![\"Debo](\"http:\/\/www.theroot.com\/content\/dam\/theroot\/the_root_100\/2012\/09\/debo_adegbile_root_100_profilelarge.jpg\")
You know what? We can understand why the right would be afraid of a lawyer who represented Mumia Abu-Jamal heading up the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, but blocking him today does not mean he will stay blocked, so they should keep quaking in their boots! Stay tuned.<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Today, Senate Republicans and Democrats voted to block President Obama\u2019s pick for Justice Department Civil Rights Division head Debo Adegbile<\/a>, the former lead attorney on voting rights for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). Republicans opposed him mostly because of his involvement as an LDF lawyer in the appeal for the imprisoned human rights activist Mumia Abu-Jamal<\/a>. Adegbile\u2019s assistance in that case consisted of helping file a brief claiming that the jury in Abu-Jamal\u2019s trial \u2014 where he was convicted for killing a police officer \u2014 received improper instructions for their deliberations.<\/p>\n The judge in that case did find merit in that brief, but members of the U.S. Senate apparently did not. Many of the Republicans accused Adegbile of helping a \u201ccop killer.\u201d National law enforcement associations encouraged the Senate to block Adegbile for the same reasons. <\/p>\n On top of that, seven Democrats joined with Republicans to block Adegbile on similar grounds, some of them afraid that a favorable vote would hurt their re-election chances this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, also voted against Adegbile, but only under a technical procedure so that he could bring Adegbile back up for a vote in the future. <\/p>\n \u201cI believe that Republicans have distorted this good man\u2019s record in an attempt to score political points and block confirmation of a faithful defender of voting rights,\u201d said Reid at the vote hearing today. \u201cRepublicans have not given this good man a fair shot at confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n It was thought that Adegbile would have a smoother transition through the Senate thanks to a rule change sparked by Reid in November<\/a> that would require only a simple majority vote (51 votes) for nominees to federal agencies, as opposed to the 60 votes that were needed in the past. But today\u2019s obstruction was largely covered in racial animus, according to those present for the vote. <\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s vote demonstrated the worst elements of our political system,\u201d said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. \u201cUnhinged rhetoric trumped substance, racialized language triumphed over thoughtful discourse, and our legal and political system will pay the price. It\u2019s hypocritical for Senators to claim to support civil rights enforcement and then turn their backs on our communities by voting against the consideration this nominee on his merits.\u201d<\/p>\n President Obama released this statement on the Senate\u2019s failure to confirm Adegbile:<\/p>\n \u201cThe Senate\u2019s failure to confirm Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant. Mr. Adegbile\u2019s qualifications are impeccable. He represents the best of the legal profession, with wide-ranging experience, and the deep respect of those with whom he has worked. His unwavering dedication to protecting every American\u2019s civil and Constitutional rights under the law – including voting rights – could not be more important right now. And Mr. Adegbile\u2019s personal story – rising from adversity to become someone who President Bush\u2019s Solicitor General referred to as one of the nation\u2019s most capable litigators – is a story that proves what America has been and can be for people who work hard and play by the rules. As a lawyer, Mr. Adgebile has played by the rules. And now, Washington politics have used the rules against him. The fact that his nomination was defeated solely based on his legal representation of a defendant runs contrary to a fundamental principle of our system of justice – and those who voted against his nomination denied the American people an outstanding public servant.\u201d<\/p>\n You know what? We can understand why the right would be afraid of a lawyer…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.idavox.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Statement from BringMumiaHome.com<\/h2>\n
The recent nomination of Debo Adegbile to the Department of Justice Civil Rights division has caused a firestorm of hate to erupt for the political right. Perpetrating the same lie that Mumia is a “cop killer” the Fraternal Order of Police has launched a full campaign to once again attack Mumia. No only has Fox news joined the band wagon, so has Philadelphia DA Seth Williams (R), PA Senator Paul Toomey (R) and PA Senator Bob Casey (D). All have used Adegbile’s nomination as an opportunity to sure up their vote with the Fraternal Order of police by denouncing Adegbile’s nomination due to his loose association with Mumia’s case. <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/div>\nDespite the high profile attacks on Mumia via newspapers, message boards, and political talk shows Mumia supporters are unmoved. The tireless fight to bring Mumia home has created fortitude to withstand these attacks; which is only possible through consistent work. What can you do? Our greatest weapon against these attacks is concerted messaging to supporters and non-supporters alike. Make people aware of the facts of the case (check out Manufacturing Guilt<\/a> on YouTube which provides an evidentiary synopsis of the case); hold teach-ins; respond to message board comments; notify the Campaign about articles written about Mumia and most importantly speak directly to Mumia’s accusers. Please stay up to date about Mumia’s case via the Campaigns website www.bringmumiahome.com<\/a>. <\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"