The Obama Watch
Holder the Hater
Far from changing the tone in Washington, President Obama’s choice for attorney general has a visceral contempt for conservatives.
If President Obama is hoping to change the tone in Washington, it’s hard to imagine how having Eric Holder onboard as his attorney general will help accomplish that goal.
Much has been written about would-be Attorney General Holder’s support for liberal positions, but little has been written about his visceral contempt for conservatives.
His public utterances are chock full of the same old tiresome liberal clichés about those on the right one might find on the Daily Kos website.
The president’s bilious nominee told an American Constitution Society gathering in 2004 that “conservatives have been defenders of the status quo, afraid of the future, and content to allow to continue to exist all but the most blatant inequalities.” They have “made a mockery of the rule of law.” Conservatives try to “put the environment at risk for the sake of unproven economic theories, to play to the fears of our citizens, and not to their hopes, and to return the nation to a time that in fact never existed.”
Conservatives are “breathtaking” in their “arrogance,” Holder claimed. “From redistricting schemes, to attacks on abortion rights, to energy policies that are as shortsighted as they are ineffective, to tax cuts that disproportionately favor those who are well off and perpetuate many of the inequities in our nation, the conservative movement has been unafraid to push the limits in advancing this agenda.”
Holder denounced what he called “the conservative agenda of social division, mindless tax cutting, and a defense posture that does not really make us safer.”
Elsewhere in that ode to liberalism in which he gave credit to leftists for all that is good in modern America, he seemed sympathetic to the so-called Fairness Doctrine:
The nation must be reminded that the word liberal is more than a conservative slur. The nation must be reminded that it was the progressive, liberal tradition that brought about the social and economic changes that were necessary many years ago. The nation must be convinced that it is a progressive future that holds the greatest promise for equality and the continuation of those policies that serve to support the greatest number of our people. In the short term this will not be an easy task. With the mainstream media somewhat cowered by conservative critics, and the conservative media disseminating the news in anything but a fair and balanced manner, and you know what I mean there, the means to reach the greatest number of people is not easily accessible.
Holder also has a long history of involvement in charities and nonprofits that seek to stick it to conservatives.
He has been a member of the board of directors of the American Constitution Society, the mirror image of the Federalist Society. The ACS believes in the myth of the “living” Constitution and views the limits that great charter places on government power as quaint anachronisms to be overcome through clever legal sophistry.
ACS is, of course, funded by the big players in left-wing political finance, including members of the billionaires’ club, the Democracy Alliance. Reliably liberal benefactors of ACS include George Soros’s Open Society Institute ($2,201,500 since 2002), Ford Foundation ($600,000 since 2003), Sandler Family Supporting Foundation ($200,000 in 2003), Tides Foundation ($25,000 since 2002), Barbra Streisand Foundation ($20,000 since 2002).
Meanwhile, it has been exhaustively documented that Holder has what could charitably be called a cavalier approach to a key civil right, you know, that inconvenient, archaic one described in the Second Amendment that the media wishes we would all forget about.
As the Independent Institute’s Stephen P. Halbrook, author of The Founder’s Second Amendment, told a Senate panel considering the nomination, “many Americans have reason to be uneasy about Mr. Holder’s nomination for attorney general. They deserve to have a person in this role who is committed to upholding all parts of the Constitution, including the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, Mr. Holder has proven himself not to be that person.”
As deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, Holder pushed for federal licensing of handgun owners and federal registration of guns, waiting periods for gun purchases, and rationing of handgun sales. The former Janet Reno acolyte signed on to a pro-gun prohibition amicus curiae brief in District of Columbia v. Heller, last year’s groundbreaking Supreme Court case in which justices struck down the District’s oppressive handgun ban.
Holder played a role in securing a presidential pardon for a fugitive (Marc Rich) and sentence commutations for Puerto Rican terrorists. He served as apologist for the Clinton administration after it defied a federal court order and seized 6-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzalez at gunpoint in 2000.
About the Author
Matthew Vadum is an award-winning investigative journalist at a conservative watchdog group in Washington, D.C. Vadum is also author of Subversion Inc: How Obama’s ACORN Red Shirts are Still Terrorizing and Ripping Off American Taxpayers.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (67) | Leave a comment
Related Articles
More Articles by Matthew Vadum
More Articles From The Obama Watch
http://spectator.org/archives/2009/01/29/holder-the-hater
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Obama’s Drone War
- The (Real) Great Divide
- A President Loses His Power
The Spectacle Blog
Former IRS Commissioner Refused to Say That Targeting Conservative Groups is Wrong
Benjamin Brophy | 2:27PM
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
drudge ette obama| 1.29.09 @ 6:38AM
Recall the old phrase that "people who talk about class don't have any"? Well, when Holder used the word arrogance with respect to conservatives, I think he is the arrogant one.
