Demagogue

Hold the presses! Hiring in this administration is based on ideological purity.

And for those who think conservatives oppose affirmative action because they believe in meritocracy, well, maybe they believe in it in theory, but in practice they know that who you know matters at least as much as how good you are.

So many of Luttig's former clerks have risen to prominence that the group has earned the nickname "luttigators." At least seven "luttigators" currently hold top DOJ jobs, including Theodore Ullyot, Gonzales' chief of staff; Courtney Elwood, Gonzales' associate counsel; and Office of Legal Counsel lawyers C. Kevin Marshall and Howard Nielson.

"I'm like a proud father," Luttig says. "I run my chambers as if it were a family."

As a federal judge, there are limits to what Luttig can do to help his former clerks land jobs in the administration, but Luttig says he encourages them to help one another professionally. "No one achieves anything alone."

Also, chalk up another instance of rhetorical flimflammery. Speaking of the Federalist Society, this straight-news reporter writes:

Founded in 1981, the organization promotes judicial restraint, states rights, free enterprise and conservative social values.

Judicial restraint? Tell it to Christy Brzonkala. Or James Dale. Or Patricia Garrett. Or the University of Michigan. Or....