The Note, 1/15/09: Holder-ing Position -- GOP Seeks Opposition Voice in Hearings

Wow, Republicans are deciding to take their stand...against Eric Holder? Are they trying to make us nostalgic for the Clinton era? You know, when the big controversy was whether to return an illegal alien to his father (Clinton said send him back to his Dad)? And Karl Rove is giving Obama advice on how to have a successful Presidency? The guy who was political advisor to the President with the Lowest Approval Ratings since Truman? This is all just too funny.

Sounds like Washington politics as usual to me. Nothing has changed with the big picture anyway. Hillary was confirmed today. Foregone conclusion. Why do they even bother with some of these hearings?

Amy; We should all just laugh to keep from crying. Unity in thought and policy between the parties is at its lowest level in my recollection. Our leaders have openly and unabashedly stated we should anticipate trillion dollar deficits for years to come. Nothing is being done about existing blatantly unnecessary government spending. Bills are meanwhile being proposed to increase government spending. The incoming president has made so many promises to so many factions that in order to save face (and voter base) he must lead us yet deeper into deficit spending at the expense of generations to come. All this with nothing more than theories about how to recover from the financial crisis while money targeted for saving our financial system is being redirected to welfare projects that are being called an economic recovery package. Don't know if I can fake a laugh right now.

The Republicans have yet to realize it, but they've done this to America. Shipping an annual 6 trillion dollars worth of manufacturing to China (that was the "Most Favored Trade Status") that G.W. pushed and the Republican party lauded. Companies wanting to export manufacturing over there knew it would be a fight and so did Wal-Mart who has pushed companies to produce there or make other quality sacrifices just to be on their store shelves. Ohio Art is a good example, they were told flat out that unless they produced in China so they (Wal-Mart) could pay what they thought was reasonable and most profitable to their bottom line, they would not be carried in Wal-Mart stores.
The abuses of corporations and the Republican political elite are over. I pray that what rises from the ashes is a party more in-line with what Abraham Lincoln intended, one that protected and worked for the American People. Realistically, I know this won't happen after all, Bush is really the worst President since Taft and unless young Republicans who believe in the ideals of the party's founder rise up and topple the old guard, it'll remain the same. Mitt Romney as an economic expert, please I wouldn't trust him to buy a car from, much less an economic plan. That is why every younger Republican with opposing ideas to the "party" line have been lambasted and humiliated, Steve Forbes had put forth ideas years ago for a somewhat workable taxing and spending plan for the government based on a "flat tax" model and doing away with the current tax law. The problem is that the current tax law is over ten thousand pages because of all of the tax loopholes written in so big corporations pay no taxes at all. So America is at an empasse, Democrats who know that spending money to pull the country out of recession/depression and regulating business and trade works and Republicans who believe in the laffer curve and trickle-down economics and offshoring and that it'll still work (oh who am I kidding, they were in it for themselves).

Why does everyone want to dwell on the past? We are in crisis. The cisis is about the here and now. Studying the past produces nothing but old hard feelings about the people and legislations that got us to this point. Establishing blame accomplishes nothing. There's little to be learned from past actions because the circumstances today are different to those of the past. We're all in the same sinking boat today. Seems to me we need to focus forward, stop bickering, stop wasting time, pick up a cup and start bailing as we head for some high ground. Common sense methods will bring recovery. I pray those with common sense ideas will be heard and accepted so all this desperation spending will end.

Just a bit of common sense here, tariffs on machines and goods made in china is a good tax, cutting all of the loopholes in the tax code would be fair tax, imposing a special corporate responsibility tax to those who've shipped most of their manufacturing jobs to china (using U.S. tax breaks) would be a fair tax (and would force all of those jobs back here).
I'm not a tax and spend kind of person, it's just you can get more action with a kind word and a big stick than just a kind word, and taxes are the biggest stick that can be put on the Corporations.

Well said, Doctor. Also, if we don't remember our history and learn from it, we will keep repeating it.

Too old to learn for some of us, I guess.

Taxes on corporations are NOT a good "stick" as WE pay the taxes in the price of the product. Same for tariffs, even worse. Protectionism kills the global economy and thus kills our economy which is based on global trade.

Gee, I hadn't really heard that it was TRADE, China or otherwise that put us in a possible depression??!! No it was Credit and it was Mortgage arrangements - both are caused by BAD regulation on a national and world level not a lack of regulation

And Wow! Only Republicans are investors and businessmen? I hadn't heard that either? Aren't we all in 401Ks now 201Ks?? Haven't several Administrations and Congresses hewed to MFN for China and globalization generally for several decades now??!!

Some here represent a rather socialist wing and call themselves Democrat but that's not what Obama and even an activist Democratic congress are going to accomplish as if you could abolish the laws of global economics that involve trillions of dollars and livelihood of billions.

