It probably does a good job instilling left-wing values in everything it touches, so the lefties consider NEH far from useless.
It all depends on your perspective.
Look at the list of the NEH's illustrious former chairmen/chairwomen and see how many names you recognize. Not many, right?
Academics are for the most part left-of-center politically. The NEH has been, with only a few exceptions, run by academics since its founding during LBJ's administration. Were its existence threatened (unlikely in today's environment) there would be howls of protest echoing across the land, even from among so-called conservatives like the aforementioned William J. Bennett.
The best we can hope for is a complete idiot running the agency, the better to ridicule its mission. Unfortunately, that is not happening this time around.
“It probably does a good job instilling left-wing values in everything it touches...”
I think that is its mission.
Money passes through the NEH like milk though a baby, with the same result.