A Nomination for DOJ Civil Rights so Extreme that Even a Liberal Democrat Senator Opposes

How extreme is Debo Adegbile, President Obama’s nominee to be the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights? He is so extreme that he opposed by reliably liberal Democrat Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.  Senator Casey said in a statement on February 28.

The vicious murder of Officer Faulkner in the line of duty and the events that followed in the 30 years since his death have left open wounds for Maureen Faulkner and her family as well as the City of Philadelphia. After carefully considering this nomination and having met with both Mr. Adegbile as well as the Fraternal Order of Police, I will not vote to confirm the nominee.

While much of the focus has been on Adegbile’s defense of a vicious cop killer it is much more than that.  As we pointed out previously he was allegedly too extreme to be a judge for the ABA.  He attacks voter ID law as a modern poll tax despite the fact almost all, if not all, voter ID laws provide for a free ID for those who cannot afford it.

Instead he is predictably to the left, as in his assessment of a voter ID card as a “modern poll tax,” notwithstanding that 30 states have voter ID laws, and that the Supreme Court has sustained a voter ID law against constitutional challenge.

He opposes Criminal background checks before hiring. 

It's not unusual for businesses to conduct a check before hiring new employees. If the check uncovers that the applicant has, say, a felony conviction in his past — well, that can put a quick end to the application process.

But Obama's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that the use of background checks in hiring is racially discriminatory. In 2012, the EEOC issued "guidance" to the nation's businesses, citing statistics showing blacks and Hispanics are convicted of crimes at significantly higher rates than whites. Therefore, the EEOC ruled, excluding job applicants based on their criminal records would have "a disparate impact based on race and national origin."

In written questions, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley asked Adegbile whether he would, if confirmed, "take action to abridge or eliminate an employer's ability to perform criminal background checks on potential employees." Adegbile embraced the EEOC position and suggested it would guide his own actions in the Justice Department. "If employers do perform background checks, the EEOC has released guidance on the subject," he told Grassley.

As the Adegbile nomination nears a vote, the Civil Rights Commission's Kirsanow has written a letter to the Senate opposing Adegbile not just for his activities on behalf of Abu-Jamal -- still the hottest issue in the Adegbile debate -- but also for his support of the EEOC on background checks. "Mr. Adegbile's support for the guidance demonstrates his commitment to an ideological agenda at odds with the law and common sense," Kirsanow wrote.

We could go on but Debo Adegbile is a nominee that should be too extreme for all Democrats.  Hopefully enough Democrat Senators will join with Senator Casey and stand up against this extremist nomination.