Now that Colorado Springs Republican U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn has convinced the House to support his effort to defund National Public Radio, the battle is probably over. "The bill, should the Senate even bring it to the floor, is almost certain to fail in that chamber," writes the New York Times. After all, unlike the House, the Senate is run by Democrats, and many lawmakers' constituents are fans of NPR.

As for the Colorado delegation, it was predictably split along party lines on the roll call vote, with Republican U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, of Littleton, offering a philosophical rationale to explain his vote: "In a free society the government must never be engaged in sponsoring media outlets because there will always be the temptation by those in power to exercise their political influence on the direction of the reporting." Lamborn dismisses allegations of his effort being motivated by criticisms that NPR has a liberal bias. Rather, the nation needs to cut spending, and when it comes to doling out for media, "as a country we no longer have this luxury" (Associated Press).