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Politico is reporting that Eric Holder, Barack Obama’s choice for Attorney General, is the ONLY cabinet nominee likely to face opposition from the Senate. They point out, however, that it is rare for the Senate to deny a president his choice:
The Senate hasn’t rejected a Cabinet nominee outright since 1989, when it voted down John Tower, President George H.W. Bush’s pick as Defense secretary. Before that, it hadn’t rejected a Cabinet pick since 1959. With Democrats in control in the Senate — and Republicans looking to pick their battles carefully — don’t expect a repeat in 2009.
There is a good reason for this. Normally, when nominees become controversial and risk damaging the president who selected them, they withdraw their names from consideration. Like Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood did with President Clinton. It’s the classy, honorable thing to do.
Heck, even Harriet Meirs had enough class to do so.
Really, Holder should stop acting like Governor Blagojevich, screwing over his own party and his own president.
Holder should do the classy thing, and withdraw his name from consideration rather than making PEBO expend political capital and waste time. PEBO’s got enough problems (economic crisis? wars?) without adding Eric Holder to the list.
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yes he can
yes he should
Will Harry Reid honor the hold on the nomination?
Yeah. PEBO could have asked Looseheadprop, Christy, or Marcy to take the job.
That would be change I could get my arms around.
they have talked about it, i’m sure. doesn’t look like he will withdraw. i’m guessin bama wants ta push him through.
So he should withdraw because of some bullshit Republican opposition?
And “PEBO”? Good god – what a crap acronym. You had enough energy to type out “Governor Blagojevich”…
Loosehead!
Mukasey didn’t
Gonzo didn’t
Ashcroft didn’t
Most of the AGs didn’t
Holder won’t
“You are the bestest Attorney General nominee ever!”
– :) Harriet
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/a…..iers1.html
On a sort-of related note, I find it interesting that no more names have been offered for Director of CIA. I could probably get behind Miscik.
Aside to the troll: some of us over here on the left don’t like Holder so much, either.
believe she said the shrub was the snmartest man she ever met too.
I want somebody the republicans don’t.
morning LHP. morning pups.
could someone bring this uneducated person up to date please, why is holder not wanted by the dems and why does obama want him anyway
cnn says: Sources: Burris won’t be allowed on Senate floor Tuesday.
Happy New Year, Betsy. Hope your holidays have been good.
I believe that Holder will be “consented” to and will do a good job.
thanks Jim. Crazy around here, but good. Yours?
I’m obviously no troll and I agree with most of his comment.
I don’t pretend to know the legal issues like LHP, but I haven’t read enough negatives to think he should withdraw his nomination.
Very good, thanks.
Now, I’m trying to get back to the grindstone. I just don’t see how an AG nominee who used insider Washington power to get Chiquita off the hook for death squad killings of labor organizers will have the courage to appoint the number of independent prosecutors we need. I count at least five:
1) Torture.
2) Illegal surveillance.
3) Politicization of DOJ.
4) Manipulation of pre-war intelligence.
5) Destruction of records.
If he came out now and said he would appoint at least that many prosecutors and then stay out of the investigations except to back up subpoenas with criminal prosecutions if they are ignored, I would come closer to supporting Holder.
Krugman with a great piece up at NYT on how the 40 year old “southern strategy” has led the goopers into a cul de sac, and how those (like Charlie Cook- see his website) who urge moderation to the dems have failed to see the total impact…it’s a great read and might provoke some very good discussion here.. Broder wrote a very similar piece a week or so ago.
Goopers are becoming a regional party and this could not be clearer than in their actions with regard to the auto company crisis- where goopers protect japanese plants in the south and are willing to give american companies in the north a strong push onto the ice floe.
It it talks with a drawl- it’s probably a gooper- and if it’s an elected gooper congresscritter- it probably talks with a drawl and pretends that it’s education ended in kindergarten- ceptin fer what it learnt from the good book.
I may or may not be a troll, but I have to say, everytime I read PEBO it’s like nails on a chalkboard.
It is a crap acronym.
^^ This ^^
Yeah sometimes those acronyms don’t seem to convey the proper respect.
I remember the first time my eyes floated over SCOTUS.
pst
Reid
SEAT BURRIS!
Well, that was crap. Let’s try again.
“I want somebody the republicans don’t.”
^^ This ^^
I agree. If this be trollery, make the most of it.
Goopers don’t want Holder- or at least they are pretending that they don’t- promising a big fight.
Let em fight!!!
According to my recollections there were three main objections to Holders nomination:
1 His performance as USA in the Dist of DeeCee
2 The Rich pardon
3 His defense & tactics in the Chicita Banana trials.
Did I miss something?
431 hrs & 56 min
I’m sorry – didn’t mean to chase everyone away
431 hrs & 42 min
Acronym Finder
If not Holder, who?
Neither the Dems nor the Repubs want anyone who will go after murderers, torturers and FISA felons.
A man with class wouldn’t choose to take money getting a sweet deal for death squads’ paymasters — by using his contacts from his stint as # 2 at DOJ to evade DOJ procedures.
Of course, given Chiquita’s long history (and that of their prior corporate incarnation) of arranging murder and coups to keep the Banana “republics” safe for Chiquita, no one with any class — much less ethics — would sit down in the same room with them. Holder not only sat with them and took their money, he chose to strut his power and connections and work for Chiquita when American Lawyer did their puff piece on him for AG.
Given Obama’s affection for authoritarian haters like Rick Warren, I can’t say I’m surprised PEBO wants a deeply amoral man like Holder in his cabinet. Who cares about human rights when Power needs feeding?
The trouble with Holder is that he has a history of spinelessness. While going along with the boss is a desirable trait in other Cabinet members, the AG is the one gal/guy who’s supposed to represent us, and she/he has to be able to stand up to the President.
From what public evidence we have, Holder appears to have been willing to do Hillary’s bidding in the FALN and Weather Underground pardons and his own or the Clintons’ in the Rich pardon — all of which he pushed thru in violation of established Justice Department rules. In the Rich case, he even told a Rich associate what influential attorney (Jack Quinn) that Rich should hire for the extraordinary pardon process.
Especially since Obama seems disinclined to hire a special prosecutor to look into Bush war crimes, we really need an AG who will have the guts to do that for us. Holder ain’t the guy. (In fact, he’s spoken publicly in favor of using extra-Constitutional means to ferret out enemies of the state, even when extra-Constitutional means didn’t seem to be necessary.) There is also (unsubstantiated) speculation that he was involved in the violation of the 4th Amendment rights of the Elian Gonzales family — he’s said publicly it was necessary to storm the Gonzales family’s Miami home.
As disdainful as I am of Republican witch hunts, I’d like to see the Repugs succeed in getting Holder to withdraw his name.
The Constant Weader at http://www.RealityChex.com
Mornin’ Betsy, and LHP, and asordid other Firepups. Happy New Year, y’all!
The only sense I can make of this is that Obama knows things are going to be dicey over at DOJ, and wants someone there who he can depend on. The only trouble with that line of reasoning is that it sounds too much like GWB and Gonzo.
Bob in HI
Temporarily in S.CA
Given their likely lines of attack, I think he should keep going for it. Let them grandstand about Eliot Gonzalez, and then get the vote anyways. It’s too good of an opportunity to let Republicans hang themselves to pass up.
Maybe the Republican opposition represents, in some part, the voice of Dems in the Senate who oppose Holder. Maybe they’re whispering gently to Obama that Holder isn’t the right guy for this job.
Maybe.
What’s wrong with Holder? He seems ok to me. Is there something I don’t know?