Spoils system needs change, too

montgomeryadvertiser.com

November 14, 2008

Spoils system needs change, too

The Alabama Democratic Party's hierarchy may not have been paying attention when President-elect Barack Obama was talking during the campaign about change and lowering the level of partisanship, but apparently U.S. Rep. Artur Davis was.

Despite Obama's message of change, state Democratic leaders in Alabama seem intent on politics as usual when it comes to such political spoils as federal appointments controlled by the new president.

But Davis, an early supporter of Obama and a likely candidate for governor in 2010, said that a panel of state party insiders formed to review and recommend candidates for federal appointments is "presumptuous" and that he does not believe it has the blessing of the president-elect.

"President-elect Obama and the people around him get to determine the process," Davis, D-Birmingham, said Thursday. "The Alabama Democratic Party doesn't."

Frankly, if he sought it, Davis himself probably could have more influence in which Alabamians get federal appointments than any state party committee. Davis was among the first elected officials in the nation to endorse Obama. He has been mentioned as a possible appointee as U.S. attorney general, although he has played down that possibility.

The Democratic panel includes state party officials, national party officials from Alabama, and other members selected by state party officials. In other words, political insiders. But Davis said neither he nor the state's other two Democratic congressmen were consulted.

Davis told the Montgomery Advertiser that he would not approach the president-elect on the selection process, but if asked he would recommend that a committee of legal experts, such as law school deans and former state and federal judges, review and make recommendations for possible appointees to judgeships and the three U.S. attorney posts in Alabama.

He said he would much prefer a process that focused more on merit and was more transparent.

He's right, and not just for Democrats, but for Republicans as well. The state's Republican U.S. senators usually make such recommendations when a GOP president takes office.

Such an approach could help to reduce the possibility of political influence over prosecutions. The Justice Department has acknowledged there were problems with political interference during the Bush administration.

If state Democratic Party officials want to have a majority of Alabamians support a Democrat for president in future years, they should heed Davis's admonition to look past the traditional patronage system for a way to involve a broader base in recommending candidates for key federal appointments.

Of course, the congressman may be prompted by his desire to build bridges in order to improve his chances of becoming the state's next governor. But even if that plays a role in his motivation, he's still right.

Both state political party organizations should look at an approach to recommending federal judicial and prosecutorial appointees that is much more broad-based, more open to public scrutiny, more focused on qualifications, and much less controlled by political insiders.