# And here come the little duckies: another government paid Bush policy collumnist **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698 "2005-01-26T03:21:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/21 "2005-01-26T22:30:17Z")
Makes you wonder just how many of those conservative pundits are getting a little somethin somethin from the gov on the quiet. Dennis Miller SURE did go from a raving liberal to a staunch conservative in a hurry, didn’t he? He SAYS it was 911 that made it happen, but I’m not sure I believe that any more … Well, I never had a high opinion of Gallagher anyway. Always thought she was a very poor writer and wondered how she got a national column. Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/22 "2005-01-26T22:36:12Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Dennis Miller SURE did go from a raving liberal to a staunch conservative in a hurry, didn’t he? Did he? I agree he’s become a federal whore, but I don’t know that he was ever a liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/23 "2005-01-27T03:16:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Gallagher explains to Kurtz: “Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it? I don’t know. You tell me.” That’s even funnier if you’ve ever read Gallagher’s smugly, self-righteously moralistic columns. [Oliver Reed]Whooore![/Oliver Reed] I don’t think Dennis Miller is taking payola; I just think he gave up being a satirist because he hasn’t stopped shitting his pants since 9/11. Same for guys like Ed Koch and Ron Silver, who acknowledge that Bush is murder on every domestic policy they supposedly care about, but supported him because they inexplicably believe he’ll keep them safe. Pussies. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/24 "2005-01-27T22:06:03Z")
Another new development: under Bush, cash paid out to outside PR firms and other PR purposes has doubled. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/25 "2005-01-27T23:15:49Z")
which is good for the economy. Sheesh, you people are just never happy. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/26 "2005-01-28T04:47:34Z")
**A paddling of ducks, a raft of ducks, a team of ducks, a dopping of ducks**? [Third columnist caught with hand in the Bush till](http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index_np.html) > [@](#): > > Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, “Ethics & Religion,” appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/27 "2005-01-28T04:56:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Did he? I agree he’s become a federal whore, but I don’t know that he was ever a liberal. On many issues he leaned liberal, but I never perceived him as being anything but astoundingly independent. “This is what I think. Period.” Now, of course, he’s merely an ass-kisser. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/28 "2005-01-28T05:14:44Z")
Added irony: an obvious ethics violation by a self-appointed “Ethics & Religion” commentator. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/29 "2005-01-28T05:17:48Z")
My vote for who else is on the take: Kathleen Parker I mean, read this article. I can’t make any sense of what her argument is: it’s more disjointed than a Mureen Dowd collumn, and that’s saying a lot. She’s another anti-gay marriage tool too. > **[Kathleen Parker: Biography and Latest Articles - Kathleen Parker](https://townhall.com/columnists/kathleenparker/)** > > Kathleen Parker’s clear, descriptive, lively writing underscores her common-sense approach to life's challenges. Twice weekly, Kathleen Parker assesses the country’s mental health with a Rorschach uniquely her own – a reporter’s gimlet eye combined... ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/30 "2005-01-28T06:59:11Z")
Has anyone said they were approached, but declined the money? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/31 "2005-01-28T12:23:18Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > **A paddling of ducks, a raft of ducks, a team of ducks, a dopping of ducks**? > > [Third columnist caught with hand in the Bush till](http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/27/mcmanus/index_np.html) And he only recieved $10,000. Does it make it slightly less unethical that he only worked for 10k. Maybe he took the lower rate because he supported the program. :dubious: I didn’t think so either. Still, $10k is pretty cheap. I suppose I could start up some form of word of mouth campaign for the Pres. I’ll start it at 5k for mildly complimentary and go up to 25k for very complimentary. 50k will get them a rabid frothing neocon. 😃 offer valid only in Michigan, Mississippi, and Guam. Does not include actually voting for candidates supported by the President, listening or reading Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, or watching Fox News. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/32 "2005-01-28T13:36:29Z")
For ten dollars I promise not to express my political opinions about anything. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/33 "2005-01-28T13:43:15Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > I didn’t think so either. Still, $10k is pretty cheap. I suppose I could start up some form of word of mouth campaign for the Pres. I’ll start it at 5k for mildly complimentary and go up to 25k for very complimentary. 50k will get them a rabid frothing neocon. 😃 Check with some of our board members what the actual rate is first. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/34 "2005-01-28T13:50:12Z")
> [@Trion](#): > > For ten dollars I promise not to express my political opinions about anything. I will not hijack this thread to Luton for a pound. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/35 "2005-01-28T14:01:37Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > I will not hijack this thread to Luton for a pound. 🙂 I’d forgotten that. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698/36 "2005-01-28T14:15:32Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I hear that NIMH paid for installing Bob Novak’s stainless steel rectum. Might be just a rumor. stainless steel **ribbed** rectum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-here-come-the-little-duckies-another-government-paid-bush-policy-collumnist/286698.md?page=1)