Rerun: Liberals Pose With PBS Kids Characters, Ernie and Bert Get ‘GOPink Slip’
Every time someone Congress considers reducing federal funding for public broadcasting, PBS lobbyists and liberal Democrats trot out Muppets and lovable cartoon characters in their defense. Chris Moody of the Daily Caller reported that a human-sized Arthur the Aardvark stood behind liberals today on Capitol Hill as they pledged to protect PBS. The friendly but silent aardvark joined Democratic Reps. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and others to hit back against Republicans who have pledged to cut the funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the next budget. “We need your help today,” Markey said as a person dressed as the character walked toward the Capitol building. “We can’t leave Arthur and all of his pals in the lurch.” The members stood behind dolls of Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Grover and Elmo. Behind them, House aides held up signs showing Bert and Ernie being handed a letter that reads, “GOPink Slip: You are fired,” and another that showed cartoon characters being tossed away from a scale weighed down by “Big Oil.” “We’re here to create jobs, not lay off Bert and Ernie,” said Rep. Nita Lowey of New York. Rep. Lowey used the same tactic in a January 1995 House hearing, putting Ernie and Bert puppets on her hands. (I was there. She and Nancy Pelosi talked to each other throughout most of the conservatives' testimony.) In fact, Lowey's website claims her puppet act was recognized worldwide for saving PBS: When GOP leaders threatened to eliminate the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the 1990s, Lowey “invited” puppets Bert and Ernie to a Congressional hearing.
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on February 16, 2011. Filed under