GOP Cuts To PBS Would Run Against National Opinion

There are exactly two television programs we watch during network prime time.  The Big Bang on CBS, and the limited run of Scandal on ABC.  To say that network TV is a vast empty wasteland would be an understatement.  For many people who can not, and will not watch reality TV, or inane programming designed for people with the intelligence of a piece of okra, there is one place to turn every night of the week.

Public television.

Somehow PBS always gets the Republicans frustrated and riled to the point they threaten to cut dollars for the programs that millions of people enjoy, and learn from.  Mitt Romney is one that thinks cuts to PBS are advisable, discounting the cuts that the network has already sustained, and not seemingly being aware that dollar for dollar PBS offers the greatest investment of their funds.

But why let facts cloud the world of Republicans who love to slash programs willy-nilly like crazed gunmen love to spray bullets.  Neither makes any sense.

The problem with the mindset of Romney and his clan of fellow conservatives is that the public is not in line with their thinking.  Over and over polls find that PBS is popular, and is seen as a real need–an island on the TV dial that allows for some well thought-out programing and intelligent fare.

In a statement of response given to The TV Column, Kerger noted that a national survey by the bipartisan research firms of Hart Research and American Viewpoint in 2011 found that over two-thirds of American voters (69%) oppose proposals to eliminate government funding of public broadcasting, “with Americans across the political spectrum against such a cut.”

“We understand that these are challenging times,” Kerger said. “However, public broadcasting has already sustained a 13 percent cut in its federal funds over the past two years. More severe cuts would be crippling.”

Additionally she noted, “federal investment in public broadcasting equals about one one-hundredth of one percent of the federal budget. Elimination of funding would have almost no impact on the nation’s debt. Yet the loss to the American public would be devastating.”