by Damozel | The New York Times reports:
Why did the Republicans fight his confirmation? "At one time, Republicans indicated that they wanted to give Mr. Holder a rough confirmation ride to signal their political viability at a time when Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress." (NYT) In other words, they opposed his confirmation just for the sake of feeling relevant, poor things. The Washington Post (via) refers to the 21 who opposed his confirmation as a "small, but vocal group":
To be fair, "[a] significant number of Republicans disagreed and, along with all of the Democrats, cast their votes with the nominee." (WaPo) The Raw Story has the roster of the aforesaid "small, but vocal" minority. You won't find it surprising or anything.
In fact, quite a few prominent Republicans and a number of law enforcement officials backed the confirmation.
Holder's advocates marshaled critical support from a broad base of federal and state law enforcement groups as well as a bipartisan coalition of former Justice Department leaders, including onetime deputy attorney general James B. Comey, former FBI director Louis J. Freeh and President George W. Bush's terrorism and homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend.
By all accounts, Holder is among the most credentialed lawyers ever to become attorney general. He began his career as a public corruption prosecutor before serving as U.S. attorney in the District and as a Superior Court judge. Holder later operated as second in command at the Justice Department during the later years of the Clinton administration.(WaPo)
Sen. Leahy said that the confirmation was a fulfillment of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream that everyone should be judged by the content of their character. (via)
The confirmation took place after the usual grueling hearing.
Sen. Arlen Specter (the Senate Judiciary's ranking Republican) ---who I have admired for his relentless questioning of Bush administration policy at the DoJ (and whose name does not appear on the above-cited list of "no" votes) --- did apparently rough up Holder over the Marc Rich thing, prompting a "testy" exchange.
During confirmation hearings, Republicans questioned his role in former President Bill Clinton's widely criticized last-minute pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich and questioned whether he would be independent of the White House. Holder had a testy exchange with the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Republican, Arlen Specter, who questioned Holder's "fitness" for the office.
Holder shot back that Specter was "getting close to the line in questioning my integrity," and Specter ultimately supported the nomination. But Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky, cited the pardons and what he called Holder's insufficient support for gun rights in opposing the nomination.
"Mr. Holder is supportive of old ideas for gun control that have never made people safer at the expense of taking away their rights," Bunning said. (CNN)
Leahy, one of Holder's backers-in-chief --- and one of the Democrats' strongest critics of the Bush administration's policy in the DoJ --- expressed displeasure with criticism levelled against Holder during the confirmation hearings.
During the confirmation hearing, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) scolded Sen.
John Cornyn (R-TX) after several Republicans demanded Holder pledge he
would not prosecute US interrogators who followed the Bush
administration's orders to torture prisoners.
"No one should be seeking to trade a vote for such a pledge," said the Vermont Democrat.(The Raw Story)
Leahy. You gotta love him.
"I don't recall any Republicans objecting to that," said Leahy, D-Vermont. "Instead, they're objecting to something President Clinton did. I don't want to suggest in any way that the objections are partisan, but they certainly aren't consistent." (CNN; emphasis added)
I don't want to suggest that either, so I won't. Leahy said:
He also said:
Sen. Feingold (D-WI) said;
Pam Spaulding at Pam's House Blend notes that the talented Holder has got his work cut out for him straight from the get-go.
Talk about cleaning out the Augean stables. Hercules, or Heracles, didn't know when he was well off.
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