Former National Public Radio (NPR) Editor Uri Berliner made waves recently when he published a piece that basically confirmed what roughly half of the American talk radio listening public already thought; that NPR had a definite left-leaning bent. He exposed things like the fact that NPR's Washington Bureau employed 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans. The argument of why American taxpayers should be funding a media outlet that all but refuses to cover both sides of a story was reignited. So much so that new legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would cut off any more taxpayer support.  

Congress shouldn’t be paying pro-censorship leftist activists.

I’ll be introducing legislation to #DefundNPR

— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) April 18, 2024

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) on Friday introduced new legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would cut off any more taxpayer support. Banks also addressed the fact that NPR had, in a sense, doubled down on its left-wing bias by bringing in recently hired new CEO Katherine Maher saying,

“NPR’s new CEO is a radical, left-wing activist who doesn’t believe in free speech or objective journalism. Hoosiers shouldn’t be writing her paychecks. Katherine Maher isn’t qualified to teach an introductory journalism class, much less capable of responsibly spending millions of American tax dollars. NPR was a liberal looney bin under the last CEO John Lansing, and it’s about to get even nuttier. It’s time to pull the plug on this national embarrassment. Congress must stop spending other people’s hard-earned money on low grade propaganda."

The two-page bill (there's a concept!) states that "no federal funds may directly or indirectly be made available to support" NPR. The legislation is a response of sorts to Berliner's piece that exposed the liberal bias at NPR. As RedState has previously reported, after Berliner's essay was published, he was promptly given a one-week suspension from NPR. Berliner subsequently resigned from the outlet. But NPR appears to be unphased by the uproar, with the hiring of Maher who brings an interesting history with her. 

Katherine Maher's resume reads like a left-wing template for resumes. She has been associated with the likes of UNICEF, the Atlantic Council, the World Economic Forum, the State Department, Stanford University, and the Council on Foreign Relations, and was the CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. While all of that might be disturbing enough, it is her struggle with the First Amendment that is the most problematic given the fact that she now heads up a "news" organization. 

Remember when NPR posted this? Defund NPR. https://t.co/adWfwrlern pic.twitter.com/h7l7yN1KUH

— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) April 15, 2024

During a TedTalk, she stated, "Our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done." The truth is a distraction? Maher tweeted out her support for Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential campaign, and in 2018, called former President Donald Trump a "racist." But her most unnerving comments may have been about the First Amendment. She has described the First Amendment as “the number one challenge” to battling "misinformation." While speaking at the Atlantic Council, she described the First Amendment as "a little bit tricky." Translation: it is an obstacle to censoring speech she doesn't like. 

Congressman Banks may have a strong ally on his side as his bill is introduced in Congress. Elon Musk, whose purchase of Twitter ensured that it would be a platform for free speech, has called out Maher on Twitter, now X for her statements. But he is doing more than that. On Thursday, Musk tweeted "Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment." Musk also tweeted that he was in support of Banks' bill. 

When radio listeners tuned into the great Rush Limbaugh, or tune in now to Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, or Glenn Beck, they know they will get conservative viewpoints. If NPR is going to bill itself as "national," and be funded by taxpayers, the taxpayers footing the bill have every right to expect many points of view to be expressed openly and vigorously. It might be a safe bet that House liberal Democrats will be a hard "no" on this bill, but a good question for them might be, how did Air America work out?

Given the relentless attacks on free speech, I am going to fund a national signature campaign in support of the First Amendment

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2024