The American Seniors Association, which bills itself “as the conservative alternative to the AARP,” is using the Fox News brand to promote and sell tickets for an upcoming benefit.

On its website, ASA is running the headline, “Please Join Fox News Commentator,” which links to a press release announcing that Fox News “political analyst” Dick Morris will appear at a $125 - $1,000 fundraiser for the conservative group. This is not the first time that Morris has helped fundraise for conservative causes or against Democrats.

ASA does not say whether Morris is receiving a speaking fee. One agency lists Morris' speaking fee within the range of $20,000 to $25,000, while another lists $15,000 to $25,000. In December 2008, Morris headlined a fundraising luncheon for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania; FEC records show that the state party gave a $10,000 “Party Fundraiser - Speaker Fee” to Triangulation Strategies, a group affiliated with Morris.

In addition to agreeing to appear at ASA's fundraiser, Morris has promoted ASA and touted the benefits of its membership on-air. From Hannity on August 31, 2009:

HANNITY: You're really focused in on this, because you brought it up now a number of times. Do you really think that this debate is going to be won or lost based on the elderly in this country? And now here's what we know. We know that, in droves, people are leaving the AARP.

MORRIS: Right.

HANNITY: There's another alternative, more conservative group that they're going to.

MORRIS: The American Seniors Association.

HANNITY: American Seniors Association.

MORRIS: And AmericanSeniorsAssociation.com. I sent out an e-mailing from my list promoting that. The guy named Barton. Stuart Barton was the head of it.

HANNITY: You know what's.

MORRIS: And they offer health insurance, by the way. You don't have to give that up.

Morris' syndicated column also urged readers to “join the American Seniors Association, the alternative group; contact [ASA email address].” Given his history, it's certainly fair to wonder whether these promotions by Morris were motivated by outside financial incentives.

Previously, Morris, without any apparent objection from Fox News bosses, repeatedly urged Fox viewers to visit his website to help pay for ads against Democrats and Democratic efforts; and during the 2008 election cycle, Morris promoted and asked viewers to donate to GOPTrust.com without disclosing that the organization paid $24,000 to a company apparently connected to Morris.

The ethics of media figures receiving speaking fees has been debated and discussed for years, but at least one Fox News host doesn't believe in paid speaking engagements because of questions about conflicts of interest. On the Record host Greta Van Susteren emailed Harpers in June of 2008 that she doesn't accept speaking fees “because I fear conflicts (you and I probably think a lot alike about this) and I get paid well at my job anyway. I would like all journalists to list monthly online where they have given speeches and for what amounts of money.”

Yet Van Susteren, like her bosses at Fox News, has repeatedly allowed Morris to tout his conflict-of-interest promotions about “how to fight” Democratic efforts.

Morris may argue that he's not a journalist, and instead is a “political analyst” or commentator who's just paid to give his opinions. But that distinction reportedly didn't matter to Fox News executives with fellow employee Mike Huckabee, who reportedly was asked to stop plugging his website “on the air after learning that it linked to his political action committee, which the network deemed a conflict of interest.” For some reason, that ban hasn't extended to Morris.