disgusting and unamerican

Of all the objectionable things the Bush Adminstration has done (and there are many), one of the things that disturbs me most is their attempt to politicize our judicial system. A new, internal report, out today, confirms what has been obvious for quite some time: that the Justice Department under the Bush administration has been using political factors in its hiring decisions. That's not only reprehensible; it's also illegal.

Our system of justice is based on the rule of law, not politics. Everyone, from the poorest to the richest, is supposed to be subject to the same laws. You should know that whether your judge is a Republican or a Democrat, you're going to get a fair trial, and you should know that U.S. attorneys will only be filing cases when the law is broken. When we allow politics into the process, it inevitably corrupts the rule of law. It's unacceptable, and, more importantly, un-American.

For more on the politicization of the Justice Department under Bush and his appointees, check out the interview at the end of this episode of the Daily Show with one of the nine U.S. attorneys who was fired for his refusal to file politically-motivated charges against the administration's political enemies. The report on his situation still isn't finished; I wonder if we'll ever know what really happened there.