Pundit Payola for Propaganda: The Bush Administration's High Crime

[Walt Starr]

Armstrong Williams
Maggie Gallagher
Michael McManus

This is now a disturbing trend by the Bush Administration. Three seperate pundits, paid to express positive spin on Bush Administration policies, who never revealed the fact that their support was bought and paid for.

Mr. Bush announced on Wednesday, January 26, that he would instruct the secretaries to forgo the hiring of commentators to spread his propoganda. Why is this? It's pretty apparent, the administration is terrified of this one, with good cause.

This is pure propaganda. These payments for propaganda are illegal because no effort was made to disclose that the support was obtained via payment.

This scandal is not going away anytime soon. We've seen Health and Human Services and Education touched by the scandal. The surface has been scratched. We have established a pattern of behavior, it is now safe to assume this goes deeper and wider. In fact, failure to investigate these illegal actions would be negligence at best, and a coverup at worst! No wonder Mr. Bush wants Ashcroft out and Gonzales in! This is all about protecting the president from responsibility in this scandal!

What I want to know, more than anything else, are the names of the commentators, journalists, and pundits who received payola for the propaganda leading us to an unjust war. Just who has the Pentagon been paying off? I would hazard to guess that at least one New York Times writer received payola for proaganda. Who else did? What about big name TV celebrities?

The blogosphere is where this MUST be investigated, because now we can be absolutely certain we cannot trust the media to investigate as the media themselves are involved in the scandal!

So here is the clarion call. Everybody in the blogospheremust begin the process of filing FOIA requests for all information related to payments to commentators, consultants, "journalists" and pundits. Only in this action will we, the people, uncover the depth and breadth of this scandal of horrifying proportions!

We cannot sit by idly and allow this high crime to go unpunished.

[KC21304]

1. But as blm said, the big names don't have to take

this peanut money. They get the really big bucks from Rupert Murdoch and Rev. Moon.

[babylonsister]

3. I'm pissed off about people on the government dole.

I don't want my tax dollars going towards the likes of them. I never trusted the blivet and never will, and he and his cronies have some balls to do this and think no one would find out.

[Walt Starr]

7. Some pundits I suspect of being on the payola

Robert Novak
Sean Hannity
Ann Coulter


Anybody want to hazard a guess at others?

[Zeke]

11. Don't Forget.......

Don't forget Tweety and Tony Blankley.

Those dudes is bought & paid for by Bush Inc.

[4morewars]

14. It's been assumed for years...

that novak was on the CIA payroll. I don't remember the details right now, was it something to do with Viet Nam ? Nixon, Kissinger ? Something of that nature.

[grasswire]

17. Judith Miller

That's my number one guess.

[saltpoint]

20. Hi, Walt. What about Kate O'Beirn?

Thoughtful post, and very nicely written, too.

Thank you.

[KC21304]

8. I agree, this is outrageous and should be punished.

My point was I don't think we are going to catch any big names doing this because they are well paid by Bush's sugar daddies and thus do not need the money.

[babylonsister]

2. Walt, have you seen this?

This fiasco might not go unpunished.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1538220

[Walt Starr]

5. Yep, I sure have

Now if we can get my alliteration out there, maybe some of it will start to stick because these acts are already illegal!

Pundit Payola for Propaganda!

[4morewars]

4. Nothing will come of it

Oh, sure, it's a little embarrassing. But this will go away just like all the other crimes this bunch of fascists has committed.

[Walt Starr]

6. This time they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar!

This is taxpayer dollars for illegal activities.

Throw in the Pentagon and that's all she wrote.

[4morewars]

12. I'm sorry Walt,

I really wish I was wrong. But I know, as surely as i know that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow, nothing will come of it. The MSM has already dropped it, maybe because they are in on it. And even if it were to grow legs, what's the worst thing that can happen ?
It goes before the repuke congress ? Where we can't even get two dozen Dems to stand up to these corrupted fuckos.

I'll tell you what though, if this brings this administration down, I will drive to Chicago, and buy you the biggest, fattest steak dinner in town ! ALL you can drink as well ! no shit.

