Ben Hanten at Daily Caucus caught something that slipped by me during my absence from blogging. Seems two of the leading Daschle-bashing, pro-Thune blogs were run by people paid by Thune.
Jon Lauck labeled his “Daschle v. Thune” blog as one “Analyzing the Biggest Senate Race in the USA.” Seems Jon neglected to tell anyone reading the blog that he was funding his “analysis” with $4,500 a month from the Thune campaign for “research consulting.”
Similarly, Jason Van Beek of “South Dakota Politics” managed to survive the summer as an unemployed law school graduate by pulling in $2,000 a month from the Thune campaign, also for “research consulting.” I don’t recall seeing any disclaimers or disclosures there either (although Jason at least reprinted a National Journal article reporting that he and Lauck were paid, albeit after the election).
I don’t have a problem with either getting paid for “research consulting.” What is bothersome is the lack of candor. Strikes me that when you are bashing and trashing someone day in and day out, some semblance of propriety or integrity might prompt you to mention to blog visitors that you’re on the payroll of the opponent’s campaign. But then, why would a campaign preaching moral values worry about things like that?
Remember the August 9th Argus Leader report on bloggers. Weren’t you covered in it? And you don’t remember the mention of Jon Lauck being a paid consultant? August 9th is before and not after the election. Why don’t you lefties find issues that people care about?