Progressive Democrat Issue 43: TARGET THE CORRUPT REPUBLICAN: The Consequences of the Spoils System

I have covered the corruption of the Kentucky Republican Party where the Republican Governor has been violating state Merit Laws that prohibit political cronyism. Here is a Daily Kos diary covering the latest.

But…what is worse is Bush’s cronyism. Every time Bush appoints someone he implies that Democratic opposition is somehow partisan and unpatriotic. But I have come to realize that unquestioned acceptance of Bush nominees is highly dangerous.

Let’s look at FEMA. Mike Brown was appointed to head FEMA as a favor to Bush campaign manager Joe Allbaugh, who had been Bush's chief of staff in Texas. Here is a Salon.com article on the cronyism of Bush and Allbaugh and how Brown benefited from his friendship with Allbaugh.

The bottom line is Michael Brown had no experience and lied on his biographical report to the Senate when he was nominated. The Senate approved him almost without question. The result: when disaster hit Louisiana and Mississippi, Brown fumbled it so badly that, almost uniquely in the Bush administration of failure, Brown was forced to resign. Had the Senate looked at Brown more carefully, they might have realized he was appointed as a reward to Allbaugh, a political appointment unrelated to merit. Brown’s appointment was a return to the Spoils System of government. And hundreds, maybe thousands, died because of his incompetence. Corruption kills in Bush America!

Now Bush has appointed John Roberts to be head of the highest court in our nation. And again they are demanding that the Senate rubber-stamps this appointment. But how can we trust the Republicans to appoint qualified people when it has become clear that cronyism and corruption dominate the Republican choices for appointments.

Please write the media and decry Bush’s cronyism and demand that from now on the Senate must examine each and every Bush appointment with a microscope to see if he is well qualified. And they must reject any nominee that is anything but perfectly qualified. This is not about partisan politics. It is about clean and effective government. Write the media!