Nothing in my four years seemed to change that thinking with our critics. Eternal vigilance really is the price of liberty. The 104th Congress with Newt Gingrich as Speaker sought to eliminate the Endowment completely. My book is the story of how we saved the NEA and began to build a solid base for arts support nationwide. I tell the story through vignettes of my life as a pol and my encounters with the president, members of Congress and arts lovers nationwide.
All great nations support their artists.
And controversy is as basic a principle in art as compromise is in politics.