[JoJo Gunn]

Holy Mother of God! What a PR puff piece.

Did Rove see the s**tstorm here last night and have this rushed out?

[kevkrom]

Doing it "right" is still no excuse for the government to be funding the NEA at all in the first place...

[wizardoz]

I'm glad to hear this. I saw the "Cremaster" display in New York 6 months ago. Nothing like some gay guy with arrested psychological development playing out his Greek-mythology/Masons-coming-to-get me weirdness on the public dime to sour one's trip to the Big Apple.

[Cosmo]

Did you check out Gioia's website? Looks pretty legitimate.

Many years ago, when my father was fairly well connected to the Reagan Whitehouse, a very famous ( multiple Tony award winning) Broadway producer came to him to ask that he promote his name to Reagan's people as a possible high-ranking official at the NEA. This was a man of tremendous character and tasteful artistic sensibilities. If things had worked out, and if more people like him had been left to guide the NEA, many of us might well have a different opinion of the NEA today. My point being, that regardless of what I think about Government sponsorship of the arts, it looks indeed like Gioia might just be this kind of man, and that he might just be able to make this organization acceptable to us in many respects.

[George W. Bush]

Rove don't get it. It's the existance of the NEA that is the problem. My opposition differs not one whit.

Mapplethorpe or motel art, I don't care.

The money is wasted. Spend it on keeping soldiers' families off food stamps. Or just don't borrow (tax) the funds to begin with.

They seem to think we prefer one variety of liberalism over another.

[KantianBurke]

ITS UNCONSTITUTIONAL YOU DOLT!! I don't care if they do ANOTHER remake the Lord of the Rings! Add to the fact its immoral and simple theft!

Finally Goya won't be around forever nor will Dubya. Their replacements might be Libs who will have quite the time doling out this "increase."

[over3Owithabrain]

Big Government is good, so long as the right people are running it, huh?

That's the same argument my socialist/communist in-laws make - we just need the right people to run the nanny state.

[Spok]

I don't know how many votes GWB thought this would buy him but I'm getting very disenchanted with my president. He's either taking the conservative vote for granted or decided he doesn't need it.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Bump.

[reelfoot]

So, the White House thinks its OK to confiscate taxpayer money for the "Arts" so long as the work product doesn't offend middle America? They miss the point--federal government support for the "Arts" is wrong in principle because it is unconstitutional. It is also wasteful. Why should taxpayers be forced to support ballet, symphonies, etc.? NASCAR makes it without government subsidies; why shouldn't the "Arts"?

[spodefly]

The debate has shifted from how best to have a federal government managed according to Conservative Constitutional principles, to a debate over how Republicans administer socialist programs.

Apparently Bush has placed some well thought of people in charge of the socialist programs, so now it's OK to up their budgets.

[11th_VA]

Et Tu Dubya?

[George W. Bush]

We could get all this NEA stuff cheaper if we'd hire only illegal aliens to work in them.

Or we could just outsource them to India or China.

[The Old Hoosier]

Mr. Gioia won't be around to control the NEA forever. Probably not even in 2005.

[Wolfie]

I guess if big, unconstitutional government programs come with a conservative flavor, then they're A-OK. But we already knew that, didn't we?

[Little Ray]

Don't see anything in the Constitution about promoting the Arts or subsidizing artistes, but if it is going to be spent, it might as well be spent this way.

[Califelephant]

Money

Money, the long green,
cash, stash, rhino, jack
or just plain dough.

Chock it up, fork it over,
shell it out. Watch it
burn holes through pockets.

To be made of it! To have it
to burn! Greenbacks, double eagles,
megabucks and Ginnie Maes.

It greases the palm, feathers a nest,
holds heads above water,
makes both ends meet.

Money breeds money.
Gathering interest, compounding daily.
Always in circulation.

Money. You don't know where it's been,
but you put it where your mouth is.
And it talks.

Dana Gioia

[cyncooper]

Under normal circumstances, the White House announcement that the president was seeking a big budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts might have been grounds for dismay. Pronounce the acronym "NEA," and most people think Robert Mapplethorpe, photographs of crucifixes floating in urine, and performance artists prancing about naked, smeared with chocolate, and skirling about the evils of patriarchy.

Thanks, but no thanks.

But things have changed, and changed for the better at the NEA.

PING

[applemac_g4]

Well,

I suppose changing our laws so as to allow illegal immigrants to come into the US and drive down wages for his corporate buddies wasn't far enough to the left.

Now, we're going to be giving the NEA the largest budget increase in history. Way to go, George. Hope you enjoyed being president.

[little jeremiah]

Nope. Even if the NEA funds only art that even I approve of, I still don't want my or anyone's tax money going to it. Not one thin dime. If people want art, let them pay for it, or rich people donate. Screw the NEA and the NEH. At the very least, how many greased hands are in between my wallet and the "artistes" who get the money? These agencies are poster children for a bloated government gone mad.