Mitt Romney: 'Big Bird is going to have advertisements, all right?' - Polidicks

[release]WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney pledged to cut spending for public television while campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday, saying that Big Bird should be supported by advertisements and that the arts will need to get more private donations to stay afloat. "[URL="http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/RomneyonJo/start/1451/stop/1516"]We're not going to kill Big Bird[/URL]," Romney said on Wednesday afternoon during a campaign stop in Clinton, Iowa. The former Massachusetts governor made the promise while touting his plans to drastically cut federal spending, under which he would slash $500 billion dollars a year from the budget by the end of his first term. But while America's favorite seven-foot-tall bird would survive under Romney, he'll probably acquire some baggage. [I]Romney [URL="http://thehill.com/video/campaign/201559-under-president-romeny-big-birds-gonna-have-advertisements"]stressed the need[/URL] to cut even popular programs and singled out the National Endowment for the Arts and the Public Broadcasting Corporation as entities that would have to seek private funding in a Romney administration.[/I] [B]"Big Bird is going to have advertisements, all right?" said Romney. "And we're going to have endowments for the arts and humanities, but they're going to be paid for by private charity, not by taxpayers." [/B] Romney justified his call for spending cuts in terms of stark realpolitik: "My test is, is a program so critical that it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?" But despite this new reasoning, his proposal is just the latest attempt in the long-running GOP drive to defund public broadcasting. [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/11/npr-corporation-public-broadcasting-debt-commission_n_782413.html"]Public broadcasting and the arts[/URL] have been in [URL="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/18/republican-defund-npr-fails_n_785453.html"]Republicans' crosshairs[/URL] for decades. In March, Republican senators [URL="http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0311/GOP_senators_put_Sesame_Street_on_chopping_block.html"]proposed legislation to cut all federal funds[/URL] for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is the parent organization of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). This followed a GOP attempt in the House in February to [URL="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49651.html"]slash the CPB's funding[/URL] in the continuing resolution. "The GOP should be less preoccupied with silencing cookie monster and more focused on reviving the economy," replied Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) at the time. In 1995, she invited popular "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie to testify on Capitol Hill when Republicans, under then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, tried to eliminate funding for public broadcasting. [B]The public broadcasting funds represent a minuscule portion of the federal budget. The Congressional Budget Office said this year that eliminating NPR's $5 million in federal funds from the budget [URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-npr-emergency/2011/03/18/ABczyBp_story.html"]would have "no effect."[/URL][/B][/release] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR7iA_cQvWk[/media] Source: [url]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/mitt-romney-kill-big-bird-public-tv_n_1173336.html[/url]

He's just saying this to get support, he's not actually going to cut funding for public programming.

Big Bird Says: Hey kids, tell your parents to buy Coca Cola TODAY! Remember, only Oscar the Grouch likes Pepsi. And now, our segment on ocean life presented by British Petroleum has been cancelled

[QUOTE=Zeke129;33947313]Big Bird Says: Hey kids, tell your parents to buy Coca Cola TODAY! Remember, only Oscar the Grouch likes Pepsi. And now, our segment on ocean life presented by British Petroleum has been cancelled[/QUOTE] i was smiling while i read this but i laughed really hard when i read the last line a+

[QUOTE=Zeke129;33947313]Big Bird Says: Hey kids, tell your parents to buy Coca Cola TODAY! Remember, only Oscar the Grouch likes Pepsi. And now, our segment on ocean life presented by British Petroleum has been cancelled[/QUOTE] one of these is not like the other one of these things isn't mcdonalds god damn fuck off Romney. In fact, fuck all these candidates. Christ, are they letting anyone run for president?

Hmm. I guess they want to cut public media so that there does not exist an unbiased media form which documents on them. That or he fucking hates Kunta Kinte.

[QUOTE=Vaught;33947333] Christ, are they letting anyone run for president?[/QUOTE] Really? [I]Really?[/I]

Pfft, who needs public broadcasts anyways? You know what public broadcasting sounds like to me? Socialism! It's about damn time our media was put under 100% corporate control. And just think of what we could do with those millions of dollars we save. We could build like, part of the engine for a single F-22 Raptor! And then mothball it!

