We are asking our viewers this morning for their opinion of eric holder. How would you rate his Job Performance question might give us a call. Republicans at 202 5853881. Democrats, 202 5853880. Independents, 202 5853882. If you are outside the u. S. , 202 5855883. You can also catch up with us on all your favorite social media pages. On twitter, facebook, or email us. Very good wednesday morning to you. Talking about eric holder and asking for your opinion. His Job Performance. Several issues he has been involved in this year are highlighted in the headline tracker from usa today. Scrolling through a few of those. Once 50 million to train agents against active shooters. Most drug sentences reduced by 11 months. Justice department looks into highfrequency trading. Holder renews calls for civilian terror trials. The list of stories with eric holder in the headlines goes on headlinetodays tracker. In the Washington Post, holder 15 million from congress for active Shooter Police training. One other story from the to stopon times, bill paychecks for those found in contempt of congress. To go afterned holder. The attorney general in many different news stories for many reasons. Asking for your opinion of him. I want to redo a profile piece from the cook the tribune f rom the Tribune Newspaper in several papers around the country. That is a picture of attorney general eric holder. During his first four years as the top Law Enforcement officer, his leadership at the justice controversyeemed so prone that even democrats began to question what his attorney what he had accomplished and whether he had a passion to stick it out. Since president obamas reelection, holder has tackled his responsive buildings with criticsion, surprising and supporters by striking out on an unapologetically liberal agenda. He moved to shorten prison sentences of nonviolent criminals. States to block laws he said would make voting more difficult for minorities. This month, he called upon states to scrap laws preventing former convicts from voting. He issued a directive expanded government recognition of samesex marriages to federal courtrooms and prisons, giving gay and lesbian spouses the same rights as married couples, even in states that dont recognize such unions. Quoteser and it wu holder. We keep bringing you more from that story and are opening our phone lines, our twitter and Facebook Page are open as we talk about u. S. Attorney general eric holder. A few comments from our Facebook Page. Cspan. Ok. Com job, is 10 times smarter than the average joe. Our facebooks on page. Our phone lines are open as well. Ourst want to point you to twitter page as well. Follow the conversation on twitter cspanwj. Texas on waiting from our line for democrats. Good morning. Caller good morning and thank you for taking my call. I totally agree with the email you read about him being 10 times smarter. I am so proud of this attorney general. His stancey proud of or his comeback with the guy from texas. Texas, can you imagine . I am very proud of him. For the republicans that are going to call do me a favor. Do not allow them to tell lies. Make them state facts and asked them where did they get the information . Host let me ask you another comment from facebook. The attorney general takes everything to personal. Attorney general eric holder is arrogant. Your response to that comment . An incident where an attorney general was put through as many as these terrorist attacks as he has be en. Let her cite some. Host we go to our republican line. Bill in pennsylvania. Caller good morning. Way holder ishe totally stonewalling with all the fast and furious things that have gone on. Any investigation that any or Congressional Committee starts is stonewalled. I do not like the way the whole administration and those justice department, him at the top, refused to uphold the laws of the constitution. There is never any investigation. Why did he not investigate the banking scandals in 2008 when collapsed . Almost not one person was prosecuted. When you look back at history, during the savings and loan scandal that guy we just saw on the news. That one guy went to jail for a long time. Who went to jail as a result with what happened with the collapse of our economy and the banking scandals . I think the guy is a creep. Host a little bit more from the sribune story that notes in hi early years, eric holders time was consumed by National Security debates such as the administrations effort to try 9 11 and spirit in the u. S. And operation. D furious holder hinted last year he might be growing tired of the job amid mounting criticism. He has faced constant calls for resignation, not just from lawmakers,ve who accused him of dragging his feet. Also from progressives who feel let down from what they see as holders failure to pursue civil rights policies. Had holder steps down at the end of last year, he might be remembered as the first sitting cap and a member to be held in contempt of congress for confusing he might be remembered as the first sitting member to be held in contempt of congress after the fast and furious case. The fallout from it and the contempt of congress issuance and ongoing case was the subject of a hearing last week. Something one of our earlier callers brought up. A congressional hearing where holder got into it a Heated Exchange with republican Louie Gohmert of texas. Heres a bit of that. [video clip] i renewed my request. We promised to provide you and your staff with i have read what your department promised. It is inadequate. I realize contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general but it is important we have proper oversight. You do not want to go there. I dont want to go there . No. About the content . You should not assume that that is not a big deal to me. I think it was inappropriate and unjust. Never think that was not a big deal to me, do not ever think that. I am just looking for evidence. Normally