Republicans Blame Republican for Doing What Republicans Do
On a day when the GOP should be crowing over a meaningless congressional party switch, Michael Steele has managed to distract attention:
Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges, trade associations and other groups — an unusual practice criticized by a string of past party chairmen.
We know, we know — who can expect a dude to survive on a $223,500 salary?
But let’s take roll call: the “string” of past chairmen criticizing Steele includes Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. (“Holy mackerel!”), Jim Nicholson (“Not appropriate!”), Rich Bond (“It just doesn’t look right!”), and… and…
Wait — just three?
Minus one, if you count Jim Gilmore (“It’s not uncommon!”), who rose to defend Steele’s honor this morning.
Besides: We’re talking about Republicans here. It would be a grand irony if Michael Steele was strung up by his own party for an ethics violation.
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-RNC chiefs rip Steele speaking fees [WashTimes]
Ex-RNC Chair Gilmore Defends Michael Steele’s Additional Speaker Fee Income [ThinkProgress]
Who are these organizations that would pay any money, let alone 20K, to hear him speak?
@ManchuCandidate:
that was my question. the very thought is frightening.
Maybe they’re all pissed that he’s not charging enough – even streetwalkers will get upset if the new girl starts charging half the going rate… :)
Speaking of greedy Republicans, I’m shocked that Bloggie didn’t break this car-related story. In a related story, I will now have Janis Joplin running through my head the rest of the afternoon thanks to the story’s headline.
For-profit politics seems only right since we have for-profit medicine, law (no one here, of course), banking, etc.
@Capt Howdy:
Yeah, cause I have decent speaking/presentation skills and I would like to be paid 20K for each appearance.
@ManchuCandidate: People often tell me that I have a very soothing speaking voice. So I was thinking about starting a religion where everyone gives me their money and I get to screw a lot of young women, but then I learned that Joseph Smith already did that.
@Dodgerblue:
Or start one based on a whacko SF idea that attracts a lot of drug addicts and deep-in-the-closet (in their minds) homosexual celebrities who pretend they have sex with the opposite sex while their minds go insane from the denial.
A real Republican icon would be offering suck jobs in truck stops for $5 and offering to sell out the American people’s health insurance, civil liberties, privacy or essential industries as a house premium.
You make truckstop suck jobs sound all gross.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: Truckstop suck jobs are only gross when the tweaker still has a few teeth hanging in there, right?
Okay, they’re always gross. You’ve convinced me.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: This is what the GOP does. They take wholesome American conventions of everyday life and turn them into apocalyptically vulgar acts of betrayal.
@SanFranLefty: What’s a tweak? Is this another Twitter thing?
Sometimes you are so cuddly and naive I want to hug you like a baby seal.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: I have a full set of whiskers and I can assure you I am a totally grown up seal. My driver’s license has an address on Catalina Island, in fact.
HA! FCS conspiracy theorists take note- Catalina Island.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: What conspiracy are you talking about? Catalina Island, as you folks call it, has been a resort area for seals for thousands of years, only one of the more recent attractions, however, for families is the migration of the bipeds, a great source of hilarity for we seals.
You know we all have ongoing bets as to your true identity, don’t you? My money was on Nathan Lane until you dropped that Catalina Island tidbit by accident.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: My bet was on the Cayman Islands. Does Catalina have a thriving offshore money-laundering industry?
@nojo: There used to be gambling ships off of Los Angeles, outside of the 3-mile limit, so I guess you could say they were “offshore” of Catalina Island.
@Dodgerblue: Yeah, but everyone knows the counting rooms as well as all the hookers and drug trade were controlled by seals.
@FlyingChainSaw: Seal Pimps would be an awesome band name.
@Tommmcatt is hunkered down in the trenches: He’s the Keyser Söze of Stinque. Dodger, Ewalda, and I are among the elite having met him IRL. Or we met someone who called himself Chainsaw. The real Chainsaw may have been observing from an adjacent table.
@SanFranLefty: Or he could have been an android. I’ve been watching Battlestar Galactica with my wife and daughter. I can’t stand Baltar and his greasy hair.
@Dodgerblue: Chainsaw is Baltar? That explains everything. Which Six does he prefer?
@nojo: Well, I prefer 7 of 9.
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