Why am I posting this? Because I know that I have some readers who are just dying to talk about Glenn Beck, health care, Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing fringe, etc., etc., but it’s pretty much off-topic in my other posts. So, here’s a post where you can take your shots. However, I would like you to watch this video first. It’s an interview with Katie Couric, and it’s relatively recent — it was put up on YouTube just five days ago. Note: it’s about 45 minutes long, so make sure you’re comfortable before you launch into it:
For those of you who don’t know, a boycott of Beck’s show is being organized by a group called Color of Change.org. According to their website:
Fox’s Glenn Beck recently said President Obama is “a racist” and has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” Beck is on a campaign to convince the American public that President Obama’s agenda is about serving the needs of Black communities at White people’s expense. It’s repulsive, divisive and shouldn’t be on the air.
Join us in calling on Beck’s advertisers to stop sponsoring his show….
Our campaign has been a huge success so far. More than 270,000 of us have stood up and 62 companies have pulled their support.
Their first sentence is factual. Their second sentence is their opinion about Beck’s “agenda.” Beck, according to the interview above, says that his agenda is that he doesn’t want government to get any bigger, and that he has opposed big government from George Bush just as much as he has from Barack Obama. However, he defends his belief that Obama is racist by pointing to Obama’s membership in Jeremiah Wright’s church — a church that teaches black liberation theology — and Obama’s immediate assumption that a white police officer “acted stupidly” in arresting Henry Louis Gates, Jr., before he even knew the details of the incident. Color of Change.org and their followers believe Beck is race baiting.
Besides the racism charge, many complain that Beck is spreading lies about the proposed universal health care bill in Congress. Specifically, they say Beck is fear-mongering by linking health care reform to euthanasia and infanticide (i.e., suggesting reform would kill the elderly and infants, respectively). Beck doesn’t address that charge in the above interview, but he does say that his solution to the health care crisis is to “let the free market work,” and allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines.
Glenn Beck can be heard on 1470 WMBD-AM from 9-11 a.m. weekday mornings here in Peoria.
I don’t know, CJ, I’m about 8 minutes in to this and he just seems utterly lost/clueless. I’m waiting to see why you think we should watch this…
Jon — A couple of reasons.
First, most sites just show short clips or play sound bites of controversial statements made by Beck, then tear him to shreds. I’m not a fan of the sound bite. I like the long-form interview; it gives you context and takes a person like Beck out of “show-biz” mode to talk seriously about his beliefs and statements.
Second, I wanted it to set the tone for the conversation here — whatever you might think about Beck or Couric, this was a civil conversation. I hope that continues in the comments section.
Ok, so let’s examine some of his answers to Katie’s questions.
1. Did he make a convincing argument that Obama is a racist? Not to me. I didn’t appreciate how he tried to make himself out to be the victim for questioning how the President makes his decisions. It’s not Beck’s questioning, it’s his conclusion.
2. Same thing for the FEMA camps issue – he thinks he’s the victim?
3. I also liked how he totally avoided the “white culture” explanation.
4. Back to Gates, I don’t care what color you are or what color the policeman is who arrests you, if it’s my friend who gets arrested like that at their own home, I’m gonna think the policeman acted stupidly (as well as my friend, in all likelihood). So if my friend and I are Chinese, but the cop isn’t, I’m a racist?
5. You know, Glenn is just fighting against the extremes – not that he is in any way a part of one extreme or the other (or an altogether new extreme). Be careful, our President (Obama, Bush, any of them) can turn Fascist just like that!
So, he’s against Big Government. So say most people. It’s a popular notion until you get in to the details – something I just didn’t see Glenn do much of for those 45 minutes.
But here’s Glenn Beck in a nutshell:
“I don’t have anything against czars per se, I just have a problem with the people chosen to be czars” or something to that effect in his interview with Katie (this after Katie pointing out that Bush had about the same number as Obama)
So, just google “glenn beck czars” and you find his own website were he states about czars:
“Other presidents have also named czars, but no one can hold a candle to President Obama who has named 16 czars so far — and he’s not done yet!