we are known by our fruits. There has been no indications it was a big deal because your department has still not been forthcoming in producing the documents that were the subject of the contempt. [indiscernible] there have been other questions asked the document we were prepared to make available then we are prepared to make available now. The gun lobbyout and the desire to have we have been trying to get to the bottom of fast and furious, where people died. At least a couple hundred mexicans died. We cannot get the information to get to the bottom of that. I do not need lectures for you about content. I dont need lectures from you either it is difficult to deal with asking questions. As a former judge, i would never ask questions of someone who has been held in contempt. Host last weeks hearing in which eric holder was on capitol hill. Bit ofstemming from a that debate. A subject of the Washington Times story. It would stop the government paychecks for officials who have been found in contempt of congress. To go aftersigned eric holder. Mr. Holder refused to cooperate with House Republican probes into the fast and furious than walking operation. The bill was introduced by blake farenthold, a texas republican. He said the American People should not be footing the bill for officials bad behavior. Stan in new york on our line for democrats. How would you rate eric holders Job Performance . Caller poor and criminal. I am a registered democrat, i used to be proud of that. To have the attorney general sit there on tv and basically i sayng congress a man ingohmert, find this contempt and throw him in jail. These people work for us. We do not have to live under their boot. An explanation for everything they do. I do not care if you are a woman from texas or a guy from idaho, it is about we the people first. Republicans and democrats those of us who get up and go to work every day, we have the right to wear those titles. When you get to washington dc it is nothing more than a ploy to manipulate people. Lead themasically because they believe in the party lines. Host what recent attorney general do you think did the best job . Caller i dont know. And goes soomes fast. Most of it gets swept of the rug. A look at janet reno and all the things that happened when she was attorney general and clinton was in office. He had waco and all these things people never had to answer for. She should have lost her job. You do not send troops and against women and children, i do not give a damn what they are doing. We do not need a militarized police force, we have plenty of local Law Enforcement. Take a look at nevada recently a few days back, it is not over yet. Answer for who you are in bed with in china. Host from new york. Andwitter, ehe picks chooses which laws to uphold. Holder gets under the skin of conservatives. Line, rob isnt waiting in michigan. Good morning. Caller that last caller was very astute. He twitter you just read, picks and chooses. He cherry picks the cases and the laws he wants to uphold because he does it all on a personal agenda. The last time i looked, he is an employee he is the hired help. His job is to enforce the laws based on the United States constitution. Preserve and protect dont they get . What good is an oath . These people are as corrupt as the day is long. Is sad and indecent. Fast and furious, people died. People are dead. Dead. Ambassadors. You do cannot ask you think the attorney general post has become too political . Would it be too political to matter who is in the job . Caller absolutely not. Yes, there will always be tendencies just like with the Supreme Court justices. Come on, this man is a deep, vile racist. Showed that right from the beginning with the black panther voting scandal. It is amazing. If you turn these things around and look at them on the opposite side. If you had some white gentleman ing dark uniforms threatening voters, you think we would have heard about that question mark host rob on our line for independence. Leslie in maine on our line for republicans. Caller i am sick of the criminals in the white house. Nothing but the most since bill clinton. They are shipping jobs overseas, ond bully. Richard nixon makes these guys look like i dont know what to say. Nixon looks better than these guys. I will never vote for a democrat again, they are criminals. They want to bring everybody and. Marriage,ro gay antichrist. I am a vietnam veteran. Lbj branded Barry Goldwater we get happy, vietnam. The democrats are criminals and socialists. Host do you think the attorney general post has become too political . Caller oh yeah. Do, evenknow how to elijah cummings, all they know how to do is play the race card. Host leslie from maine. I want to play for you a speech at the National Action network last week that you a lot of attention. Brought upo callers the idea of the racial overtones. This speech brought up some of those concerns. This is eric holder going off script discussing the treatment of the administration and how the administration has been received by congress. [video clip] [applause] i am pleased to note that the last five years have seen strides and reform. Even in the face of unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly, and divisive adversity. [applause] way, forgetthe about me you look at the way the attorney general was treated yesterday by a house committee. Has everrney general had to deal with that kind of treatment . [applause] what president has ever had to deal with that kind of treatment . The huffington got an interview with eric holder after those statements were made. Eric holder says he was not playing the race card when decrying gop opposition. Attorney general eric holder said he was not referencing race last week when he strayed from his prepared remarks during a speech to discuss the way he has been treated by the house judiciary committee. I did not say there was a racial component. I was very careful