"Loyalty First, Expertise Second" is Official Bush Cronyism Strategy. Really. Only NeoCons could Think this Crap Up

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

Cronyism isn't just a habit of the Bush Administration; it's official policy. Shortly before Bush took office in 2001, Robert Moffit of the neocon Hertiage Foundation drafted a guide called "Taking Charge of Federal Personnel."

Moffit's draft is essentially a Machiavellian how-to manual for politicizing the civil service bureaucracy, which is responsible for running most government agencies. "[M]ake appointment decisions based on loyalty first and expertise second," he urged Bush. "Picking appointees who are 'best for the job' merely in terms of expert qualifications can be disastrous for an Administration. . ."

When asked about the guide two years ago, Moffit rejoiced: "They apparently are really doing this stuff." (Just like the Administration adapted the American Enterprise Institute's failed proposals for the Iraq War invasion, occupation, and "surge")

ProsecutorGate, anyone? We now know from the released Justice Department internal emails that the U.S. Attorneys were fired because they "chafed against administration initiatives." Though the Attorneys were all Bush appointees to start with, Bush is trying to replace them with new, more submissive political friends who "exhibited loyalty to the president and attorney general."

While pretty much everyone appointed by Bush is incompetent, there are certainly many examples of especially egregious partisan hackery, often with disastrous results for the nation. There was Michael "heckuva job" Brown at FEMA during the Katrina disaster. The slew of cronies placed on the Iraq reconstruction team. The Executive Order to add new political appointees to the head of government agencies. The Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination. The list goes on. . .

While the president does generally have discretion in the hiring and firing of many civil servants, most positions were intended to be filled by nonpartisan career workers. The executive branch is supposed to enforce laws through government agencies, not exploit those agencies to serve a partisan agenda with political appointees.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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