1.) Criticizing Eric Holder is racist, says Eric Holder — First Eric Holder blamed the Daily Caller for his problems. That didn’t work, so now he’s trying a slightly different approach. TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports:
“Attorney General Eric Holder accused his growing chorus of critics of racist motivations in a Sunday interview published in the New York Times. When reached by The Daily Caller Monday morning, the Department of Justice provided no evidence to support the attorney general’s claims. Holder said some unspecified faction — what he refers to as the ‘more extreme segment’ — is driven to criticize both him and President Barack Obama due to the color of their skin. Holder did not appear to elaborate on who he considered to make up the ‘more extreme segment.’ ‘This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him,’ Holder said, according to the Times. ‘Both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American.’ The White House hasn’t returned requests for comment on whether President Barack Obama agrees with his top law enforcement officer’s allegations of racial motivations.”
In other words, Eric Holder allowed thousands of illegal weapons to cross the border into Mexico (resulting in hundreds of deaths, including that of at least one federal agent) and then lied about it, but you’re only holding him accountable for it because he’s black.
How is Holder’s panicky racebaiting going over among his critics? Not too well, as Boyle reports:
“Florida Republican Rep. Allen West told The Daily Caller on Monday that Attorney General Eric Holder’s use of the race card as a way to attack those who are criticizing him is ‘reprehensible.’ ‘I think this is absolutely the last card in the deck, and that shows how weak their ground is,’ West said in a phone interview. ‘But, what that means is they want to make white individuals afraid of continuing to put the pressure on Eric Holder because they don’t want to be seen as racist, and that is something that we have got to move beyond.'”
“Illinois Republican Rep. Joe Walsh, one of the first members of Congress to demand Attorney General Eric Holder resign over the ill-fated Operation Fast and Furious gun-walking program, told The Daily Caller that Holder’s recent use of racial politics to attack his critics appears to be something President Barack Obama ‘orchestrated.’ ‘This is sort of the last refuge that people on the left will go to when they’re in trouble,’ Walsh said in a phone interview. ‘They’ll accuse their opponents of racism. My God, we’ve got tons of problems in this country and … this president, is through Eric Holder, saying, “Nope, you can’t criticize me. If you criticize me, we’re going to accuse you of racism.” Shame on them, that’s terrible.'”
Pointing out that Eric Holder is trying to deflect substantive criticism with an accusation of racism is racist, you racists. Well, at least Holder has the New York Times covering for him, even if they’re completely wrong on the facts. Hold the line!
2.) Best Obama book yet? — There’s still time to pick up a last-minute stocking-stuffer for that special someone, and TheDC’s Alex Pappas has just the thing:
“It didn’t take very long for Jimmy Moncrief to put together his new 200-page book, ‘Everything Obama Knows About The Economy.’ Every page of the book is blank. The 30-year-old banker from Chattanooga, Tenn., told The Daily Caller in an interview that he’s sold hundreds of copies of his gag gift to Christmas shoppers since it was released several weeks ago. ‘Initially, I made 100 of them just because I figured I had enough friends and family to kind of give out as gifts,’ Moncrief said. ‘But what happened was when I got a hundred, I sold them all within a week or two… It’s just a funny gift, you know? I just wanted to get people to laugh.'”
THAT’S NOT FUNNY.
3.) Epistemic closure, Obama-style — But not everybody is being mean to Obama. He still has pals, as ABC’s Jake Tapper reports:
“An all-star list of progressive and liberal media folks came to the White House today to chat with President Obama over coffee in the Roosevelt Room. The group chatted with the president about economic messaging, his agenda for 2012, the various campaign arguments against different GOP candidates, the desire among some Democrats for him to highlight his foreign policy accomplishments, fighting corporate influence and the ‘crappiness’ of the Senate filibuster , as one attendee put it. Those there included the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein and Greg Sargent, MSNBC anchors Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow, and Chris Hayes, the Nation’s editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, the New York Times’ Frank Bruni, and stars of the interwebs Arianna Huffington, Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, Faiz Shakir of ThinkProgress and Joy Reid of The Reid Report.”
Yes, all the leading lights of independent journalism. How cozy. Apparently they couldn’t squeeze any more JournoListers into one room. You’ve got your orders, troops. Now march.
4.) Merry [CENSORED] and Happy [CENSORED] — We’d wish you a Merry Christmas, we’d wish you a Merry Christmas, we’d wish you a Merry Christmas, but the rules interfere! TheDC’s Will Rahn reports:
“Rep. Joe Walsh, an Illinois Republican, and Rep. Mike Ross, an Arkansas Democrat, are trying to overturn a rule that forbids the use of ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Hanukkah’ in taxpayer-funded congressional correspondence. Congressional rules state that mail containing holiday greetings cannot be ‘franked’ — Hill lingo for receiving taxpayer reimbursement for postage — according to a memo from the ‘Franking Commission Staff’ obtained by The Washington Examiner. In response to the memo, Walsh and Ross circulated a letter Monday encouraging both Republican and Democratic members to demand the rule be rescinded. ‘We are not celebrating winter this December,’ the letter reads in part. ‘We are celebrating significant moments in two religions that have fundamentally shaped our nation — and as Members of Congress who represent thousands of constituents celebrating these holidays, we ask you to reconsider these outdated and restrictive rules.'”
In all fairness, let’s give the Franking Commission a chance to respond. Right now they’re busy stealing all the toys in Whoville.
5.) Today’s words of wisdom from Roseanne Barr’s Twitter feed — “I am running for President of these United States of America & I ask Americans 4 their vote. All they have to do: declare urself a citizen”
VIDEO: Boehner on payroll tax cut: Congress “always” goes to “the lowest common denominator”
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