"Mr. Adegbile has had an impressive career advocating for civil rights. But, as a former Attorney General, I was very concerned about a nominee who would face such staunch opposition from law enforcement officers from day one, as that will only make it more difficult for the Civil Rights division at DOJ -- a very important and needed group -- to do its job. I agree with North Dakota law enforcement officers that the President would be better served by nominating another individual who is not so controversial."
The speciousness of this argument prompted Ari Melber of MSNBC to write Heitkamp an open letter calling her on the hypocrisy of her claiming to defend voting rights in a fundraising letter sent out after she has just undermined a strong defender of voting rights. His letter concludes, "President Obama called the vote a "travesty. And if this is the precedent you want to set -- that no one who's defended "controversial' clients can serve the public -- then it's a travesty for all of us."
Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, 59, an attorney, former Congressman, and child of white privilege, was elected to the Senate in 2012. His official website has no mention of "Adegbile," but touts a ranking that rates him slightly more conservative than liberal, neither of which explains a vote against constitutional principle by a lawyer. Appearing briefly on an Indiana TV station, Donnelly followed the Heitkamp script to explain his vote against Adegbile: "In Sen. Donnelly's interview with Amos, Donnelly stressed that while he respected Adegbile's qualifications for the job, Donnelly was convinced that the controversy would "undermine' Adegbile's "ability to work with law enforcement officials', given the fierce opposition by police organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, to Adegbile's involvement in the Abu-Jamal case." Or in other words, why defend a qualified non-white man from being hounded by police bigots who don't even tell the truth?
Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, 51, a child of white privilege, has Yale graduate degrees in both divinity and law. A former county council president, Coons won the 2010 Senate special election against Christine O'Donnell. He is running for a full term in 2014. Coons initially came out in support of Adegbile, only to cave under pressure and make this statement after flip-flopping on his vote in favor of Adegbile in the Judiciary Committee: "At a time when the Civil Rights Division urgently needs better relations with the law enforcement community, I was troubled by the idea of voting for an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights who would face such visceral opposition from law enforcement on his first day on the job. The vote I cast today was one of the most difficult I have taken since joining the Senate, but I believe it to be right for the people I represent."
If, as Coons says, the "Civil Rights Division urgently needs better relations with the law enforcement community," why is that not a sign that the law enforcement community is having trouble enforcing the law? Coons's full statement, on his official website, only makes his weakness look more pathetic:
"Last month, I voted in the Judiciary Committee to move his nomination to the Senate floor because I believed his nomination should be debated and considered by the full Senate. As a lawyer, I understand the importance of having legal advocates willing to fight for even the most despicable clients, and I embrace the proposition that an attorney is not responsible for the actions of their client.
"The decades-long public campaign by others, however, to elevate a heinous, cold-blooded killer to the status of a political prisoner and folk hero has caused tremendous pain to the widow of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and shown great disrespect for law enforcement officers and families throughout our region. These factors have led me to cast a vote today that is more about listening to and respecting their concerns than about the innate qualifications of this nominee."
These seven Democratic dwarves agree on one thing: when a thuggish police-based minority dishonestly attacks democratic due process, it's the Constitution that should suffer. These people, like the rest of Congress, have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, even against a mob of cops outraged by the courts denying them their lynching. They have enabled a cowardly tactic, but one that works: that the best way to avoid losing an argument is to prevent it from happening.
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