a "Stain on the Department of Justice"

The unfolding department Justice scandal sheds light on an ongoing pattern of placing ideological "purity" over qualifications for job hiring.

Bush appointees illegally interviewed prospective employees for the justice department to determine their beliefs on unrelated matters like abortion, gay rights and other "hot button" topics.

This pattern of "stacking the deck" with ideologues is a stated part of Karl Rove's blueprint for a "permanent Republican majority".

It's not just happening in the DOJ either. This month a gay community based non-profit I work with was initially denied IRS 501(c)3 status when an employee at the IRS wrote to us saying "though we wish to apply the law equally, why should the IRS recognize an organization that espouses immoral and possibly illegal behavior?" (we do safer-sex education) This has nothing to do with the agent's responsibility to vet weather we meet the qualifications, and everything to do with enforcing a right wing Christian worldview on the country.

Similarly - the Bush administration has stacked the immigration department with unqualified Regent law school* political hacks with little or no immigration law experience. Do you suppose that this has anything do do with the face that my sister in law, who is Taiwanese, has been waiting nearly four years for her green card?

As is standard administration practice, this is being passed off as mistakes by "senior aides", while the higher up's (Gonzalez et al.) refuse to testify; citing either "executive privilege" or first amendment rights against self incrimination.
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*Regent is Pat Robertson's law school - and a favorite source for unqualified political appointees of the Bush administration. Regent's stated mission is to bring Christian teachings to bear with the force of law in this country. For many years the graduates of this school couldn't pass the bar, presumably because they spent so much time studying the legal ramifications on parking regulations of Jesus' riding dinosaurs into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.