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McCullough took off on that, talking about Mr. Rogers and how he reached out to children. Then he delivered his peroration:
And why in the world people want to come in and dismantle or hamstring public television — the one place in television where we’re trying to do something better, trying to do something worthwhile — I don’t know. And, and to, to cite examples of misuse of funds, inappropriate or, or tawdry productions that result because of government involvement … to me it would be like saying, “Well, there’s been a cheating scandal at one of our military academies. Close it down.”
This from a Jefferson scholar. Jefferson did not oppose military academies — West Point began when he was president — but it is hard to imagine him endorsing PBS. He was adamant about separating government and the press, and he supported the First Amendment. It begins, “Congress shall make no law,” and surely Jefferson would have thought that this rules out federal funding for public broadcasting.
John Corry, a former New York Times media critic, is the author of My Times: Adventures in the News Trade (Grosset/G.P. Putnam’s Sons).
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Darin| 10.5.12 @ 6:46AM
Let PBS play by the same rules as others. If liberals really love it, let them pay for it. Send a check. Make a commercial pro-bono asking others to support PBS. In short, put YOUR money where your mouth is. But keep MY money out of it. PBS is mindless drivel and my hard-earned income should not be stolen to support it.
Rhoetus| 10.14.12 @ 5:53PM
Left-liberals could freely write a check to the US Treasury but they like to conserve theirs and tax yours, they believe in blackmail, extortion and coercion - just like S P E C T R E.
Rhoetus| 10.14.12 @ 5:47PM
The Republicans (and Newt) chickened out. Or was it a sell out?
Occam's Tool| 11.25.12 @ 12:53AM
I had a lot of fun after Obama was elected the first time cancelling my PBS membership (we joined to get the Red Green stuff). I told them that they supported raising my taxes, and therefore I had to find places to cut, and that they were number one.