John McCain: Arts Policy. None.

 

Artocracy.org has emailed the McCain campaign several times to request a copy of Mr. McCain’s art policy.  We have not received it, a phone call, or an email back regarding this policy. 

 

Based on what we could find online, Mr. McCain has not supported the National Endowment for the Arts in the past, he voted to cut funding to the NEA or limit money to “obscene” projects.  He has also stated that he did not support federal subsidies for the arts. When asked in 1999, his answer was, “"No. I have opposed federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts because I believe it is not proper to use tax dollars for what many Americans feel are the obscene and inappropriate projects this organization has supported. I support providing federal block grants to the states for arts education and artistic endeavors pursued by state and local authorities, while assuring that federal tax dollars are not spent on obscene or offensive material."  (I think some of us in the arts community might think that spending money on wars is offensive and obscene, but we still do have to pay to for it.)

Americans for the Arts figures that there is approximately 166.2 billion dollars in non-profit arts and culture industry in the United States that is about 5.7 million jobs and 104 billion in household income.  Even though it is not the largest sector, remember this does not include artists, authors, film industry, music industry, or other people in the creative arts.  The arts are a large sector of working people in America, please write, email, or call Mr. McCain’s office and ask him to go on record for his commitment or non-commitment to the arts and the people who work in those industries. 

Contact Information:

Email:

http://www.johnmccain.com/Contact/ 

Mailing Address:

John McCain 2008, P.O. Box 16118,Arlington, VA 22215

Phone: (703) 418-2008

Comments

[Elisabeth]

Thank you for posting this. After I get my master's degree, I hope to work for the NEA. It's good to know I have another reason to support Obama.

[Jess]

Thank you for posting this. It's good to know I have another reason to support McCain.

[Sheila Ortega]

I'm glad u posted this, i too have been trying to find anything to do with John McCains stance on the Arts. All I found was a couple sentences, and that was all. I am writing a paper in my English class and have to put information from both sides. Before i started researching i was thinking Obama was a pretty cool guy for his voting record. Now i know who i definitely want for President, Obama has page after page of his intentions for the Arts and other political issues. I can whole heartedly respect his intentions, I just wish others could as well.