Politics

RNC chairman promises to make Fast and Furious a 2012 election theme

Matthew Boyle Investigative Reporter
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Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus reiterated his call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation on Wednesday, and promised Operation Fast and Furious will be an election issue in 2012.

“Holder may want to point fingers and play the blame game, but as the Attorney General, he bears the responsibility,” Priebus told The Daily Caller. “It’s past time for the attorney general to come clean and take responsibility and if he doesn’t, he has a boss who should.”

“Obama’s leadership deficit in holding the members of his administration accountable demonstrates yet again that the president is taking Washington in the wrong direction and only making things worse,” said Preibus.

“If Obama won’t fire Holder, we will,” Priebus added. “We’ll fire the whole team in just 11 months.”

Priebus considers Obama’s continued support for Holder a sign of a consistent lack of competence in the administration. He said that although Holder is ultimately responsible for Fast and Furious, the president refuses to hold him accountable.

“Whether it’s Attorney General Holder under fire for Fast and Furious or Energy Secretary Chu for wasting taxpayer dollars, President Obama has a competence problem within his inner circle,” Priebus said. “Despite the facts showing otherwise, Eric Holder has repeatedly denied fault in a reckless scandal that ended with the death of a border patrol agent and 1,400 guns lost in Mexico and the United States.”

Priebus also promised to make Fast and Furious a prominent theme during the 2012 election. (RELATED: Full coverage of Operation Fast and Furious)

“The president’s inability to lead his administration and this country will be a key reason why he doesn’t deserve another term and will be a theme in 2012,” he said.

Every major Republican presidential candidate has called for Holder’s resignation or firing because of Fast and Furious, as have candidates for other offices nationwide.

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