Yosi Sergant Resigns

WASHINGTON — The controversial communications chief for the National Endowment of the Arts resigned Thursday after drawing fire from Republican senators for recruiting artists to create works that promoted President Barack Obama's policies, The Washington Post reported.

Yosi Sergant, who specialized in public relations in Los Angeles before coming to Washington, gained fame for his work during the presidential campaign with artist Shepard Farley and his HOPE poster of then-candidate Barack Obama. Sergant worked in the White House in the Office of Public Engagement before moving to the NEA in May, the Post reported.

Sergant came under fire from Fox News Channel commentator Glenn Beck, who accused Sergant of arranging two conference calls in August with United We Serve, which promotes the president's call for public service. The purpose of the meeting, Beck said, was to find artists who would create works that promoted Obama's policies.

Sergant's resignation came the day after 10 senators sent a letter to NEA chairman Rocco Landesmann seeking his assurance that taxpayer dollars had not been used in the August meetings and would not be used to promote Obama's health care policies, the Post reported.

The White House referred calls to the NEA. Calls to the NEA after business hours Thursday were not returned. No one answered at a Los Angeles phone number listed to Sergant.

Comments

[TimnySlagle]

Wow, can the HuPo twist this story any FURTHER from the truth?

It has nothing to do with Glen Beck. An artist who was on the conference call broke this story over a MONTH ago on Big Hollywood.

The call was recorded. every thin Beck is "accusing" is absolutely true. WHite House staffers recruited NEA artists to produce pro-agenda propaganda.

Don't you people think the arts should be adversarial to authority?

[nycwerewolf]

The Republicans are being hypocritical here (in a very big way). They did the same thing when Bush took office and no one said anything then...Including Democrats!

[TimnySlagle]

link?

[J Q]

I would like to encourage that all artists & those that appreciate the freedom of the arts support the NEA now. Get involved. Write to your representatives about the need for funding and autonomy for the endowment.

http://artifactum.wordpress.com/2009/08/08/new-nea-chair-exit-the-dark-ages-maybe/

[clearwaterclearmind]

no. i won't support that.

that would be absolutely detrimental to artists around the country and not fair to the taxpayers from the entire country whose money funds the NEA. your link flat out proclaims that the intent is to funnel all the money into new york city. this may come as a surprise to you, but many americans don't live in new york city. nor am i impressed with only endowing those with "merit", as your link extols.

thank you for bringing this to my attention. i will be passing this around to the many people i know who will have something very loud to say about it.

[middleoftheroad]

Buffy Wicks needs to go. Yosi is just the fall guy to protect the White House. Buffy Wicks and Valarie Jarrett need to answer for this.

[Eris23]

It's always sad how the arts gets thrown under the bus when politically convenient.

[mikefina]

It is always sad when the arts are politicized against the wishes of their patrons...

[Eres]

Their reasons are inane, but you have to remember, this is coming from the same political party that has historically gone after the NEA. They hate art, they hate beauty, they hate nature. They hate. Pure and simple.

[J Q]

Actually, I think they just hate artists. Or rather, they fear artists. That inconvenient freedom of speech thing...

[einstein10]

Sad to say but the NEA, State Arts Agencies, City Arts Agencies grants to individual artists have rarely been merit based. They are highly political organizations. Grants are based on who you know or on whichever large institution is backing you. It's an insiders game.

[einstein10]

And of course, this state of affairs leads to funding a lot of mediocrity, conformist art and propaganda art. What is the remedy? How do we make it fair?

[BigTallMatt]

Please define "mediocre art". Art means different things to different people (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as it were). There are no "remedies" or "fairness" for art, because it is all subjective. Art is art, plain and simple.

[J Q]

Actually, basing on *merit* is a problem. Back in the days when NEA actually worked (pre 1990), individual artists grants were not based on merit. This is *good* because it meant that a judgment was not being made on the art itself-which might otherwise serve to reject challenging art or unpopular speech. It removes the possibility for the political element.

