Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division of the US Justice Department, had a clear and firm message when he visited Marquette University Law School on Friday: He’s aiming to do the job he has held since October energetically and thoroughly. 

That wouldn’t seem like a noteworthy statement, except for the political context of Perez’ situation and the controversies that attend many of the areas of enforcement in the civil rights division. 

Perez said he would prefer to be like “the proverbial Maytag man,” sitting around with no one needing his services. But that is hardly how he described the work load of his division. 

Perez spent almost all of his remarks, lasting about a half hour, defending the need for civil rights enforcement in today’s America and pointedly hitting the theme that the division is “open for business.”