Thank goodness this story came along when it did. Romney said earlier today that he won’t ask conservatives to stop heckling Obama’s campaign, which otherwise would have been the media’s cue for 48 hours of naked concern-trolling about “tone.” As if there’s a single voter in our age of grinding economic malaise who cares about politicians or their hired lackeys being jeered on the trail.

Thanks to BuzzFeed, though, they’ll probably want to stay away from the subject of heckling for awhile:

The protesters popping up at Mitt Romney’s rallies throughout Michigan Tuesday look like run-of-the-mill grassroots liberals — they wave signs about “the 99 percent,” they chant about the Republican’s greed, and they describe themselves as a loosely organized coalition of “concerned citizens.”

They’re also getting paid, two of the protesters and an Obama campaign official told BuzzFeed…

Neither of the representatives agreed to give their names, but two protesters said they were getting paid to stand outside for the rally, though the wage is unclear: one said she was getting $7.25 per hour, while another man said they were being paid $17 per hour.

Meanwhile, about 50 feet away, another protest had been organized by local Democrats in conjunction with the Obama campaign. A campaign official told BuzzFeed they had nothing to do with the other group — which he said he believed they had been sent by the labor-backed “Good Jobs Now” — and confirmed that they were being paid.

A Good Jobs Now spokesman insists they’re not being paid, thus prompting the question of why protesters who are ostensibly committed to defeating Mitt Romney would lie to a reporter by claiming they needed cash to make them show up. Not the first time lately that we’ve seen the left handing out money to get people in the streets for the Cause either.

Via the Right Scoop, here’s Romney responding to the newest beneficiaries of the left’s “jobs program.” Exit question via Lachlan Markay: Isn’t the minimum wage in Michigan $7.40 an hour, not $7.25?

Update: Another good catch from Markay: A woman protester’s getting $7.25 an hour while a man’s getting $17? Pay discrimination is a terrible thing, my friends.