LETTERS: SENATORS' BEHAVIOR GIVES STATE A BLACK EYE

To the editor:

I write to tell of my disappointment in our Senators and their conduct in the rejection for U.S. District Court of Ronnie White. As reported in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Sen. Ashcroft's machinations have been exposed.

He solicited negative responses from law enforcement groups, and was turned down by the Missouri Police Chiefs Group. It is not hard to understand why the sheriffs might have joined, given that one of their own lost his wife in the Johnson case.

What Sen. Ashcroft has failed to admit, even today, is that case was about Judge White's opposition to the death penalty, but whether the State should exercise its highest punishment where there is a question as to whether the accused received his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.

In addition, if Sen. Ashcroft is going to be philosophically consistent, then he would also have to oppose any nomination for federal judgeship to Judges Covington, Holstein, Benton and Price, since they all have issued more votes to overturn the death penalty than Judge White. Coincidentally, they were all appointed by Sen. Ashcroft. You have to wonder what the Senator's real agenda in opposing Judge White was.

That brings to light Sen. Bond's conduct. Sen. Bond has brought new meaning to the concept of "support" for someone. While he was running for re-election, he was happy to stand in support of Judge White and say he was in favor.

Now we are told that although he issued his first comments in favor in 1997, it was only a few weeks ago that he had the time to really review Judge White's record, and decide to oppose him. I do not know what is worse -- his blatant lying to get votes, or the fact that a Senator admits on something as something as important as a lifetime judicial appointment, he does not check the record then and there, before giving his support. If he is too busy to check something that important, then perhaps he needs to be in some other line of work where it is not necessary to have to prioritize things.

Anyway you slice it, this has been a black eye on the state of Missouri and its citizens.

Michael H. McGuire

Cape Girardeau