Gale Norton Draws Criticism From Environmental Groups
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Interior Secretary-nominee Gale Norton joining the list of Bush Cabinet nominees drawing fire today. A coalition of environmental groups has scheduled a news conference later this hour to discuss their complaints. Norton is expected to survive that confirmation battle. Our Jonathan Karl looks at the fight ahead and the tactics that some of the groups are using.</s>JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Facing an uphill battle to defeat George W. Bush's choice for interior secretary, environmental groups felt they struck political gold when they discovered, on the Internet, a speech she gave back in 1996.</s>DOUG KENDALL, COMMUNITY RIGHTS COUNSEL: We tried to figure out how to get this out in the best way possible. And we agreed that the best way would be to have one media organization get it so they could do a full treatment of the issue.</s>KARL: The now-famous speech by Gale Norton includes a passage where she invokes the Civil War in a discussion of states' rights -- potentially explosive stuff. The Environmental Working Group gave the speech exclusively to "The Washington Post," earning front-page coverage for a story that otherwise might have fallen through the cracks. The group says it also gave it to National Public Radio on the condition NPR wouldn't air the story until it first appeared in "The Post."</s>KENNETH COOK, ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP: These are tactical matters. I'm sure the Bush administration is -- incoming administration is actively working on exclusives and with newspapers and TV stations all around town right now. So this is just one of the tools in the tool kit of trying to get the word out.</s>KARL: The front-page article got plenty of attention, even catching Bush's eye.</s>ARI FLEISCHER, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY-DESIGNATE: The president-elect saw the story this morning. He thought this was, just as I indicated, the usual Washington distortions.</s>KARL: The article zeroed in on Norton's comments about the Civil War; but her defenders say she wasn't defending the Confederacy, just making the case for limited federal government.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT-ELECT: She in no way, shape, or form was talking about the value -- any value to slavery. And, you know, what happens in this town is the voices of the special interests like to tear people down, that's just part of the process, I understand that. But this is a good, strong woman who's going to do a very good job as the interior secretary.</s>KARL: On Friday, a coalition of the largest environmental groups in the nation will announce a campaign against Norton. But even the opposition acknowledges, she's unlikely to be defeated.</s>COOK: I don't think people are counting on defeating her nomination, but I do think they're counting on raising these important questions and having them fully debated.</s>KARL (on camera): The groups opposing Norton are hoping that civil rights organizations will join their opposition. But as of Thursday afternoon, the NAACP, which already has its hands full opposing the John Ashcroft nomination, said it is undecided about whether or not it will join the campaign against Gale Norton. Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.</s>KAGAN: And that news conference by groups opposing Gale Norton is expected to begin at the bottom of the hour. We plan to bring portions of that to you live here on CNN MORNING NEWS. Speaking of President-elect Bush, he is urging Senate Democrats who are criticizing his Cabinet choices to tone down their rhetoric. CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joining us from Capitol Hill with the latest on that. Bob, a fair call or is this just politics in D.C.?</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Politics in D.C. Rhetoric is not something that is toned down in Washington, D.C. However, it is really kind of muted when it comes to two of the other nominations that were presented by President Bush yesterday in the wake of the Linda Chavez debacle. He came forward with Elaine Chao. Now Elaine Chau is a former deputy secretary of transportation. She is well known and really quite a member of the Washington establishment, among other things is the wife of Senator Mitch McConnell, a longtime senator from Kentucky, a Republican, which should work in her favor when her nomination goes through. Not only that, but the labor unions are saying that this is somebody they believe they could work with. So look for that to be a very easy nomination for Elaine Chao as the labor secretary. Similarly, Trade Representative Robert Zoellick -- well, he'll be called trade representative. Most people believe he should go through quite easily. He is also a longtime member of the establishment here, was a sub-Cabinet-level officer of the State Department dealing with trade issues, is somebody who is well-known and well liked on Capitol Hill. And in addition, the Bush administration decided that it would not demote the trade representative position to sub-Cabinet. It will continue to be a Cabinet-level position. That was one of the first matters of infighting going on in the coming administration. Zoellick will in fact have a Cabinet-level position. Now there's also Donald Rumsfeld, who is the prospective secretary of defense. Put that one down as a certain approval. He had his hearing yesterday, ran into no opposition. Of course, he's been a defense secretary before. Now we get John Ashcroft, prospective attorney general, hearings next week led by the Democrats -- extremely contentious. The fact of the matter is that the liberal groups, those who oppose the Bush administration, frankly are putting most of their eggs in the basket to oppose John Ashcroft -- Daryn.</s>KAGAN: Bob Franken, thank you very much.