When I hear "postive social change" in the same sentence as goverment, my eyes blur. How unoriginal and what a great clue into Holder's head.
I am long- tired by the 1970s and 1980s terms which were drummed into our heads in school, I view Holder as the stereotypical liberal. That he is black is secondary. He is liberal first, black next? Like Obama, these types use their race to further their liberal policies. Their comfort group isn't the local chapter of the NAACP - it is the Sierra Club, NARAL, MOVEON...
Nothing about Holder makes me believe he has an ounce of reverence for the founders of this country or the Constitution they crafted . Law schools are populated by these same types - and the students are indoctrinated in the living constitution garbage. Just ask a lawyer to explain the right to privacy which justified the decision in Roe.
My instinct says Holder is contemptuous of America, its people, business, free enterprise, and that he will do everything possible to defeat it.
My instinct also thinks that he won't last long.
Arlen Spector should be whiplashed.
Melvin| 1.29.09 @ 7:08AM
To a certain extent we have no room to whine. The electorate had a chance to get rid of that octogenarian political weasel Pennsylvanian Arlan Specter but he was reelected.
The damage that Eric Holder will cause is incalculable. This man is full of anger and will be bent on revenge to Americans, and to rub salt into the wound President Obama will use his political gravitas to cover for Holder's abuses of the Constitution.
The ruling political class in Washington D.C. is using the Constitution as toilet paper and we as Americans are letting them to do it.
What is it going to take for Americans to rise up and fight back? Federal troops searching our homes for firearms, political reeducation camps, joing the European Union,the elimination of private property rights.
Mark my words people, this issue is going to come to a head and explode and the results won't be pretty. Then where will that bastard Specter be then.
Rocco| 1.29.09 @ 7:09AM
I thoroughly agree, Drudgette. Methinks Holder suffers from what psychiatrists call "projection."
As Rush and Hannity say, elections do have consequences, and we are seeing them more and more each day, and they're not pretty.
Pocono Joe| 1.29.09 @ 7:40AM
Melvin
Yes you may blame the electorate for Arlen Specter. Don't discount the fact that George W. and the elites of the Republican Party rushed in to save the day for Specter when Pat Toomey started looking too strong in the primary challenge. Their thinking being that they couldn't stand to lose such a reliable, senior Republican Senator. This on top of his past performance. I'm registered as "no party affiliation" in Pennsylvania. Except for Ronald Reagan, I never had any use for the Republican party and despise the other one.
Griff| 1.29.09 @ 7:56AM
It's more of the same old liberal tactic: accuse others of doing exactly what you're guilty of doing. Judging from some of Holder's comments, it's difficult to say that he's misinformed. Saying he's a liar is probably a more accurate statement.
Anthony| 1.29.09 @ 10:30AM
Wow!! Holder has the Orwellian doublespeak down perfect. What a great job of transference, it's no wonder he was able to make Marc Rich and Puerto Rican terrorists seem so pardonable. After all, as long as they weren't conservatives. Even Holder has his standards!!
Massgopguy| 1.29.09 @ 10:37AM
The more I hear Democrats speak of "equality" the more I am reminded of Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut.
Jay| 1.29.09 @ 10:41AM
They all can be removed one way or another. It just takes time and research.The achilles heal will make itself known eventually to the ones who seek it the most earnestly. It is time for the calculated personal investigations to start, cladestinely of course. The skeletons will rattle out and Barry and his cromies will be discredited and ostracized.
Anthony| 1.29.09 @ 10:48AM
Melvin is right, but it goes beyond Specter. Holder's nomination is a fait accompli and Specter, the McCain Republican that he is, can't stop him. But a little principled push back would be nice, but that's not how RINOs operate, except against other Republicans. Obama made all things clear to congressional Republicans and us when he told them to take a hike on tax cuts and business investment with two words, " I won". Indeed he did, and Holder is just another spoil to the victor, unless of course you're a conservative, then all bets are off. Elections have consequences, and we are just beginning to pay for the folly of 52% of our fellow citizens.
Appleby| 1.29.09 @ 10:51AM
Stand back and let it crash, and bring down ALL the "It be our turn now, honkeys" types with it and bury them under the rubble so deep that they will never get out again. The only way to resolve the whole teetering house of cards is to stand back, as Ayn Rand said 50 years ago, and let it crash.
