“It’s standard operating procedure” for right-wing bloggers to get paid by Republicans to offer favorable coverage, says a GOP “campaign operative.” What about blogs who challenge Democrats to grow a pair? Because if that were the case we’d be rolling in it.
The Daily Caller quotes one “GOP blogger-for-hire” who says “at least half the [Republican-friendly bloggers that are out there … are getting remuneration in some way beyond ad sales.” Well that sounds scandalous! And how widespread is this problem?
In California, where former eBay executive Meg Whitman beat businessman Steve Poizner in a bitterly fought primary battle in the campaign for governor, it sometimes seemed as if there was a bidding war for bloggers. One pro-Poizner blogger, Aaron Park, was discovered to be a paid consultant to the Poizner campaign while writing for Red County, a conservative blog about California politics. Red County founder Chip Hanlon threw Park off the site upon discovering his affiliation, which had not been disclosed.
Poizner’s campaign was shocked to learn of the arrangement, apparently coordinated by an off-the-reservation consultant. For Park, though, it was business as usual. In November 2009, for instance, he approached the campaign of another California office-seeker — Chuck DeVore, who was then running for Senate — with an offer to blog for money. “I can be retained at a quite reasonable rate or for ‘projects,’” Park wrote in an e-mail to campaign officials. In an interview, Park defended himself by claiming, “nobody has any doubt which candidates I’m supporting,” and noting that his blog specifies which candidates he “endorses.”
But while Red County’s Hanlon expressed outrage at Park’s pay-for-blogging scheme, questions arose about his own editorial independence when it emerged that Red County itself had been taking money from the Whitman campaign. In December of 2009, Red County received $20,000 from the Meg Whitman campaign, which has sent the site $15,000 a month since then. The money is ostensibly for advertising, yet by conventional measures the numbers don’t add up. According to Quantcast, Red County reaches around 125,000 unique viewers per month. Two new media industry experts confirmed that, given such a readership, Whitman’s ad purchase is “ridiculously” expensive, surpassing the going market rate for such ads by 1,000 percent or more.
Dear Republicans: I will happily extol all the lovely things about Meg Whitman — her hair is reasonably tamed, usually; she does not say “like” a lot; she started a charity that gives heavily to the Environment Defense Fund — for half of that. I’ll even throw in free buttons and a downloadable screensaver!
How about we take this to the next level?
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PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
If you were to look at Meg in a dark bar towards the end of the night you may fail to notice just how much of a drag queen she looks like. Her very man like features would be somewhat softend by the dim lighting and she may actually pass as an actual woman!!
That was kinda sorta nice, where do I send the bill???? :p
Jorge
“What about blogs who challenge Democrats to grow a pair? Because if that were the case we’d be rolling in it.”
LOL! Is that what you think you guys do?
chuck b.
Whatever. If Meg wants to pay me $15k to blog favorably about her, it’s a deal!
Meg, call me, ASAP! Not much time left!
Sean707
Businesses will be opened or expand in California and around the Nation when there is strong demand for products or services, USA is the mayor consumer in the world, if 95% Americans get a tax break with a new Tax reform as the president promised the renewed expenditure capacity of all Americans will really get the United States out of its economic recession. Why people don’t get that we are in a economic recession because working Americans lost their expenditure capacity when the Bush administration allowed gas prices to rise up to $5 per gallon in less than 6 moths that’s the risk that the financial bubble couldn’t take and nobody could prevent because the reasons why we suffer such gas prices increases while Bush and Dick Cheney got billions out of their petroleum empires are unknown until this day. Now how Californians can trust somebody associated with Dick Cheney for Governor or allow Fiorina to go to the Senate and block the tax cuts the president promised for 95% of Americans.
Hilarious
@Jorge: I know right? Talk about out of touch.
Benito
The Republicans are so funny, when the economy is good you say let’s all celebrate “Cinco de Mayo, my brothers” but when the economy is down “it’s all your fault, you damn immigrant”. When most Americans (with Latin America roots) go to the polls this November we will remember that the GOP has gone on a nationwide rant in proposing and passing several anti-immigration legislation (that our US Courts continue to strike down) and have continue to blame the immigrant for the flat economy or worse. We will remember who stands with us and who stands against us, so trying to stop it now is somewhat funny, but go ahead, you will not change our minds.
Plus the more radical of the GOP are now attacking our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, in their crazy notion of wanting to take away rights that all of us take for granted in their misguided attempt to garner some much needed votes, they really are fools, and leading the GOP towards obscurity because they are no longer a party of ideas, just of empty suits. Your hate made you do it, in November; you will reap what you have sown. I wonder what Abraham Lincoln would say about todays GOP, he unlike the current GOP was a man of ideas.