White House paid commentator to promote law

Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams “to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,” and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004.

Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but “I wanted to do it because it’s something I believe in.”

Brother, if you believed in it with sincerity, you would’ve opined about it for free. You chose to sell your birthright for a pot of taxpayer-funded gold instead.

Armstrong Williams’ career in the media is over. He’s also damaged goods to the conservative movement in general.

The Democrats now have their scandal of scandals to aid their dreams of crushing President Bush.

The National Education Association now has live ammo to fire at will against NCLB.

Heads must roll at the Department of Education, beginning with Rod Paige on down. (Frankly, the DoEd should be abolished altogether, but that’s another argument…)

I’m so angry that I can’t think of anything else to say civily on this blog. Fortunately, my friends have worded my feelings far more eloquently.

Michael King:

Black conservatives like myself work day-in and day-out to promote solid and beneficial causes, which have included NCLB, but with one-fell-swoop, Williams has effectively torpedoed much of that work.

We constantly come under scrutiny by others from both sides of the aisle, from some conservatives who are wary of our presence, and by many liberals who insist that we are “on the take” or “reaching for scraps from ‘Massa’s’ table.” We constantly have to prove that we are not some sort of ‘spook sitting by the door’ when Armstrong comes along and not only accepts taxpayer money, but doesn’t see anything truly wrong with it! [...]

This calls into question any and all pundits that appear on behalf of the Bush Administration on television, radio and in print across the board. When those on the left call commentators on Fox News into question for being “paid operatives” what sort of defense is there? After all, Armstrong Williams claimed to be his own man, yet was a paid operative of the Bush White House.

Well, I can tell you with complete certainty that the folks that I know and associate with on the right aren’t paid by the Administration. On the contrary. If I were, I wouldn’t be scraping to get by like everyone else.

Armstrong’s entire message becomes suspect as far as I’m concerned, though. And as far as I’m concerned, he becomes “damaged goods” in terms of any sort of conservative black message.

Just damn.

Booker Rising:

First of all, ain’t that Education Secretary Rod Paige’s job?! Two, it was shady and unethical for the Bush administration to pay the money, and for Williams to take it. Three, what a misuse of taxpayer funds. Four, it was strategically unsavvy on the administration’s part: Williams would’ve been low on our list of effective folks for this task. And five, since Williams believes in No Child Left Behind then he should’ve promoted it for free.

La Shawn Barber:

Contrary to what liberals think, black conservatives are not a monolith. Williams is responsible for his own actions, but the perception he leaves in his wake is detrimental to the cause so many black conservatives fight for. I take that personally. [...]

Be warned, readers. Some people don’t care about good character. Liberal bloggers will be all over Williams like black on coal, white on rice and any other racial play on words you can think of. Do not be surprised if you can’t find even one black liberal in the blogosphere or the real world taking their white counterparts to task for the racist overtones that will eventually permeate columns and blog posts about Williams.

Watch and learn, but don’t get angry and don’t defend Williams’s actions. Get righteously indignant. What he did was wrong, and he must pay the consequences. That’s the one thing we must be consistent about even if liberals won’t. I want this episode to be a lesson to all conservatives — bloggers, blog readers, writers, politicians — whoever you are.

I don’t call myself a conservative, but I once respected Williams as he championed the cause of all blacks who dared to be contrarian. Now, that respect is gone. He knew better.