See you at Galt's Gulch.
danny| 1.29.09 @ 11:04AM
for brevity's sake, i'm with appleby.
loulou| 1.29.09 @ 12:33PM
danny: ditto.
Sissy| 1.29.09 @ 12:50PM
I would agree that Appleby is correct if it weren't for the MSM covering for Obama and his merry men.
JJ JR| 1.29.09 @ 1:18PM
To drudge ette obama: use the horse whip instead. But my preference is a month's worth of water boarding at the newly opened amusement park Waterboarding World.
The Law should apply to all| 1.29.09 @ 1:27PM
Look up why people think all Americans are stupid.
Youtube Why people believe Americans are stupid.
Michele San Pietro| 1.29.09 @ 4:06PM
It is really depressing to me to realize that Obama likes haters, just like Clinton did.
jax| 1.29.09 @ 4:26PM
Apparently the problem with Holder's nomiation is not that he's wrong in his beliefs or statments, but that there's disagreement regarding said statements. Since when does disagreement validate an argument? Oh, wait. I just had a flashback to the Bush Administration.
p.s. waterboarding is torture and if you disagree, be the first in your neighborhood to have it done to you...your family...your children...your spouse. If neocons can be honest and say that we will use any means necessary to get information from enemy combatants that's one thing, but don't piss on my leg and tell me that it's raining. You're not that smart and I'm not that stupid.
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 5:23PM
Okay, jax, next time I, my children and/or my friends mastermind the murders of 3,000 Americans on a certain September morning, torture and slaughter civilians in India and murder large numbers of civilians around the world, we will submit to waterboarding. You should be waterboarded just for being so stupid. Moron.
HISTORY FOLKS| 1.29.09 @ 5:32PM
Who has been murdering who? Americans have committed more murders around the world than even Adolph HITLER.
Ass holes go and read some history books and learn some sense.
2 Guns| 1.29.09 @ 5:53PM
History Folks
That is the most assinine post, EVER.
jax| 1.29.09 @ 6:26PM
Ruth, put the pork chop down and get your head outta your azz. Torture is torture regardless to how/why you justify it. My point, if you can read for comprenhension, is don't lie about it and try to take the moral high ground by calling it something else. No one is fooled, Ruth, except for maybe you who somehow believe that it's okay as long as we do it to "them."
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 7:09PM
Yes, the fearless liberal taking the 'moral high ground' from his cushy lazyboy chair. So easy to be so arrogant when you have nothing at stake. Coward.
Ex-Donkey| 1.29.09 @ 7:09PM
jax,
In typical Lefty Ignorant fashion, "torture is torture" because you say it is?
You define something as torture if I don't want to "be the first in your neighborhood to have it done to you..."
By that standard, having B.H. Obama as president is torture.
And History Folks, please site your sources.
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 7:11PM
Jax and HISTORY FOLKS are both liberals.
Anthony| 1.29.09 @ 7:15PM
Hey HistoryFolks, where did you get your undergraduate degree Harvard? Perhaps you might remember Pol Pot, Mao, and Josef Stalin, you complete moron!!
jax| 1.29.09 @ 7:20PM
Ruth, donkey...wow, it only took two blogs for you to run out of ideas and resort to name calling. I win AND you're idiots.
History |Folks| 1.29.09 @ 7:26PM
Antony.
You think you are smart, which I know you are a total idiot, answer this how many wars has America started since world war 2.
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 8:00PM
Actually, jax, I insulted you on my first post, moron. Poor reading skills ? Public skool education for sure.
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 8:02PM
History, I know you're Daffy Daphne. Put the crack pipe down-your paranoia is showing again.
History Folks| 1.29.09 @ 8:23PM
The Number of country is 84 different countries if we include Afganistan.
For those who do not know their history.
History Folks| 1.29.09 @ 8:26PM
Ruth why don't you get a life, what are you Zionis, and want to distort the truth. Nothing you have to discuss has any revelance to a single subject . Stick your head back up your ass, you may learn something.
drudge ette obama| 1.29.09 @ 8:29PM
Regroup. Go back to the original thread of thought. Stop the "ruth" madness. Ruth, if you are a woman whose mother named you after a biblical woman, you are not drawing people to persuasion because your posts are a bit almondy - nutty to most. Ruth, energy is best spent keeping warm, running cars, not publishing drivel. Which lasts longer? The flame of a nut on fire? Or Ruth on her keyboard?
