There has been some discussion about whether the Tea Party movement is a grassroots or astroturf attempt at influencing politics. I think it's a mix of both, but apparently there is no longer any doubt that it's primary color, for some at least, is green.
Reports from the last few days detailing the benefits of "leading" the national Tea Party have rolled in, and while the results may not keep pace with Goldman Sachs' level chicanery, it's always interesting to follow the money.
Some insights into why Sarah Palin ditched Alaska, whether the Glenn Beck boycott is as successful as we'd like to think, and who was that selling t-shirts from the back of a van in Searchlight, Nevada?
Follow the money after the flip.
Sara Palin's Motivation
This week's New York Magazine makes a strong case that Sarah turned her back on her position in Alaska's state leadership because she needed the money. In a dollar sign drenched article published yesterday, we learn that Sarah earned $125,000 a year as governor. However, she owed more than $500,000 at the end of the presidential campaign in legal fees alone (Troopergate cost her more than some bad publicity, even though she was exonerated of all wrongdoing). She was also a little jealous of others writing books about her and getting paid for it. Hmmm....maybe it was time to write her own book, or pay someone to write it for her?
Sarah Palin's Monetization
In May 2009, Sarah published a book for HarperCollins. One little problem. The Alaska AG slapped some pesky restrictions on her ability to do a book tour while acting as governor. Turns out that, for some reason, Alaska now has some pretty strict ethics laws for those who hold public office. Hmmm...keep on keepin' on in the state office for $125,000 a year, or punch the ticket for a book someone else would write? Not to mention the appearance fees, tv shows, and additional books on the horizon.
Sarah pulled some scorn for demanding accepting $100,000 for speaking at a Tea Party event in Nashville, TN. The event was organized as a for-profit endeavor, and as such, she charged her regular fee. Others at that fee level happen to include, according to the NYMag article, George Bush and Colin Powell. She claims to have since donated that fee to charity, and appeared at other Tea Party events at her own cost.
She has, however, scheduled more than a dozen speeches since leaving office. Not that she has given all of them. Apparently Sarah sometimes backs out of advertised appearances with little notice and without giving public apologies. Her contracts are, apparently, replete with conditions under which she is not obligated to actually appear. She has invoked these clauses more than once. Without public statements other than "personal reasons," however, I'm left wondering whether this means her youngest child needed her to stay home that week or she just changed her mind about talking to the Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference.
Sarah Palin's Millions
Sarah reportedly is now worth more than $12 million, less than a year after leaving public service as the Governor of Alaska.
Fox News pays her $1 million a year in a 3-year deal recently enacted. Reports are that she brings a 10 to 15% ratings "bump" with her to whatever Fox show she appears on.
TLC bought a television show developed by Survivor's Mark Burnett (he pitched it to her just weeks after Nov. 4th, 2008) for $1 million an episode. It's an 8 episode deal, and Sarah pockets $250,000 per episode. The whole package went for $8 million, and Sarah gets $2 million of that. (Sidenote: TLC openly considers itself the "anti-Bravo," targeting "middle America" instead of the liberal urban centers and coasts. This may be a purely business decision, but caught me a little off-guard until I considered the programs that each network airs, and how they are noticeably different from one another. TLC is owned by Discovery Comm.)
Once her SarahPAC was formed, it collected more than $100,000 a week with no paid publicity or organized fundraising effort (a few newspaper articles mentioned it, one being the NY Post).
"Going Rogue" brought her $7 million alone, and her appearance on Oprah promoting it resulted in Oprah's highest ratings in 2 years.
Not Just Sarah...
Glenn Beck's company, Mercury Radio Arts (named after Orson Welles' radio studio), pulled in $32 million over the last 12 months. Here's where it came from:
- Print projects (books and a magazine, Fusion): $13 million
- Radio (a daily 3-hour program): $10 million
- Digital (ad supported website with subscription sections and paid newsletter): $4 million
- Speaking/Concert tours and appearances: $3 million
- Fox News 5pm show: $2 million
Of these, I argue that Glenn's tv show drives the most mainstream controversy and attention. Yet, it is the lowest grossing contract in the portfolio. This makes me wonder about the advertising boycott (which I have actively supported, and participated in) and how effective such an effort is to dent such a media presence as Beck. I'm not dissing it in the least, it just makes me wonder.
