A federal judge post is a *bleeping* valuable thing and you don’t just give it away to people with “proper credentials” and “an understanding of the Constitution”. No, it’s something you save for major political donors and activist attorneys.

John J. McConnell Jr., President Obama’s choice for the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, is one of the top election campaign contributors among the nearly 1,500 nominees to the federal courts since the late 1980s.

McConnell, 51, a Providence lawyer, has given at least $432,456 to Democratic House, Senate and presidential campaigns since the 1990 election cycle, according to a Providence Journal analysis of reports to the Federal Election Commission.

Over the years, McConnell contributed tens of thousands of dollars in total to the campaign funds of major Democratic presidential candidates and of Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse. The Rhode Island senators last April recommended McConnell for a seat on the court. McConnell is also a substantial contributor to the party campaign arm that helps elect Democrats to the Senate, whose members must vote on whether to seat him on the federal bench.

Basically, he’s buying his appointment to the federal court. And his campaign contributions will ensure his confirmation in a Democratic-controlled Senate. It’s a textbook example of Chicago political machine corruption.

Ladies and gentlemen, the American justice system in the age of Obama. Political donations in exchange for lifetime appointments to a federal court post that will affect the lives of everyone and even our future as a country.

Which isn’t to say such corruption is new. But it is unacceptable coming from a guy who promised “hope and change” while blasting corrupt politicians for letting the rich run the country.