October 9, 2014

Attorney General Eric Holder made his resignation official yesterday at an emotional press conference in which he thanked his family for their support and expressed gratitude for having had the chance to serve under President Obama. Now the task of choosing a new AG begins. And with the bottomless partisanship in Washington, it will be contentious.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation were saddened by the news, but also concerned about what it could mean for the civil rights work that Holder had been so active in.

“He’s been a real asset to this fight for people who didn’t necessarily get a fair chance in this justice system,” Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) told The Root.

In a statement we received from Wisconsin Congresswoman Gwen Moore, she says, “The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is a great loss for our country. As one of the Obama Administration’s leading progressive voices, Attorney General Holder led the charge in support of same-sex marriage, protecting our voting rights, and addressing the inequities in our criminal justice system. As the first African-American to serve as Attorney General, his honorable legacy of justice is nothing less than historic.”

Congresswoman Gwen Moore has no fear of Scott Walker. She beat the governor in his first campaign — for the state Legislature in 1990.

But Moore does fear the confusion and potential voter disenfranchisement that could result from a haphazard and ill-planned implementation of the state’s voter ID law.

That is why she has called on the Government Accountability Board to wait until after the November election to begin implementing the controversial rules requiring an approved photo ID in order to vote.

Moore is right to propose the delay.

The voter ID law that was enacted by Republican legislators and signed by Walker was blocked by Federal Judge Lynn Adelman, who sits in Milwaukee, because it discriminates disproportionately against seniors, students and people of color. Adelman’s ruling, which was hailed by legal experts from across the country, should have settled it.