How Glenn described his company to Forbes.com? ""I could give a flying crap about the political process. We're an entertainment company," Beck says. And what's the point of entertainment? From the same Forbes article: Beck's new media agent in 2000 was "impressed with Beck's passion--and his urge to make a lot of money." This reminded me of Fox News in general. Filling a market niche with crass manipulation, for a profit. Beck may be the whole Fox enterprise melted down to a syrupy, sludgy reduction.
Also:
Dick Armey, co-chair of FreedomWorks: $550,000 salary from FreedomWorks, but gave up role in his own lobbying firm to answer charges of conflicted interests, sacrificing $750,000 a year there.
Andrew Breitbart: $500,000 income from running conservative websites, and another $500,000 for a book deal.
Joe the Plumber: Has attended "140 tea parties," "I do my own events, I schedule my own stuff. It's just me."
Kevin Unck, unemployed truck driver: Spent $1,600 to make t-shirts to sell at the Tea Party rally in Harry Reid's hometown. No word on how much he made. But, he was near other vendors selling buttons with the ironically contradictory slogans, "Obama Repellent," and "One Nation Under God."
Sarah Palin's Coda
Sarah spoke at that rally in Harry Reid's Searchlight, NV. She showed the crowd notes written on her palms, and exclaimed, "Good thing I remember how to use a poor man's version of the teleprompter!"
Bill Shine explained her appeal thusly, "People look at her and say, 'She has a bunch of the same troubles I do, there's a mom who's there changing diapers."
I think the last thing on Sarah's mind is using a "poor man's" anything. And her troubles, and Kevin Unck's troubles, are not the same troubles.
Follow the money. And it is rolling uphill fast.
TWLTW
- New York Magazine also published a chart showing how many months it took for the nation to return to pre-recession employment levels following several recessions of the last century. The results:
1980 - 10 months
1974 - 16 months
1969 - 18 months
1960 - 21 months
1948 - 22 months
1953 - 23 months
1958 - 24 months
1981 - 28 months
1990 - 31 months
2001 - 47 months
Today - 28 months (and counting)
- President Obama spoke in New York at Cooper Union on Thursday, last week. Since its founding as a premier school for architecture, art, and engineering in 1859, it has never charged a student tuition. Peter Cooper declared education should be "free as water and air." How do they do it? Extensive land holdings in Manhattan (rent, baby!) and the decision to forgo gym facilities, cafeterias, sports teams, and other non-academic "frills."
- In 1660, there were already 370 European (Dutch) buildings on Manhattan island (New Amsterdam).
- South Williamsburg, Brooklyn is home to the largest Hasidic sect in the world, the Satmars.
- Hollywood studios have begun remakes of Overboard (Jennifer Lopez), Godzilla (more like the original than the 1998 remake), and Escape From New York.
- Vocabulary:
- "Ninja" is both plural and singular.
- Cenacle: The "upper room" location of the Last Supper, or any of several hitorically recognized burial sites of Christian saints or disciples. Making it possible to be cynical about the cenacle. Ain't English great?
- The NYC subway, largest in the nation, experienced a 2.7% drop in ridership last year, down to 1.58 billion rides. The largest drops were in lines that service the financial district and the residential construction areas in Queens.
- Hugh Hefner and several movie moguls put up the last million to save the "Hollywood" sign on that hill in California. A Chicago-based group of investors was going to tear it down and put up high-end condos. Ironically, the sign was erected in 1923 to advertise a high-end real estate deal called Hollywoodland.
- And, finally, Laura Bush's memoirs will be released May 4th. George's, titled "Decision Points," follows in November. The cover features him standing stoically holding a briefing book under his arm. I'd feel better about it if it was a picture of him reading one. 9-11 and Katrina are supposedly discussed at length. I wonder if he used Sarah P.'s fact checker?
What Did You Learn This Week?