[QUOTE=BLOODGA$M;33947456]Pfft, who needs public broadcasts anyways? You know what public broadcasting sounds like to me? Socialism! It's about damn time our media was put under 100% corporate control. And just think of what we could do with those millions of dollars we save. We could build like, part of the engine for a single F-22 Raptor! And then mothball it![/QUOTE] You know what I-forget-how-many trillion dollars of debt sounds like? CUT FUCKING SOMETHING Wait actually he doesn't want to cut defense. Well shit sucks

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;33947502]You know what I-forget-how-many trillion dollars of debt sounds like? CUT FUCKING SOMETHING Wait actually he doesn't want to cut defense. Well shit sucks[/QUOTE] I'll quote it for you: [quote]The public broadcasting funds represent a minuscule portion of the federal budget. The Congressional Budget Office said this year that eliminating NPR's $5 million in federal funds from the budget would have "no effect."[/quote] NO. EFFECT.

A hundred "NO. EFFECT."s has an effect. And don't you bring out your fancy zero property of multiplication on me, dangit!

-[[B]REMOVED[/B]]

[QUOTE=Vaught;33947333]Christ, are they letting anyone run for president?[/QUOTE] Nope, sane people are prohibited.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;33947528]I'll quote it for you: NO. EFFECT.[/QUOTE] Also worth noting: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR and all those fun guys received $422 million a year from Congress. That's significantly less effectless.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;33947659]Also worth noting: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR and all those fun guys received $422 million a year from Congress. That's significantly less effectless.[/QUOTE] Still doesn't come anywhere near the level of waste in military spending. A couple hundred million in new revenue would be helpful, but if it's cutting public broadcasting, I could never support it.

I say cut both! Fuck.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;33947714]I say cut both! Fuck.[/QUOTE] Uh, why? What reason could you think of to cut NPR/PBS/Endowment for the Arts/etc. that isn't just 'cut whatever'?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I don't like borrowing money from China so, as Paul says, Big Bird can have no ads.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;33947659]Also worth noting: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR and all those fun guys received $422 million a year from Congress. That's significantly less effectless.[/QUOTE] Public broadcasting is necessary, it holds private broadcasting accountable. And private broadcasting is necessary, because it holds public broadcasting accountable. One without the other is either going to result in either only propaganda by the government or only propaganda by corporations, but when they coexist you can get facts and shit

Unbiased news is liberal news :v:

[QUOTE=Vaught;33947333]Christ, are they letting anyone run for president?[/QUOTE] Do you really need to ask this question if you already know the answer?

Wait. What the fuck is Big Bird.

[QUOTE=Aerkhan;33948749]Wait. What the fuck is Big Bird.[/QUOTE] A fluorescent yellow bird that terrorizes children, plucking them up with its spindly technicolor legs and rending them in two with its enormous beak.

[QUOTE=Aerkhan;33948749]Wait. What the fuck is Big Bird.[/QUOTE] an american pop culture icon

[QUOTE=Aerkhan;33948749]Wait. What the fuck is Big Bird.[/QUOTE] Pino of hoe dat beest ook heet van sesamstraat. Anyway, this has got to be the dumbest year for republicans as a whole. At least the ones running for any kind of electable position.

He just wants to axe NPR and PBS because they do a great job of informing voters. And informed voters don't vote Republican.

"Today's episode of Sesame Street is brought to you by the letter 'M'. For McDonalds. I'm lovin' it."

Isn't PBS mostly paid for by random donations anyways?

[img]http://saptapper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/big-bird-396.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=thrawn2787;33950748]Isn't PBS mostly paid for by random donations anyways?[/QUOTE] Yes, but many of those typically are put towards the creation and funding nationwide programs as well as its main bureau. Some of the local stations still rely on some form of public funding or endowments to maintain and run TV stations and radios that cover their areas for PBS or NPR, along with what ever donations they get. If those were cut then we'd see its coverage limited to major population centers. Unfortunately the concept of public broadcasting in the US is heavily decayed as it is, typical fate of these programs that started from LBJ's Great Society plans. The whole spheel by Republicans about public media being a drain on our budget has been a common one since the 80s, along with calls to abolish the Department of Education.