Listics

Seems that as right-wing journalism meets right-wing government, ethical distinctions tend to blur.  This from Eric Boehlert at Salon today…

"One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop
hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one

day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be
on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon
has confirmed that 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."

Later in the column, we read,

The problem springs
from the failure of both Gallagher and McManus to disclose their
government payments when writing about the Bush proposals. But one HHS
critic says another dynamic has led to the controversy, and a blurring
of ethical and journalistic lines: Horn and HHS are hiring advocates –
not scholars — from the pro-marriage movement. "They’re ideological
sympathizers who propagandize," says Tim Casey, attorney for Legal
Momentum, a women’s rights organization. He describes McManus as being
a member of the "extreme religious right."

Horn denies the
charge: "It’s not true that we have just been selectively working with
conservatives." According to news accounts, the administration seeks to
spend $1.5 billion promoting marriage through marriage-enrichment
courses, counseling and public-awareness campaigns.

A billion and a half promoting marriage.  And "marriage" has become a right-wing code word for homophobic reactionary politics.  Scary.