NPR ‘Appalled’ by Former Exec’s Comments

Caught on tape

Outgoing NPR executive Ron Schiller slams Republicans and the tea party movement and suggests that NPR would be better off without any federal funding in a hidden-camera video released Tuesday by conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe.

Schiller, president of the NPR Foundation and a senior vice president for development until just last week, appears on the tape at Georgetown’s Café Milano with NPR director of institutional giving Betsy Liley and two men–Shaughn Adeleye and Simon Templar–posing as executives from a fake Islamic organization considering a $5 million donation to the network.

The Daily Caller posted the 11-minute video Tuesday, as did O’Keefe’s Project Veritas—a site that also includes hidden-camera investigations of other conservative targets, including teacher’s unions and ACORN. (A full two-hour version is available here).

In the video, Schiller said that the current Republican Party has been “hijacked” by a group that’s “not just Islamophobic, but really xenophobic” and suggests the tea party movement is comprised of some “seriously racist, racist people.” You can watch the footage below:

more here…

2011-03-09