Conservative lawmakers have attempted, for decades, to cut federal funding for public broadcasting, arguing that they have a liberal bias.

One of Newt Gingrich's first acts as speaker of the House in 1995 was to call for the elimination of federal funding for CPB, and for the privatization of public broadcasting. Neither attempt was successful, though it did keep the hot-button issue in the limelight for years.
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In 2005, a House subcommittee voted to drastically cut CPB funding, and eliminate all of it within two years, a move many blamed on Tomlinson himself.

"Republicans have never been fond of public broadcasting. Republicans have always thought that public broadcasting across the board is liberal, is not particularly supportive of Republican and conservative points of view," Sterling said. "Democrats tend not to think that, unless they're from very conservative districts."

The speech that Mitt Romney gave Monday ought to make every American nervous about what he and his ideological team would do if permitted to direct U.S. foreign policy. What a debacle.

"It is the responsibility of our president to use America's great power to shape history -- not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events," he said, giving voice to the mistaken premise that made Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman allies. Anyone running for president ought to know that the president's actual responsibilities were set forth in the Constitution. That document was written long before America became a hegemon. Its signatories wisely and explicitly rejected the notion that a single man ought to be charged with shaping history. You'd think that the Iraq War would've served as a reminder that hubristic men who think they can shape history almost always fail miserably. But Romney mentioned Iraq only briefly, insisting we should've stayed longer. He doesn't realize or won't admit that occupying foreign countries makes America more rather than less vulnerable to uncontrollable events.

Despite the years of improvised explosive devices and the thousands of dead American troops, Romney insists that "there is a longing for American leadership in the Middle East -- and it is not unique to that region." America's closest ally, Israel, does not itself want to be led by America, nor does any other sovereign country. There are those who want America to lead others in some way or other, but it is as true to observe that there is a longing for America's withdrawal from the region. Neither longing tells us what America's role in the Middle East ought to be.

Romney noted recent events in Libya, and went on to say that the struggle there is the same one we're seeing "in the streets of Iran, in the public squares of Tunisia and Egypt and Yemen, and in the fights for liberty in Iraq, and Afghanistan, and Libya, and now Syria. In short, it is a struggle between liberty and tyranny, justice and oppression, hope and despair." He went on to assert that "we have seen this struggle before" when "in the ashes of world war, another critical part of the world was torn between democracy and despotism. Fortunately, we had leaders of courage and vision, both Republicans and Democrats, who knew that America had to support friends who shared our values, and prevent today's crises from becoming tomorrow's conflicts."

This is hopelessly muddled.

Goldman Sachs $891,140

Bank of America $668,139

JPMorgan Chase & Co $663,219

Morgan Stanley $649,847

Credit Suisse Group $554,066

TAMPA, Fla. (MarketWatch) — Political donors with Wall Street ties are betting heavily on Mitt Romney, but the candidate’s platform in coming months will be a carefully crafted appeal to a wider audience.
The threat of new government regulations and larger deficits are upping the stakes this election cycle, and, with his more pro-business policies, Romney has captured the lion’s share of contributions made by the securities and investment industry. But to win votes from a wide swath of America, he’ll wrap his support for Wall Street in broader points about growth and reform

“I don’t think it’s a useful message in most corners of the country to talk about what you are doing for Wall Street,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director at the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

Given his history at investment firm Bain Capital, Romney has a Wall Street sheen.

We have 47 percent of the people in the United States pay no taxes, federal income taxes," the voter told Ryan. "Is there any way possible that this 47 percent can pay a nominal fee or something so that they feel that they have small ownership of the government and maybe they don't take all the handouts?"

Ryan said the answer was more jobs.

"I have an idea: Let's help them get jobs so they can get good paychecks and then they're good taxpayers," Ryan said, ignoring the fact that military members serving in war zones and seniors were among the millions who do not owe federal income taxes.