NRO: Statement From NEA Chairman a 'Schoolboy' Defense

Lynne Munson, former Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, writes at the Corner:

NEA chairman Rocco Landesman, who was confirmed by the Senate on August 7 and began serving the day after his agency organized its now-infamous conference call, may be an excellent Broadway producer. But he’s still struggling to find his voice as a public servant.

Rocco Landesman

As evidence, let me cite his statement on the conference-call matter, issued yesterday. For readers who might be jumping into this discussion for the first time: This call, organized and participated in by the NEA using agency (in other words “taxpayer”) resources, asked some 75 artists to use their talents to promote a huge portion of President Obama’s domestic agenda. Two days later, 21 arts organizations endorsed Obama’s health-care plan. According to the Washington Times, those groups received $2 million in NEA grants during the four months leading up to the call.

Instead of issuing an apology for his agency’s role in this controversy, Landesman uses his statement to “clarify the issues” regarding the call. “Here are the facts,” he writes, and then presents an actual list (“Fact 1,” “Fact 2,” … “Fact 6”). This is amazing. It reads like a schoolboy defending some indefensible behavior. Rest assured, no form of apology appears anywhere.

I won’t pain you with each “fact,” just one that is particularly appalling. It reads, in part:

Fact 3: This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false.

Just a glace at the transcript of the call reveals Landesman to be flat-out wrong.

You can read the piece in full here.