I was just invited to John Ashcroft’s “Farewell Heritage Lecture” scheduled for Tuesday, 1 February, 11 a.m. at the Heritage Foundation’s Allison Auditorium.
The title of Ashcroft’s talk: True Faith and Allegiance.
The meeting host is Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy, and Chairman, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Heritage Foundation (and of course former Attorney General).
Here is the pitch paragraph that came with the announcement:
This nation’s fundamental commitment to the rule of law, as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitution, has promoted unparalleled liberty and equality, and prosperity and justice — not to mention the safety and happiness of the American people — for more than two centuries.
It has always been the case, but especially now in a time of war, that sustaining these fundamental precepts demands our eternal vigilance. There is no more critical defender of these principles than the Attorney General of the United States. As he concludes his tenure in that office, Attorney General Ashcroft will share with us his reflections on the state of our Constitution, the rule of law, and the crucial importance of our mutual work to support and defend the principles that will always make America a beacon of liberty at home and throughout the world.
What can one say, or ask, that is not obvious? I’m sure that Heritage would want a large turn-out for this event, and I don’t believe in disrupting other organization’s programs and don’t want anyone reading this to attend with the purpose of disrupting the meeting. However, I hope someone asks where Guantanamo, military tribunals, torture memos, visa entry horror stories, and other White House approved behaviors that seem totally at odds with “his nation’s fundamental commitment to the rule of law” fit into Ashcroft’s mental road map.
And how does Ashcroft square Gonzales’s disregard for treaties and covenants of law that seem to have been regularly sidestepped by him — in Austin and Washington?
Here is the RSVP number: (202) 675-1752.
Asking questions of those in power is a public duty. Make your questions simple.
— Steve Clemons
