NPR exec caught on tape calling Tea Partiers 'racist'
NPR officials scrambled Tuesday to contain damage caused by the release of a secretly recorded videotape that showed an executive calling Tea Party supporters "racist" and questioning his organization's reliance on federal funding.
Video from Project VeritasRon Schiller, NPR Foundation's senior vice president for fundraising, was recorded secretly on Feb. 22 by Republican filmmaker James O'Keefe, who is well known for his undercover stunts targeting various agencies.
Schiller is seen on a videotape during a luncheon with men who were posing as members of the fictitious Muslim Action Education Center.
Among Schiller's comments: Tea Partiers are "Xenophobic, I mean basically they are; they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."
Schiller (no relation to NPR CEO Vivian Schiller), also stated that NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding," a comment that is in conflict with the organization's position, NPR reported.
Some members of Congress called for a federal funding cutoff. Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the video proved that tax dollars should stop going to NPR.
"This video clearly highlights the fact that public broadcasting doesn't need taxpayer funding to thrive, and I hope that admission will lead to a bipartisan consensus to end these unnecessary federal subsidies," said Cantor in a statement.
Schiller (no relation to NPR CEO Vivian Schiller), also stated that NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding," a comment that is in conflict with the organization's position, NPR reported.
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