By Jim Yardley —— Bio and Archives April 11, 2014
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"Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, one of President Bush's closest confidants and a key architect of his controversial counterterrorism policies, announced yesterday that he is quitting after seven months of bitter confrontation with Congress over his honesty..."It seems like Yogi Berra described the situation perfectly when he said "It's like déjå vu all over again." Since Mr. Holder intimated that the sole cause of his adversarial relationship with Congress is due solely and completely to his skin color, one is lead to believe that Mr. Gonzales and others of Hispanic descent are no longer members of a minority. Well, in that case all one can say is "Hallelujah!" Looking back a bit further in history, another AG whose relationship with Congress might have seemed more than usually adversarial would be Bill Clinton's pick to lead the Department of Justice, Janet Reno. I don't think anyone could interpret the time she spent addressing Congress's concerns about the 51 day standoff in Waco, Texas regarding the Branch Davidian compound and the 76 deaths that resulted from that standoff as comfortable or relaxed. But since Mr. Holder claims that his experience was unprecedented, using the same logic as could be applied to AG Gonzales, apparently Janet Reno is no longer to be classed as a member of an oppressed minority. Again, "Hallelujah!" Nor do I think we should ever forget Nixon's one-time AG, John Mitchell, who was indicted for conspiring to hinder the Congressional investigation into the Watergate affair. Wait a minute, isn't that the basis for the dustup between AG Holder and Congressman Gohmert? Why, yes, I believe it was. Well, I guess the issue isn't unprecedented now, is it, Mr. Holder. And there was no hint of racial animus with regard to Mr. Mitchell, was there?
Jim Yardley is a retired financial controller for manufacturing firms, a Vietnam veteran and an independent voter. Jim blogs at jimyardley.wordpress.com