It is time for Eric Holder to go, Mr. President

President Obama, it is time to replace Eric Holder. I know you have a lot on your mind these days, but the country can no longer afford to give Mr. Holder the benefit of the doubt. Give him his walking papers today.

Eric Holder’s tenure as Attorney General has been marked with moments of genuine leadership. However, those under his management have too often wielded a careless and heavy-hand in discharging their duties. The mission of the Department Justice should include the protection of freedom and the steadfast defense of individual rights. General Holder has been too willing to approve thuggery in the name of the war on terror or in a misguided belief sidestepping or operating in the grey area of the Constitution provides an affordable, quick route to solving crime.

Tying the hands of Lady Liberty may produce a short-term win occasionally, but these minor victories are not worth the long-term price.

The breaking scandal regarding the Department of Justice’s improper seizure of phone records relating to the AP and its employees proves one of two things; either Mr. Holder believes the Justice Department is above the laws it is empowered to enforce, or he has lost control of the Department he is supposed to oversee. Either way the President should release Mr. Holder from service immediately.

There will be watchdogs for the President’s political legacy who will argue firing Eric Holder will be viewed as a sign a weakness – a Holder departure will be blood in the water for the sharks in search of a feeding frenzy on what is wrong in the Administration. These watchdogs are wrong.

Decisive action by the President will show he might be ready to steer our country away from the destructive course it has been taking since 9/11, a course where government overreach has been generally accepted in an age of loosely organized terrorists. Sadly, this overreach has handed unintended victories to those out to destroy us. U.S. drone strikes may have resulted in the killing of a few enemies, but the loss of innocent lives have encouraged countless others to join the cause of those killed. The cost of an army of TSA agents working at our airports, the funding of multiple war fronts and the loss of certain freedoms once enjoyed by Americans has come with an incalculable financial and human price. And, these are only two examples of how we have lost and our enemies have won.

Firing Eric Holder will make a strong statement the President is interested in restoring a government that will once again fight to protect the liberty of the people as it abides by the laws of the people. Do this, Mr. President, and you will have dealt a blow to those out to destroy us by bolstering freedom, that which makes America great. The next step will be hiring an Attorney General who understands this new direction, something Mr. Holder does not.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.