An NPR (National Public Radio) executive was caught on camera lambasting the Tea Party as “seriously racist” and claiming that liberals might be, as a whole, more educated than conservatives.
The comments from Ron Schiller, a senior executive at NPR and president of the NPR Foundation, were made during a meeting with two people posing as members of a fictitious Muslim organization. The two activists, who recorded the February meeting on hidden camera, were trying to convince NPR executives of accepting a $5 million donation — money NPR apparently refused.
Schiller has since announced he is leaving NPR to join the Aspen Institute in Colorado, though NPR said there is “no connection” between the video of his comments and his departure.
During the secretly recorded meeting, Schiller lamented how the Republican Party had been “hijacked” by the Tea Party.
“The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved with people’s personal lives,” he said.
Schiller described that movement as “white, middle America, gun-toting,” and added: “They’re seriously racist people.”
Schiller went on to lament what he called an “anti-intellectual” component of the Republican Party.
“Liberals today might be more educated, fair and balanced than conservatives,” he said.
After the video was released, NPR put out a statement condemning the comments, while noting that Schiller is leaving the company.
“We are appalled by the comments made by Ron Schiller in the video, which are contrary to what NPR stands for,” the statement said.
NPR also said the “fraudulent organization” repeatedly tried to get the company to accept a $5 million check, “which we repeatedly refused to accept.”
The video was released by James O’Keefe, the conservative activist best known for producing undercover videos that showed employees with the community advocacy group ACORN helping a couple posing as a pimp and prostitute.
O’Keefe and three other conservative activists were later charged with misdemeanors for allegedly trying to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office in Louisiana.
The Tea Party Patriots slammed NPR for the Schiller comments Tuesday, calling on Congress to de-fund the radio network in light of the remarks.
“Mr. Schiller’s latest comments provoke a larger question — how long will we as a nation be willing to tolerate the arrogance of the self-appointed ruling elite?” Tea Party Patriots coordinator Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement.
NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, who is not related to Ron Schiller, delivered a speech Monday in which she rejected claims of bias at NPR.
(Source: Fox News)
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8 Responses
Moral: it is forbidden to speak out your mind in the USA, (it is even better if you have no opinion).
I don’t understand what was wrong with what he said. I am pro the Tea Party, but what is wrong if he is against it? Why did this make news, and why did NPR have to defend themselves? Am I missing something here?
Forget the remarks, National Communist Radio should be de-funded anyway!! Let them go out and do it the real way… by EARNING it. They’ll be out of business so fast, we could call them Airhead America Too!
#3, What do you have against NPR? Please only respond with an intelligant response, not just “they are communists. . .”
No. 4: Your second sentence clearly confirms the accuracy of your screen name.
I like NPR, yes they have a leftist slant, but they are the best news on the radio.
They work hard to try and be as objective as possible and to not reveal their political opinions. Everyones knows they have political opinions, but by not displaying them they do in effect minimize them. If I would say that I’m a Democrat than it becomes harder for me to criticize Democrats because doing so is like saying I was wrong, which is hard to do. If I am a Democrat, but don’t admit it, it is easier for me to criticize them later. For this reason and others NPR as an organization must never reveal political bias.
Their CEO had to go: she proved herself ineffective at enforcing these ideals. She would also be ineffective at lobbying the Republicans for government support.
Personally I am a Libertarian on domestic issues and think that the Federal government has no reason to fund public broadcasting during these hard financial times. But NPR has a responsibility to try to get money from wherever they can and that includes the government.
4. Among the content being far more to the left than Air America was, there is no reason for the govt to hand over our hard earned money for public (which does NOT represent the public) broadcasting. They should be run like a regular business and if they can’t make it on their laurels, then as Michael Kay would say, “SEE YA!!!”
She probably did more damage to NPR with this one outburst than she accomplished in her entire tenure at its head. Rule #1 for any organization: Don’t attack the people who are paying your bills.