Cronyism is defined as \favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications, as in political appointments to office."" After the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the failure of management at all levels of government to respond, President Bush's cronyism has been exposed.
Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Association until his resignation on Sept. 12, is only one of many such cases. Brown's qualifications? He was the Judges and Steward Commissioner for the International Arabian Horses Association, and during his tenure he financially ruined the organization.
As for disaster relief, his biography on FEMA's website says he was an ""assistant city manager with emergency services oversight"" for Edmond, Okla., in the 1970s. However, a city spokesman told Time magazine that he was ""an assistant to the city manager,"" which ""is more like an intern ... department heads did not report to him.""
So what qualifications did Michael Brown really have? Turns out he is an old friend of former FEMA Director Joe Allbaugh, who, upon further review, also lacked the qualifications necessary for the job.
Upon being elected president, Bush appointed Allbaugh as the head of FEMA with absolutely no prior experience in disaster relief. Allbaugh was Bush's campaign manager in 2000 and before that was his chief of staff while governor of Texas. Claire Rubin, senior researcher at George Washington University's Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management said, ""Allbaugh? He was inept.""
Unqualified appointments were not always the status quo for FEMA. Before Allbaugh was James Lee Witt, who, through a series of recommendations to President Clinton, was able to reform the organization by placing people with emergency experience in all levels. Even George W. Bush complimented Witt on his accomplishments.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Bush said, ""I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."" This is hard to believe after, in 2001, FEMA identified a hurricane in New Orleans as one of the three most likely, most catastrophic disasters facing this country. Starting in 2003, funding was specifically cut to fix New Orleans' levees in order to divert funds to Iraq. Through poor policy and incompetent employees, this administration has deteriorated an organization that had progressed a long way during the Clinton years.
One would think exposure to such incompetence from an unqualified Bush appointee would end this cronyism. Unfortunately, it has not. Bush is seeking to appoint Julie Myers to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency under the Department of Homeland Security. ICE accounts for close to 80 percent of all arrests made within the FBI's joint terrorism task force. It criminally prosecutes more individuals than any other federal agency.
The law requires Myers to have five years of law enforcement experience for this position, but her only experience in a related field is a year-long stint as assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Department of Commerce. She supervised 170 employees and oversaw a $25 million budget??-ICE has 20,000 employees and a $4 billion budget.
The possible appointment of Julie Myers is an example of not only cronyism, but favoritism. Myers is, to say the least, well connected. She is married to John Wood, the chief of staff to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, and is also the niece of departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers.
It can be presumed that Myers is getting this job because of her connections, not her resume??. We cannot afford to have ineptitude in high positions of government. While it may seem trivial now, if an illegal alien commits a terrorist act on U.S. soil it will be on Myers' watch. She will be scrutinized just as Brown was. Bush needs to put knowledgeable people in leadership positions now, not when disaster strikes. Doing so can only save himself further embarrassment.
opinion@dailycardinal.com
