Obama’s AG Choice Sends Mixed Signals
November 21st, 2008 by Perry
Many left-wing pundits are a little surprised by the signals, mixed or otherwise, sent by Obama’s choice for U.S. Attorney General - Eric Holder.
Tasked with setting the federal agenda for prosecution, many are shocked Obama went with a former prosecutor who has repeatedly called for stiffer sentences for drug users.
According to a December 1996 report in The Washington Times excerpted at TalkLeft, Holder wanted “minimum sentences of 18 months for first-time convicted drug dealers, 36 months for the second time and 72 months for every conviction thereafter.
The article in Reason does a pretty good job of summing up why so many are scared.
Holder’s record suggests he epitomizes the Clinton administration’s desperation to prove that a Democrat who used to smoke pot can too be tough on drugs—precisely the motivation that could make Obama just as bad on drug policy as the current administration, if not worse.
Obama’s Top Prosecutor
October 23rd, 2008 by Perry
It’s cheeky and optimistic to start talking about who Obama would put in his cabinet, but it’s interesting to speculate since it could impact everyone’s lives. The attorney general helps set prosecutorial priority in the country, which has been aimed at drug offenders in the past eight years.
Based on his network and advisors, a blog lists two likely choices: Eric Holder, a partner with the firm of Covington & Burling, and Deval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts. Again, the choices are pure speculation so don’t jump off the Obama ship just yet, but in 1997 according to NORML, Holder “proposed legislation to stiffen penalties for the possession of marijuana” while with the Justice Department.
For more information, the American Bar Assoication Journal provides a more in-depth analysis of the AG situation.
