For a party that claims to care about Rural Communities and moving the country forward , MAGA Republicans have a strange way of showing it.
Fresh off passing a multi trillion debt increasing Reverse Robin Hood Angel of Death economic bill that moves the country backward, robs rural communities of potential Medicaid access and closures of local hospitals so plutocratic billionaires can receive tax cuts they do not need, MAGA Republicans, dictated to by Mr. Trump, have, under the lying guise of government efficiency and going after programs they claim are too woke, rescinded earlier agreed to funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting which provides local educational programming like Arthur and Frontline, NPR news, Masterpiece Theater shows like Downton Abbey and All Creatures Great and Small, and vital life saving severe weather warning systems that these communities would otherwise not get.
This rescission package also compromises American soft power by pulling back billions in promised global aid.
This move, on the Republican wish list for decades, is especially backward, short sighted, and foolhardy given the recent tragedy with the fatalities associated with the floods in Texas and Mr. Trump’s cruel and stupid order to burn already processed food shipments for needy global communities from USAID.
Arizona Democrats have railed against this latest attempt to pull America back to a Gilded Age-Pre Progressive society.
Senator Mark Kelly took to the Senate floor to implore his Republican colleagues not to support this backward measure, saying:
“This is not a serious plan for deficit reduction. What it really says is this, If you live in a rural area, your access to Public Safety information doesn’t matter If you’re a child whose family can’t afford streaming services is or reliable internet. Your education doesn’t matter. And if you’re someone who wants a safer, more stable world You’re out of luck. I don’t accept that. Arizona doesn’t accept that. We should be building a country where, no matter where you live, what you are or how connected your ZIP code is, you can get the information and support you need to stay healthy and inform all of us. Republicans and Democrats should be able to work together on that. I urge my colleagues To think about what’s really at stake here. What’s at stake for families? And what’s at stake for our leadership in the world? And please vote no, Because, this isn’t how we move forward. This is how we fall behind.”
Please click below to watch Senator Kelly’s full remarks.
Senator Ruben Gallego spoke after Kelly, remarking:
“Cutting funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting would devastate local public media, especially in rural and tribal areas where CBP funds make up a majority of their budgets in Arizona. Stations like White River and Tupac City rely on CBP for about three quarters of their funding. That’s especially important, since nearly 80 percent of children in Arizona don’t have access to formal preschool, meaning that for many families, public television is one of their only early childhood education tools. We shouldn’t be pulling the rug out from these children, especially from these communities that are desperately in need. At the same time, Republicans are proposing these cuts, they’re handing out tax-breaks for billionaires and other corporations. They’re sending a clear message that tribal and rural communities matter less than the filthy Rich. They do not need more and more tax cuts. That’s why I moved to limit the damage of cutting funds for corporations for public broadcasting and protect stations and rural and tribal communities.”
On Instagram, Arizona Representative Yassamin Ansari posted the below video, conveying:
“Last night we were at the Capitol unexpectedly again until after midnight because, as you guys know, the Republicans love to have these votes in the dead of night so that people hopefully miss all of the shitty things that they’re doing. This time, they decided to vote to cut funding for PBS and NPR, which are obviously vital sources of news and information and alerts for my constituents. and for Americans across the country. They don’t want you to have that information and what they did was vote to cut this funding, billions of dollars that was already approved by Congress. I really want to talk about the alarming Authoritarian nature of how Republicans under the Trump regime are operating in terms of their attacks on the press. They’ve consistently been attacking the Press. We know that Donald Trump has always going after journalists and outlets, calling things fake news. Of course, now they’re defunding vital sources of objective, nonpartisan information via NPR and PBS. This is also the same week that Stephen Colbert was fired or his show was canceled late night with Colbert. Coincidentally, after the parent company settled a massive lawsuit with Trump. This is extremely dangerous when you have. When you look at history and authoritarianism. I think about this a lot because my parents fled an authoritarian regime decades ago. That’s how they ended up in the United States and It is very much along the lines of what’s happened in other countries when a government starts going after the press and they when they go after universities. They go after citizens and go after any sort… civil Society. Let’s say I had a hearing this week with In the Homeland Security committee. Republicans were going after non-profit organizations like the International Rescue Community and Catholic Charities. So, just want to call attention to this because this is what authoritarianism looks like…“
In a series of social media posts, Arizona Representative Greg Stanton wrote:
“Republicans just voted to rubber stamp DOGE cuts to NPR and PBS. Slashing funding for public broadcasting won’t fix the deficit, but it will hurt Arizonans—especially in rural areas and on tribal lands. Public broadcasting keeps Native communities safe in an emergency. In the Valley, it means cuts at KJZZ and Arizona PBS—two trusted sources for unbiased local reporting.”
Adelita Grijalva, the Arizona Congressional District Seven Democratic Nominee, commented to Blog for Arizona on the MAGA Republicans short sighted move:
“As a life-long supporter and consumer of PBS and NPR, these cuts are designed to eliminate the public’s access to unbiased news, quality programming for children, access to the arts, science and discoveries. I vividly remember watching a Sesame Street and Masterpiece Theatre and want to make sure that programming like this is protected for us and future generations. This administration is trying to close off every avenue that this electorate has to basic information and we need to fight against this.”
JoAnna Mendoza, the Democratic Candidate in Arizona Congressional District Six, also commented to the Blog, voicing her objections to the vote for these cuts by current incumbent Juan Ciscomani, writing:
“Juan Ciscomani continues to be a rubber stamp for his party, and this time he’s putting Arizonans’ lives at risk to protect tax breaks for his billionaire friends. Cutting funding for NPR and PBS is an attack on rural families who depend on these services every day – especially the emergency alert systems that warn us during wildfires, floods, and missing child emergencies. These cruel and reckless cuts will put lives in danger, and Ciscomani has to answer for it.”
Congressional District One Democratic Candidate Marlene Galán-Woods condemned MAGA-Republican opponent David Schweikert’s rescission vote to defund NPR, saying in a press release:
“As a former journalist, I am appalled by Schweikert’s blatant attack on free press and Democracy. Schweikert is chief enabler to Trump’s dangerous, dictatorial agenda. Millions of Americans rely on trustworthy public media like NPR and PBS for their local news, including safety alerts and current events. Defunding these outlets will keep millions in the dark and keep them unsafe, and will especially hurt rural communities. I’ve seen this story unfold before – my parents fled a dictatorship in search of freedom for our family. An attack on free press is an attack on democracy. I spent 20 years holding the powerful accountable and I will continue to fight back against this dangerous administration.”
Ansari, Galán-Woods, Grijalva, Mendoza, Gallego, Kelly, and Stanton are all right.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
This an attack on the free press and Democracy.
These cuts are cruel and reckless.
This move is designed to further dumb down America and advance the MAGA science and history denying agenda.
This will disproportionately hurt rural and tribal communities.
This will benefit the filthy rich while pulling the rug out from children.
The nation will fall behind because of legislation like this.
Legislation like this will not help usher in, as Mr. Trump claims, a new American Golden Age.
Rather, it will bring on a Dark One.
Time to elect Arizona public servants that will move the nation forward and lift people up.
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The Republicans finally got their wish on this.
I think it was about 20-25 years ago that I was sitting in the Senate gallery and Sen. Bob Dole was railing against PBS. I will never forget his statement: “You promised us Big Bird and you gave us lesbians!”
That extreme and ridiculous (though darkly funny) perspective on PBS didn’t lead to disaster back then. But now … we will need to fix this in coming years.