evil neo-con extremists (Bushies) actually believe their own BS.


  26. Ms_Joanne Says:

    Hey guys, since there isn't a ThinkFast today, I was wondering if anyone else saw these two items. I am sincerely interested in your thoughts.

    http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/07/6918/

    http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.htm

    Interesting, both. Please do share your thoughts.

    Thanks!

    p.s. I don't respond to trolls so I don't give two craps about your thoughts. Just sayin'.


  27. dbadass Says:

    Comment by Frank M — February 10, 2008 @ 11:59 am

    That is just silly. put any two words together and search them and you will find something to look at. Did you google "surge not working" also


  28. natisman Says:

    So what do you think happened to Assworth when he was close to death a couple of years ago.

    I'll bet that he didn't have any conversations with GOD on the way out or in from death.

    I wonder who he talked to?


  29. EvilPoet Says:

    GodBirds of a feather...

    Vintage Ashcroft [circa 2001]

    Ashcroft: "Jesus Is King"

    Former Missouri U.S. Senator John Ashcroft, expected as of presstime to be approved as U.S. Attorney General, was handpicked by the Religious Right, according to a news story in the Jan. 7 New York Times. The Times noted that if confirmed, Ashcroft "would reach the highest office ever attained by a leading figure of the Christian right."

    In response to media pressure, Bob Jones University, where Ashcroft accepted an honorary degree in 1999, released the video transcript of his remarks there. Ashcroft told the segregationist college:

    "Unique among nations, America recognized the source of our character as being godly and eternal, not being civic and temporal. And because we have understood that our source is eternal, America has been different. We have no king but Jesus."

    In a statement, the Foundation noted: "The founding fathers who threw off the yokes of kings and monarchies likewise ensured through our founding document that government and citizens would not be yoked by the tyranny of religion. . . .

    "Ashcroft's intemperate, inaccurate and inflammatory remarks at Bob Jones University raise a red flag that should alarm any thoughtful individual. Many U.S. citizens are unbelievers, Jews and other nonChristians who do not recognize Jesus as 'king,' nor do the vast majority of nominally religious, unchurched Americans."

    (Source)


  30. Saint Augustine Says:

    A quoted from one ot the reports MORON Frank's link led to:

    One year and 937 U.S. fatalities later, the surge is a fragile and limited success, an operation that has helped stabilize the capital and its surroundings but has yet to spark the political gains that could set the stage for a larger American withdrawal.

    Frank MORON is so stupid, perhaps he'd like to go swimming in the pools of sewage visible in Baghdad from Google Earth to clean himself.


  31. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    I guess it all depends on whose civil liberties you're talking about.

    Has Bush interred thousands of Muslim-Americans, the way Rooseveldt imprisoned Japanese-Americans during WWII? No. But thousands of Muslims were rounded up and incarcerated on Visa violations following 9-11.

    And we must all now presume our telephone conversations, as well as everything we do on the internet is now the subject of Government surveillance.

    And Bush admits to waterboarding three human beings. Are there more? Will we ever know?

    But maybe once YOU are accused of being a terrorist, YOU aren't entitled to any civil liberties. Thus whatever Bush does to you is not a violation of YOUR civil liberties.

    Can a government redefine torture, commit what the rest of the world considers torture, and still claim to be respectful of civil liberties? Obviously, yes.

    IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
    FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
    WAR IS PEACE


  32. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Try sometimes reading actual news on real news sites like Times instead of relying on blogs like TP or Raw.

    Comment by Frank M — February 10, 2008 @ 11:59 am

    Well, check these specs Frankie Boy, especially the archives for the past two months:

    http://antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12339

    Lots of people still getting killed for Lockheed, Halliburton, Exxon, Zionists, and Neo-Cons, and ZERO fighting for Freedom© and Democracy®


  33. katy Says:

    i lived in "misery" for a few years... so glad it didn't rub off on me...
    being in columbia, a college town, surely helped...


