According to the local press, the Minnesota wing of the Republican Party are attempting to replace arts and culture funding with a system of competitive grants, that’ll force various regional bodies – such as Minnesota Public Radio – to have to put forward a case for the millions of dollars a year they were previous receiving.
Republican House Majority Leader Matt Dean, singled out a $45,000 payment to Sandman author Neil Gaiman for a four hour speaking appearance, describing him as a “pencil-necked little weasel who stole $45,000 from the state of Minnesota.”
English-born Gaiman, who lives near Minnesota’s largest city, Minneapolis, described the outburst as “sad and funny” on Twitter, adding, “It’s strange watching a grownup high school bully in power. But the bully vocabulary remains the same.”
Gaiman’s full take on the events that led to this can be found on his blog.
