I'm proposing the phrase "on the payroll" to describe pundits, like Armstrong Williams,
who parrot the administration talkingpoints. It can be used as a blanket term for conservative pundits, e.g. "They've got the whole payroll bashing SS", or "I don't take Hannity's word for it: he's on the payroll."
The measure of whether or not someone is "on the payroll" is not hard proof, as with Armstrong Williams, but rather the "might as well be"
test i.e., Hannity, Rush, O'Reilly and so on.
It is important to be clear that this is a term for public personalities and not just any old republican supporter, i.e. being a FRpper doesn't put you on the payroll.
Use it if you like it.