I think I've said about all that I have left to say about Glenn Beck for now, in my column in today's Dallas Morning News. Excerpt:
There are conservatives who know perfectly well that Beck is an unhinged buffoon who traffics in crude, ridiculous ideas. But unlike the hapless GOP, he's popular and effective in the political war against Obama. So these conservative cynics adopt a "no enemies to the right" approach to Beck, even though he's mainstreaming the ooga-booga worldview of a crank prophet who believed, with the John Birch Society, that Eisenhower was a closet commie.This is foolish. Not every enemy of Obama is a friend to conservatism. In 1962, in a time when conservatives needed all the help they could get, William F. Buckley nevertheless published in National Review a lengthy denunciation of paranoid Bircher Robert Welch. How long, Buckley asked, can the right tolerate his malicious gibberish without losing credibility? National Review eventually sidelined the Birchers for good over their "psychosis of conspiracy," thus doing the right an enormous service by making conservatism more credible with the American mainstream.
Today, poor Bill is in the grave, Glenn Beck's ratings are soaring, and most conservatives don't see what the problem is. One way or another, they will.
Lots and lots of e-mails coming on on this. This one is typical:
Of course you have went to college and you have been brain washed well, as most who have attended Americas great colleges. Maybe if you werent so full of [deleted] you would have taken some history classes or even watched some History Channel documentary's. There is a difference in conspiracy and the truth and you have over looked the truth, which I don't find unusual for those in the Liberal Communist Media. Thank God for Fox News and the Washington Times.
Somebody actually signed his name to that, so presumably is proud of it. Another one:
After reading your article it made me realize how truly afraid of Glenn Beck you libs really are. I thank Beck for identifying the Czars and who they are. You certainly would not. I thank Beck for looking into Acorn and all the corruption. You would not. He may not be a journalist and he may not act like you or I am use to, however, he gets the job done about reminding us about the Constitution.
In the first paragraph of my column, I praise Beck for his work on Van Jones and ACORN. People really do see only what they want to see.
UPDATE: Best. Letter. Yet.:
The truth is Glenn Beck is a danger to the liberals, socialist and communist group now in power. He and others like O'Reily, Hannity , Linbaugh are exposing and letting people know that Obama and his staff of tax evaders, homosexuals , chicago thugs and criminals want to ruin our country and make America a socialist ,communist country. You slam Beck for being a Mormon, but his beliefs AND MORALS are more in line with Christains and real Americans really born in the U.S.So bottom line ,thank God for people who will stand up and expose the what the lying Hilter Hussian Obama and his staff of idoits are trying to do to America .
Hilter Hussian Obama. Love it!
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ATTENTION!! Senators Jay Rockefeller and Charles Schumer fight for the American people and the Public Option Tuesday Sep 29, 2009 http://bit.ly/Y2PRK SPREAD THE WORD!
Congress Has The Votes Needed To Pass A Public Option - TODAY http://bit.ly/TCq7O
Why A Strong Public Option Is Essential - By jacksmith - Working Class
Robert Reich explains the pubic option: http://bit.ly/dDYSJ http://robertreich.blogspot.com/
Hollywood Supports The Public Option :-) http://bit.ly/3XLwPi
It's not just because more than two thirds of the American people want a single payer health care system. And if they cant have a single payer system 77% of all Americans want a strong government-run public option on day one (86% of democrats, 75% of independents, and 72% republicans). Basically everyone.
It's not just because according to a new AARP POLL: 86 percent of seniors want universal healthcare security for All, including 93% of Democrats, 87% of Independents, and 78% of Republicans. With 79% of seniors supporting creating a new strong Government-run public option plan, available immediately. Including 89% of Democrats, 80% of Independents, and 61% of Republicans, STUNNING!!
It's not just because it will lower cost. Because a strong public option will dramatically lower cost for everyone. And dramatically improved the quality of care everyone receives in America and around the World. Rich, middle class, and poor a like.
It's not just because it will save trillions of dollars and prevent the needless deaths of millions more of YOU, caused by a rush to profit by the DISGRACEFUL, GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
It's not just because every expert in every field, including economist, and Nobel laureates all agree that free market based healthcare systems don't work. Never have and never will. The US has the only truly free market based healthcare system in the World. And as you all know now, IT IS A DISASTER!
It's not just because providing or denying medically necessary care for profit motivations is wrong. Because it is WRONG! It's professionally, ethically, and morally REPUGNANT!, Animalistic, VILE and EVIL.
THE REASON THE PUBLIC OPTION IS ESSENTIAL:
The public option is ESSENTIAL because over 200 million of you are trapped in the forest of the wolves. Which is the forest of the DISGRACEFUL, GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! With no way out except through needless inhumane suffering, and DEATH. While the wolves tear at your flesh, and rip you limb from lib. Then feast on your lifeless bodies like a dead carcase for transplant parts.
