The day before Congress voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in
contempt, an article published by Katherine Eban in Fortune Magazine essentially gutted the rationale
for the move. Fortune is hardly a left-leaning pub, so it’s certainly worth the
read in light of what is happening.
Republicans went after Holder because he refused to turn over any more
documents involving “Fast and Furious.”
The case sounds like a new Clint Eastwood movie, but it’s the name given to
a 2009 operation involving the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms. The ATF’s Phoenix
division was trying to stop gun trafficking from the Phoenix
area into Mexico,
but something went wrong and an officer, Brian Terry, was killed.
Eban reports that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the
hands of Mexican drug cartels. But the opportunity for political mayhem has
taken over. And here we are.
Obviously, there were mistakes. But Republicans aren’t interested in knowing
what happened to Officer Terry. They, largely at the behest of the National
Rifle Association, have concocted one story after another to politicize the
event and stir up the conservative base.
None is more bizarre than the one about the Obama administration actually
orchestrating the whole thing in order to whip up anti-gun sentiment in the US.
It’s kind of hard to believe that some reasonably intelligent members of
Congress have appeared on one news show after another spewing such crazy
nonsense. If they really believe this kind of stuff, they shouldn’t be allowed
to drive much less hold office.
There is no evidence linking Officer Terry’s death to President Obama. But
it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Republicans are desperately trying to make
the connection.
Republicans are busy trying to debunk Eban’s work. But similar reports are
surfacing.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2012.