  34. Saint Augustine Says:

    US Diplomats in Iraq Accused of Incompetence and Negligence

    http://www.aina.org/news/2008029154843.htm


  35. ralph the wonder llama Says:

    Crap, just when I thought we might have some peace a poster like Frank MORON shows up. Phuck off jerkwad.

    Comment by Saint Augustine — February 10, 2008 @ 11:56 am

    Yeah, but I noticed the only thing Frank found worthy of comment was a passing remark by an earlier poster.

    Apparently, even Frank can't defend Ashcroft's bass-ackward logic and instead sees that his only hope is to misdirect the thread.


  36. darladoon Says:

    it's like the cartoon network here at TP.

    best ever, eh?

    ashcroft = ashcroft


  37. katy Says:

    NOTICE:
    i wrote a note to FAIZ about the trolls - particularly the pat2/3, who had been banned several times under different names and keeps coming back… here is the repyl:

    He hasn’t violated any terms. Just ignore him, but that seems to be asking too much of our commenters.

    it’s true - the trooll feeders are the biggest problem here.

    i wonder, how we can fix that?


  38. Ms_Joanne Says:

    Katy, there is no fix to people who want to try to change the mind of people who have no mind or morals (if they are indeed being paid to spew the kinds of crap they do).

    The only people who like GWB are uber wealthy or clueless. It's those last people who bother me the most as they ALWAYS vote against themselves...and blame others for their lack of knowledge.

    I quit responding to trolls because I am not masochistic and don't enjoy bashing my head against a brick wall over and over again (same diff, eh?). To me it's pointless. IGNORE TROLLS!

    p.s. I really would like everyone's thoughts on my post #28. Thanks so much!


  39. Marie Says:

    Asscroft says Bush is respectful of civil liberties?
    Do these guys take special vitamins that give them the balls to make these most ridiculous and observably false claims?


  40. Mugsy Says:

    This morning on Fox "news" Sunday, Bush attacked "the Democrat Party" (a phrase he used three times in the interview) for "obstructing the FISA bill" and "not giving him the tools he needs to fight terrorism".

    Naturally, host Wallace didn't bother to ask Bush what it was he "couldn't" do under the current FISA law that Democrats were preventing him from doing, but I guess that's irrelevant.


  41. Marie Says:

    Comment by Ms_Joanne — February 10, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
    I find it very curious that there has been so little coverage of the cable "problem." Lack of reporting on the story gives rise to suspicion.
    As for the FBI story - this is getting ever more scary, folks. The brownshirts are growing.


  42. Fool Zero Says:

    We had to destroy your civil liberties to save them.


  43. Briseadh na Faire Says:

    Ms Joanne,

    I found the first article somewhat disturbing, especially when combined with the stories about halliburton's concentration camps build around the U.S.

    Martial Law, with its concommitant consolidation of all Government functions into a singular Unitary Executive, usurping even state and local governments, is a foregone conclusion.

    The question is, what will we do when Blackwater has guards on every street corner?

    By then, there won't be much anyone can do. Those of us who speak out will disappear; we'll be the first ones gone.

    Mourn, then, not for us, but for those we leave behind.

    Peace and Blessings.


  44. prius04 Says:

    Read Naomi Kliens book Disaster Capitalism and Ashcrofts statements will make perfect sense.

    These people define freedom and liberty differently from you and I. To them, freedom is the freedom for multinational corporations to make profits. The more those corporations are free to do what they want in that pursuit, the more "liberty" there is. They have nver been referring to free speech or individual civil liberties. Or the rights for individuals to organize.

    When you understand the definitions these people use you will better understand what they've been doing.

    READ THE BOOK!


  45. Ms_Joanne Says:

    I think, unfortunately, all the telecom crap is directly related to those events taking place and the inability for the regular people to be able to freely communicate with each other.

    I fear for what my country has become. But I am scared $hitless about what it might become.

