Defending the well-endowed
One of my greatest satisfactions since leaving the U.S. Congress in 1993 has been the opportunity to spend nine years on the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, eight as NED's chairman. You can imagine my disappointment when I read the call for eliminating funding for NED on these pages ("Busting the well-endowed," Feb. 25). Shikha Dalmia argues that NED is "dogged by controversy" and that its rationale is ancient history. Nothing could be further from the truth.
NED's worldwide efforts supporting grass-roots democrats who are striving to secure the type of basic rights Ms. Dalmia can take for granted are hardly controversial, having earned NED the kind of bipartisan support that is nearly unheard of in Washington today.… Seguir leyendo »