So, what’s the problem? I mean, czars can cut through the bureaucracy and get stuff done, right? Right… but who do they answer to?
They don’t need to be confirmed by the Senate; they rarely go before committees; they can claim “executive privilege” when asked to testify, and they’re accountable to no one but the president himself.
But look at the power we’ve handed to these unelected, unconfirmed people.”
No, Glenn Beck says one thing one minute and then something completely opposite the next.
He is a bit all over the place BUT . . . I agree with him that so much of politics, at least what you read and view on TV is about extremes. And I think that does not speak to many Americans that are more in the middle whether they call themselves Republicans or Democrats.
Sum up Glenn Beck…
No college… just wanted to be a “radio guy”
Don’t know how he “got here”
Bush was “in bed with huge corporations”, and now the Democrats are too.
“I don’t dislike Democrats, I hate anti-capitalists ”
“we all know its the individual that makes the difference”
We’ve lost the “E Pluibus Unum” Its the fringes that are tearing us apart
He hold many libertarian views… and yet avoids the title because he is afraid of separating himself from his financial base… in favor of gay marriage, free speech, flag burning,
Regarding racism Beck says: Obama said “I don’t have any of the details”… (He actually said: “I don’t have all the facts”…) There is a major difference in the two statements. We NEVER have all the facts (except in mathematics) and we ALWAYS make judgments based on less than all the facts.
When confronted with what he meant by “white culture”… he can’t answer but instead gets defensive… “Why am I the target?” Glenn is a confused, uneducated man who is frustrated at the helplessness and hopelessness of our culture. Instead of understanding that the problem is the economy, he sees it (the economy) as a victim of politics. When he says “white culture” he is talking about the moneyed elite in banking and other financial institutions. He doesn’t understands that…he thinks ALL rich elites are the white culture.
“It’s not about Barak Obama, it is about the government not listening to people”.
“I am not a journalist, I am an opinion guy”
“Comedy is extremely difficult”
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist”
For me, two statements sum up Beck, Limbaugh and many others…
“no college” and “I’m an opinion guy”.
That’s what 30,000,000 people are listening to: Uneducated opinions!
““let the free market work,””
The problem is… its not. It fundamentally cannot either. The reality is that there is a sizable part of the population that for differing reasons are not in any way ‘profitable’ to an insurance companies. In the capitalist game of ever increasing profits, even your less profitable customers become undesirable. These net lossers and even those of minimal profitability are at high risk of not having health care. For profit insurance companies have a vested interest to their share holders, to deny health care to part of the public. This is a characteristic that is rather unique to the health care industry.
“allow people to purchase health insurance across state lines.”
This is one of the few things that the GOP has correct. But… they are either ignorant of the implications for changing this or simply not fully disclosing the problems associated with changing this in their efforts to win supporters. Each state has its own set of various health care regulations. Some of these touch on such thorny issues as, abortion, birth control, euthanasia, end of life care, power of attorney law (probably a better way to describe this but it eludes me) concerning who has say when the patient is incapacitated. Generally the Right has been in favor of state’s rights on these issues. But… these touch on insurance regulation as well. Are they prepared to abandon preference to state’s rights over health care? I doubt it.
It is arguable that insurance over state lines, represents a trojan horse for some of these controversial issues as a well. In order to sell a given product over state lines, you would have to offer something that met some sort of common denominator. Take for example… birth control, or more specifically the ‘pill’ and the ‘morning after pill’. Some states mandate that these must be covered by insurance and that pharmacist must dispense it, over the objections of some religious groups. Other states flat out don’t cover it. So… will the morning after pill be covered or not? There in you begin to see the trojan horse of undermining of one set of regulations in the favor of another.
ndx – So what did you just contribute to the discussion? You just spewed venom at someone who just wrote very intelligently about Glen Beck–and proved with quotes that he actually has listened to Beck in order to form an opinion with which I agree wholeheartedly. I give Beck about 15 minutes now and then before I turn off my radio because most of the time he is shouting–therefore, I know that he has nothing worthwhile to say to capture my attention.
ndx??? I am not aware of EVER whining about someone was attacking me. What I have consistently argued is that people do not address issues, but instead call me names. (Names, by the way, I don’t find offensive and I am in fact proud of… see my blog OF COURSE, I AM A COMMUNIST)
‘There must be some capitalism in it for him.” That is just TOO funny.
