WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sarah Palin's political action committee doled out tens of thousands of dollars last year to Republican consulting firms and donations to GOP candidates, according to the PAC's end-of-year filing with the Federal Election Commission.
But Sarah PAC also paid one Democrat $14,000 for what the FEC report terms "Consulting, Communication, Speech."
That Democrat was Eric Schnure, a former speechwriter for Al Gore, who was hired by Palin to craft her humorous speech to the Gridiron Dinner in Washington last December.
Schnure, a speechwriting veteran who recently signed on with the communications consulting firm Dewey Square Group, calls himself a "proud Democrat." But Schnure said he had no problem helping a Republican – even one as polarizing as Palin – with a speech designed to make people laugh.
"I think humor is one of the last bastions of bipartisanship," Schnure told CNN. "She elicits strong opinions on both sides of the aisle, but I think most people in Washington are savvy about these things. And they understand these humor events have a special place."
Still, Schnure said he has received a fair amount of ribbing from fellow Democrats – including his wife – for lending a hand to Palin.
