Politicos payroll??? FWIW, check out Politicos affiliations...it will take a full day but it's well worth the time spent to know who you are linking to...
Yes, Politico has done almost the same thing, but in reverse - passing articles to liberals for review and editing and as a heads up prior to publishing.
But we expect that from liberals. We don't expect Republicans to be coordinating hits on Republican opponents with Democrat operatives.