June 12, 2012

Eric Holder says: "I Stuck by My Guns."

I don't like clichés. George Orwell instructed: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

But Holder has a fresh expression here. The cliché is "stick to your guns" not "stick by my guns." But it's unclear what he's been saying about guns:
The House Oversight and Government Reform committee, which has been investigating the Justice Department’s involvement in a gunrunning operation dubbed “Fast and Furious,” plans to vote June 20 on whether to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to provide more than 100,000 subpoenaed documents pertaining to the botched gun sting.

As part of Fast and Furious, a Justice Department program that began in September 2009, law enforcement knowingly allowed about 2,000 U.S. guns to flow to Mexican drug cartels, with the intent of tracking the weapons and making arrests. However, law enforcement lost track of most of the weapons.

The program was halted in December 2010 after two weapons from the program were found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
So, come on, Mr. Holder. Say some more things about guns.

By the way, Jimmy Kimmel made a "stick to your guns"/Fast and Furious joke at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April:

22 comments:

chickelit said...

Obviously he didn't stick to the wandering guns.

Another slogan for Romney to use.

edutcher said...

Dr Freud, Dr Freud.

Call your service, line 1.

Michael said...

The question is how many of his guns stuck it to the Mexicans.

Hagar said...

A really unfortunate metaphor in this connection.

And I still say I do not buy the Justice Department's explanation of what this program was about, and I do not see that there was enough money in it for such high-level officials to get involved for monetary gain, so just what the hell was this all about?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Rosalyn C. said...

I think it's called "doubling down," Dr. Freud.

BTW, also Holder's DOJ has refused for about a year to release documents pertaining to the Holy Land Terrorism Financing Trial which implicated Muslim Brotherhood connected groups, he ultimately refused to prosecute. Documents which were provided to defense lawyers of those groups are being denied to members of Congress.

Beldar said...

Prof. Althouse wrote, "So, come on, Mr. Holder. Say some more things about guns."

To which I say:

(1) Amen; and

(2) "Come on, Mr. Holder, and say some more things about what you're calling 'MY guns.'"

Sorun said...

I find that cheese crackers stick to my gums.

bagoh20 said...

Kimmel was relentlessly, openly political in that, and much of it was pretty funny.

Clyde said...

The irony is that the Obama/Holder Department of "Justice" has a policy of "stick by my guns for me, but not for thee" regarding the Second Amendment. It's perfectly fine for them to funnel assault weapons to Mexican drug cartels, but it's a moral hazard to society for bitter clingers to be allowed to have them.

November cannot come soon enough.

bagoh20 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

"stick to your guns" is an apt metaphor, since it's from the idea of a man continuing the fight even after all is lost - firing his guns and killing as many as possible so his commanders can escape, knowing in the end you will go down alone.

That's exactly what he's doing, and the bus rolls on.

holdfast said...

@Hagar - it was about arming the non-Zeta cartels (mostly the Sianolas) to fight the Zetas. The Zetas are mostly ex-military, and are by far the most badass of the cartels. The Mexican government feared they could try to take down state governments, or even the feds, and so the US helped to arm the other cartels.

The collateral benefit was to be smearing gun dealers and 2nd Amendment advocates generally.

Original Mike said...

"Eric Holder: "I stuck by my guns.""

Holder's a gun clinger, eh?

traditionalguy said...

Holder and Obama and friends have gone to great lengths to hide what they were doing in setting up a new crisis called "Gun Violence Out of Control Because of Freedom Of American Gun Dealers." also known as Fast and Furious.

They used a carefully changed DNA from a former Bush Atty General's existing plans for a small operation to track guns into a tsunami of untracked guns flodded into Mexico to escalate violence there and then demand restrictions on gun sales in the USA.

That comes from the same gang as the Classified Super Secret leakers of classified intelligence. They are deadly enemies dressing up as Americans.

Hagar said...

With a couple of thousand semi-automatic guns to fight boatloads of real military arms coming in from all over?
Come on!

Quaestor said...

Ann wrote:
The cliché is "stick to your guns" not "stick by my guns."

This is a distinction without a difference. The phrase goes back to the days of muzzle-loaded artillery. Until the time of Marlborough artillerymen were often considered to be practitioners of a skilled trade rather than common soldiers. They were contracted to serve the guns for set number days at such-and-such a place where they would batter at target, usually a fortress or castle. Their contracts were very elaborate and specific, often stipulating what vintage of wine they were to be supplied and how many shots they were to fire each day. Since the artillerists didn't think of themselves as soldiers they were rather risk-adverse. If the enemy foot or horse counterattacked the crews would often abandon their guns and flee to safety. One of the reforms Cromwell instituted with his New Model Army was artillerymen serving under the common disciple of the soldier rather than as tradesmen. "I want men who will stick by their guns, who know why they fight, and love what they know" is attributed to Oliver Cromwell in this regard.

Matt Sablan said...

Is he just sticking, or is he bitterly clinging?

Fen said...

He should be extradited to Mexico for trial.

Where the hell are all the libtards who were slobering on and on about "war crimes" during the Bush administration?

Oh, thats right, Fen's Law.

Fen said...

I'm talking to YOU Freder. Come out from behind whatever sockpuppet you are using this week and explain yourself.

Bruce Hayden said...

I think that, by now, AG Holder is a liability with to the President. He has been stone walling since Day 1 (the day that the border agent was murdered with Fast and Furious guns). That was when the cover up began.

What I think is having them quake in their shoes is that Rep. Issa and his committee have wire tap affidavits, requiring high level DoJ approval, in their hands that refers to Fast and Furious. Up until they received such, or at least made their presence known, Holder, et al., could claim that it was a low level scheme. But, apparently, such wiretaps require very high level DoJ approval. Needless to say, Holder is desperately looking for the mole who leaked the documents to Issa.

And, don't get sucked in by their excuse that they are waiting for the IG to complete her investigation. IGs are supposed to be independent. This one is anything but, Holder having hired her when he was the USA for D.C. They apparently worked closely together and co-signed a lot of briefs, etc. Almost the furthest thing from independent you can get.

Holder is trying to brazen things out, expecting that the Democrats on the requisite committees will fall in line, voting against contempt, and allowing them to call this political.

Just another reason to vote Obama out come November, so that this department can be cleaned up.

Bruce Hayden said...

I thought that this was interesting: NBC Nightly News Devotes Mere Seconds to First-Ever Mention of Fast and Furious. A year and a half after the U.S. border agent was killed by F&F guns, and the coverup started, after more than a year of Congressional testimony and wrangling over access to information about the project, NBC finally mentions it, but only devotes 10 seconds or so to this scandal, spending the rest of the 30 second segment on the leak of highly classified information by apparently multiple members of the Obama Administration (and AG Holder's refusal to appoint a special prosecutor).

Rusty said...

A year and a half after the U.S. border agent was killed by F&F guns


Brian Terry.
The agents name was Brian Terry.