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]

29 Comments

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.

@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?

@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?

@FlyingChainSaw:

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.

@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.

@FlyingChainSaw:

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.

TJ: Very funny Santa tantrum photos

@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?

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