Would you support someone in your party if you knew they were doing something illegal, immoral or incompetent?

What are the limits of partisan support?

Repeatedly during the February 2nd “Fast and Furious” hearings led by the Chairman of the House Oversight committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) , Democrats were coming out in force praising Holder for his excellent work. Democratic Congresswoman Maloney from California commended Holder for his favorable accomplishments as the acting Attorney General. Even if Holder is not found guilty of a crime, is he not guilty of incompetence over his ineptitude in running the Department of Justice? But his party members continue to exalt him and one can only wonder for how long.

This was Eric Holder’s sixth time testifying with the investigation and in attendance offering words of support was Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee and Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio who informed Holder at the hearing “I prayed for you this morning.”

However, an investigative article recently released contains strong accusations of bribery and corruption in Holder’s Justice Department stating prosecutors for the Department of Justice have received “cash bribes from allegedly corrupt finance executives who were indicted under court seal within the past 13 months, but never arrested or prosecuted”, as reported by Matthew Boyle. If the accusations prove to be valid, will the Democrats then join the growing number of Congressman and Senators calling for Holder’s resignation?

Unfortunately, a hearing that should be about justice and accountability for the deaths of over 300 people from the trafficking of guns to Mexican drug cartels is now reduced to a partisan stand off.

This past November, Congresswoman Maloney was already playing the partisan card in an op-ed piece she wrote for The New York Daily News. She claims the Holder hearings are nothing more than a “Republican red herring” and that Eric Holder should not be blamed for a program that was not his creation as she refers to the investigation as a game of “gotcha“.

Even more bothersome than the claims that Republicans are simply creating a scandal for their own benefit, are the calls from the Left saying the bothched “Fast and Furious” operation is proof for the need of aggressive gun control. In that same op-ed piece, Maloney wrote stricter gun laws are necessary and “We cannot continue allowing weapons to end up in the wrong hands”. If Rep. Maloney truly believes this, then why would she stand by Eric Holder’s Department of Justice for graciously providing the “wrong hands” with the very weapons they need?

“I should not be held accountable for Fast and Furious”, said Holder at the Congressional Hearing. If he is not accountable for Fast and Furious at the very least he should be held accountable for his incompetence and lack of leadership and not just by Conservatives, but his compatriots as well.

The White House remains oddly quiet on the matter. But as Holder is responsible for the Department of Justice, President Obama is responsible for Holder and his actions. However, Obama has done nothing but offered continued support for Holder. Even the very appearance of corruption should be investigated to the full lengths of the law regardless of party affiliation. One would hope the Conservative Right would pursue one of their own just as fervently as they are with Holder.

It all leads to a question of integrity, and not just at the Department of Justice, but at the very steps of the White House as well.