I'm going to miss Eric Holder as attorney general, and the over-the-top, "ding-dong-the-wicked-witch-is-dead!!"-type celebrations that you're now seeing on the right are a big part of the reason.
No, Holder wasn't perfect in the role. No one is. Yes, a lot of anger and worse was aimed in his direction.
But let's be honest. Nothing Holder said or did came close to justifying the disproportionate scale of vitriol against him. The free-floating paranoia that has come to define modern conservatism, and that for a variety of reasons focused on Holder as its target, existed long before he was appointed attorney general, and it will continue unabated after he is gone. Blaming him for creating it would be like blaming a lightning rod for creating lightning.
To cite just one example from earlier today:
"He ran the Department of Justice much like the Black Panthers would...."
The fact that Holder publicly dismissed such paranoia for what it was and -- in appearances before Congress and elsewhere -- seemed downright bemused by the operatic hatred directed his way only made his detractors sputter in frustration. How dare he not admit that he was trying to undermine the Constitution! How dare he not cower before our wrath!! (Darrell Issa proved a particularly hapless antagonist, always promising a huge revelation of Holder's corruption, never once delivering.)
Holder has already served longer as AG than all but three of his predecessors in this nation's long history, and by the time he actually leaves he will probably have been in office for six years. He leaves on his own terms, on his own schedule, and personally, I'd like to thank him for his years of service to our country.
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