Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 3, 1993 TAG: 9306030299
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From The Associated Press and The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"That's who I am," Guinier said on ABC's "Nightline" news program when asked by Ted Koppel whether she would keep fighting for the job.
At the same time, a senior administration official said Clinton had told senior aides he believes growing Senate opposition had doomed the nomination.
"The president said this nomination had no future," the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. The aide added that Clinton did not directly say he would withdraw the nomination, although that was the implication.
Critics have assaulted Guinier's proposals to bolster the political power of minorities.
But Guinier emphasized the positive, saying, "The president has been supportive of my nomination. . . . The attorney general, Janet Reno, has been enthusiastic about the possibility that I will serve in the Department of Justice."
"The nomination has proved a lot more complicated than what they anticipated," she conceded, "but I am pleased to be given the opportunity to come on this show to talk to you about who I am."
Her appearance was part of an unusual campaign to save her nomination. Customarily, appointees to high federal office decline to answer questions until they have faced a Senate confirmation hearing.
Asked Wednesday afternoon about the prospects for her confirmation, Clinton praised Guinier as a fine lawyer. But he said he would have to take into account the growing opposition to her in the Senate.
A senior Democratic senator said that as many as two dozen Democrats in the Senate had told the White House the nomination should be withdrawn, The New York Times reported. The senator, who declined to be identified, said Guinier could not win the Senate Judiciary Committee's approval.
Guinier, 43, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has been criticized because of scholarly writings in which she argues that majority rule is often insufficient to guarantee blacks their fair share in the political process.
In articles in the University of Michigan and University of Virginia law reviews, she has written that even if blacks are elected, they will always be in the minority and may be outvoted and ignored as important decisions are made. For such cases, she has proposed several alternative voting plans to enlarge the influence of black lawmakers.
Supporters say that her views have been distorted and that her proposals would apply only in isolated cases of resistant racism.
"We're urging him to stand tall on an excellent nomination," Jesse Jackson said in a message to Clinton with two dozen civil rights activists.
by CNB