Tea Party group paid Glenn Beck about $1 million to say "nice things" about them

This is crazy, and how it's even legal I have no idea. This is very revealing about the Tea Party and the right wing in general. They always like to talk big and have a propensity to exaggerate, especially their popularity.


Dick Armey Sticks His FreedomWorks Payback to Glenn Beck

Former FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey revealed that the Tea Party group paid Glenn Beck about $1 million to say "nice things" about the group on his radio show, and that it got a negative return on that investment.

www.theatlanticwire.com...

reply to post by CB328


Much as I find the antics of the Tea party idiotic I am not suprised. As far as I am concerned this is another form of lobbying and influence buying. It just shows what a sad joke our politics has become. I think all parties are in on this type of game.

What a waste of money..

But isn't this illegal? If you are endorsing a product you have to put a disclaimer that you are doing such. FCC rules....

Payola Rules

Federal law, including Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, requires that employees of broadcast stations, program producers, program suppliers and others who have accepted or agreed to receive payments, services or other valuable consideration for airing material must disclose this fact. Disclosure provides broadcasters the information they need to let their audiences know if material was paid for, and by whom.

www.fcc.gov...

Originally posted by CB328
This is crazy, and how it's even legal I have no idea. This is very revealing about the Tea Party and the right wing in general. They always like to talk big and have a propensity to exaggerate, especially their popularity.


Dick Armey Sticks His FreedomWorks Payback to Glenn Beck

Former FreedomWorks chairman Dick Armey revealed that the Tea Party group paid Glenn Beck about $1 million to say "nice things" about the group on his radio show, and that it got a negative return on that investment.

www.theatlanticwire.com...

Yeah,
I can't see how political groups could legally be allowed to pay people to speak for them in the public eye and media. What would happen if political candidates spent loads of money to get people to speak up for them in rallies to convince people to vote for them? What if the political parties had big names speak for them in return for payments?

What if public figures actually charged money for their time and appearances?

It would be anarchy!

Boy they wasted their money. They are just as bad as the rest but I question their intelligence for using Glen Beck I mean out of all the people they could turn to they use him of all people.

So let me get this straight. A private group of citizens (Tea Party) paid another private citizen who owns a company (Beck) to promote them. Got it.

And you felt so strongly about this perversion to create a thread. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess by your avatar that we won't be seeing a thread about any illegal activity by the current occupant of the White House? Nothing over the last four years that might be important?

After catching the thread covering Dick Armey's attempt to run little internal takeover by force on FreedomWorks following their failure to properly support the Old Guard GOP? Heck, Glenn's stock raises a couple points in my estimation.

Dick represents the problem that puts "OLD" in Grand Old Party. Frankly,. I hadn't really been watching or listening to Glenn Beck much here recently. I've been more focused on world events and real happenings than political theory and intrigue as he's generally exploring on his shows. (He also didn't win points with me a bit in Jerusalem. Religious? cool. Religious nut? Not cool. He came a little closer than I'd have expected from him)

Now though? I might have to check him out a bit more. Any enemy of Dick is worth a listen to see what the latest topics are, anyway. Thanks for the Catch there OP! I'd missed this up to now.

All too typical of the 'Not Intented to Be a Factual Statement' party.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by WaterBottle


Talk-radio payola: Politics' new cash nexus
This is from 2011.

When money talks, it doesn't always know what to say. Those trusted to write the scripts wield real power.

The amplification and consolidation of this power through explicit financial deals between "freedom movement" institutions and conservative talk-radio superstars is a potentially profound development in American politics.

If you ask me, the progressive fixation on campaign finance is badly misguided. Money shapes the course of our democracy at least as much through the complex confluence of popular mass media, Washington's institutional ideologues, and their far-flung multitude of impressionable donors.

This a tricky story to tell, and it's hard to say what, if anything, should be done about it. But this is where a lot of the action is

In the particular case of this thread, Dick Armey has given a counterexample to the old saying, "there is honor among thieves". Shame on you, Dick, for selling out your friends; a pound of flesh for a pound of gold. Life is just one big free market for you, isn't it, Dick, where fleecing is a legitimate enterprise, and public confession of your partners' wrongdoings is good for your soul.