In an interview at Inside Texas Politics, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is not shying away from defending the Texas photo ID law now scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2012 unless the DOJ continues its strategy of delay and opposition.  At approximately minute 7:54 of this local interview, Abbott foreshadows the coming battles over the Texas Voter ID law.  Abbott seems much more confident in his position than the mild and hesitant Holder. 

“I know Eric Holder knows for a fact that a very similar voter ID law was passed in the State of Indiana and was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. Also he knows that the United States Department of Justice cleared a very similar voter ID law from the state of Georgia. If Eric Holder and the Department of Justice refuses to preclear the Texas Voter ID law, it is nothing more than a game of politics…and we we think that is inappropriate for them to play…. they had been dragging out this process with regard to preclearing the Voter ID law; if they continue to drag it out, we are going to be forced to challenge that in a 3 judge panel in Washington DC just like we are challenging the redistricting maps.”

With Attorney General Holder personally inserting himself into the messy preclearance process, the high profile media coverage of the voter ID process have dramatically increased the stakes.  In comparison, Holder has not even inserted himself as much into the health care legal challenge.  it is obvious that the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez simply wasn’t getting the job done; thus far, Holder’s last minute self-substitution has been a flop.