From Politico:

The Republican’s top voice on tech and telecom issues says National Public Radio will suffer a “consequence” on Capitol Hill if “there’s this attitude inside the organization that would appear to be as partisan as what’s come out.”

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, said Thursday that public broadcasting’s standing in Congress has been badly undermined by a videotape in which NPR’s top fundraiser disparages the Tea Party movement and says the organization would be better off “in the long run” without federal money.

“I think there’s a role for public broadcasting,” Walden said. “The question is how much should taxpayers support it. And if there’s this attitude inside the organization that would appear to be as partisan as what’s come out, there’s going to be a consequence. That’s a reality. It’s political. You’re getting taxpayer money and taxpayers are asking, ‘Are we really funding that?’ It’s hard to defend.”

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When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rammed through net neutrality regulations last December, Chairman Julius Genachowski may have been hoping Americans would be too busy with their Christmas shopping to notice and that the matter would die as other issues grabbed at Congress’ and the public’s attention in the new year.

Judging by the response of House Republicans to the FCC, however, it appears that Genachowski judged wrong.

On Sunday, Speaker Boehner fired a shot across the FCC’s bow, telling a group of religious broadcasters that the FCC’s net neutrality rules demonstrate that the agency “is creeping further into the free market,” and suggesting that FCC regulation could impact freedom of speech, moving forward.

“The last thing we need, in my view, is the FCC serving as Internet traffic controller, and potentially running roughshod over local broadcasters who have been serving their communities with free content for decades,” Boehner said in comments cited by the Washington Times.

The Speaker’s view seems to be shared by Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee, led by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.).  That panel is set to vote tomorrow on a “resolution of disapproval” of the FCC’s regulations.

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Since a dialogue is a conversation between two or more people, Washington Democrats’ refusal to acknowledge the voice of the American people betrays their one-party, monologue approach to governance. Tonight, the National Republican Congressional Committee is working to stop the monologue and create a meaningful dialogue between House Republicans and the American people.

Between now and the beginning of the State of the Union address at 9 PM EST, you can either text “UNION” to 777218 or visit our Web site (www.nrcc.org) to sign up to participate in our first-ever mobile text chat room. The NRCC is providing a forum for all concerned Americans to discuss issues that are important to them, framed in the context of the President’s speech. Additionally, national figures such as Dana Perino, Grover Norquist of ATR, Former Senator Fred and Jeri Thompson, Former Congressman Tom Davis and Erick Erickson from Red State will be part of the discussion, providing their personal thoughts on the speech.

Following the speech, we invite you to join us on our Web site for a live streaming video Question and Answer session with me and several of my House colleagues, including Republican Leader John Boehner and NRCC Vice Chairman Greg Walden. This is a unique opportunity to directly engage with House Republican Leadership and Members of Congress and to receive our immediate observations on the President’s speech.

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