Obama's AG Eric Holder Challenges GOP to Knife Fight: 'We’re Gonna Do It'
Former Attorney General Eric Holder had a few pointed words to say on Thursday as he implored liberal activists in Milwaukee to turn out and fight for a vote.
According to the Journey Sentinel, Holder’s remarks were part of an attempt to advocate for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Rebecca Dallet, as he insisted his liberal peers turn the tide of election maps that currently favor Republicans.
“We have to be ready to, you know, not do anything inappropriate, not do anything improper, certainly not do anything unlawful,” Holder said, adding that Democrats needs to become more focused and disciplined in order to match the Republican Party.
“But to the extent that they want to have a fight, let’s do it,” he added. “You want to rumble, let’s rumble. You want to have a knife fight, we’re gonna do it.”
Holder himself heads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that is reportedly spending $140,000 vying for Dallet, who hopes to secure the seat in the election on April 3.
He admitted that the group will also be monitoring the race — which is sure to see candidate bashing on both sides — over the next two weeks, adding that it is a “distinct possibility” that even more spending on Dallet’s behalf will be done.
Holder, who served as attorney general during the Obama administration, stated that Dallet, who is a Milwaukee County judge, is the “clear choice” in the race as she is “tough, fair and compassionate.”
However, most Republicans disagree and have stepped up their counter-attack against Dallet as they continue to publicly question her ability in certain cases, such as those involving firearms.
Conservative groups have also decried the judge for her recent San Francisco fundraiser, which she used to raise money in the name of “Wisconsin values.”
Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock has become the main figure Republicans are backing as both hopefuls vie for the position vacated by Justice Michael Gableman, who is part of the court’s 5-2 conservative majority and who won’t be seeking a second term.
Dallet herself has responded with her own comments about her opponent, claiming that Screnock shouldn’t be able to listen to those cases that involve Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business lobbying group, due to the fact that the firm has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars backing the conservative.
The Milwaukee judge is also receiving aid from Democrat U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is conducting a large-scale operation in 38 counties to turn out Democrat voters.
The election itself has gotten off to a rocky start as Holder’s group reportedly sued GOP Gov. Scott Walker in an attempt to force the Wisconsin governor to hold elections to fill two vacant seats in the state Legislature.
The lawsuit itself is estimated to be resolved before the winner is announced, though some fears remain about Holder’s ability to bring other litigation to the Supreme Court.
In a statement he later made regarding the issue, Holder chided Walker for the vacancy while also calling for a special legislative session to discuss safety in schools.
“He (Walker) considers himself a conservative, I’d say he’s regressive,” Holder said. “He’s doing whatever he can to maintain power, surrounding himself with people who share those views.”
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