Cantor: Republican Leadership Will Consider Defunding NPR

Unwilling to let go of the white-hot sociopolitical debate, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) announced on Friday tha de-funding National Public Radio would be an option that GOP leadership would consider.

Speaking a day after NPR fired longtime analyst Juan Williams for comments he made admitting to a personal fear of Muslims on airplanes, the Virginia Republican joined the chorus of conservatives who have called on Congress to cut the station's funding. House Republicans, Cantor said, would list that option among other policy suggestions that visitors could vote on leadership's YouCut website.

"Whether it's people walking off The View when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his opinion, over-reaching political correctness is chipping away at the fundamental American freedoms of speech and expression. NPR's decision to fire Juan Williams not only undermines that, it shows an ignorance of the fact that radical Islam and the terrorists who murder in its name scare people of all faiths, religions, and beliefs. In light of their rash decision, we will include termination of federal funding for NPR as an option in the YouCut program so that Americans can let it be known whether they want their dollars going to that organization."

A statement like this is obvious red meat. One only need to watch Fox News these past 24 hours to get the sense of how riled up conservatives are is over William's firing -- using it, in a way, as an opportunistic medium to attack NPR's alleged liberalism. But putting the defunding option on the YouCut website doesn't necessarily guarantee it will happen.

When the House GOP leadership unveiled its agenda for the 111th Congress, title America Speaking out, an analysis done by the office of DCCC Chair Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) showed that roughly 80 percent of the ideas put on that website went ignored.

Comments

[mjtaylor22]

01:43 PM on 11/17/2010

hey dems you turned your back on ACorn, and got lamblasted inthe midterms.... go ahead and allow the non partisain npr be defunded.............by a fox news campaign.....
think not suooprting your base is a smart thing to do huh......

[CotuitTim]

03:30 PM on 11/15/2010

It amazes me that the House Republicans are honing their budget axe when the largest out of control government fiasco, The TSA agency continues to grow out of control. With no clear mandate and no clear plan for getting to any goal this agency now is the largest in size than any other group except the military. This sacred cow is about to bankrupt all of us sooner or later.

[superpeople]

02:20 PM on 11/15/2010

They have been threatening to de-fund it since like the early 90's maybe even further back than that..... Besides wasn't there another article here with Rep. Weiner talking to Bill O. Reilly and saying if we de-fund public radio then News organizations need to start paying for licensing.

[H P]

05:57 PM on 10/29/2010

Eric Cantor is a worthless repub congressman. He gets 'ahead' in the party because he is the consummate yes man to ANYTHING the party leaders want done or said. He is just part of the no-publican propaganda machine. I CAN at least vote against him, since I am just in his district. Luck me huh? Not that it will really matter, I live in such a 'Git-R-dun" redneck repub community...

[silentknight65]

06:05 PM on 10/26/2010

Last summer, at many Town Hall meetings, hundreds of Republican operatives disrupted the proceedings and turned them into a fiasco, and nobody got so much as a slap on the wrist! This week, 3 Democrats in Louisa VA protested Eric Cantor's appearance there and were arrested! A man in Pennsylvania posted an anti-Cantor video on YouTube and was....arrested!
I see a frightening pattern emerging here. I seem to remember reading about this behavior---having dissidents arrested---coming from dictatorships and Communist regimes. Is this the type of governance Eric Cantor and his party are going to bring in should they take control of Congress?

[Nick D]

11:41 AM on 11/06/2010

Yeah... I mean, I know people hate Na$i analogies but, for the past 10 years - in good times and bad - the GOP has consistently borrowed from their political handbook. When they were in power, they built their propaganda machine, and out of power, they have their brown shirts.

[mjtaylor22]

01:45 PM on 11/17/2010

um yes it is, where were you the 8 years of the Bush presidency.........

[Gerald Sheffield]

05:49 PM on 10/26/2010

The next thing the Republicans have to say...."We will reinstate slavery and jim crow laws" and I will be satisfied. They will have my vote for sure.

[mjtaylor22]

01:46 PM on 11/17/2010

you dont think it is coming.....the law in AZ..is kinda the begining..
they want to go all the way back befoe any constitutional amendments.......

[Gerald Sheffield]

05:46 PM on 10/26/2010

Wow!

[DrBadTrain]

11:53 PM on 10/25/2010

If Virginia's "Little Eric" slaps the face of public radio listeners in this state he is going to gain some knowledge that's always going to be useful.

Of course, there was that time he tried to carry a cat home by the tail. Oddly, he keeps trying that... so...

