Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he will cut all government funding to PBS if elected president — a promise that has many up in arms, including actor LeVar Burton.
Is this Big Bird’s last stand? If presidential candidate Mitt Romney has his way, our favorite feathered friend and everyone else on Sesame Street will have to find a new ‘hood to roam. In last night’s presidential debates, Romney said he would cut all government funding to PBS — the public station that runs Sesame Street and tons of other educational programming for both kids and adults — and people are not happy.
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One of those people is actor LeVar Burton. Perhaps best known for his role as Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Burton is known by a previous generation as the host of Reading Rainbow, a beloved piece of children’s programming carried by PBS. And folks, LeVar ain’t happy today.
“I am personally outraged that any serious contender for the White House would target as part of his campaign the children of America in this fashion,” he told TMZ.
“Educators across the country, as well as millions of children and adults know that the programming on PBS has been responsible for significant improvements in education, literacy, math, science and life skills for generations of our children.”
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“PBS represents .00016% of our nation’s budget, yet this free resource benefits kids across all economic circumstances,” Burton said, refuting Romney’s claim that the funding is not a necessary government expense.
“Defunding PBS directly punishes the less fortunate by removing this trusted and extraordinary educational resource available to all.”
“On behalf of America’s children, I can’t stay silent. I encourage you to join me in fighting this short-sighted and frankly mean-spirited attack on our children.”
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