Former Attorney General Eric Holder joined PBS’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Supreme Court term which naturally enough involved warnings about fascism and slides “towards illiberal democracy.”
The whole segment was full of Amanpour lobbing softballs to Holder so he could routinely call the Court illegitimate for issuing rulings he disagrees with, but on the specific instance of Moore v. Harper, Amanpour wondered, “So, critics say -- I mean, further to what you're saying, is if this court case does win for North Carolina, the Republicans will be able to maintain power regardless of the popular vote. I mean, anybody maintaining power regardless of the popular vote should be of concern, I guess. And I'm wondering whether this puts America into the fast lane towards illiberal democracy. We're seeing the same kinds of things in places like Hungary and to extend in Poland and elsewhere.”
There’s a lot wrong with that statement from Amanpour. First, is that the Moore case is about gerrymandering and whether state courts can overrule state legislatures when it comes to congressional maps. It has nothing to do with “the popular vote.”
Second, even the Washington Post has given Holder multiple Pinocchios on his claims that he’s simply a principled opponent of gerrymandering and not at all partisan. Third, and lastly, Amanpour’s obsession with Hungary, Poland, and Republicans is a strange one. For example, Justin Trudeau is the Liberal prime minister of Canada despite losing “the popular vote” in two consecutive elections while the popular vote winner won in Poland and Hungary.
As bad as that was, Holder’s response was worse, “No, the danger really is that parts of the Republican Party have become comfortable with the notion that in terms of popular support, they will be a minority party that has majority power. And we need to learn that from our -- from history, not only American history but from European history as well, some of our closest allies.”
Taking the fearmongering to eleven, Holder continued, “You know, fascism rose in the 20th century in a lot of those countries—countries—in Europe, not because fascism was strong but because the defense of democracy was weak. And unless we, in America, defend our democracy and push back against those illiberal forces, we could be in a place where we could lose our democracy.”
Holder wrapped up his thoughts on the case by declaring, “It doesn't mean we will have a dictator. But we could have elections every two, four, and six years, which is how they're held in the United States that are essentially made meaningless. And we could have minority rule in the United States. This could be a fundamentally different country if, for instance, this Independent State Legislature Doctrine is adopted by the Supreme Court.”
There is Eric Holder’s view of the Supreme Court, either it agrees with him and is a body that is greatly devoted to the law or it is illegitimate and advances fascism. And your tax dollars give him a platform while pretending he’s a man of reason.
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Here is a transcript for the October 11 show:
PBS Amanpour and Company
10/11/2022
11:14 PM ET
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, critics say -- I mean, further to what you're saying, is if this court case does win for North Carolina, the Republicans will be able to maintain power regardless of the popular vote. I mean, anybody maintaining power regardless of the popular vote should be of concern, I guess. And I'm wondering whether this puts America into the fast lane towards illiberal democracy. We're seeing the same kinds of things in places like Hungary and to extend in Poland and elsewhere.
ERIC HOLDER: No, the danger really is that parts of the Republican Party have become comfortable with the notion that in terms of popular support, they will be a minority party that has majority power. And we need to learn that from our -- from history, not only American history but from European history as well, some of our closest allies.
You know, fascism rose in the 20th century in a lot of those countries—countries—in Europe, not because fascism was strong but because the defense of democracy was weak. And unless we, in America, defend our democracy and push back against those illiberal forces, we could be in a place where we could lose our democracy.
It doesn't mean we will have a dictator. But we could have elections every two, four, and six years, which is how they're held in the United States that are essentially made meaningless. And we could have minority rule in the United States. This could be a fundamentally different country if, for instance, this Independent State Legislature Doctrine is adopted by the Supreme Court.