    I keep telling myself I am overreacting...but I don't think so. IF we get to the next election, and if Obama is elected I think this is going to come to fruition. If Clinton wins I think we'll survive for a few more years. Either way, there is too much in place for me to have much comfort in too many things.


  46. Jericho Says:

    Funny,... from where I'm standing the devil seems more respectful of civil liberties than Bush.


  47. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Hey guys, since there isn’t a ThinkFast today, I was wondering if anyone else saw these two items. I am sincerely interested in your thoughts.

    http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/07/6918/

    http://www.cyberspaceorbit.com/ConnectingTheDots.htm

    Comment by Ms_Joanne — February 10, 2008 @ 12:01 pm

    #1 - Militarization and paranoia of our culture, in the mode of the brownshirts in Nazi Germany, and recently having firemen tell DHS what books you read.

    #2 - Iran is about to move their Bourse from Dollars to Euros, and we remember what happened to Iraq when Hussein did that. Something is afoot, and it does not look good. And........don't expect Hillary to NOT attack Iran.


  48. Ms_Joanne Says:

    ...recently having firemen tell DHS what books you read.

    Have fun guys...I own 6000 books. :-D


  49. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    Have fun guys…I own 6000 books. :-D

    Comment by Ms_Joanne — February 10, 2008 @ 1:15 pm

    Well....If one of those books are subversive........Antiwar, Socialism, Che Guevara, Animal Rights, Environmentalism, Atheism, Nudism, or Feminism, we will confiscate them and burn them.

    Then you will be just like Linda here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTWTjRiXDEI


  50. Saint Augustine Says:

    Do you know any police officers? I recently asked one "If the president invokes martial law and people begin a rebellion against him, what will you and your fellow officers do?"

    His answer was that personally he wasn't sure but the topic has been discussed among themselves.

    Given what we know about Bush and his administration I would not be surprised by another attack here in the states before the next president is sworn in. But, unless Cheney and Bush were killed in that attack I would suspect them of being behind it.


  51. rehbock Says:

    Ashcroft's statement is true if you add qualifiers. Bush is the most respectful of civil liberties remaining after determining that that which we believed were civil liberties don't exist. Or he is the most respectful of civil liberties embodied in the Second Amendment. Or most respectful of civil liberties of corporations. See Ashcroft just didnt't quite get it into a soundbite.


  52. Tired of being lied to Says:

    What a warped sense of respect, and I don't buy it. Just because Bush and Company has taken from us a measurable chunk of our civil liberties does not mean he is protecting them. I doubt you would think I respect you, your car or home, if I came to you and removed them. Oh, I will tell you not to worry and that it is my job is to protect you, and that the only way I can do that is to deprive you of them. Good hell, we haven't had a president until now who got away with this crap - why do we STILL put up with it?


  53. ucsbclassics53 Says:

    Yes, I'm sure Bush has been most respectful of civil rights also...


  54. mparker Says:

    You fell asleep next to a pod didn't you ?


  55. FearandSmear Says:

    Oh, John - how we've missed you. Fredo was more entertaining but your degree of batshit craziness is unmatched in modern legal times.


  56. Brain From Planet Arous Says:

    A Little Sound collage of AssCrack and Seedy


  57. williamf Says:

    Ashcroft, go back to the Reichstag and sit on it. We can credit you with the first efforts to make this beautiful country of ours a model of Nazi Germany. STFU!!


  58. FitterDon Says:

    Idiotic comments like this are why Asscroft got beat by a dead man.


  59. christopher wiwi Says:

    delusional,bootlicking BUSHCO man loyal to the end!!!!!!!!!!!


  60. sacopenapa Says:

    Is the criminal Rove writing what he says?


  61. natisman Says:

    But does John Asscraft know what a civil liberty is?

    I don't think so?

    So how can he figure out that Shrub-boy is cool with them?

    Lots of questions!


  62. Annie B. Says:

    John Ashcroft had one great moment when he refused to go along with Alberto Gonzale's trying to get him to override the acting attorney general's decision.

    Looks like that will be his only one.



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