• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Body
  • Daily Resist
  • POLITICS
  • Travel
  • Music
  • Theatre
  • Film
  • TV
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Men
  • Marriage Equality
  • Space
  • Trans Rights
  • Books
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • TowleREAD

The Right Enemies: A Look Back at Right-Wing Attacks on Eric Holder

September 27, 2014 by Layne Amerikaner

Holder resignation

BY LAYNE AMERIKANER

Attorney General Eric Holder, who this week announced his plans to resign, has been a leader in addressing systems of racial discrimination and protecting the fundamental rights of every American to be treated equally under the law and participate in our democracy.

Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the Right loves to hate him.

Tim HuelskampIn February of this year, the American Family Association demanded Holder’s impeachment after he had the audacity to treat married same-sex couples like married opposite-sex couples with regard to a host of legal rights and recognitions. Shortly after, both Faith and Freedom Coalition head Ralph Reed and Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp [pictured right] echoed the call for Holder’s impeachment because of his support for marriage equality. Televangelist Pat Robertson also joined the impeachment parade, alleging that under Holder, “sodomy” was being “elevated above the rights of religious believers.”

Holder’s commitment to redressing racial injustice was no more warmly received by the Right than his work in support of LGBT equality. After Holder spoke out against voter ID laws, which disproportionately harm people of color, Texas Gov. Rick Perry accused him of “purposefully” “incit[ing] racial tension.” Gun Owners of America director Larry Pratt argued that Holder’s open discussion of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system means that he is the real “racist,” asserting last year that Holder wants to “intimidate the rest of the country so that we don’t think about defending ourselves” against “attacks by black mobs on white individuals.” Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association went so far as to say that Holder would never “prosecute someone if the victim is white.” And after Holder visited Ferguson, Missouri last month, David Horowitz outrageously commented that the attorney general was leading a black “lynch mob.”

And those are just a handful of the attacks the Right has leveled against Holder for his work protecting equality under the law.

The fact that the far Right has reacted with so much vitriol to the attorney general’s leadership is a sign not only of how uninterested they are in the civil rights that the Justice Department is meant to protect, but also of how effective Holder’s work has been. The next attorney general should share Holder’s deep commitment to protecting the rights of all Americans – and, by extension, make all the “right” enemies among those hoping to turn back the clock on civil liberties.

This post originally appeared on People For the American Way's blog.

This post originally appeared on the PFAW blog.

Filed Under: American Family Association, Bryan Fischer, Eric Holder, Pat Robertson, Republican Party, Rick Perry Tagged With: American Family Association, Bryan Fischer, Eric Holder, Evangelical Christians, Pat Robertson, Republican Party, Rick Perry, Tim Huelskamp

Recent Posts

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    12 hours ago
  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    15 hours ago
  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    16 hours ago
  • Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    16 hours ago
Previous Post: « Dad Records His Two Sons’ Hilarious Reaction to His News Of Winning $2.7 Million Lottery: WATCH
Next Post: Gay Iconography: Is Britney A Worthy Icon? »

Primary Sidebar

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

Recent Posts

  • Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    Klete Keller, Eric Trump, Bobby Christine, Prince Harry’s Ponytail, Ellen’s COVID, Adam Newbold, Mo Brooks, Paul Gosar: HOT LINKS

    12 hours ago
  • Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    Brendan Fraser to Play Reclusive, Morbidly Obese Gay Man in Darren Aronofsky’s ‘The Whale’

    15 hours ago
  • New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    New Video Shows Insurrectionists Discussing Layout of U.S. Capitol, Coordinating Plan of Attack: WATCH

    16 hours ago
  • Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    Ayanna Pressley’s Chief of Staff Says Panic Button Unit Was Torn Out of Congresswoman’s Office Prior to US Capitol Attack

    16 hours ago
  • MAGA Karen Heckles Chuck Schumer, Says Trump Insurrection Made Her ‘Sexually Excited’ — WATCH

    MAGA Karen Heckles Chuck Schumer, Says Trump Insurrection Made Her ‘Sexually Excited’ — WATCH

    17 hours ago
  • NYC Mayor Says City is Severing All Trump Organization Contracts: ‘Inciting an Insurrection Against the US Govt Clearly Constitutes Criminal Activity’ — WATCH

    NYC Mayor Says City is Severing All Trump Organization Contracts: ‘Inciting an Insurrection Against the US Govt Clearly Constitutes Criminal Activity’ — WATCH

    17 hours ago
  • Amid Reports McConnell Backs Trump Impeachment, GOP Leader Urged to Prove It By Starting Trial ‘Immediately’

    Amid Reports McConnell Backs Trump Impeachment, GOP Leader Urged to Prove It By Starting Trial ‘Immediately’

    18 hours ago
  • House Takes Up Second Impeachment of Donald Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’ — WATCH LIVE

    House Takes Up Second Impeachment of Donald Trump for ‘Incitement of Insurrection’ — WATCH LIVE

    18 hours ago
  • Rachel Maddow Lets Trump Have It in Withering Monologue: ‘What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? Did You Think It Would Work?’ — WATCH

    Rachel Maddow Lets Trump Have It in Withering Monologue: ‘What Did You Think Was Going to Happen? Did You Think It Would Work?’ — WATCH

    18 hours ago
  • GOP Lawmakers Flipping Out Over New Metal Detectors Outside House Chamber: WATCH

    GOP Lawmakers Flipping Out Over New Metal Detectors Outside House Chamber: WATCH

    19 hours ago

Most Commented

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · Log in