I don’t have trouble with arrogance backed by research and data… what does bother me arrogance backed up with only “opinion”.
Intelligent, educated people can engage in conversations about things on which they disagree and still remain civil to one another.
Jon and Mahkno: I forgot to mention that I appreciated the info and conclusions drawn in both of your posts.
Glenn Beck: A white-knuckle dry-drunk closet case man-child with apparent xenophobia issues and a penchant for end-times theology. Moron convert Beck is palpably horny for the apocalypse. Passive-aggressively accusing even the world’s most benign Muslims of plotting America’s destruction. Beck’s combination of faux everyman persona and deliberate misinformation seems increasingly insane as his whole persona seems to be a frantic pantomine of how he thinks an even-keeled, “smart” bigot would act. Exhibit A-“I don’t know if the Muslim community will ever step to the plate like the Japanese-American community did in WWII. You know it was a terrible thing how we rounded up innocent people then and sadly history has a way of repeating itself no matter how grotesque that history may be. The Muslim community can prevent this if they act now.”
I am mostly disturbed that anyone gives this idiot a forum. I wrote a rather lengthy email to CBS chiding them for legitimizing this bad entertainer who really shouldn’t be given any voice in American discourse simply because he espouses dishonesty and violence. One Rush Limbaugh is too much and Ann Coulter is simply unspeakably disgusting. Glenn Beck is a redundant wing nut insanity.
“Glenn Beck is a redundant wing nut insanity.”
Kids, stay in school!
kc: such a narrow definition of education for a self-fancied philosopher.
After reading the comments…….I have nothing to say.
Emtronics: Yes, it is heartening not to have to add anything.
crickets – all day.
My level of education is possibly in question because I used the word insanity as a state of being … as in Glenn Beck is an insanity? Or perhaps there was some question as to whether I have improperly diagnosed Glenn Beck’s state of mind? Or perhaps the disjointed reply was simply that … three different comments? Optimistically it was an admonition to stay in school to deter children from being as ignorant as Glenn Beck. Anyway I agree with the first two lines, especially about children staying in school.
frustrated said:
“…so much of politics, at least what you read and view on TV is about extremes. And I think that does not speak to many Americans that are more in the middle…”
So do you think Glenn Beck is part of the problem or part of the solution? Do you think he is at one extreme, or part of the middle – a voice for the silent majority?
Jon – I think he is just an entertainer and not nearly as bright as Jon Stewart. I watched the youtube that C.J. provided and this was the first time I have ever heard him speak. What do you think?
This was an interesting exercise. I either have a homogeneous group of readers, or any conservative, pro-Beck readers I have are choosing not to take part in the discussion.
A third possibility is that even the conservatives think he’s kooky. I’m a pretty conservative guy, but Beck is not my cup of tea.
To me, the defining moment of the interview was the very end. After portraying himself as a reasonable guy engaged in civil conversation, they plug his new book titled “Arguing with Idiots.” If that’s your philosophy (i.e., “those who disagree with me are idiots”), then I’m not interested in what you have to say. Yes, I know it’s a persona and for entertainment purposes; I’m not interested in having a conversation with a persona. You can’t have a meaningful interaction with someone who portrays you as an idiot for disagreeing with them, whether it’s for entertainment purposes or not.
And speaking of that, “ndx”‘s comments have been deleted for violating the Terms of Use.
frustrated, if you’re a fan of Jon Stewart, surely you have seen Glenn Beck speak before when Stewart plays clips of Beck’s hypocritical rantings 🙂 (watch the full clip of Beck saying Obama is a racist. It starts out “he is someone who has a deep seated hatred of white people, or of white culture….I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people…this guy is, I believe, a racist..” – this all happens within about 2 minutes).
