Quote of the Day: Glenn Beck and the Conservative Movement
Sep 22nd, 2009 | 18 responses
Our political Quote of the Day comes from Commentary’s Peter Wehner, who took a hard look at Fox News’ talk show mega-star Glenn Beck in light of Time magazine’s cover story on Beck and asked himself whether Beck was good for conservatives.
And what he sees, he says, should “worry the conservative movement.”
I say that because he seems to be more of a populist and libertarian than a conservative, more of a Perotista than a Reaganite. His interest in conspiracy theories is disquieting, as is his admiration for Ron Paul and his charges of American “imperialism.” …Some of Beck’s statements—for example, that President Obama has a “deep-seated hatred for white people”–are quite unfair and not good for the country. His argument that there is very little difference between the two parties is silly, and his contempt for parties in general is anti-Burkean… And then there is his sometimes bizarre behavior, from tearing up to screaming at his callers. Beck seems to be a roiling mix of fear, resentment, and anger—the antithesis of Ronald Reagan.
I understand that a political movement is a mansion with many rooms; the people who occupy them are involved in intellectual and policy work, in politics, and in polemics. Different people take on different roles. And certainly some of the things Beck has done on his program are fine and appropriate. But the role Glenn Beck is playing is harmful in its totality. My hunch is that he is a comet blazing across the media sky right now—and will soon flame out. Whether he does or not, he isn’t the face or disposition that should represent modern-day conservatism. At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on.
Image means a lot in American politics. JFK had the image of a glamorous, vigorous President (even though info that came out after his death indicated he was not the epitome of health), Reagan’s Happy Political Warrior convinced many who didn’t agree with him to listen to his message and give him the benefit of the doubt and their support; Obama’s positioning himself as the agent of change helped him in 2008 (and can hurt him in 2010 if there aren’t some concrete results by then on at least several fronts).
Many present conservatives seem in danger of being constantly stuck in anger mode — whether it’s on the tube, on the radio, or in how they present themselves on paper or in cyberspace. Rage and attack mode are OK for those who already agree with you, but they don’t win over those who are pondering both sides and don’t like what they see on either of them.
To his many followers, Beck is a genius who “gets it.” To those who disagreewith him and to some of those in the middle, he is The Twlight Zone — and if he becomes the face of modern conservatism, the conservative movement will indeed suffer some significant erosion.
18 Responses to “Quote of the Day: Glenn Beck and the Conservative Movement”
If I wanted the Dems to run basically unopposed and win every election I would be a huge Beck fan. As it stands I would like two parties to be sane and he seems to be a major block in allowing that to happen.
The only thing Beck is good for is to help root out the crazies in a room. Just ask Beck fans to raise their hand and you'll instantly know who the wackos are. Beck is a leach…sucking the blood out of Americans by praying on their darkest fears….and for what? ratings…that is what.
I watched him once. That was the most embarrassing hour I have spent in front of a TV in this whole decade. I do not use the term lightly, but he fits the biblical description of an anti-Christ – someone who perverts the Truth for personal gain.
An apt description of a Glenn Beck show: “the only trail through there is a cowpath, so you have to watch where you step.” From Garrisn Keillor's *Leaving Home*.
Interesting tidbit here: http://www.newshounds.us/2009/09/22/glenn_beck_…
Beck took down Van Jones and helped take down ACORN, he has his value. The other networks sure dropped the ball on those items. Not a Beck fan, but he serves a needed role, same with Olbermann and Maddox.
Beck was a first-year college drop-out. That says it all.
“Many present conservatives seem in danger of being constantly stuck in anger mode “
Maybe if your perception or something else is malfunctioning, but that's not others' problem.
Beck is merely a hate object these days (when the silly set isn't rushing back to cluck about Limbaugh or one of the other righty talkers), the favorite straw man used to suppress dissent from lib Dim PC and to vent displeasure and desperation about the Dems' failure and overreach with health care “reform.”
