NPR, Juan Williams: Did firing put network smack in tea party's crosshairs?
(Read article summary)The NPR Juan Williams affair may not be a real campaign issue, but it has given conservatives the chance to rail against government waste and liberal elitism, favored targets of tea party groups.
Has the firing of Juan Williams injected a new hot-button issue into the 2010 midterm elections?
Well, maybe that’s going a bit far. It’s not like congressional candidates all across the country are taking positions on whether the ex-National Public Radio analyst should have been dismissed for comments about Muslims he made on Fox News. [Editor's note: The parapgraph has been changed to correctly identify Mr. Williams's role at NPR.]
But the Williams affair has provided conservatives with an opportunity to label NPR itself as an example of government waste and liberal elitism. In that sense it’s become a symbol of just the sorts of things tea party groups and tea party-backed candidates often campaign against.
Take ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She’s chortled on her Twitter feed about the widespread reaction to the Williams dismissal.
“NPR & LSM: you’re shocked at public outrage over your censorship of Juan? This is what happens when our Constitution starts shaking her fist,” Palin tweeted on Thursday.
