Got 'em

The payola/propaganda scandal, which started with Amstrong Williams, has grown even larger. Now it is being reported that a syndicated columinist named Michael McManus was subcontracting for the Department of Health and Human Services and never disclosed his connection to the government. McManus helped the DHHS with a marriage initiative and promoted the intitiative he had worked on his columns.

The Democrats really ought to beat this story to death. The payola scandal represents an excellent opportunity to expose wrongdoing, tie the GOP to abuse of power government corruption, discredit the conservative punditry and shut down a patronage program for Republican hacks in the media. The "Stop Government Propaganda Act" is a good start, but we are very far from total saturation.

The Press should be making a much bigger deal out of this, too. The Administration is soiling their profession and yet there is a chance that the guilty parties will get away with it. Additionally, I thought it was the job of the media to protect the public from the excesses and crimes powerful instead of rewording politicians' press releases and writing about that squirrel that can water ski.