Which chapter was it where the Devil said "Once you get the church together with politicians, you have both right where you want them?"
States' Rights Take a Back Seat in Ashcroft's Justice Department. Attorney General John Ashcroft's belief that there is evil in the world has caused him to revise his practices about executive power, states' rights and local law enforcement. By Adam Liptak. [New York Times: Politics]
...Mr. Ashcroft has vast political experience, serving two terms as governor of Missouri and one term in the Senate. But his religious background has played at least as important a role in shaping his philosophy.
"The terrorist attacks have energized Ashcroft in a remarkable way, resonating with his sincere belief that there is evil in the world," said Nancy Baker, an associate professor of government at New Mexico State University and the author of "Conflicting Loyalties," a history of the attorney general's office. "As the son and grandson of Assembly of God preachers, he is spiritually as well as politically inclined to do battle with evil."
That conviction, reinforced by the terrorist threat, has lately caused him to revise his practices, if not his stated views, about executive power, states' rights and the autonomy of local law enforcement.
...
But Mr. Ashcroft's language also reveals how his personal convictions help inform his thinking about the rule of law. "Order and liberty go together, like love and marriage," he told a group of judges in August. "You can't have one without the other."
