Rove Will "Help Lead" GOP Fight Against Holder: WaPo Reporter

Republican opposition towards the nomination of Eric Holder as Attorney General is being driven, it seems, by Karl Rove himself.

Ceci Connolly, national staff writer for the Washington Post, said as much on Sunday, when she passed on a bit of hill gossip in the waning moments of "The Chris Matthews Show."

"Word on the street is that Karl Rove is going to be helping lead the fight against Eric Holder when his nomination for Attorney General heads up to the Senate," she said.

Two days earlier, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy accused Rove of the same behind-the-scenes shenanigans when his office released a lengthy statement decrying the hypocrisy of the GOP's Holder criticisms.

"In my statement to the Senate on November 20, I commended Senators Hatch, Sessions, Coburn, and Grassley for their nonpartisanship when they praised his selection.... But of course since then, Karl Rove has appeared on the Today Show and signaled that Republicans ought to go after Mr. Holder. Right-wing talk radio took up the drum beat."

The airing of concerns about Holder by Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee has been unexpectedly uniform and vocal. Their charge is as much about process as politics. More time is needed to review Holder's record, they claim -- in particular, the controversial pardons he oversaw towards the end of the Clinton administration.

And, proving Leahy's point, Rove previewed all of these criticisms. On December 1, he told the "Today Show" that Holder "was deeply involved as the Deputy Attorney General in the controversial pardon" of fugitive financier Marc Rich.

"I think it's going to be clearly examined," said Rove, "if for no other reason than people want to lay down markers that that kind of behavior is inappropriate. ... But again, there will be some attention paid to this."

Certainly, the accusation that the former Bush strategist is engineering GOP opposition to the Holder nomination, while conspiratorial, is not without merit. Rove has long viewed tactical victories as a way towards building political momentum. And the memory of, say, Harriet Miers' failed nomination to the Supreme Court and the damage it caused the Bush White House is likely fresh on his and other Republicans' minds.

Comments

[VisitorFromMars]

Rove's opposition to Holder run a little deep....

In a speech delivered to the American Constitution Society in June 2008, Eric Holder emphasized a judicial philosophy that differs sharply with Karl Rove and the the ultra right view of the Constitution.

Holder described the Constitution as a unique founding document of US society, but ultimately an imperfect document. Citing its initial legalization of slavery and its refusal to give women the right to vote until the 20th century, Holder expressed the view that within the spirit of the Constitution and the ideals of the founders of the country "there is contained the capacity for change. The choices the founders made were not frozen in time." The concepts embodied in the Constitution, Holder said, allowed "the pursuit of a more perfect union."

While Rove shares this narrow ideological view, a view, incidentally, when strictly applied refused to budge on things like Jim Crow or voting rights and the like, the former Bush advisor may have even other motives for his opposition to Holder's nomination.

Among the Bush administration's specific violations of law, Holder cited the authorization of the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping on Americans, secret detention of US citizens without due process, and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. While these actions may have been done with the general good in mind, that does not change the fact that they were wrong, Holder said.

[IsidoroRDL]

As to the confirmation hearing on Eric Holder is Michael Isikoff's cover story in Newsweek, "The Fed Who Blew the Whistle," and the general issue of pardons, amnesties and similar measures for violation of Congressional mandates. The evidence confirms that Eric Holder’s past policies were the base on which former White House Counsel, and then Attorney General Gonzales used to direct DOJ, i.e. the pardon of Marc Rich and other actions to usurp accountability was not an anomaly, but a pattern and practice.

I have experience of litigating against the polices of Eric Holder at DOJ during the ‘90, and later when he was a typical Beltway attorney/lobbyist. Thus I oppose his confirmation, see http://capwiz.com/congressorg/sbx/f/?aid=12313551&r=1.

In summary, the Senate cannot confirm him because evidence confirm that as a Beltway attorney/lobbyist he has been the linchpin in a criminal conspiracy to obstruct the rights of a father and retaliate against an attorney for litigating to enforce federal statutory rights in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242, 1202, and 1513.

Thus, as a US. citizen and Nam Vet who took the oath 44 years ago to defend and protect the Constitution from, "all enemies, foreign and domestic," irrespective of being a Republican, Democrat, or Independent each Senator must act now to restore the Rule of Law and assure compliance by DOJ with the mandate of separation of power and checks and balances. Isidoro Rodriguez, Esq., isidoror@e­arthlink.n­er

[undeluded]

This isn't a bad thing. It is an opportunity. It's time for Democrats and Republicans who are concerned about the hijacking of their party, to put a stake into the heart of Rovian politics and Rove's influence within politics generally. He's a divider, a disrupter, someone who thrives on, and even needs, chaos to wield his greatest influence. Of course the more Rove is a part of current political discourse, the more he'll suggest political reprisal should a marshal arrive at his door to arrest him for conspiracies and crimes committed within the Bush administration.

[Intelligentia]

Rove is strategizing. He knows that Holder would go after all those who violated the law under Bush. Therefore, Rove knows that Holder will be nominated, which means that, if Holder goes after Rove for his crimes, Rove would claim "political witch-hunt­." Rove would claim that Holder is coming after him (Rove) because he (Rove) oppossed Holder's nomination. But, this will not work!

[kassandranobody]

How funny is it to to see karl, (and hannity ),trying to connect obama with blago- because it is so hard for him to believe someone can't be bought
And so much fun to see him scrambling to keep anyone from being sworn in as attorney general that has any intelligence or ability
Unfortunately for him, some of the stupid incompetents have all been fired already, and the rest are still working for bush

karl is so scared of smart people

because he is not that smart

and he knows once people start making fun of him, ( just like his childhood), they will never stop

[microcosm]

Save Journalism, Save America - http://FixNewsNow.org
America deserves a strong press

[YunekFlava]

How funny will it be to see "Rove the Loathe", walking around in an orange jumsuit and his feet and hands shackled? Now that would be funny. I know we won't see that for the crimes he has committed against the people, but I can HOPE. Can't we?

[YunekFlava]

Anyone got a couple of extra shoes they might want to get rid of?

[oldleftcoastdude]

LMAO!!!!!!

[PKSSK]

I heard Fitzgerald is next in line if Holder is not confirmed, which should send little Rove scurrying for protection and cover, as well as many others involved in the US attorney firings and Gov Siegelman's case!!!!

[littlebrowngirl]

This would be hilarious if Fitzgerald was next in line. That guy is NO JOKE!!! . Also, I thought the Repugs liked Holder when he was first announced. Now they want a fight? Holder was already deputy AG so how unqualified could he possibly be?

I am so tired of the GOP machine but these tired tactics give me hope that the republians will be out of the white house for the next 8 to 12 years.

[Rule Of Law]

He's obviously not in charge of his mouth, and probably not his sphincter, either.

[LiberTLover]

Is there a difference?

[Leon72]

Rove knows he is going to jail once Obama get his AG

[steve-annie]

I wish ... but I'm not holding my breath.

[Golfer59]

Is Rove afriad of something??

[Rynox]

If we learned anything this year it is this:

You can win elections, and the heart of the electorate without resorting to scorched-earth, destructive, Atwater-style politics. Rove... you and your kind are done.

[dynagirl7371]

I'm wondering how anyone can still take this man seriously. He's such a sniveling creep.

[peacekitten]

i'm wondering why anyone took him seriously in the first place.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...Holder will imprison this swine within 6-months.

[zeotrope]

Shouldn't creepy Rove be in jail? I hope it's really soon.

[LMurphy418]

Karl Rove needs to go away with the Shrub he helped elect to lead this country into the downfall we are currently in.