After this week, this quote from Senator John McCain (no endorsement from me - GO RUDY!) seems appropriate:

"Employees in the private sector know that if they don't do their job right they will lose their job. Competition and consequences are the driving force of excellence. Taxpayers deserve the same commitment to excellence from their employees. There must be a new bargain with federal employees, one that is worthy of the American people and mindful that public service is a privilege and a responsibility not a right.

"The civil service has strayed from its reformist roots and has mutated into a no-accountability zone, where employment is treated as an entitlement, good performance as an option, and accountability as someone else's problem. Our current system isn't fair to the many good workers who must pick up the slack of those who aren't doing their jobs. The failings in our civil service are encouraged by a system that makes it very difficult to fire someoneeven for gross misconduct. Due process should not be the ally of bad behavior. We must do away with the current system that treats federal employment as a right and makes dismissal a near impossibility. If a federal employee is removed the decision should be reviewed swiftly by an independent board to be sure that it's not motivated by political or personal animus, but it should not trigger an endless process of appeal that mocks justice and accountability.

"I know these reforms won't be easy. An entire bureaucracy has grown comfortable in its cocoon of rules and regulations and is not about to change its habits without a fight. …"

Indeed, thoughts to keep in mind.