From Politico:
The Republican’s top voice on tech and telecom issues says National Public Radio will suffer a “consequence” on Capitol Hill if “there’s this attitude inside the organization that would appear to be as partisan as what’s come out.”
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, said Thursday that public broadcasting’s standing in Congress has been badly undermined by a videotape in which NPR’s top fundraiser disparages the Tea Party movement and says the organization would be better off “in the long run” without federal money.
“I think there’s a role for public broadcasting,” Walden said. “The question is how much should taxpayers support it. And if there’s this attitude inside the organization that would appear to be as partisan as what’s come out, there’s going to be a consequence. That’s a reality. It’s political. You’re getting taxpayer money and taxpayers are asking, ‘Are we really funding that?’ It’s hard to defend.”
Walden made the remarks in a wide-ranging, half-hour interview on C-SPAN’s “The Communicators,” moderated by host Peter Slen and a POLITICO reporter.
Walden’s history as a radio station owner gives him on a unique perspective on the NPR brouhaha. He said he’s still in touch with several public broadcasters in Oregon and recognizes their need for government aid.
But he said the timing of the current NPR scandal – triggered by a James O’Keefe video – could not have been worse.
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