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The Spectacle Blog
So, Juan Williams got fired from NPR. This really shouldn’t be such a big deal; though there’s a good case to be made that Williams got a raw deal, you don’t have a right to a job, and news organizations have to make editorial decisions about what commentators they provide a platform for (even if their standards are intelligible only as enforced left-wing orthodoxy).
But NPR is a special case, because it gets part of its funding from taxpayers, so its editorial decisions are suddenly the business of every taxpayer. So this becomes a public policy debate, which it has no business being. Happily, the Williams kerfuffle — along with an infusion of Soros-cash that NPR just got — seems to be reviving the debate over whether NPR should get federal funds at all, as The Daily Caller’s Chris Moody reports:
The firing of National Public Radio news analyst Juan Williams for comments made about Muslims, combined with leftwing billionaire George Soros’ recent $1.8 million donation to the organization, have reignited calls to end NPR’s taxpayer subsidies.
In June, Colorado Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn introduced legislation that would end government funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the entity through which subsidies to NPR flow) after 2012. The bill’s passage did not stand a chance in the Democratic-controlled Congress, but the measure could gain momentum in a Republican-led House next year./Lamborn told The Daily Caller that there is no reason taxpayers should continue to subsidize an already-flush media company.
“This is an organization that can stand on its own. Why in the world, in the era of trillion dollar deficits, should the taxpayer have to subsidize it? It doesn’t make sense,” Lamborn said. “Under Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats just throw money at anything that’s moving. But if we have the honor of retaking Congress, we’re going to have to do things differently. I would love to defund NPR completely. Not because I don’t like it - actually there are things on NPR I do like - but because it can stand on its own.”
Indeed it can, and it’s long past time that it did.
View all comments (12) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by John Tabin
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/10/21/defund-npr-so-we-dont-have-to
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Niccolo M.| 10.21.10 @ 1:34PM
Here are a few suggestions for fresh Obama slogans on the model his 2008 Yes We Can mantra:
No You Can't; No You Won't; Yes You Will; We Get, You Don't; You Don't Know; We Have Spoken; We Amass, You Divest; We Spend, You Vote.
Any of these should nicely express his mindset and encapsulate his political plans for 2012-2016.
Intelligent Design| 10.21.10 @ 2:12PM
Congress should defund NPR and identify Islam as subversive to the Constitution. It's a political ideology, not a religion. True religions oppose evil; they don't embody evil.
Big Hussein Bird| 10.21.10 @ 2:51PM
Any "network" such as NPR or PBS that markets the crap out of its hit shows deserves no taxpayer support. Pull the plug on both, they are well past their intended purpose.
Occam's Tool| 10.21.10 @ 3:52PM
But I love National Psychotic Radio! Sorry, I mean I love National Pubic Radio! Sorry, I mean I love National Purulent Radio! Sorry, I mean...
PattyMor| 10.21.10 @ 3:17PM
I suggested eliminate taxpayer funding for NPR and PBS in "You Cut" as well as the whole endowment for the arts. They can spin their liberal doctrine on their own dime; not mine.
David W| 10.21.10 @ 3:34PM
but why does PBS have all of those darn pledge drives? By the way, what they show on PBS during the pledge drives causes me not to way to pledge anything (bring back New Yankee Workshop - though that may be due to the local Dallas station and not PBS in general).
Dick Sargent| 10.21.10 @ 4:05PM
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The funding of PBS and NPR has been and continues to be unconstitutional. The US Congress was never granted the power to fund these government channels. That power, if it exists, is reserved to the State Governments (amendment ten).
Tom Osterman| 10.21.10 @ 4:19PM
How about we rename NPR the Ministry of Truth? Seeing it referred to by its initials would be fun!
c. j. acworth| 10.21.10 @ 6:44PM
I haven't had TV in my house for years, but about the only show I even remotely miss is NOVA on PBS. Probably all Global Warming these days, though, so I'm probably not missing much after all.
Robert Lindsay| 11.16.10 @ 12:24AM
No! It isn't all about global warming and left wing propaganda. NOVA is still around, and your kids can watch it just like we did, and they can learn about biology, space travel, and physics instead of the filth and hyper-politicized news on every private sector channel. Frontline is still around and producing exceptional news reports. The New Yankee Workshop did end last year, after a couple of decades, but This Old House is still running. I remember watching both of those with my dad every week... I can't fathom what a young boy watches with his dad now. Honestly, tell me, would you rather your kid watch a borderline snuff film on regular TV, a hate and ignorance fueled rant on a 24 hour news network, or a special on bridge engineering on PBS?
David Osmundsen | 11.17.10 @ 9:59AM
Well said Robert. Though I feel public broadcasting should not be tax payer funded, it is probably for other reasons than most voicing their opinions. I stopped watching TV years ago but listen to the radio all day, my local public radio station actually. Though I find several things I dissagree with I also find many things I do agree with as well entertainment I enjoy. I also support WPR finacialy.
Texasron| 11.19.10 @ 10:51AM
Not only should NPR be defunded but also the Endowment for the Arts and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.