Holder flatly stated that he never once knew anything whatsoever about Rich's horrid criminal status, background and history, prior to the pardon being granted by Clinton. Holder also stated that NONE of the 'pardon' attorneys under his auspices ever once apprised him about Rich's horrid criminal background. Holder said this was because they did not know about Rich's criminal status and background. Asked about a high-level attorney who DID sound the alarm and who did try rigorously to alert Holder and apprise him of Rich's sordid criminal status, Holder responded that he largely disregarded the attorney's appraisal because he was not a 'pardon' attorney. I find Holder's claims to be too incredible to believe. The picture it paints is clearly one of "contrived ignorance" -- "Ignorance of convenience" -- "Selective Cognition." At a bare minimum, there are profound competence problems entailed in his being so grotesquely ignorant about such important matters that were so fundamental to his core responsibilities. It reveals an utter lack of conscientiousness, or due diligence, in the performance of his job. Why should we now promote such nonchalant apathetic mediocrity and inertia to the top position in the U.S. government? Aside from Specter, Holder is being treated as gently as a newborn in a bassinet.

Rick Klein, in "The Note"; 1/15/2009 You state; "And the Republican Party makes its slide into a full-fledged opposition party."

Call it like it is; "Obstruction."

Why weren't the particulars of the tax Mr. Geitner failed to pay included in The Note? These were Social Security taxes that a non US entity does not deduct but are payable by US citizens working in the US. Including the particulars of the taxes due would have made the failure to pay them more excuseable.

I don't see any Republicans offering any solutions for the problems they created. Of course, this is typical of the G.O.P. - create problems and blame their cause on everyone else. Well, it didn't work this time, you bunch of conservative fruitcakes, and it will never happen again. You finally hurt the great majority of the American people to cause them to destroy the G.O.P. Wait till 2010, when 5 more G.O.P. Senators retire and are replaced with Democrats. Then, you can keep crawling deeper and deeper into your hole of ignorance.

Republicans should be hunted down and killed like dogs in the streets for what they've done to our country. If these incompetent Republican scum think that they enjoy any sort of popular support anywhere in the nation outside of the deep, hillbilly South, they're deeply mistaken. America hates the GOP and everything it stands for now. Let them try to start a battle, they will be even further marginalized and lose more seats in 2010.

Ever notice how Republicans cause nothing but problems without offering any viable solutions? They are a party of incompetent crybaby whiners. I will never vote for another Republican for as long as I live.

I'm sorry, but there was something called common sense once in government spending. All of the tax breaks and loopholes are a big part of why we are 10 trillion in debt. Trickle down economics is a dismal-abysmal failure, before we started down this road with Reagan the national debt was about 30 billion dollars (that would be about 20 stealth bombers). The control that the Republican party has wielded went to their heads and the tax code ballooned. Why are massive conglomerates getting away with paying little taxes and the small business owners with less than 100 workers picking up such a heavy burden?
Simply, the conglomerates, Wal-Marts, Exxons, and China can all spend many millions of dollars on lobbying efforts and contributing heavily to those who "agree" with their viewpoints (that's what we call "pay-to-play politics" in Illinois, it's still illegal an amoral but it happens every-day with politicans. The problem is they don't get caught and the rules are too lax, because they've written them.

We need to get this country back to protecting the interests of all Americans, not just the wealthiest half-percent. That means bringing back America's industrial base, making the tax structure fair to all so small companies can compete here. I don't know how many times you've had a computer crash and die, over the last eight years, virtually all pc's and laptops have been made in China, even larger companies like Dell have taken a hit from that. Not to mention Motorola who used to dominate the cell industry, which now is forced to license out it's technology and build overseas to survive. Wide open trade policies have done a lot of damage but have really done little for the American consumer, granted the costs of clothing have gone down about 25 to 50%. The costs of consumer electronics have remained steady or gone up (tube sets don't count in this because it is an old technology which is now being made by smaller manufacturers). The costs of housewares and furniture has lowered slightly, but when the furniture doesn't last, how good a deal is it. Cost of toys has gone down only slightly, but that'll sure to be offset by legal expenses and settlements related to tainted and poisoned goods.
Machines made in China for industrial and commercial purposes are woefully inadequate compared to their German and American competition, but tend to win on upfront cost (since no bean-counters seem to look twelve quarters ahead and look at real costs associated with ownership (maintenance, throughput, and efficiency, which is just common sense).

I'd pay more and give my child a toy made here where there are safeguards, instead of over there where there is a show trial for the international media to try to clean up their image, if they cared, make the laws comparable to those here and do the testing, but they don't care.

Sorry for upsetting any of our Republican friends here. I too believe in a small government, that taxes should be fair for all businesses and individuals (see my earlier statement about Forbes' flat tax plan), and I am a firm believer that public safety and protection of workers and consumers is America's greatest responsibility.

It's fairly obvious by the posts here that you guys know little to nothing about Eric Holder. Maybe research the guy a little and you'll see why some on both sides are somewhat concerned with this nomination. It has nothing to do with "toys being made overseas". Some of you guys are unbelievable, and it's apparent why this country has problems.

Posted by: TxBoB | Jan 16, 2009 7:55:46 AM;

Remember, TX ROBERTO GONZALES??? If so, you should Never want to engage discussion about anything having to do with Attorney General's!!!

Sorry, my error. That's Alberto Gonzales.