If you’ve actually read my work, unlike, say, the entire Left side of the blogosphere, you know how hard I came down on the Armstrong Williams/Maggie Gallagher controversies. Government subsidies for conservative columnists are as odious as government subsidies for crucifix-defiling “artists.”

Now, comes word of yet another right-leaning columnist getting paid to flack for a Republican administration’s policies:

BOSTON (AP) – A columnist for the Boston Herald has been awarded a contract worth up to $10,000 from the administration of Gov. Mitt Romney to promote the governor’s environmental policies.

Charles D. Chieppo began working with the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs on Thursday. The contract calls for him to assist agency officials in writing op-ed pieces and internal documents.

Chieppo writes a general weekly column for the Herald, where he is paid per article. He told The Associated Press on Friday that his request to perform the outside work was fully vetted by the state ethics commission and the Herald.

“The issue, as I understand it, is disclosure,” he said. “I have fully disclosed everything to everyone involved.”

Disclosure is not the only issue. Perception matters, too. Do we really need another paid partisan hack to confirm what the liberal MSM already unfairly assumes of all conservatives in the media–that we’re all on the payroll of the Republican Party and incapable of independent journalism?

Take off the Bad Idea Jeans and show better judgement, people. Crikey.

Update: The Boston Herald gets some sense. They’ve fired Chieppo. Good.