Eric Holder, former U.S. Attorney General, visited campus last Tuesday, Sept. 19 in celebration of Constitution Day. Here are several highlights of his conversation with President Pistole in York Hall, to which the general public and campus was invited.
On his best moments as U.S. Attorney General:
“I went to every district in the U.S.; it took me 6 years to do it. That was enjoyable and the thing I miss most about the department [of justice]… I don’t have an airplane anymore. I miss my plane.”
On the dark side of the job:
“My worst day as an AG was when I went to Newtown. I will never forget that day. Going into the classroom where those little angels had been shot. It was so touching to see their art projects, and it was juxtaposed against what had happened there. I thought that the nation, having seen what happened in Newtown, would come up with ways to put in place reasonable safety measures. And we were unable to pull it off. I think if the nation had been with me when I went to Newtown—we would have gotten that gun law passed. That was my biggest failure.”
On figuring out the truth in Washington:
“You need to listen to a variety of sources. It comes down to the basics: reading the newspapers, staying abreast of current events, staying aware of history.”
On recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri:
“I think the decision that was made by the judge in the case is one that has to be respected, and you can protest that. I am concerned about some of the protestors who put on masks, and the property damage is not appropriate and counterproductive. You think about the protests that have been productive in this country, like women marching for the right to vote, and property damage does your own cause disservice.”
On working alongside former President Obama:
“President Obama is a very good lawyer and he understood that there has to be a wall between the DOJ and the White House. There were about three to four things I did that he says he doesn’t agree with, and to this day, I don’t know what they are.”
On ending political polarization:
“I think we can attack this political polarization with reducing gerrymandering. And we have to become bigger than we’ve been. We have to listen to people on the other side, and more often than not, that interaction produces better results. We are defining ourselves in narrower and narrower ways. But we are a whole variety of things. We are all a conglomeration of things, and until we interact with all of those things, we’re not going to get past this polarization. Also, our leaders in the past several decades have not necessarily done the job of trying to form a consensus.”
On the proposed decision to end DACA:
“I think the DACA kids—young people, at this point—present a particular issue, and I think that’s an easy one to solve. I think we need to focus on comprehensive immigration. A bill was passed by the senate that comprehensively dealt with immigration. I think the DACA thing is going to work itself out, and by my guess, through bipartisan efforts.”
On the meaning of the constitution:
“[The constitution is] something that’s uniquely American. MLK Jr. said that ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ We as individual citizens have to come up with ways to make this nation better. There are ways in which you can get involved in the political system that will make us participants. I would urge you to figure out what you can do, as an individual citizen, to make this nation better. We can get there with an involved citizenry.”