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Isn’t it funny how Republicans respond to perceived threats to free-speech rights … by engaging in government interference in a broadcast network’s free-speech rights? Let me just say that this actually has nothing to do with the First Amendment, but don’t you always hear some Breitbart-like hack bring up the First Amendment whenever they get into hot water over something vile they said or did? The GOP knows one thing and one thing all too well. They will go to any length to silence anything they consider to the “left” of Jerry Falwell. Their latest escapade was their attempt to defund monies that would go to NPR. Their latest excuse is because Juan Williams was fired. It wasn’t that they called conservatives traitors or terrorists or, Heavens to Betsy, the American Taliban. Nope, it’s that poor, poor Juan Williams finally got the well deserved ‘sack.” House Democrats on Thursday shot down a G.O.P. attempt to roll back federal funding to NPR, a move that many Republicans have called for since the public radio network fired the analyst Juan Williams last month. Republicans in the House tried to advance the defunding measure as part of their “YouCut” initiative, which allows the public to vote on which spending cuts the G.O.P. should pursue. But their push was blocked, 239 to 171 , with only three Democrats voting with a united bloc of Republicans. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican who is set to become majority leader in the next Congress, said the vote showed Democrats had failed to learn the lessons of this month’s midterm elections. “Today’s vote was just the latest common sense YouCut to cut spending and save taxpayer dollars, and again Democrats showed that they just don’t get it,” Mr. Cantor said in a statement. For his part, Representative Earl Blumenauer , Democrat of Oregon, who formed the Congressional Public Broadcasting Caucus , called the Republican effort cynical and politically motivated. “I urge members of both parties to focus our efforts on the urgent priorities facing this Congress and stop playing political games with public radio stations,” Mr. Blumenauer said in a statement. NPR released its own statement following the action in the House on Thursday, calling the defunding push unwarranted and saying good judgment had won the day. “In an increasingly fractious media environment, public radio’s value in fostering an informed society has never been more critical. Our growing audience shows that we are meeting that need,” the statement said. “It is imperative for federal funding to continue to ensure that this essential tool of democracy remains available to all Americans and thrives well into the future.” House Republicans made no secret that the ouster of Mr. Williams was a major reason for their efforts. Representative Doug Lamborn of Colorado said Wednesday in a statement that the firing “was a wake-up call for many Americans to political correctness and liberal bias at NPR.” “However,” he added, “it is not so much the liberal bias that offends me, but the fact that our tax dollars are funding it.” When Obama took the White House, movement conservatives quickly cried incessantly that Nancy Pelosi would bring back the “Fairness Doctrine” to whip up their base. Here’s a topic from the Freepers that made the rounds. If Obama Wins A ‘Fairness Doctrine’ Will Pass – Are Conservatives Ready To Lose Their Media Access? Once the Republicans take over the House they will not stop trying to destroy NPR as the move forward. be sure of it. Salon has more on another “Nazi” in our midst: Rupert Murdoch, Fox’s owner, has waged war against public broadcasting in every nation where he has a media presence. (His father, Sir Keith Murdoch, began the campaign by complaining that Australian Broadcasting Corp. — their BBC — would be “improper competition” to his newspapers.) His newspapers and his son are currently battling the BBC. But public broadcasting tends to be popular, so whipping up popular hysteria takes some work — especially in the U.S., where it’s barely public, and it’s so … completely harmless. Meanwhile, the head of Fox News revealed this week that he’s lost his mind and believes all his network’s bullshit, in a series of interviews with Howard Kurtz. Roger Ailes said a lot of wonderful things, but this line really hammers home how much this incredibly rich and powerful and successful man hates the very existence of a very popular media outlet not built on rage and resentment: Then he turned his sights on NPR executives. “They are, of course, Nazis. They have a kind of Nazi attitude. They are the left wing of Nazism. These guys don’t want any other point of view. They don’t even feel guilty using tax dollars to spout their propaganda. They are basically Air America with government funding to keep them alive.” Yeah, when I hear Robert Siegel, all I can think is “this guy has a Nazi attitude.” Many people can’t stand to listen to anything else but NPR because they feel it has the most reliable coverage of the news. The right wing cannot have that. They need to flood the market with only their opinions.