@@Not a Beck fan, but he serves a needed role, same with Olbermann and Maddox, who are progressive versions of Beck.@@
Ok, but not even in the same league of effectiveness as Beck…..with much of the credit now due to the Van Jones/Color of No Change boycott backfire.
Here are the August demo rankings (ages 25-54) Nielsen TV Ratings :
1.Glenn Beck — 762,000
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12.Rachel Maddow Show—279,000
13.Countdown w/ K. Olbermann– 276,000
And had you watched early Glenn Beck on the old HWC channel, you would more readily recognize that he knows full well he is currently playing a strategy role while making a nice buck at the same time. If you could make $23M a year and have the added job benefit of driving liberals to a daily migraine…….would you turn the job down?
As someone with libertarian leanings who has voted for libertarian candidates in the last two presidential elections and in two of the three House elections, I resent the fact that Beck is trying to portray himself as a libertarian.
While it may be true that Beck tends to be a wildcard who tends to be less deferential to the Republican Party as the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys of the world, his political ideology is incoherent, inconsistent, and most certainly does not spring from libertarianism. Yes, he has made some rather intriguing libertarian comments that I was somewhat surprised to hear him say, but I find it extremely interesting that Beck's sudden conversion into an anti-government rebel came precisely at the time that a Republican president left office and a Democratic president entered office.
At the heart of libertarianism is the non aggression principle. Libertarians support the use of force to defend themselves, their families, their property, and their freedom, but they do not support initiating force against others who have not harmed or threatened them. This is why libertarians champion gun right rights but steadfastly oppose offensive wars, pre-emptive wars, and any war in which the freedom and security of the United States is not at stake.
Glenn Beck was a ardent supporter of the Iraq War during Bush's first term, and while Beck's support for the war became somewhat lukewarm during the Bushs's final years in office, Beck continued to criticize (or dismiss) those who spoke out against the war.
Beck–the guy who is constantly worrying about the Obama administration is trying to take our freedoms away one by one–is also the same guy who supported the Patriot Act and–again–criticized (or dismissed) those who spoke out against it.
Beck's political ideology is difficult to classify or label precisely because it's always changing. He is not a libertarian. He is an opportunist whose political ideology shifts according to which party controls the government. And if you listen carefully to his supporters, you will find that many of them have followed a similar path these last few years–loyal, nationalistic, war-supporting, Patriot Act-supporting Republicans who then “saw the light” thanks to Glenn Beck, and were converted to anti-government rebels…the very instant “their” side lost power.
The most important reason for calling Glenn Beck out is not to convince people that Glenn Beck is some horrible person, but to prevent people from falsely believing that Glenn Beck's views are representative of the libertarian movement. People need to know that libertarian positions on war and civil liberties don't shift according to the political climate, as do Glenn Beck's.
Finally, the last thing libertarians need right now is to be associated with bigots or people who cannot seem to help themselves and make racially-tinged remarks or comments that are hostile towards any particular ethnicity or religion. Despite all the flack the Tea Party movement is being given by liberals, progressives, and those sympathetic toward the Democratic Party, I believe that the majority of these protesters are well-meaning people with honest disagreements with the current government who do not have a racist bone in their body. The same, however, cannot be said of Glenn Beck, who–without any evidence to body up his claim–called Obama a racist. This is also the same Beck, who invited Keith Ellision (the first Muslim elected to congress) to his show, only to ask why he shouldn't believe he wasn't a terrorist sympathizer given his Muslim beliefs.
Glenn Beck the libertarian? How about Glenn Beck the political opportunist.
As someone with libertarian leanings who has voted for libertarian candidates in the last two presidential elections and in two of the three House elections, I resent the fact that Beck is trying to portray himself as a libertarian.
While it may be true that Beck tends to be a wildcard who tends to be less deferential to the Republican Party as the Rush Limbaughs and Sean Hannitys of the world, his political ideology is incoherent, inconsistent, and most certainly does not spring from libertarianism. Yes, he has made some rather intriguing libertarian comments that I was somewhat surprised to hear him say, but I find it extremely interesting that Beck's sudden conversion into an anti-government rebel came precisely at the time that a Republican president left office and a Democratic president entered office.
