Full story: Holder Defends Clement; Compares Attacks Over DOMA Defense To Smears Of Gitmo Attorneys

[Tx4obama]

Holder Defends Clement; Compares Attacks Over DOMA Defense To Smears Of Gitmo Attorneys

While he believes the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, Attorney General Eric Holder is defending former Solicitor General Paul Clement's decision to leave a prominent law firm over its decision to abandon its agreement to defend the statute in court on behalf of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

"Paul Clement's a great lawyer. He's done a lot of great things for this nation," Holder said in remarks to reporters today, as reported by NPR's Carrie Johnson. "I think he was doing that which lawyers do when we are at our best."

It was Holder's decision to no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA that set in motion the chain of events that ultimately led to Clement's involvement in the case. House Republicans were incensed by Holder's decision and decided that the House would defend the law in court, hiring Clement to handle the defense.

Holder compared the criticism of Clement over his decision to defend DOMA to criticism of Justice Department lawyers who had defended Guantanamo Bay detainees in habeas cases while in private practice.

Full article with the last two paragraphs containing quotes here: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/holder_defends_clement_compares_attacks_over_doma.php?ref=fpblg

[Ian David]

1. Someone has to be willing to turn-off Commander Data. n/t

[Tx4obama]

2. Huh? n/t

[Ian David]

5. The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_a_Man_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation%29

[Tx4obama]

7. Thank you for the explanation. n/t

[Ian David]

8. Temba, his arms wide! n/t

[kevinbgoode]

3. Well, Holder is free to leave his office and go help defend the

unconstitutional law.

This is just another example of how our money is wasted in this ridiculous government. When Congress passed that heinous DOMA law in 1996, they all KNEW it was unconstitutional - and just figured there was enough anti-gay sentiment on the bench and in the public at the time to prevent any successful court challenges to the stupid law. And yes - it was a STUPID law. Stupid in that even the reality-challenged GOP knew it was unconstitutional - hell, that was one reason they were trying so desperately to convince Dubya to get a constitutional amendment passed.

And now, 15 years later, this House of Representatives decides to waste more taxpayer-funded time defending a law they knew was unconstitutional when they originally passed the damn thing.

So Holder wants to buy into the Right's deflection of this whole situation by going on and on about how Clement is a "great" lawyer who has done so much for this country? I beg to differ. . .there is nothing great about someone who knows the law is unconstitutional taking a case for an outrageous sum of money in an effort to smokescreen the sh*t out of it in an effort to prolong the oppression a few more years.

First we have an unethical Administration who knowingly defended a law they knew was unconstitutional FINALLY coming to terms with the inevitable - and then the equally unethical House of Representatives clamoring and whining and crying that they have to spend time and money hiring someone to continue defending the unconstitutional law in order to appease their own right-wing special interest groups. And these clowns want to talk about ethics? When the only reason they passed the damn law in the first place was their confidence that the courts would rule against the gay community simply because they were gay and were unable to marry in any state anyway at the time?

Well, I'm sorry - the unethical thing was the overly represented white male heterosexual minority sitting in Congress wasting our time and money passing the stupid law in the first place. And their arrogance at thinking the rest of us were as willfully ignorant as they are about the circumstances surrounding that ridiculous campaign of reactionary legislation.

Both this Administration and this Congress don't even have the moral and ethical makeup to be embarassed about their own words, let alone their own actions.

[Tx4obama]

4. Apparently you did not read the full article very carefully. n/t

[markpkessinger]

6. Holder is right...

...and I'm not a big fan of his. Mr. Clement is no longer a government attorney, and as a private attorney retained by House Republicans, he is paid to represent their interests (regardless of how despicable those interests might be). Having said that, I sure hope he loses his ass in court!