Why I'm hoping that Eric Holder will NOT be confirmed as AG

[derby378]

Holder wants to stiffen criminal penalties for marijuana possession, even if used purely for medicinal purposes.

His positions on Elian Gonzalez's extraction by gunpoint from his relatives' home in Florida have been contradictory.

He actively campaigned to keep the Justice Department from learning about Bill Clinton's plan to pardon Marc Rich.

He has a track record of opposing Second Amendment rights, most recently in the Heller case.

Last, but not least, he is apparently open to censoring the Internet.

Discuss!

[hlthe2b]

1. He also wants to prosecute the bushies*

I don't believe the censoring the Internet accusation and I call BS on the rest.

[derby378]

2. There's a LOT of qualified potential AGs who want to prosecute Bush

And if the rest is BS, I'm all ears.

[hlthe2b]

10. Can't prove a negative...

What proof do you have that this is his intent?

[skiddlybop]

11. Hi Puma!

Hi!

Puma!

[derby378]

13. Uh, dude...

I supported Obama over Clinton in the primaries. Chill.

[cali]

3. I'll discuss it as soon as you post links that provide evidence

that he made contradictory statements about the Elian Gonzalez case, his track record of opposing the 2nd amendment beyond Heller, and his willingness to censor the internet.

[derby378]

14. Here's what I have so far

On regulating Internet communication:

http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/video.aspx?v=e4qGQukUVr

On marijuana laws:

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/11/18/21472/416

On Elian Gonzalez:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/130191.html

[cali]

16. thanks for the links, but I gotta say that's pretty slim stuff

here's what you consider damning re Gonzalez:

"In the period before armed agents seized the child, the Justice Department had been leaking its intention to avoid any sort of armed intervention. It would all be done quietly, they suggested. When top Department officials were asked about it, they said nothing to change that impression. About two weeks before the raid, Tim Russert asked Holder, “You wouldn’t send a SWAT team in the dark of night to kidnap the child, in effect?” Holder answered, “No, we don’t expect anything like that to happen.” Then the Department did precisely that. The day after the seizure, Holder appeared again with Russert, who asked, “Why such a dramatic change in position?” “I’m not sure I’d call it a dramatic change,” Holder answered. “We waited ‘til five in the morning, just before dawn.”

It’s one thing to not want to tip your hand about what you’re planning. It’s something else to be retroactively smug about sending armed agents into a private home to pry a kid out his nonviolent relatives’ arms at gunpoint."


I have NO problem with that. And your other links lead to similarly tenuous crap.

FAIL.

[babylonsister]

4. Who would you suggest replace Holder? nt

[Thrill]

5. He WILL be confirmed

And be a damn good AG

[Romulox]

7. If by "damn good" you "won't rock the for-profit prison industry's boat", then yeah. nt

[Agent William]

21. fuck yeah, you said it!!

[Romulox]

6. Obama has made it clear that the Drug War will continue apace.

Maybe Eric Holder will prosecute admitted Narcotic User Barack Obama, since they agree that drugs are such a scourge... :eyes:

[onehandle]

8. Why I hope he will be.

A single failed confirmation would be trouble for the President-Elect.

[Median Democrat]

9. A Failure Will Embolden Conservatives In Connection With Supreme Court Nominees

The Holder vote is a test vote. If the GOP succeeds, then the GOP will feel emboldened to oppose Obama's Supreme Court nominees. If Obama loses the Holder nomination, then he will have to play ball with the GOP when it comes to nominating Supreme Court justices.

[tandot]

12. Isn't Obama the one who sets policies? Or does the AG just create whatever policies he likes?

:shrug:

[mucifer]

15. then he might as well keep bush's cabinet.

[Occam Bandage]

17. Because you want to see the Republicans flex their muscle, forcing Obama

to appoint someone even worse, and paving the path for the Republicans to bork Obama's SCOTUS nominees. God, I love DU.

[derby378]

18. I haven't been a big fan of Obama's picks so far

I just want Obama to get the AG position filled right the first time. I don't think Holder is whom we need in that office.

[Occam Bandage]

19. And I'm sure you'd just love the compromise candidate after the Republicans block Holder. nt

[derby378]

20. Why should there be a "compromise" candidate?

I think Obama should choose an AG candidate who will infuriate the Repukes even more.

[Occam Bandage]

24. So if the Republicans manage to unify to block Holder,

how exactly would you expect to get a candidate even more offensive to conservatives through? Heck, I'd imagine at that point, you'd even be starting to lose conservative Dems. So now you have an incoming President with no attorney general, a fractured party locked in a bitter, acrimonious stalemate in a hostile Congress, and no options but to either admit defeat and nominate a totally-offensive compromise candidate, or to channel his inner Dubya and dig his heels in as Congress grinds to a halt and his approval rating plummets.

[derby378]

25. How many Democrats are in the US Senate?

We just got in a few more. Franken and Burris are still pending, I understand that. And I don't even count Lieberman.

[Occam Bandage]

26. If you count Lieberman, Franken, and Burris, 59.

If the Republicans manage to hold together, they can filibuster. And if they can stick together to filibuster someone as bland as Holder, they can filibuster anything--but they can only filibuster if every single member of their coalition thinks the filibuster is going to work. If one of them wavers and goes with us, they lose. That's why it's so crucial to keep them from successfully blocking Holder. If they manage to pull off something as difficult as blocking an ideologically moderate nominee of a popular incoming President, there'll be no end to what they can block.

[derby378]

27. Duly noted, but sometimes Republicans suck at filibustering

They tried to filibuster the 1994 Violent Crime Omnibus, and the filibuster fell apart very quickly.

Obama still has a lot of momentum on his side right now, however.

[Occam Bandage]

28. Obama's stock is so high, and theirs is so low,

that I think they won't be able to put up any realistic fights for at least the first year. Realistically, they won't block Holder and turn into a super-powerful obstructionist bloc; that's about as realistic a fantasy as the "researching Obama's birth certificate will destroy him" one was.

[rvablue]

22. That's lovely...you hope one of Obama's first important choices sinks like a rock? Just lovely......

[derby378]

23. If Holder's willing to drop some of his earlier positions...

...then I'll reconsider. I just think we need the best possible AG to counteract the bloody legacy of Ashcroft, Mukasey, and especially Gonzales. Right now, I just don't see Holder doing that. So I hope someone proves me wrong.

[FrenchieCat]

29. Certainly since the worse of the worse Ashcroft and Gonzalez

were confirmed, if Holder who hasn't really done anything wrong, isn't confirmed, then why did we win this election?

Plus your accusations on him don't hold up, and are exaggerated to say the least.

It ain't anymore OK for you to literally post deceiving information about Holder, as it would be for the GOP to so during confirmation. Your credibility is shaky in the manner in which you are presenting your information and that makes you suspect, IMO.

[Phx_Dem]

30. He'll be confirmed. But if he wasn't it would be a big blow to Obama.