Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Tomlinson Should Slither Away in Disgrace

(Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Should Resign)

If there were any remaining doubt that conservative ideologues are engaged in a putsch against the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), that uncertainty has abruptly ended. It was revealed today that CPB chief Kenneth Y. Tomlinson had surreptitiously hired right wing political operative Fred Mann, a former employee of a group tied to the American Conservative Union, to monitor PBS for supposedly liberal bias. Mann was hired for $14,170 without the knowledge of the CPB Board and was asked to furtively report on the political leanings of shows anathema to conservatives.

Among his warped findings was that Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., was a "liberal" because he had the temerity to raise thoughtful questions on the military debacle in Iraq.

Senator Frank Lautenberg rightfully called on Tomlinson to resign for "attempts to inject partisan politics into the Corporation for Public Broadcasting." Sadly, Tomlinson not only refused to step down, he furthered his reputation as a political hack by suggesting that Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee be named president of the CPB.

Tomlinson insists that Harrison needs to be hired in order to fend off threats from GOP congressional conservatives to cut CPB funds. Exactly, how stupid does Tomlinson think we are?

He is clearly in cahoots with congressional conservatives in an effort to sabotage PBS and stage a CPB coup. In this sleazy shell game, Tomlinson, himself a right wing conservative, pretends he is standing up to Congress, when he is really working with them. He underhandedly suggests that the only way to pacify Congress is to bring in more right wing ideologues. So, Tomlinson works from the inside, and conservative congressmen work from the outside to remake CPB in their right wing image. It is a scam and Tomlinson ought to slither away in disgrace.

6 Comments:

As a conservative I disagree. It is clear that PBS is part of the ultra-libearal aganda that brought us birth control., homosexuality, infantacide, and abortion. I applaud Tomlinson for taking a strong moral stand.

C.J.
Kentucky
posted by Anonymous, at 6/21/2005 10:46 AM

What a buhc of B.S. What Tomlinson is doing is sneaky and un-American.

Sid - Berlin
posted by Anonymous, at 6/21/2005 10:47 AM

CJ in Kentucky, maybe you should spend more time watching the educational programs on PBS, like LEARNING ENGLISH! You can't spell liberal and agenda and since when does a sentence end in a period AND a comma!? Thank Goddess for Sundance channel, they're private and can't be taken over by you hostile right-wing nut jobs.
For the rest of you, Sundance is running lots of programs this month and week for Gay Pride.
posted by Anonymous, at 6/21/2005 1:29 PM

This story about Tomlinson continues to show that the neo-con fascists (sometimes referred to as Republicans) are clearly intent on the complete take-over of all public institutions as well as our minds and bodies.

Thankfully, bloggers help tell the true stories (mostly) so that we don't have to rely so much on things like Fox, CNN or even PBS.

I've been a life-long $$ supporter of PBS but that will end if this situation continues and Tomlinson is not removed.

Jim
Atlanta
posted by Anonymous, at 6/22/2005 7:21 AM