JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- He is big and yellow and has been helping children learn for 43 years. But Mitt Romney said that isn't enough to keep Big Bird or anyone on public broadcasting from the chopping block.
"Sorry Jim, I am going to stop the subsidy for PBS. I am going to stop other things. And I like PBS. I like Big Bird," said the presidential candidate.
It's a comment that struck a nerve on social media generating 17,000 Big Bird tweets per minute. A Fired Big Bird account was created on Twitter. And someone on Facebook even nominated Big Bird for President.
"If it's a necessary thing. There are other kids programs out there. But you shouldn't have to go to that level to make changes," said father Xzavier Walley.
"I am for the cuts. Sesame Street is a short cut for parents who don't want to spend time with their children because no one can teach better than parents," said mother, Tatyana Schlenoff.
Despite the uproar, public broadcasting only makes up point .0001-percent of the federal budget.
"It only represents 15-percent of our budget. For other stations in rural communities, it represents 50 percent of their budgets," said CEO of WJCT, Michael Boylan.
If federal funding were cut, these stations would have to rely on viewers like you to stay afloat. "I am not going to keep spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it. That's number one," said Romney.
"As a U.S. citizen, I certainly share his concern with respect to our budget deficit. But to cut us out completely really doesn't serve anyone very well," said Boylan.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting cost Americans about 12 cents every month.