In the Couric interview, he’s relatively mild. Often he’s nearly foaming at the mouth and/or in near tears. I wonder how much of this is an act, or just the ramblings of a half-crazed man. Sometimes, he does make sense – no matter, five minutes later, he’ll probably contradict what he just said.
I think he is clearly on the extreme, but not aligned directly with Rush. Imagine a clock with Olberman at the 9 position and Rush at the 3. Most people don’t fit along that straight line spectrum between the two numbers, at least on broad issues. Glenn is probably at 1 or 2 (better yet, he’s the second hand – as he’ll go in full circles)
The biggest problem is that he just rants seemingly without much thought. He’s so varied but with such conviction, he’s likely to pick up certain supporters who hear that thing they like.
I agree with CJ about the sound byte culture – most hotly debated issues are far too complicated for a 10 second quip – unless it’s comedy a la Stewart and Colbert. (I’ll remind CJ of my disappointment his “Geithner – Tax Cheat” column, though) Sometimes that humor is quite helpful and it helps one to look at things differently. I like to flip channels between CNN, Fox and MSNBC – especially after a Presidential speech – to watch the varied reactions. At the end of the day, most of it is all pretty useless though. I feel sorry for the people who watch any of those shows and take everything that is said at face value.
Jon – I will try to catch something more on Beck/Stewart on the computer. I live out of the country and have limited T.V. access.
Now, perhaps you understand my zeal for the District to get its act together before my family returns to Peoria.
Sorry C.J., I digressed from the topic.
Does anyone feel like a lab rat?
Sometimes… if a position is so far ‘out there’… it is not worth arguing against. It ceased to be a valid point for debate. By debating it, you give the position validation, that it is worth debating. Glenn Beck is at times so out there… that he isn’t worth the time.
What is most troubling is that soo many people DO pay attention to him and think he is the best thing since… Limbaugh… er white bread?
While I understand the desire to want to discuss issues, sometimes the issue is the man himself. Such is the case with Glenn Beck.
Glenn Beck reminds me of group of guys I knew back in college. They knew lots about sports, about cars, about music, but when it came to politics they knew zilch and for the most part could care less about it. Whenever they would drift into politics, they sounded very much like this guy.
I think Beck has some legitimate frustration… who wouldn’t trying to balance his radio personality with his Christianity? How can one remain sane in a Gospel idealism when one’s everyday existence depends upon crass commercialism, snake oil sales and crawling on one’s metaphorical belly for the guy signing your paycheck.
I personally believe that Rush and the others are salesmen… selling whatever the public will buy. In this case it is the anger and frustration with a political/economic/religious system that promises so much and delivers it only to the top 1% of the population.
I think the way to understand Rush’s success is to realize that he has always wanted to live up to his father… since he couldn’t follow in his footsteps, he did the only thing he could do and that was to start appealing to the disenfranchised millions of other “wannabes”. Those millions thinking that the social system was established for everyone, that justice was not just an ideal but a promise, that economic success was based on hard work and merit and that The United States was indeed the land of the free and home of the brave…that our nation had seen a new birth of freedom and that this government of the people, by the people and for the people would not perish fr m the earth. People who thought “God bless America” really meant a fervent prayer for the need of God’s blessing that had not yet been realized.
By becoming the “voice” of these people… by perverting their real frustrations into his own pitiful attempts to win his daddy’s approval… Rush created a whole cadre of misinformed, misdirected anger and frustration: Be mad at those who want to change this unjust, uneven, unfair, UNCHRIST-LIKE system… not those who benefit from the inequality.
Rush revels in pointing out political hypocrisy. How ironic.
Mahkno gets it! Quote: ” Glenn Beck is at times so out there… that he isn’t worth the time.”
EXCEPT… he has a voice people are listening to… his new book will sell 5 million copies. That’s probably at least 10 million people who will be influenced by his … er… opinions.
So Rush and Malcom X are more alike than they are different?
anon: “So Rush and Malcom X are more alike than they are different?”
absolutely