Al Sharpton: Criticism of Eric Holder is Racist

We suppose it was only a matter of time before this happened.

As most of our readers already know, Al Sharpton is something of a one trick pony, and that one trick is finding high profile media cases that involve African Americans, and trying to polarize them along racial lines. Most of the time this works for Sharpton up until the cases become more fleshed out (as in the Trayvon Martin case), but in some of them his argument blows up in his face the instant he makes it.

This is probably one of those. In an article at the Huffington Post, Sharpton makes the case that the criticism of Attorney General Eric Holder by Republicans is (you guessed it) racist. Read the highlights of Sharpton's unimaginative attack below (emphasis added):

The highest officer of law and order in this nation has been ridiculed, scapegoated and handled as some sort of criminal throughout this 'investigation.' Turning over thousands of documents and overextending himself, AG Holder was spoken to and mistreated as if he were a child, and reminded that despite his esteemed position, he can and would be profiled. AG Holder was in essence 'stopped & frisked' without probable cause, and after he cooperated, he was made an example of. What Issa just showed us is that no matter what our stature in this world, someone can easily try to 'put us in our place.' What could be more outrageous?[...]

As I marched this past Sunday with tens of thousands in New York in opposition to the abhorrent practice of stop & frisk,' I couldn't help but think of our attorney general. Tattered down and publicly humiliated, AG Holder has been mishandled just like the young Black and Latino men (and women) who are demonized on our streets everyday. Chris Matthews of Hardball on MSNBC concurred: AG Holder is being profiled, stopped and searched. Where was Issa's government reform when the ATF gun program began in '06 under the Bush Administration and was called Operation Wide Receiver? Or when it was the Hernandez case in '07? Or the Mendrano case in '08? Why hasn't anyone from the previous administration been held accountable? Why is it only this AG a few months before election time? The answer is glaringly obvious.

The American people should be very clear as to what they are watching. At a time when we have an endless number of questions concerning high violence rates, oppressive voter ID laws and voter suppression tactics, as well as other serious life and death questions, Issa and others would rather play a game of politics. Have there been mistakes made under AG Holder's watch? Yes. But was he responsible for creating the Fast & Furious program, or has he been non-cooperative? No. Is he being unfairly targeted and dragged through the mud as a method of delay from other pressing issues? Undoubtedly for sure.

At this rate, one imagines that it's only a matter of time before Sharpton accuses Darrell Issa of "white privilege."

H/T Weaselzippers