Opinion: Eric Holder headed for confirmation as attorney general

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

It’s hard to know if it was Barbra Streisand‘s e-mail to supporters or the collapse of any credible opposition, but Eric Holder Jr.’s nomination to be President Obama‘s attorney general is now sailing toward Senate confirmation.

‘Eric Holder is a good man,’ said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that today pushed Holder’s nomination toward the Senate floor on a 17-2 vote. ‘He’s a decent man. He’s a public servant committed to the rule of law and he will be a good attorney general.’

Holder ran into trouble with some Republicans for his role in President Clinton’s pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich, who was wanted for tax evasion. But he cheered Democrats by his denunciation of waterboarding in the investigation of terror suspects, calling it torture.

As for Streisand, she e-mailed supporters the other day urging them to rally to Holder’s side and make sure he is sworn in as the first African American attorney general in U.S. history.

‘I am fearful that this Republican opposition is really about pushing back on the Obama administration (duh!) and testing the waters for future judicial confirmation fights,” Streisand wrote. “Disturbingly, a good man is caught in the middle of these partisan tactics, someone who will be an excellent Attorney General for all Americans.’

-- Johanna Neuman

just register here for cellphone alerts on each new Ticket item. RSS feeds are also available here. And we’re on Amazon’s Kindle as well.