On January 8th, the Libertarian Party’s most recent presidential candidate Bob Barr sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee encouraging the “swift and positive” confirmation of Eric Holder, President-Elect Obama’s choice for Attorney General. Barr had only positive things to say about Holder, who he has worked with in the past during his years as a United States Attorney and Congressman serving on the House Judiciary Committee.
Barr praised Holder as someone who could protect the Constitution from further abuses, keep our civil liberties in place, and raise the morale of the Justice Department:
…in these times of tremendous international and domestic turmoil, in which the line between military operations and law enforcement actions has become blurred to the point our precious civil liberties are at great risk, the choice of Mr. Holder could not be timelier or more crucial…
Mr. Holder and I may have had disagreements over policy matters… However, I never had any reason to question his personal and professional integrity, or his deep understanding of and commitment to our Constitution and especially the Bill of Rights… to serve the interests of all of the American people and not just those of the President they serve…
Rebuilding the morale at Main Justice and in U.S. Attorney offices across the country must be a top priority of the incoming administration; and Mr. Holder is masterfully equipped to do just that.
Barr is evil.
Bob Barr, who’s obviously starved for attention, can’t possibly be serious. Anyone familiar with the cesspool of D.C. politics in the nineties must be laughing hysterically at Barr’s assertion that Eric “Look the Other Way” Holder — the rampaging drug warrior who cleverly circumvented the Justice Dept. while approving Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich — is a man of integrity deserving a swift confirmation. Barr is an embarrassment to the LP…
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=12207
Power attracts power, supports power, and clings to power.
Barr voted for the USAPATRIOT act. Barr voted for the Iraq war. Barr is not a freedom enthusiast, and to pretend otherwise is shameful.
I know plenty about Barr’s career as a CIA agent screwing around in foreign policy, making a mockery of the constitution, and spitting on individual liberty. I know plenty about Barr’s career as a drug war prosecutor urinating on the constitution and destroying the lives of men and women who had been caught in possession of plants. I know about Barr’s support for various gun grabber measures. I know about Barr’s opposition to individual freedom in marriage. His various statements about ramming through marriage apartheid at the state level and ramming through drug war activities at the state level as well as by invading countries like Colombia are not inspiring.
No, I don’t think Barr gives a flying flip about my freedom. I think he’s a worthless scum bag neo-conservative filth who wants to put people like me in prison camps. Arbeit macht frei.
You don’t know what you’re talking about. If you ever spent even 10 minutes with Mr. Barr you’d realize you don’t know Jack about him or his defense of our rights over his career.
Crazed lunatics on this board are, once again, showing their complete lack of perspective and rationality.
I wonder if Barr is jockeying for a gig as a special prosecutor for Bush/Cheney war crimes at Gitmo or something…
“Ross Levin // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Andy – what about civil liberties? They might be at least somewhat restored under Obama,”
I seriously doubt this.
Commenting on this appointment is a way for Barr to attract attention to himself. I’m more inclined to agree with Rocky Eades and Richie that the appointment is a matter of concern than to take station with those who think the man’s character is all that matters, and if he uses his supposedly good character to pursue policies of tyranny, what of it? There are plenty of super-good people who are prepared, for our own good, to put us all in prison camps and butcher our children.
Is he proposing the draft?
Richard, if Holder “has integrity”, he wouldn’t be proposing mass slavery and calling it national service.
Barr once again shows a severe lack of judgment. WE WARNED YOU!
Andy – what about civil liberties? They might be at least somewhat restored under Obama, and that seems to be what Barr is praising, in part.
“Rebuilding the morale at Main Justice and in U.S. Attorney offices across the country must be a top priority of the incoming administration…”
Oh, Bob Barr. Always seeing through the haze of misdirection surrounding government and striking true.
Barr might be saying here that Holder was a fall guy for the Marc Rich thing. I can buy that…
I find it hard to believe that Obama would nominate anyone to anything that deserves praise from libertarians.
It would be nicer to close all U.S. Attorney offices across America instead of rebuilding morale. What about individual, local, county, state then federal as a LAST recoarse in justice…
Bush, Cheney and cohorts need to serve their time at the facility in Afkanistan receiving the same treatment that too many innocent persons have already received. It will truly be interesting to see who Bush pardons…
Barr said he has had plenty of disagreements with Holder about policy. Barr is saying Holder is a person of integrity.
Ron Paul has made somewhat similar statements about people he disagrees with on policy. There is a distinction to be made between admiring someone’s character, and agreeing with them on policy.
Thanks Richie , thats all I needed to hear. and Barr supports him? one more reason he sucks…
From Wikipedia:
“While D.C. v. Heller was being heard by the Supreme Court in 2008, Holder joined the Reno-led amicus brief, which urged the Supreme Court to uphold Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban and said the position of the Department of Justice, from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton, was that the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms for purposes unrelated to a State’s operation of a well-regulated militia..[21] Holder said that overturning the 1976 law “opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets.”
The Republicans are opposing Holder because they think he will prosecute Republican War Criminals, people who tortured our prisoners, and who approved it, starting with George Bush.
For a more extensive set of revelations on the criminal acts of the Republican War Crimes Party, acts that hopefully will now be prisecuted, http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/38811
Holder and Barr were both gung-ho comrades in arms in the war on drugs too. Support our troops! Hoo-rah!