So far, Republican US Senator Dave McCormick has responded to more of my letters than Democratic US Senator John Fetterman.
I hope Fetterman's office is paying attention - if so, now they know that I know this.
Interestingly none of the responses are by USPS letter. All of them are via email. I can't remember the break down, but when I was sending similar letters to then-Senator Pat Toomey's office, more than a few were postal mail responses. I'm guessing it's just easier/cheaper to hit a "send" button than it is to print out a letter, stuff it into an envelope and then slap a stamp on it.
For the record, I post these letters and I send its link to the respective Senators' office via his official website and then I drop a hard copy to each in the mail.
Anyway, yesterday I got another response from Sen McCormick.
Here is the opening sentence:
Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the Rescissions Act of 2025 (H.R. 4). Your feedback is essential as we work together to shape policies that benefit Pennsylvania and our country.
Hmm. I don't remember writing specifically about that act but that doesn't mean the Senator is wrong. A few paragraphs later, McCormick writes:
I supported the rescissions package because it represents a relatively small but necessary step toward addressing our $36 trillion national debt and nearly $2 trillion annual budget deficit. Over the past six months, the Trump Administration’s review of federal spending has uncovered far too many instances of expenditures that do not reflect the priorities or values of the vast majority of Americans.
I believe public broadcasting should serve all Americans, but NPR and PBS have demonstrated a consistent pattern of ideological bias. Taxpayer-funded media must adhere to high standards of balance, accountability, and public trust. Given their repeated failures to meet those standards, I support eliminating federal funding for CPB.
Ah, now we're getting somewhere. The Senator is responding to this letter, dated July 22 as it's the only one I could find that has both the words "rescission" and "broadcasting" in it.
However, after the letter pointed out how eliminating federal funding for CPB could negatively impact how PBS stations deliver emergency information via the nation's emergency alert system, I asked:
Are you at all concerned that the cuts in CPB funding will adversely effect public safety? And if so, what are you doing in Pennsylvania to alleviate this situation?
As nothing in McCormick's response addresses these questions I guess it's safe to assume that he's ok with the threat to public safety as long as there's no anti-Trump stuff on public television or radio.
That's the price of MAGA, my friends.
But let's dig a little deeper into McCormick's own anti-CPB bias. How does it sit with public opinion?
Not very well, as it turns out. Take a look at this:
In a survey conducted last week by The Harris Poll on behalf of NPR, two-thirds of Americans (66%) agree that they support federal funding for public radio, and the same proportion (66%) agree that federal funding for public radio is a good value for taxpayer dollars.
Over half of Republicans (58%) and three-quarters of Democrats (77%) support federal funding for public radio. And, 59% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats agree it is a good value for taxpayer dollars. Reliance on public radio emergency alerts is bipartisan — over 7-in-10 Americans who identify as Republicans (77%) and Democrats (78%) agree "I rely on public radio emergency alerts and news for my public safety."
Uh-oh. There are also these two bullet points:
- About 7 in 10 Americans think public radio is a valuable service for their community (71%) [64% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats] and trust/would trust the news and information from public radio (69%) [62% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats].
- Nearly 3 in 4 Americans (73%) agree they rely on public radio emergency alerts and news for their public safety [77% of Republicans and 78% of Democrats].
Then there's this from the Knight/Gallup Foundation from 2018:
Americans are most likely to rate PBS News, The Associated Press and National Public Radio as being “not biased at all” or “not very biased.”
And so on.
Then there's this from McCormick:
I supported the rescissions package because it represents a relatively small but necessary step toward addressing our $36 trillion national debt and nearly $2 trillion annual budget deficit.
He leaves out the part about how roughly $8 trillion of that debt is from Trump's first administration and how that Big Beautiful Bill (that Senator McCormick supported) will add about $4 trillion more to the debt over the next decade.
But sure, let's eliminate federal funding for the CPB (an entity that most US Citizens support) even if that means that it might put the public safety at risk in order to make sure no non-existent "woke" ideology is broadcast over the airwaves.
The reality of MAGA, my friends.
The letter:
