We really wish video was available of this clip, but if it’s out there, we can’t find it. Pity because this sounds like a classic.
Republican Congressman Jeff Flake went after Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, about federal money given to San Francisco mimes and to an international accordion festival.
Renowned mimes everywhere speak out against Jeff Flake. Oh, wait. They're mimes. Guess they won't be speaking out.
The Hill squeezes out the details of the accordion story:
“Those just kind of grants lend themselves to ridicule,” said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) at a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. “These are a bit tough to justify…how can we justify these types of grants?”
Flake questioned NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman over a number of grants, including those to an international accordion festival and to the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Making grants like these “feeds the cynicism out there about everything we do,” Flake said.
Landesman responded that many of the programs that win NEA support could not exist without the help.
“The marketplace shouldn’t be the sole determinant of what is allowed to flourish,” Landesman said, adding that the renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe would likely not be able to survive solely on ticket sales.
No, of course, not. Some nameless, faceless bureaucrat with an overinflated sense of his artistic judgment should make that decision, Rocco.
Flake said he will do anything it takes to kill funding for the accordion festival, a statement that prompted Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) to say that Flake will be getting hate mail from Polish folk musicians.
“The renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe”? We had no idea any mime troupe was renowned, but now that we know there’s one in San Francisco we shudder at the thought of the things they may mime.
UPDATE: We just found this video clip of the renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe and now we know why the Democrats want to fund them. The troupe performs a skit called Red State in which they make fun of Middle America and the group’s set appropriately features a red star. That being said, the clip does reveal why the renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe is so renowned – it is apparently the world’s most talkative mime group.
Source: The Hill
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
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I thought their silent performance of “Macho Man” was terrific.
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Typical liberal business model. Success is gauranteed provided sufficient government subsidies. Next up….green mimes.
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where’s the clip? I wanna see these socialist bastards!
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I think that the NEA can best defend its position by having “The renowned San Francisco Mime Troupe” give (mime) testimony before Congress. Then they/we will truly how important that funding is.
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Oh, let’s not forget the accordions!
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Hey, I’ve seen a mime play the air-accordion. It was rather boring.
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Exactly.
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To quote the great Ronald Reagan:
“Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”
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The Department of Education should go the way of the AMC Pacer. It should be part of an embarrassing part of our past.
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Hey, I always wanted to learn to play the accordion (Germanfests and Weird Al Yankovic are two of my favorite cultural icons) but I wouldn’t expect the government to pay for me to do so, or to perform once I learned.
Which begs the question of whether I should accept government money NOT to play the accordion…
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Hey! Hitting close to home here as my dad was an accordian player and is in the Polka Hall of Fame!! But damn, I’m pretty sure no government money came our way because of it – who knew there was a pot out there for us to have our hands in! Also, don’t believe we thought of it as art, but rather a skill needed to pursue the musician line of work.
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Hey, I’m an entertainer, and many people say I’m an artist, with my giant rocking horses. But since they don’t bring in enough money for me to live on, what do I do? That’s right, I have a job. Which is exactly what the mimes and accordion players need to do until they take their “art” to the level that it makes them a decent income. You work hard at your job, work hard at your art, and maybe some day, you’ll be able to do what you love for a living. It’s an honorable goal, and worth working for.
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Weird Al was not available for comment.
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Surprised that it wasn’t a “bagpipe” festival, being in SF.
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“Landesman responded that many of the programs that win NEA support could not exist without the help.”
Hey, there’s a CLUE…. maybe many of these “programs” SHOULDN’T exist at all! I mean, would the world be so much worse off without “piss christ”, performance art or so many of the other boondoggles the NEA passes off as “art”? Yeah, the “renowned” San Francisco mime troupe… you mean to tell me there are not enough whackos in San Francisco (where Nancy Pelosi consistently raises big money and wins with 70% of the vote) to support a left-wing propaganda “mime troupe” with their own money? Give me a break.
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Marcel Marceau is silently judging you.