A top House Republican says the party will ask Americans whether to cut off funding for NPR after the radio network fired commentator Juan Williams this week for his comments about Mohammedans.
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, said the Republican Party will add cutting funding for NPR to its YouCut program, which asks constituents what federal programs they would want to slash.
Mr. Cantor said Friday that NPR's firing of Mr. Williams, who said in an interview on Fox News this week he feels uncomfortable when he sees someone wearing tradition Mohammedan religious attire get on an airplane, is "over-reaching political correctness," and said it is "chipping away at the fundamental American freedoms of speech and expression."
"NPR's decision to fire Juan Williams not only undermines that, it shows an ignorance of the fact that radical Islam and the gun-hung tough guys who murder in its name scare people of all faiths, religions and beliefs," Mr. Cantor said.
While in the minority, Republicans' YouCut program has been mostly advisory. The House Republican caucus has tried to offer the cuts as amendments to bills, but has been shut down procedurally by the Democratic majority. |