Can Sesame Street go to Congress?

[mbmfrog]

I'm asking this on behalf of this little article I read on Muppet Mindset...

http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.com/2011/02/pbs-funding-in-danger-help-save-sesame.html

It made me wonder if the characters and creators of the various PBS shows can go to Congress to argue their case on this. Because if this happen, there goes half of what makes Public Television so great for the kids.

I mean it's true what they say that there are some people at Congress who could be that "grouchy" enough to do this.

Anyhow what do all of you think of this situation ?

 

[D'Snowth]

http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=37822

This comes every other year or so, it's really nothing to get worried over.

 

[mr3urious]

I know that Pino from Sesamstraat went to protest budget cuts from their show on their network.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesamstraat#History

 

[Drtooth]

You can't make budget from nickel and diming PBS and the rest of the country. You make budget by making Mr. Oil tycoon pay their taxes.

The first thing these guys did when they got in was to protect the overly-generous Bush Tax cuts.

 

[dwmckim]

This comes every other year or so, it's really nothing to get worried over.

I mentioned this elsewhere, but this arguement that "it won't happen now since it hasn't happened before - nothing to worry about" doesn't wash.

This is a textbook example of how the far right accomplishes most of its agenda. They don't expect it to actually happen the very first time. Maybe not even the second or third time. But each time they make the attempt, they get a little more closer and win over more supporters. The first time they try something, they expect the general public will see it as nutso. But after several attempts, the familiarity and the prolonged amount of time its on the table and is thus "an issue" lends it the appearance of legitimacy. The whole "the more you say it, the more it becomes 'truth'" was one of the biggest mantras of Team Bush/Rove. Plus when something fails, they can send out the fundraising letters to the base saying "we almost did it but we didn't have enough money/support to give it that extra push" and watch the donations roll in from people wanting them to succeed.

As that happens under the radar, everyone else just yawns and says "this always happens and nothing comes of it. No threat. Not a chance of anything happening this year. What's for dinner?" and those motivated to put up a fight gets complacent.

Aside from all that, we know the more extreme elements of the right are in greater power via the Tea Party movement and their sweep into Congress. They aren't lazy benchwarmers; they're activists. If any session of Congress stands the best chance of success we've seen before to defunding PBS/NPR, it's the current one. 2011 is NOT "business as usual".

Nor is this a random battle. The extreme right HATES PBS/NPR and considers it high on their radar of "enemies". PBS represents education and they don't benefit from an educated populace. NPR is one of the few remaining news organizations that they don't control. They want them gone or until that happens, totally invalidated.

If we get lulled into the "nothing to worry about" attitude, we're in for a rude awakening.

 

[mbmfrog]

I mentioned this elsewhere, but this arguement that "it won't happen now since it hasn't happened before - nothing to worry about" doesn't wash.

This is a textbook example of how the far right accomplishes most of its agenda. They don't expect it to actually happen the very first time. Maybe not even the second or third time. But each time they make the attempt, they get a little more closer and win over more supporters. The first time they try something, they expect the general public will see it as nutso. But after several attempts, the familiarity and the prolonged amount of time its on the table and is thus "an issue" lends it the appearance of legitimacy. The whole "the more you say it, the more it becomes 'truth'" was one of the biggest mantras of Team Bush/Rove. Plus when something fails, they can send out the fundraising letters to the base saying "we almost did it but we didn't have enough money/support to give it that extra push" and watch the donations roll in from people wanting them to succeed.

As that happens under the radar, everyone else just yawns and says "this always happens and nothing comes of it. No threat. Not a chance of anything happening this year. What's for dinner?" and those motivated to put up a fight gets complacent.

Aside from all that, we know the more extreme elements of the right are in greater power via the Tea Party movement and their sweep into Congress. They aren't lazy benchwarmers; they're activists. If any session of Congress stands the best chance of success we've seen before to defunding PBS/NPR, it's the current one. 2011 is NOT "business as usual".

Nor is this a random battle. The extreme right HATES PBS/NPR and considers it high on their radar of "enemies". PBS represents education and they don't benefit from an educated populace. NPR is one of the few remaining news organizations that they don't control. They want them gone or until that happens, totally invalidated.

If we get lulled into the "nothing to worry about" attitude, we're in for a rude awakening.

Then what do you suppose that PBS/NPR do to save itself from the Extreme Right people ?

 

[CensoredAlso]

Still don't they also need the support of the left in Congress to get something like this passed? I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm mistaken. (And not that I'm supporting either group frankly, heh).

 

[frogboy4]

I used to think that this wasn't a big deal, but it really IS! Never before has public television for children and Sesame Street in particular had so many big corporate sponsors and advertising placements. That's not okay. This should be the last safe place for kids.

There are a lot of places to cut the budget, but the Congressional Republicans tend to gun for the arts and education first. This is a direct dismissal of underprivileged youth and the dreamers. They undercut the very future and possibility of this country, but are always in favor of publicly funding God n' guns.

 

[Drtooth]

There are a lot of places to cut the budget, but the Congressional Republicans tend to gun for the arts and education first. This is a direct dismissal of underprivileged youth and the dreamers. They undercut the very future and possibility of this country, but are always in favor of publicly funding God n' guns.

I don't want to paint them as stereotypes (something the right can do but the left can't for some reason ). The American People listened to corporately funded liars like Limbaugh and Glenn "Danger to Himself and others" Beck, and they became these right wing libertarian posers. This whole "We want a small government! Leave everyone alone... except gays! Regulate everything they do!" Demonstration leads to vacillation. They want what THEY want and the crap with everyone else.

Again, when their "We're looking out for YOU!" candidates got in, first thing they did was protect the wealthy tax cuts. Now they want to cut to the BONE stuff that the poor benefits from to keep those great tax cut for people who WON'T Give them back to the people in investments OR jobs.

But hey, anything to make people forget they're the same party that gave Bush carte blance on everything.

 

[CensoredAlso]

"It ain't no mystery, if it's politics or history, the thing you gotta know is, everything is show biz."

A lot of this is purely for show on the part of the Republicans. They make a big deal of trying to pass a bill, knowing full well it will never go through (again, the Democrats in the Senate, plus a Democratic President). It's just so they can tell their supporters, "Look what we tried to do!"