Goodnight, Ruth.
drudge ette obama| 1.29.09 @ 8:39PM
History Folks and JAX, Ruth has fought a good fight. She deserves a rest. She went down to your level. I encourage her to avoid you, fight better opponents. Goodnight, Ruth. Fight well done. Save your might for another day.
Ruth is not going to
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 8:40PM
Bug off, Drudge ette (stupid name). Who named you thread monitor? Get off your high horse and go lecture someone else.
Ex-Donkey| 1.29.09 @ 8:47PM
jax,
Thanks for continuing to illustrate my point.
History Folks, I'm really trying to understand what your point is...
The U.S. has started 84 wars?
And what's a "Zionis?" If you mean "Zionist," your agenda becomes pretty clear.
Frosty| 1.29.09 @ 9:03PM
Ruth might be a little flippant at times, but someone's got to call liberals out when they lie. Conservatives are too mealy-mouthed and it hasn't worked out very well for us. Liberals are street-fighters; sometimes we should be, too.
G| 1.29.09 @ 9:14PM
Watch FREE porn movies involving Jeremiah, Bob, History Folks, Jax, Interloper, Darek, Crusader and S.L. Toddard! Lots of gay sex and liberal nonsense @InternetSurfshack.com
jax| 1.29.09 @ 9:18PM
Ruth, we're sorry. We apologize. We should know what torture is when we molest little boys or threaten a pregnant unwed mother to be kicked out of welfare if she doesn't abort. We're morally repugnant and we envy you. Just don't ask us to change. Please.
ruth| 1.29.09 @ 9:22PM
I accept your apology, jax, glad I could be of assistance.
drudge ette obama| 1.29.09 @ 9:24PM
Actually Ruth, I always come to the rescue of my liberal, ignorant and brutish brothers, jax and History Folks whenever a smart and fine lady like you gives them a hard time. Since our stint in Ft Leavenworth, we try to stick together. We try hard, if you get my drift!
S.L. Toddard| 1.29.09 @ 10:06PM
jaxmeup, by the way: if I ever piss on your leg, you'll THANK me for raining. Better be THAT stupid. Dumb liberal prick.
drudge ette obama| 1.30.09 @ 5:36AM
I think that JAX used my sign name in his last post. Not my post.
Just to keep the record straight.
TN Hunter| 1.30.09 @ 6:18AM
Great Post Melvin
Weasels like Specter will be in hiding like the rest of the elites if the American people ever decide to take their Country back. They will be just like the little piss in their pants liberals out begging for someone to take care of them. America will not last through another 40 years of Democratic Socialist rule. We will either crumble economically or explode into chaos or both. I will be glad to be on the Patriotic side of thought when it becomes necessary to defend what is right and try to preserve the actual Constitution of our founders.
I do have a question for some of our more spineless brethren.
What war was it that our soldiers were never tortured in?
jax| 1.30.09 @ 4:33PM
Several of you morons have high jacked my moniker and posted false comments. Apparently using your own id and ideas to blog are beyond your capabilities. Typical. And while I've enjoyed wading in your ceaspool of drivel, I've got better things to do with my time.
Ruth, is English your first language?
S.L Haggard Toddard, I'm not available to participate in homo erotic fantasies.
drudge, by now your head should be ready to explode trying to come up with something clever. Just stop. You put up the good fight.
ruth| 1.30.09 @ 6:17PM
Jax, you've shown your true nasty liberal self, and it didn't take much effort to bait you into doing it. No one is more vicious than a supercilious liberal. Snark.
ruth| 1.30.09 @ 6:21PM
Oh, by the way, smart boy, that's cesspool; something you should know, since you live in one.
Pingback| 1.30.09 @ 9:07PM
Holder the Hater « Conservative Thoughts and Profundity links to this page.
Pingback| 2.1.09 @ 2:53AM
- Are You Riled Up? - » Blog Archive » The American Spectator : Holder th links to this page.
S.L. Toddard| 3.13.09 @ 11:38AM
FYI - The person posting with my name in this thread is NOT me. It's the same troll who does this with other people's usernames.
mike| 3.20.09 @ 12:26AM
apparently the application of a living constitution, or a document that attempts to hold ideas as their requirements change over time- is a myth- adjusting to circumstance is not a liberal policy, but rather a sane measure taken upon by people in office for good reson. of course this is not always the case. can anyone say 'patriot act'
jhkjk| 11.19.09 @ 10:12PM
MKV Converter,
Convert MKV File
shell pearl | 5.7.10 @ 5:40AM
Freshwater Pearl Jewelry
Shell Pearl