{"id":401,"date":"2012-01-09T20:49:45","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T04:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/?p=199"},"modified":"2012-01-09T20:49:45","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T04:49:45","slug":"the-party-of-cant-and-wont-so-lets-change-the-conversation-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2012\/01\/the-party-of-cant-and-wont-so-lets-change-the-conversation-2.html","title":{"rendered":"The Party of Can't And Won't (So Let's Change The Conversation)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

{a href="http:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/pic.mhtml?id=56356834"}"cancelled" licensed by Shutterstock{\/a}<\/p><\/div>\n

Mitt Romney said last week<\/a> he’ll kick funding for the arts and public broadcasting to the curb if he gets to be president.<\/p>\n

“We’re not going to kill Big Bird, but Big Bird is going to have advertisements,” Romney said, while speaking at Homer’s Deli in Clinton, Iowa.<\/p>\n

Like virtually every other conservative candidate, Romney has had it — had it! — with government expenditures like public broadcasting, and he wants to save taxpayers money by cutting federal funding to programs like PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are many good arguments – aesthetic to social to economic – for using public money to fund the arts. There are also arguments \u2013 philosophical and practical \u2013 for not using public money this way.<\/p>\n

But Romney’s threat\/promise isn’t about arguments. For the past 30 years, opposition to government funding for the arts has been a rote exercise for Conservatives wanting to demonstrate ideological bona fides. It\u2019s not just about opposing arts funding, it\u2019s about actively seeking to defund the arts (two different things). Arts funding is shorthand for a laundry list of evils; from rampant government handouts to profligate spending, suspicious values, and out-of-touch elitism. Framed in these terms, who wouldn\u2019t be opposed? Opposing arts funding checks the boxes on numerous fundamentalist Conservative issues.<\/p>\n

Because it does, no amount of argument \u2013 good things the arts do, what a great return on investment they are, or the mountains of studies designed to convince \u2013 makes a whiff of difference. It isn\u2019t about the arts.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a clich\u00e9, but true: Those who frame an issue control it. Republicans want to win the support of moral absolutists and those who believe, as Ronald Reagan famously said: \u201cgovernment is not the solution, it\u2019s the problem.\u201d In this fight, the arts are collateral damage, symbol rather than target. For all the right reasons. The arts are shades, not blacks and whites. The arts are messy collective investment and experiment. They\u2019re about undependable ideas often intended to provoke rather than reaffirm. The arts represent, for a certain class of politician, a threat to \u201ctraditional\u201d values.<\/p>\n

As long as fundamentalist ideological conservatives are able to define the issue, the arts lose. Period.<\/p>\n

I think as long as it\u2019s about money, the arts lose. As long as the conversation starts with funding, the arts lose. Yet that’s where the arts often start; if the debate is about money, then we try to prove what a good investment the arts are. \u00a0But the problem with economic impact studies is that if someone isn\u2019t in the market to invest – no \u00a0matter how good the return is – they won\u2019t. Concurrently, the problem with arguing aesthetic value is that if the aesthetic values aren’t my aesthetic values, they don\u2019t sound compelling to me.<\/p>\n

Conservatives have been successful not because they have a better economic case, but because they make an argument about values. In a time when people are angry over a sour economy and a lack of accountability for those they perceive got us there, they preach caution, living within our means, and trying to impose more responsible behavior. Argued in these terms, again, who wouldn’t sign on?<\/p>\n

Against this, how does arguing for public funding for the arts get anywhere? The argument seems so… small… so self-serving. By the time it’s about money, the argument has already been lost. The arts actually are about values. The question is how to argue them before the argument ever gets to funding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mitt Romney said last week he’ll kick funding for the arts and public broadcasting to the curb if he gets to be president. “We’re not going to kill Big Bird, but Big Bird is going to have advertisements,” Romney said, while speaking at Homer’s Deli in Clinton, Iowa. Like virtually every other conservative candidate, Romney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-funding","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/canceled.jpg?fit=2152%2C1638&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4ePZm-6t","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":751,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/02\/we-asked-whats-the-biggest-challenge-facing-the-arts.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":0},"title":"We Asked: What’s the Biggest Challenge Facing the Arts?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"February 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week we conducted our first ArtsJournal poll, asking readers: What's the biggest challenge facing the arts? We had 3,191 votes, with the largest percentage - 37% - answering funding. Second at 24% was \"relevance\/changing tastes\" followed by \"diversity\" at 15% and \"leadership\" at 13%. Technology came in a distant\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "cultural issues"","block_context":{"text":"cultural issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/cultural-issues"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biggestchallengetoarts.jpg?fit=600%2C453&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biggestchallengetoarts.jpg?fit=600%2C453&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biggestchallengetoarts.jpg?fit=600%2C453&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/a_culture_of_failure.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":1},"title":"A Culture of Failure","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"One thing you hear about the current economic mess is that some banks and companies are \"too big to fail.\" This is the idea that if a mega-corporation like AIG goes down, the repercussions are so enormous that other companies will fall in its wake and the whole financial system\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 12 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 12 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/a_culture_of_failure.html#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"losers.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/losers.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1196,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/09\/art-is-good-not-much-of-an-argument-for-art-is-it.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":2},"title":"“Art Is Good?” Not Much Of An Argument For Art Is It?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"September 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I suggested in\u00a0a post this week\u00a0that, based on the lack of any arts business before the 114th US Congress, that it appears that lobbying for the arts seems to be failing. Yes, the NEA\/NEH budgets have stayed more or less stable for the past few years, but the almost complete\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "arts and politics"","block_context":{"text":"arts and politics","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/whatart.jpg?fit=1200%2C629&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1243,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2016\/11\/this-weeks-top-aj-stories-does-pittsburgh-symphony-strike-settle-solve-anything-should-arts-funding-be-dependent-on-encouraging-bad-behavior.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":3},"title":"This Week’s Top AJ Stories: Does Pittsburgh Symphony Strike Settlement Solve Anything? Should Arts Funding Be Dependent On Encouraging Bad Behavior?","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"November 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This Week: Did settling the Pittsburgh Symphony strike just kick the can down the road?... The idea of progress is a fragile (and recent) notion... Why should this arts funding depend on encouraging bad behavior?... The art establishment is caught in an increasingly high-stakes investment battle... We celebrate reading -\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Weekly AJ Top Stories"","block_context":{"text":"Weekly AJ Top Stories","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/weekly-aj-top-stories"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pittsburgh-strike.jpg?fit=817%2C414&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pittsburgh-strike.jpg?fit=817%2C414&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pittsburgh-strike.jpg?fit=817%2C414&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pittsburgh-strike.jpg?fit=817%2C414&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2009\/03\/help_for_the_arts_but_10000_ar.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":4},"title":"Help For The Arts (But 10,000 Arts Groups Could Go Out Of Business)","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"March 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts has warned arts organizations to plan scenarios for 40% cuts in their budgets as the economy gets worse. And the group says that 10,000 arts organizations could go out of business in this recession. Some have been saying for some time that the arts were overbuilt\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"header_logo.gif","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/header_logo.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2429,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/2020\/08\/five-things-1-business-models-and-a-9-billion-idea.html","url_meta":{"origin":401,"position":5},"title":"Business Models and a $9 Billion Idea","author":"Douglas McLennan","date":"August 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We need a significant, stable ongoing source of new funding that is politically insulated and inflation-proof.","rel":"","context":"In "arts and business"","block_context":{"text":"arts and business","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/category\/arts-and-business"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cars-2605953_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cars-2605953_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cars-2605953_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cars-2605953_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/cars-2605953_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C673&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/diacritical\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}