[ajax2]

09:47 PM on 10/25/2010

One would think that Cantor would be more adverse to a national media campaign (Fox) that's trying to demonize an entire group of people based on their religion. That's speech that doesn't deserve protection.

[Robert Laitres]

05:44 PM on 10/25/2010

Poor Juan, couldn't control his mouth so he got fired. Oh, woe is one of the Political Conservtive (real PC) darlings. Perhaps "little Juan" is now where he wanted to be in the first place, and at a hefty salary to boot.

[AxelDC]

04:40 PM on 10/25/2010

Cantor thinks NPR overreacted, so he wants to kill Elmo and Car Talk.

[jaws51]

09:27 AM on 10/25/2010

Do we see a pattern forming with these Repugs? They will defund the new consumer advocate group if you appoint Elizabeth Warren without approval hearings. They will defund NPR because they fired someone and the station is too liberal.

This just goes to prove that the Republican agenda is leaning more & more to turning our nation into a plutocratic government. Money & might will keep all you poor people in line. You will behave as we say or we will destroy you. The Republican way. Some people actually think this would be a better place if they regained power in our government. Good luck with that!

[Eyeheartfreedumb]

05:43 PM on 10/25/2010

More plutocratic? I know it's possible, but it's already enough of a plutocracy.
They SHOULD defund NPR, and start a new NPR that is actually independent of corporate influence. Why does NPR have people like Cokie Roberts, EJ Dionne, David Brooks, etc. on all the time? If I wanted to know what the corporations were telling them to say, I'd tune in to their regular gigs within the corporate media.
Give me back pre-Mumia NPR. It's been all downhill since then.
If they don't defund NPR, could we at least make them get rid of the CIA and FBI plants that they've admitted are among their ranks (influencing their decisions)? That would be a nice start.

[mjtaylor22]

01:48 PM on 11/17/2010

npr is publically paid for not corporate owned, get it not owned by a corporation........

[Rawry]

07:27 PM on 11/17/2010

corporate influence? like all those commercials you hear on NPR.. oh, wait..

[peegan]

04:36 AM on 10/25/2010

The republican party has been trying to remove any government funds from NPR and PBS for decades. They hate the fact that any government money is going to an enterprise that competes with commercial radio or television. But NPR was within their rights to fire Williams. He had been repeatedly warned about some of his statements (He once compared Michelle Obama to Black Panther Stokely Carmichael) He had had his air time reduced and his title changed in reflection of NPR's increasing uncomfortableness with Williams positions. They even went so far as to request he not identify his association with NPR while on Fox. Williams new his time with NPR was limited. Give the man credit, he played his card well. Unfortunately, he also gave republicans one more excuse to call for defunding NPR.

[Eyeheartfreedumb]

05:45 PM on 10/25/2010

Yes. They've done everything from installing a conservative chairman, to planting CIA operatives. And Juan is a shill. I've cringed for years just hearing his voice on NPR. He played his hand well, and was well rewarded for it.

[WiltonDiary]

03:30 AM on 10/25/2010

NOW all of a sudden Republicans don't believe in the free markets!

[Lordcron]

04:21 AM on 10/25/2010

Exactly! Talk about flip flopping! I wish I can say I'm shocked but I can't. LOL!

[judgejay]

12:41 PM on 10/25/2010

On the contrary no public funding of NPR is the free market. They will sink or swim on their own as all the other news outlets do.

[Eyeheartfreedumb]

05:48 PM on 10/25/2010

No they won't, they'll be crowded out like all of the other non-corporate entities in the public forum.
The services that NPR used to deliver were (and still are, if anyone would step up) important to our democracy. Sadly, I knew those days were over when I heard NPR talking up the job Bush was doing in Iraq, and defending many facets of the prior regime.

[Lordcron]

03:01 AM on 10/25/2010

Attempting to take away progressive radio isn't gonna change my mind. If anything it makes me that much more suspicious of the radical right wing. What are they thinking? If we only have right wing radio then they'll listen to us!

Maybe the ones who have learned to not think for themselves but for me. No way!

[WiltonDiary]

03:28 AM on 10/25/2010

NPR budget is over $160 Million, of that the US provides less than $3 Million. NPR is about truth and integrity, not a hate lie and slime machine.

[jaws51]

09:31 AM on 10/25/2010

If it weren't for NPR I wouldn't have need to own a TV.

[judgejay]

12:48 PM on 10/25/2010

The corporation for public broadcasting has requested 420 million for the next fiscal year of that a small protion goes to NPR. All of this funding for the CPB should be pulled there is really no need for any of it.