At the most vulnerable times of your lives (when you were sick and hurting), millions of you have had to fight and loose cruel, but heroic battles. Fighting against the big guns of the DISGRACEFUL, GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT MEDICAL INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX! in the forest of the wolves. All because you have no place else to go. You have no other CHOICE!
But the PUBLIC OPTION will give you someplace safe to go. And it will give us someplace safe to take you. The public option will be your refugium (your refuge). Where the wolves cannot get at you when your down, hurting, and vulnerable. Where everyone who needs it can find rest, security, comfort and the care they need. Protected by the BIG GUNS of We The People Of The United States. THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE AND COUNTRY ON EARTH.
This is why it is so critical that we do not lead another 50 million vulnerable, uninsured Americans into the forest of the wolves, without the protections of a Strong Government-run public option. We The People Of The United States MUST NOT LET THAT HAPPEN to any more of our fellow Americans. If healthcare reform does not contain a strong public option on day one. YOU MUST! KILL IT. Or you will do far more harm than good. And millions more will die needlessly. Rich, middle class, and poor a like.
To those who would continue to obstruct good and true healthcare reform for the American people, and who seek to trap millions more vulnerable Americans in the forest of the wolves. We will continue to fight you. We are prepared to wage all out war against you, and will eagerly DESTROY! you. Time...is...UP! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! No Co-op's! No Triggers! NO INDIVIDUAL MANDATES! without a Strong public option on day one.
Healthcare reform can be the GREATEST! Accomplishment of our time and century. A time when future generations may say of us, that we were all, AMERICAS GREATEST GENERATIONS.
BUT WE MUST ACT!
I therefore call on all my fellow Americans and the peoples of the World. To join us in this fight so that we may finish becoming the better America that we aspire to be for everyone.
SPREAD THE WORD!
I have been privileged to be witness as many of you fought, and struggled to take your first breath, and your last breath on this earth. Rich, middle class, and poor a like. Life is precious.
Whatever the cost. WE! MUST SUCCEED.
God Bless You My Fellow Human Beings
jacksmith - Working Class
Things You Can Do To Help NOW! http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2009/09/tired_of_watching_people_die_n.html
No Triggers! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-rosenbaum/a-trigger-for-the-public_b_277910.html
Triggers http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/weve-seen-these-triggers_b_283583.html
Krugman on heathcare (http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/why-markets-cant-cure-healthcare/)
Senator Bernie Sanders on healthcare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSM8t_cLZgk&feature=player_embedded)
John Garamendi on the Public Option and the Grassroots: http://bit.ly/TJMty
Howard Dean on the Public Option http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SKfW2dUnow&feature=player_embedded
We're Number 37! in quality of health care http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVgOl3cETb4&feature=player_embedded
Twitter search (#welovethenhs #NHS #hc09 #hcr #healthcar #obama #p2 #topprog #) Check it out.
Quoted in full for clarity...
"It's my own observation that Obama's entirely antagonistic to the Constitution and it's limiting boundaries, has a serious intent to reduce our world-wide stature, and further, has absolutely NO interest in helping us rejuvenate our economy"
I'd argue that the first two assertions are ridiculous, but I'll admit they're not entirely crazy. However, to state that Obama doesn't want to rejuvenate the economy is just howling-at-the-moon nuts.
Mike
=====================
Obama, in his own words, describes "civil rights" as redistribution of wealth - taking from people based on their race, and giving to others based on their race. If this isn't basically destroying the constitution in every aspect, I have no idea what could be. It violates every concept of the Constitution. Ergo, Obama has absolutely NO respect for it whatsoever.
About the economy... IF Obama had any interest in doing something to improve the economy, he would actually do something designed to accomplish that end. 100% of everything he's done and has proposed to do, has been carefully calculated to harm the country and specifically, the economy. Ergo, it is not even slightly possible he has any interest in improving the economy.
Well, I finally managed to see a couple installments of Beck's TV show, and far from being a buffoon---What I saw is a guy who does an excellent job of outlining the connections between, e.g., NEA-gate and the Obama Whitehouse: in which Obama administrationites were/are trying to abuse the National Endowment for the Arts funds by getting artists to produce propaganda art on behalf of the Obama administration. This is some pretty eye-popping stuff. I don't see too many others drawing this clear of a line between A & B like he does.
It is in the interests of the Left to get people to call Beck a buffoon because he does such a good job of connecting the dots on corruption etc., but that does not mean he's not being a good reporter on all things Obama. It just means he's apparently very effective at outing the crap that's going on in Obama's administration.
What I gathered reading the comments above: No few middle-aged 'little read right wingers' have a liking for being told bedtime stories by blond dough-boy pudgies telling like minded Aryan alter boys how the big bad wolf is the fit black man on the cover of Men's Health Magazine.
"How is it that a man can call the American president a traitorous subversive and not be laughed, or booed, off the national stage?"
"No. Instead they are given Nobel Peace prizes."
Not sure whom you are referring to. Mother Teresa? Archbishop Tutu? Al Gore? None of them ever called any American president a traitorous subversive.
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