President-elect Barack Obama reportedly has picked Eric H. Holder Jr. to be the next U.S. Attorney General. If he is nominated and confirmed, Holder would be the first African American to lead the Justice Department.
Holder served as deputy AG during the Clinton administration. More recently, he co-chaired Obama’s vice presidential search committee.
Republicans are not waiting for the official announcement to attack Holder. Fox News’ Sean Hannity has dredged up Elián Gonzalez and the Marc Rich pardon.
With Senate Democrats increasing their majority, Republicans will not be able to block Holder (or any other nominee). Sure, some embittered sore losers will bring up chewed over controversies, but at the end of the day, Obama will get his man.
Holder would be positioned to put some teeth into civil rights enforcement. The voting section has turned voting rights on its head. For the first time, it brought a case alleging white voters had been disenfranchised.
Bush political appointees have looked for "voter fraud" in every polling place. They're still looking.
As the nation’s top law enforcement officer, Holder would be in a position to address the disproportionate incarceration of black men, the "cycle of incarceration," and a criminal justice system that targets just us.