not to say that here, he told the Huffington Post when asked about those comments. Much of the media interpreted that as a reference to racial divisions. He said he was referencing a lack of civility in washington. I think what we have seen is a breakdown of civility in washington. That becomes important because it has a substantive impact. The 50thlebrating anniversary of the civil rights act. If we had a congress or an executivelegislative Branch Relationship where there is a lack of civility, i wonder whether or not you could have to geta compromises such a landmark piece of legislation passed. That is essentially what i was decrying, the fact that we cannot separate whatever our personal feelings are and the focus on our function as members of the executive branch or legislators. I think i have done a pretty good job but it is frustrating at times. That was the interview with the Huffington Post. Lets go back to the phones. Daniel in washington dc on our line for democrats. Caller good morning. Think some of the eric holder frustration is that i hear people contextualizing this around liberal and conservative. Eric holder is essentially very conservative in some of his policies. Theink he is reacting to political spectrum moving over further. He is reacting to the far right vitriol. Antagonism and understand his commentary. He is trying to be on the in. He is a very aggressive foreignpolicy wise. If people ever read the case and understand what that was about, that was about american activists helping other people in other countries. They were on the state department list. He was very punitive to people who were breaking that law. By administration is sued academics for indefinite detention. It has gotten better in some regards. The department of justice is trying to do more noble, liberal things. These are incremental gains. I think what he is noticing he is the top lawyer in the country. He is trying to do things. In his effort to do things, he does things that are very reactionary. He is puzzled and cannot understand why mainstream politicians cannot let him do his job. It as a like progressive liberal from that side of some of the things he does. Thent understand benghazi question. The main crime is the in itself,n in libya not a political fuel organize around issues like that. Or fast and furious, which is a carryover policy of a republican administration. These are silly. Comparatively, if you want to rank him as an attorney general, he is pretty much normal. Host daniel from washington dc. Ron on twitter. They believe themselves to be above reproach. My opinion is that we need 24 more just like him. Lets go to texas. Joyce on our line for republicans from houston. Good morning. Ady, we are the l neighbors, i hope she is still listening. Eric holder is very arrogant. Woman black, 81yearold republican. I am proud. I left the Democrat Party years ago because of the policies. You cannot say anything about eric holder or barack obama unless the race card is played. I am sick and tired. They talk about policies. We are in terrible condition in this country. I am looking at him standing there with al sharpton telling us that alshater didnt al sharpton should be in an orange jump suit. They get away with it because they are black. Obama,ing about everything is because they are black. They have gotten passes houston, texasm talking about the statements eric holder made at the Conference Last Week when he went off script. We talked about his response to that. He said he was not trying to play the race card. Here is a story that just came out from the National Review online that also talks about that as well. It is my journal goldberg. Say criticism is racially motivated by the notion that the media would take it any other way does not pass the laugh test. He writes that holders hypocrisy is stunning. There is nothing special about a rough time holder has received. Janet reno and John Ashcroft never got cake and ice cream from opponents. The best recent comparison is alberto gonzales, george w. Bushs second attorney general. I do not recall gonzales insinuating that efforts were antilatino. Holder has earned his contempt by refusingcitation to provide documents tha in fast and furious. Even inside the white house, holder is considered too political. He quotes an Unnamed White House official according to the Washington Post. That is a story that just came out today in the National Review online. Carolyn in towson, delaware. Good morhining. Caller i think that he is he fails when it comes to going after the banksters on wall street. Be guy out west, he should they should go after that guy with all barrels. He stole millions of dollars from we the people. They should go after him. Whoody who is in congress, has sworn to protect the constitution and then tries to pare down the u. S. Government should be tried for treason. That is what they should be doing. He is not doing any of that. He has militarized the police for the average person while letting these banksters who ruined the World Economy get away with murder. Talking about the 82nd attorney general eric holder. Asking your opinion of him and of his Job Performance. N twitter we will keep taking your questions, comments, and thoughts for the next 15 or 20 minutes on washington journal. A few other headlines around the country. The ukraine uses military force for the first time. Fired itsmilitary first shot tuesday in the fight to regain control of the restive east from prorussian separatist. The soldiers repelled an armed mob. The acting president of ukraine said the antiterrorist operation began in the Early Morning hours in the northern part of the donetsk region. He described it as a phase, responsible, and balanced effort. That the Obama Administration voiced support for what it calls ukraines measure of response. Saying the situation has become untenable. The Ukrainian Government has a responsibility to provide law an