Juan Williams: Defund NPR

Politico reports:

Former NPR commentator Juan Williams is speaking out, calling on Congress and President Barack Obama to end federal funding for the “insular” and “self-righteous” public radio giant.

“Even after they fired me, called me a bigot and publicly advised me to only share my thoughts with a psychiatrist, I did not call for defunding NPR. I am a journalist, and NPR is an important platform for journalism,” Williams, who describes himself as left-leaning, wrote in an op-ed published Monday in The Hill.

As debates about defunding NPR have raged, Williams — who was fired last year after saying in a Fox News interview that he gets “worried” and “nervous” when he sees Muslims board an airplane — was initially reluctant to call for defunding, he said in his column and in a radio interview last Friday. On Thursday, the House voted 228 to 192 to end federal funding for NPR. The measure will most likely fail in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid has expressed his displeasure with the effort.

“The fear I always have is that someone would perceive me as being vindictive in saying, ‘Hey look, it’s time to cut the feeding tube here at NPR,’” he said on WLS Radio’s “Don Wade & Roma” show. But, he added, NPR is “fully capable of standing on its own.”

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