Landesman has stated that he wants a return to this kind of process - reinstituting individual grants - which is the best direction for artists. Now, NEA just needs more money.

[J Q]

NEA has NOT given grants to individual artist since the Repubs nearly killed the agency in the 1990s. Actually, I would say it turned into an almost apolitical organization, for fear of another attack. $ were spread evenly across the country, despite need or merit or even number of artists. The net result was a disenfranchisement of actual artists - since many live in urban areas like NY and LA, etc.. These art initiatives were underfunded because equal weight was given, for example, to a amateur theatre production of Hamlet in the Sticks.

[Tkevan]

Actually, NEA still gives individual grants for poetry.

[jordan327]

Another head on glenn beck's wall...i love it.

[naturallight]

can you imagine if pMSNBC had the co hones that Fox does?

Betcha we would not be bankrupt. Or in two hopeless, pointless wars stealing all of our money....

[middleoftheroad]

TIDES, and Valarie Jarrett need to be next. The connection to Jarrett and the lie Obama said that he knew nothing of Ayeres past is a joke...Jarrett and Ayeres father were connected...Beck is doing an amazing job of connecting the radical dots...It's all right there!

[SabeWhat]

Do you listen to Beck and then research on your own? If not - not good. I began to highly question Beck once I began to research many of the things he was saying and found that much was not grounded in facts. You may want to do the same.

[Hopster1]

Is Community Service an Obama policy or just generally a GOOD AMERICAN POLICY? Requesting art that promotes Community Service is not a partisan issue. But don't let LOGIC get in the way of your position. Glenn Beck doesn't.

[JulieSA]

The WH requested art that would promote Obama's legislative agenda. That's a no no.

[Lean2left]

EVERY word you just typed is not true. But I don't feel like arguing with a dining room table this morning.

[doawkins]

Straight from the transcript.

Whitehouse art department. Why waste taxpayer dollars? we have artists that do things free.

[Notrepublicrat]

Wait, does this mean he's a racist?

Does this mean that not covering this story, in the hope that it would go away, was mistake?

[biglover]

This is even news

[eclectique916]

"ON Nov. 11, 2001, EXACTLY TWO months after the terrorist attacks, White House adviser Karl Rove traveled to what must have seemed like the heart of enemy territory: Beverly Hills. There, Rove met with several dozen Hollywood chieftains to discuss how the entertainment industry might aid the war effort, as it had during World War II.
It may be hard to recall now, but during those few months after 9/11, a nationwide spirit of patriotism really did predominate. Almost everyone, regardless of ideology, felt it important to support the president and do something for the country. The idea that Hollywood's fiercely liberal elite might work with the Bush administration did not seem utterly farfetched."
For the complete article go to this BNET page
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_12_34/ai_95914085/?tag=content;col1

[solidtartan]

Yosi was using taxpayer money..big difference

[J Q]

So was Rove - who do you think paid his salary and expenses?

[JulieSA]

Apples and oranges.

Hollywood does not get NEA grants.

These artists did, and they did comply and produced art supporting Obamacare on my dime.

[JulieSA]

Also, Hollywood went on to make movies that slandered our service members, even as they fought overseas.

In contrast, most of these arts groups who were asked to support Obamacare immediately created art in compliance with the "asks".

[Lean2left]

Your ignorance of NEA is amazing but please, don't let that stop your self pleasuring.

[einstein10]

Excuse me, US taxpayers paid Rove's salary and paid for all the federal resources to promote his agenda in Hollywood.

[Creeker11]

But they dont pay hollywoods

[einstein10]

Good Post!

[Zeus9000]

Beck 3

Left 0


But who is keeping score?

[cdnbystander]

Beck is not smart but he is clever. On the up side, clever usually land you in jail.

[judiNJ]

NOTE: This site has been taken over by tr0lls. I'm gone!

[finwiz]

bye. Thanks for playing.

[Lean2left]

No, we just let them hangout at stories like these. Gives them a false sense of security.

[The Professor]

About time. Although, he will get another job, doing the same thing, but without government oversight.
Nothing will really CHANGE, HOPE.