
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 27, 1993                   TAG: 9305270194
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS CIVIL RIGHTS NOMINEE

The White House, concerned that President Clinton's nominee for the top Justice Department civil rights post could be defeated because of her controversial views on racial preferences, launched an unusual campaign Wednesday to save the nomination weeks in advance of any Senate confirmation vote.

C. Lani Guinier, a Pennsylvania law professor, is a longtime friend and Yale Law School classmate of the president and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

She has been nominated as assistant attorney general for civil rights.

In a letter sent to all 100 members of the Senate Wednesday, Howard Paster, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, said Guinier has been a victim of an "unfair and extreme attack" before she has had a chance to explain her views before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Guinier, 43, has been described by opponents as a "quota queen" and an advocate of reverse racial discrimination.

Guinier has written that voting law, while it creates some safe seats for minority candidates, reinforces the "majority tyranny" that keeps all meaningful political power in the hands of whites. She has maintained that public benefits and political representation should reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the population.

by CNB