Will Obama Appoint "Rabid Republican" to Key Alabama Post?

The Obama administration has charted a policy of not naming new U.S. attorneys until replacements can be found, in what our key source calls "a bad policy." The administration is also reportedly searching for candidates who would not face controversial confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate, thus the reason Republican Senators such as Shelby have a voice at all with a Democrat in the White House and a solid Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.
Johnson has served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Alabama under controversial Bush appointee Alice Martin. Johnson has been involved in a number of high-profile corruption cases against Democrats, amid charges that the Bush Department of Justice was driven by political motives. Most recently, she was involved in the prosecution of former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford. Writes Wilson:

Tamara Matthews Johnson, on the other hand, was involved in the public corruption unit in Birmingham that brought the original charges against Siegelman that were eventually dropped by U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon. She worked on every case brought against Democrats in the Alabama Legislature, sources say, as well as the Langford case, in what is being described as "an ethically challenged office."

Ms. Johnson "is exceptionally bright and has a hell of a resume," the key source says. She attended Duke Law School and clerked with a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. "But she is a rabid, right-wing Republican."
Wilson's source says a Johnson appointment is a strong possibility unless Democratic Party activists step in to stop it. The source is not sure who is pushing for Johnson's appointment. But the Obama administration has taken pride in the non-partisan nature of its appointments, and Johnson could fit the mold of a "moderate Republican."

The source, however, says Johnson is anything but moderate. And she has served under some terrible role models. Writes Wilson:

Our key source does not know who is directly driving the train in this case, but he urged people to call and voice objections with President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Senior adviser David Axelrod and Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

They should say "this is wrong," the source said. "Yeah, we want Leura Canary out of there, but we don't want somebody who is worse."

Ms. Johnson, the source says, "would be another Alice Martin."

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