Did you know that Michael Moore charges $35,000 for a speaking engagement? That’s how much Moore was going to receive as an honorarium for speaking at George Mason University, in Fairfax Virginia just days before the presidential election.
Unfortunately, republicans in that state got wind of the plan, and objected:
“We just felt it wasn’t the most appropriate use of (public) funds, so we decided the best thing to do was cancel,” school spokesman Daniel Walsch said.
[…]
Loudoun County Del. Richard L. Black wrote a letter dated Tuesday urging Merten to reconsider the university’s “lavish payment” to Moore, or to cancel the appearance.
“Tax money is being spent poorly, and for partisan purposes,” wrote Black, who has one of the General Assembly’s most conservative voting records.
What’s interesting about this is that I suppose these same folks weren’t as objecting about the innappropriate use of funds when Newt Gingrich showed up at William & Mary College for his speaking engagement. I guess Newt isn’t as, well, partisan, right?
Now, I agree that 35 grand might be a little much to pay for a guy who can’t even practice what he preaches in “Supersize Me,” and whose “facts” are exaggerated sometimes, at best. But Gingrich is just as much a media whore as Moore; no longer a politician, he pretty much makes his living extolling conservative virtues and gaping in horror at liberal agendas.
With conservatives pulling stunts like this, he’s only gaining credibility when Republicans hold these double standards.