Two days ago I heard a very brief blurb on MSNBC, reporting that Michael Chertoff, from the goodness of his heart, is filling all vacant positions within Homeland Security. Packing the house. Stacking the deck. No doubt with the same sterling characters which have filled the halls of DOJ, DOD, Commerce, and the State Department.
Chertoff was reported as saying that he "didn't want to drop the ball and leave the new President with staff vacancies."
The kicker is that I have spent the past 2 days searching for any article in the national press that reports on this blatant power play.
Nothing. Nada. Not a trace. When I try to access Homeland Security through Yahoo, I get an error message. Ask.com leads me on a chase of headlines emphasizing border security, and the NYT has nothing, along with the WaPo.
There has been a lot of discussion here about the long term need, in the next few years, to root out the ideologues, and incompetents, which have come to typify the Bush Administration. Looks like the job may be tougher than we thought. The positions being filled are Career Civil Service. They will have passed their 6 months review with flying colors before the election, and be damned near impossible to pry lose.
While some of you fuss and fight about candidates, the Bush Administration is already crippling what is sure to be a new Democratic President. They are filling all positions with hand picked political appointments so they can, once again, claim that "Government is the Problem". If they are successful, they will be right. Given the general quality of Bush picks so far, government is the problem.
They screwed New Orleans, and the Gulf coast. They lied us into war. They have destroyed the Justice Department, and knee-capped State. They packed the Court. Now they are going to destroy Homeland Security.
Pay attention, Kossacks. This is serious.