Cronyism anyone?

Apparently the Justice Department does not want candidates that think outside party lines... even though the Justice Department is supposed to be non-partisan.

From the NY Times article:

e-mail messages... indicated that “leftist commentary” or “buzz words like ‘environmental justice’ and ‘social justice’ ” were grounds for rejecting applicants. Membership in liberal organizations like the American Constitution Society, Greenpeace or the Poverty and Race Research Action Council was also seen as a negative mark, the report said.

The effect was clear, the report found, with applicants with a Democratic
affiliation rejected “at a significantly higher rate” than those with Republican, conservative or neutral credentials.

For instance, in 2002, all seven of the honors applicants with membership in the American Constitution Society, a liberal group, were rejected, while 27 of 29 applicants with ties to the Federalist Society, a bedrock conservative group, were accepted.

Similarly, 43 of 61 applicants with ties to the Democratic Party were rejected, while 41 of 46 applicants listed as Republicans were accepted. Many of those rejected were regarded as “highly qualified” based on the quality of their schools and other criteria.