Christian Coalition Backs Gonzales as AG
Christian Coalition of America is calling on its constituents to contact their Senators to urge them to vote to confirm Judge Alberto Gonzales as the new Attorney General.
Christian Coalition of America is calling on its constituents to contact their Senators to urge them to vote to confirm Judge Alberto Gonzales as the new Attorney General.
The Coalition’s reaffirmation of its support for Gonzales comes two weeks after a coalition of human rights groups-- including the NAACP, ACLU and Amnesty International— issued a joint letter under the organization Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to the Senate, calling for “close scrutiny” of Gonzales’ “record, his positions, and his future plans for the Justice Department.”
In particular, the letter addressed the groups’ concerns about a draft memo Gonzales wrote in January 2002 on laws regarding the treatment of prisoners of war and said the Administration’s position led to the abuses in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
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The Coalition challenged the coalition’s letter by noting that the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, the National Council of La Raza, has endorsed Gonzales.
Roberta Combs, president of Christian Coalition of America said, “Judge Gonzales is a great example of the American success story. He was one of eight children of Mexican-American migrant workers. He earned a Harvard law degree after serving in the United States Air Force and worked in the private sector for a number of years before he served as counsel to Governor George W. Bush in Texas. He was a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. He has been serving as White House counsel to President Bush.”
Gonzales is expected to face tough questioning during his confirmation hearings such as whether his close relationship with the President will jeopardize his independence, according to reports. The schedule for the hearings has not been. If confirmed, he will succeed Attorney General John Ashcroft as the first Hispanic Attorney General.
“President Bush has promised to nominate to the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, strict constructionists who will not legislate from the bench,” continued Combs. “Judge Gonzalez has served as President Bush's key individual in seeking just such nominees to the federal courts, which now number over 100 confirmed federal judges.”
“Christian Coalition believes that Judge Gonzales will serve with excellence just as the current Attorney General, John Ashcroft, has done during the past four years,” said a press release from Christian Coalition. “As a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, he was opposed to judicial activism and recognized that the role of the judiciary should be very limited. As Attorney General Ashcroft did so successfully, Judge Gonzales will protect Americans from terrorism while not squelching the rights of Americans.”
Other conservative groups supporting Bush’s nomination of Gonzales includes Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, and American Center for Law and Justice. American Life League, a pro-life group, opposes Gonzales’ nomination.
