I Am Rome

Those who know me are most certainly aware of my contempt for President Bush. He has brilliantly and completely failed the central test of his presidency, namely to defend America – and by extension, the greater world at large – from mounting terrorist threats. He squandered an enormous outpouring of international goodwill following the attacks of 11 September 2001. (Think back on the post-9/11 rallies in foreign cities small and large in support of the US and in honor of our loss. Think now of the disapproval and scorn to which we are currently subjected, even among the peoples of our closest allies, and try to defend the president.) He took us to war with Iraq when he should have kept our focus on the Al-Qaeda menace, a menace that was most certainly not present in Iraq prior to our destabilization of the country. (He did so with full knowledge of the above, I might also add.) Indeed, on every major question of the day – from illegal wire taps to the federal response to Hurricane Katrina and beyond -- the Bush administration has gotten it wrong, harming America at every turn. Our international power has been diluted, our military is in tatters, our civil liberties are under attack, and our president is seen as the enemy by far too many Americans.

I started with that short-but-heavy diatribe to continue thusly. It is becoming clear why the Bush administration has proven itself incompetent time and again. Instead of following the historic practice of only appointing political personnel to political positions (read “policy positions”), it has used every means, both legal and illegal, to place political people into career government positions. These politicos are rarely if ever experts in the field into which they have been plopped. Instead, their chief – perhaps their only – qualification is their loyalty to Bush and/or to his brand of Republican politics. As a result, when a problem arises, they are singularly unqualified to tackle it in an appropriate manner.

Current examples of this can be found in the scandals unfolding in the Department of Justice. Take the cases of Monica Goodling and Bradley Schlozman. Goodling, you may know, was a senior aid to A.G. Alberto Gonzales. Gonzales, in his infinite lack of wisdom, bestowed upon young Goodling, the authority to hire and fire certain classes of personnel at the DOJ. These classes included entry level attorneys working for US Attorneys. Evidence is coming to light to prove that she filled such positions by taking into account not only political party affiliation, but also participation in an “approved” list of organizations that the Bushies believed indicated the candidate had “the right stuff.” Such political tests for hiring are illegal under federal law. Goodling has been subpoenaed to appear before Congress on the matter, but has thus far refused, asserting her Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination. Now, Congress had granted her limited immunity for her actions and the DOJ has asserted that it will not block the immunity request. It is thus likely that Goodling will be forced to testify before Congress about not only her actions, but those of other DOJ officials. Indeed, she may indeed have relevant knowledge of any reach the current scandals may have into the White House. (See Rove, Karl) Goodling may thus get away with her crimes – a shame – but bigger fish may yet fry for their attacks on “liberty and justice for all.”

Schlozman is best known for his stint as the head of Justice’s Civil Right Division. Under Schlozman, the department experienced a mass exodus of career attorneys and took to filing so-called “reverse discrimination” suites as its calling. Who replaced the career civil servants to carry out this new directive? You guessed it, loyal Bushies. Fortunately, Congressional investigators are beginning to investigate. McClatchy news reporters also have the bit in their teeth on this story, which can only be good for the truth.

Congressional investigators are beginning to focus on accusations that a top civil rights official at the Justice Department illegally hired lawyers based on their political affiliations, especially for sensitive voting rights jobs.

Two former department lawyers told McClatchy Newspapers that Bradley Schlozman, a senior civil rights official, told them in early 2005, after spotting mention of their Republican affiliations on their job applications, to delete those references and resubmit their resumes. Both attorneys were hired.

One of them, Ty Clevenger, said: "He wanted to make it look like it was apolitical."

Schlozman did not respond to phone calls to his home Sunday. But he denied the allegations in an earlier phone interview with McClatchy Newspapers and through a department spokesman. In the interview he said he "tried to de-politicize the hiring process" and filled jobs with applicants from "across the political spectrum."

Attention is turning to Schlozman after the announcement last week that the Justice Department opened an internal investigation to determine whether Monica Goodling, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' White House liaison, illegally took party affiliation into account in hiring entry-level prosecutors. The department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility are conducting that inquiry jointly.

Federal law and Justice Department policies bar the consideration of political affiliation in hiring of personnel for non-political, career jobs.

Note: See the following link for the full story by Greg Gordon & Margaret Talev.

While there are many examples that can be cited today, perhaps the most famous example of the Bush administration’s propensity to staff through loyalty rather than for ability is the case of Michael Brown. Remember the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina? Brown was the head of FEMA at the time. To say that he was ineffectual and incompetent during and after the storm would be to offer him praise he does not deserve. What was Brown’s background in disaster relief? None. His career had been with the Arabian Horse Association. Sadly, I shit you not. His predecessor head of FEMA, a long-time friend of Brown’s, had hired him as FEMA counsel. Bush appointed him to head the relief agency in 2003 and he was affirmed by the Senate. The sad tale does not stop there. Brown’s chief deputy at the time of the hurricane was Patrick Rhode. Rhode’s experience with disaster relief? None. His qualifications for the job? He had worked for Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign and later had performed advance operations work for the White House. The tale continues. One of the top FEMA officials just under Brown and Rhode was Daniel Craig. While Craig didn’t have disaster relief experience either, he had been a lobbyist for an electric cooperative, an organization that had worked to promote Bush policies. (Or was it the other way around?)

Caesar was famously thought to have said, “I am Rome.” The president has made it clear in both word and deed that he feels that “Bush is America.” To disagree with his view of the world is to be un-American, to be much less than patriotic. Only staffers who revere him and his dogma will be allowed to serve him, for only those who meet this test can thus serve the country. This viewpoint is madness. It built a foundation made of eggshells on which my country was forced to rest and thankfully, those shells are now cracking. May every piece fall and fall quickly... and may we be able to put America back on firm footing once again.