When people think of Branch Rickey, the Hall of Fame baseball executive, it's usually in the context of desegregating Major League Baseball. But in the 1920s, Mr Rickey brought to baseball his first game-changing innovation: the farm system.
[While manager of the St Louis Cardinals] Rickey also began to work on the rudiments of baseball's first farm system. Starting in 1921, the Cardinals began buying interests in minor league teams. With ownership of the minor league teams, the team was able to control the development of players from the time they were signed as amateurs until they were ready to play in the majors. While the farm system was originally seen as a way of reducing the cost of acquiring players, much of its success was attributable to the improved instruction the players received along the way. Rickey was deeply committed to education and constantly worked to improve methods of teaching young players how to play. (source)
I was reminded of Mr Rickey today when I read this article, Obama to pick Republican for Utah’s U.S. attorney?, linked earlier in the Mid-day Open Thread.
According to the article published by the Salt Lake Tribune, the Administration is vetting Scott Burns, a former deputy U.S. drug czar and ex-Iron County attorney, as the next U.S. Attorney for Utah.
Utah Democrats aren't happy with this.
But Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, sure had something to say.
"Scott Burns is a lousy, horrible choice," he said. "This is a guy who went through two very divisive statewide races and lost both of them [to Democrat Jan Graham in 1992 and ‘96 for Utah attorney general]. He does not enjoy the confidence of the people of Utah. When a Republican can lose a statewide race twice, this is someone who is clearly not acceptable."
Taylor said he has spoken with several people who have been contacted as part of Burns’ vetting process, and he cannot figure out why the Democratic administration would be considering a Republican to be the state’s top federal prosecutor.
The article notes that the Administration originally considered David Schwendiman, a Democrat who worked at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah and as a war-crimes prosecutor in Bosnia for the position; Schwendiman was recommended by Democratic Rep Jim Matheson and Republican Sen Orrin Hatch for the post. According to the article, the Administration did not say why Mr Schwendiman was no longer under consideration.
The article quotes defense attorney Ron Yengich, a Democrat, praising Mr Burns.
"That office needs a prosecutor, Republican or Democrat, Chinese or Caucasian, black or white, Catholic or Mormon. It doesn’t matter. One of the things that office needs is a longtime, experienced prosecutor who can deal with that office and the politics," Yengich said. "You should appoint the best person for the job and if there was more of that, it would be better for the country."
Mr Burns was also praised by Utah Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen, who called Mr Burns Burns, "a great choice for U.S. attorney."
I understand Mr Yengich's position: appointing the best qualifed person for the job is an eminently fair and sensible approach. This also begs the question, what is it about Mr Burns that makes him better qualified to be the U.S. Attorney that any of the other candidates, Democratic or Republican?
I understand Mr Hansen's reaction even better, however, because the U.S. Attorney's position, a political appointee, is a plum job for those who might someday be interested in seeking higher office.
And this is why I was reminded of Branch Rickey. The Obama Administration is once again putting a Republican in a political appointee slot rather than a Democrat. These political positions, particularly federal positions operating at the state level, are the farm system for future representatives and senators, both in the state house and at the federal level. With the adage that all politics is local, the decision to select a Republican for a position with considerable authority and recognition in the state of Utah is a failure to grow the Democratic farm system in the reddest of red states. It is a setback to the Democratic Party in Utah, as Mr Taylor notes.
Remember, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse of Connecticut was a U.S. Attorney once.
And so was Sen Fred Thompson.
Does the White House believe that there are no Democratic candidates with qualifications equal to that of Mr Burns? If so, I hope they clearly articulate what qualities make Mr Burns the prohibitive choice for the position.
Because right now it appears our farm team took another hit today.