[Walt Starr]

13. IT may not bring it down

but it could so destroy its credibility that the Repukes in Congress start joining us in opposition because they want tokeep their jobs.

And the only way to get it in the mainstream is for the bloggers to investigate, because it's all there buried in the consulting contracts subject to FOIA requests.

I'll take putting a stop to their agenda because they get mired in scandal. Works enough to keep them from destroying the nation any further than they already have.

[babylonsister]

15. I so agree. There are many issues out

there that piss me off, but THIS issue affects everyone's pocketbooks. There are a lot of people out there that voted for the blivet because they were hoping he'd keep them safe. But I think, if a lot of people, w/o jobs or health insurance, find out they've been duped, it might add to the general deserved anger. This could be a scandal and I pray the truth will out. For everyone!

[Just Me]

25. Government-sponsored propaganda is repulsive to every American.

The taxpayer-funded, government-sponsored propaganda by the neoCONimperialists is simply an additional piece of evidence that these traitors are engaged in a pattern of deceptive behavior to manipulate the American people into giving up what they would not otherwise sacrifice.

When you combine the deception associated with the war and medicare and the UNpatriot Act and the exaggeration of terror threats and the economy and scrubbing facts,...all waged to commit a fraud against "the people",...such actions clearly fall within the realm of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and are a blantant breach of oathes of office.

A leadership that commits fraud against its own people is not only repugnant and immoral and illegal,...it's a damned outrage!!!! :mad:

[4morewars]

16. I could live with that.

Anything that slows them down is a good thing.
As I said previously, I hope I'm wrong vis-a-vis nothing coming of it.
But excuse me if I don't get excited about it. I mean look at ALL the crap they have gotten away with already, outing a CIA agent should have been the end of them. When was the last time you heard anything on that ?

[wurzel]

9. Could be great revenge for CBS. eom

Begin with FOX.

[RBHam]

10. Big deal...

Everybody knows these right wing whores are bought and paid for in all kinds of different ways...

The only thing Bush wants to stop is "direct payment"....the perks, access and favoritism will continue unabated.

Watch. The careers of these RW whackos will be safely supported by the sheep who will continue to do as they're told....

[grasswire]

18. I'll tell you a little story that's not unrelated.

I think the pugs are using money in other ways, too. I have a friend in D.C. who is one of America's top investigative writers. NYTimes bestseller list, nine books, all top notch. You'd know his name.

Right at the time Bush took office in 2001 and while everyone was mad, this pal was hired by a Republican to author a book about an alleged scandal. Good money, nice office and perks. He took the job. He worked and worked and worked, revised and revised and revised, consulted and consulted, and the work seemed to go nowhere. They kept paying and tying him up in the work. It finally was dropped after a couple of years.

I believe Karl Rove put out the word to take this author out of the way, to tie him up to keep him away from sniffing around Bush. Kind of like the way they set up Ralph Reed with a job to keep him from working for someone else. Nothing illegal about this, mind you. It's just devious.

The pundits are the tip of this.

[babylonsister]

19. So where's your friend now when we really need him?

He should write a few articles, a book, something to expose what you both believe? :shrug:

[grasswire]

21. He doesn't agree....

....with my impression that "someone" took him out of circulation. He's working on another book.

This guy paid his dues prior to 2001 and was blacklisted by both Dems and Pugs for telling the truth and exposing Republican scandal. I'm not going to blame him for stepping aside for a while to work on something non-political. If half a dozen others had the same fortitude, we'd be safe.

My point was that Rove takes people out of the game by giving them work, sometimes. Max Cleland is another one.

[uncle ray]

22. kicking cause nobody seems to be noticing

THIS has to be the scandal that finally brings the * regime down. it HAS to. it's the one that ties all the OTHER scandals together, and it is connected to everything the * administration has done. even freepers might take notice when their heros are busted being paid to herd them.

[Walt Starr]

23. Yep, and we CANNOT depend upon the media to out this

because they are in on it!

[reprehensor]

24. bump

[mopaul]

26. I myself would be a bush whore for a quarter million

how do you fight that?

[xchrom]

27. bad mopaul!

uh, hey man, can get a loan?