At the heart of libertarianism is the non aggression principle. Libertarians support the use of force to defend themselves, their families, their property, and their freedom, but they do not support initiating force against others who have not harmed or threatened them. This is why libertarians champion gun right rights but steadfastly oppose offensive wars, pre-emptive wars, and any war in which the freedom and security of the United States is not at stake.
Glenn Beck was a ardent supporter of the Iraq War during Bush's first term, and while Beck's support for the war became somewhat lukewarm during the Bush’s final years in office, Beck continued to criticize (or dismiss) those who spoke out against the war.
Beck–the guy who is constantly worrying about the Obama administration is trying to take our freedoms away one by one–is also the same guy who supported the Patriot Act and–again–criticized (or dismissed) those who spoke out against it.
Beck's political ideology is difficult to classify or label precisely because it's always changing. He is not a libertarian. He is an opportunist whose political ideology shifts according to which party controls the government. And if you listen carefully to his supporters, you will find that many of them have followed a similar path these last few years–loyal, nationalistic, war-supporting, Patriot Act-supporting Republicans who then “saw the light” thanks to Glenn Beck, and were converted to anti-government rebels…the very instant “their” side lost power.
The most important reason for calling Glenn Beck out is not to convince people that Glenn Beck is some horrible person, but to prevent people from falsely believing that Glenn Beck's views are representative of the libertarian movement. People need to know that libertarian positions on war and civil liberties don't shift according to the political climate, as do Glenn Beck's.
Finally, the last thing libertarians need right now is to be associated with bigots or people who cannot seem to help themselves and make racially-tinged remarks or comments that are hostile towards any particular ethnicity or religion. Despite all the flack the Tea Party movement is being given by liberals, progressives, and those sympathetic toward the Democratic Party, I believe that the majority of these protesters are well-meaning people with honest disagreements with the current government who do not have a racist bone in their body. The same, however, cannot be said of Glenn Beck, who–without any evidence to body up his claim–called Obama a racist. This is also the same Beck, who invited Keith Ellison (the first Muslim elected to congress) to his show, only to ask why he shouldn't believe he wasn't a terrorist sympathizer given his Muslim beliefs.
Glenn Beck the libertarian? How about Glenn Beck the political opportunist.
My apologies for this superfluous comment, but my previous comments aren't appearing in this comment thread. Hopefully this one went through???
[...] moderate Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice agrees, and seems genuinely concerned: Many present conservatives seem in danger of being [...]
Beck is a demagogue, an agitator for the conservative movement. He may help them gain power in the short run by shooting down anything the opposition attempts to get done, but it won't help them govern in the long run, unless we are moving towards corporatism.
Beck is like Rush in that he appeals to the average Joe who don't realize that his ideas only hurt them in the long run.
Sorry Beck is more comparable to Art Bell, Maddow and Olberman are closer to Hannity or Rush. Beck preaches to the insane like Art Bell did, and a cry baby but thats neither here nor there. He is also not a libertarian. Republicans claim to be libertarians when they have shows so they can say they are “non-partisan” while they defend Repubs and attack Dems with a few rare exceptions when they go after Rino's. For example Mike Pence when he had his own radio show was a libertarian and now he hunts rinos for a living.
Beck reminds me most of Neil Boortz (is that guy still on the air?), who was loud and often rude.
Beck reminds me also of Mark Levin (who is on the air in the evening here in Det. metro), both for saying “Marxist” from time to time and for the shouting.
The far lefty talkers are often on another planet (missing such essentials as logic and the facts) but I find some of what's on their shows entertaining (so that's how this or that is viewed from another planet…) and in fact, loud-mouth Ed Schultz is often more entertaining than Limbaugh still can be.
http://www.bigeddieradio.com/
[...] Beck seems to be catching it from all sides, and even from the middle. See Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice: [...]
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