Glenn Beck on the campaign trail?

Williebee · Aug 27, 2010

Do me a favor, take a look at this picture:

The photo is from USAToday, and taken By Jose Luis Magana, AP. It is from a story about the Beck rally coming up in Washington.

The cult of personality works on the object even harder than it works on the followers. At what point does Mr. Beck announce his candidacy?

ETA: Linky.

clintl · Aug 27, 2010

This pretty much says all that needs to be said about Glenn Beck and his campaign.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/25/1790858/this-is-who-we-really-is-glenn.html

Well, this, and Lewis Black's clip from a few months ago.

Romantic Heretic · Aug 27, 2010

He's already one of the most powerful people in America. Why would he take a step down to become President?

Oh, and I was just watching a clip from his show a couple of days ago. His stated purpose for tomorrow's rally is to "reclaim the Civil Rights movement...because we were the people who did it in the first place." (4:15 on the video I linked)

Oy vay iz mir!

Jersey Chick · Aug 27, 2010

I don't know what's more frightening - that Glenn Beck could run, or that people would actually vote for him. And I'm being dead serious. He's a whack job, and he's dangerous.

Kateness · Aug 27, 2010

He looks and sounds to me like he wants to be Hitler, Jr.

Except less effective.

Lost World · Aug 27, 2010

Kateness said:
He looks and sounds to me like he wants to be Hitler, Jr.

Except less effective.

He really does lack charisma, and his wannabe comedy bits fall flat on my ears. Absolutism, right or left wing, is rot, anyhow.

Kateness · Aug 27, 2010

Lost World:

Everyone doesn't have to agree with him.

Enough have to agree with him.

Not speaking about Beck specifically, but if you're curious about how Hitler came to power, check the election records for the decade and a half before he came to power.

Torgo · Aug 27, 2010

Christ, what an asshole.

Williebee · Aug 27, 2010

He apparently has some kind of charisma, or at least a massive TV Q. Otherwise he wouldn't still be on the air.

Thanks for the link, Clintl. From that story, however (my bold):

Beck was promoting his Restoring Honor rally, to be held Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial, 47 years to the day after Martin Luther King famously spoke there. You'll notice he didn't define the ``we'' he had in mind, but it seems reasonable to suppose Beck was speaking of people like himself: affluent middle-aged conservatives possessed of the ability to see socialism and communism in places where it somehow escapes the notice of others.

I'm not sure how much "reasonable" comes into play. Particularly as regards
cult of personality

thewakingself · Aug 27, 2010

Palin / Beck 2012?

I'm kidding. I hope.

I read this article the other day about Beckapalooza. Several in the tea party movement seem to be concerned about the rally, especially in light of the "we" comments.

But when the [Tea Party] Patriots were deciding whether to help with Saturday's rally, Dodge said there was internal queasiness over the M.L.K. link and Beck's inflammatory rhetoric, including his blasting of Obama as a racist.

"There have been discussions continuously over the last year about whether he is necessarily a force for good or not necessarily," said Dodge, who is not planning to attend Beck's rally and expressed concern that it could produce controversy that might haunt the tea party. "Beck takes it outside of the realm of fiscal conservatism into issues that are more emotional and make you wonder if we really want to be associated with this guy."

I also find it interesting Fox is keeping its distance from the event--Fox supposedly isn't airing it and "the network has nothing to do with it."

Torgo · Aug 27, 2010

So by uncorking his noxious effluent-nozzle at the Lincoln Memorial is he hoping that some of the MLK Jr cred will magically transfer to him - the guy who's always warning that clergymen who talk about social justice are basically Trotskyite fifth columnists?

whistlelock · Aug 27, 2010

Beck hates Woodrow Wilson. How can you hate Wilson?!?

He's one of the best presidents we've ever had!

Don · Aug 27, 2010

The derailing of the tea party train continues. Somebody deep in the oligarchy is gonna get a gold star for managing to get Glenn Beck on the train as engineer, and Sarah Palin as conductor.

Williebee · Aug 27, 2010

Somebody deep in the oligarchy

See, you make the jump to evil conspiracy, and I usually go with short sighted self-interest, or just plain stupid.

hnmmm, maybe YOU'RE a member of the oligarchy, and this is all a subtle sinister plot to spread informed discontent through the success of future writers....

or not.

Diana Hignutt · Aug 27, 2010

Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Willi?

Diana Hignutt · Aug 27, 2010

Kateness said:
He looks and sounds to me like he wants to be Hitler, Jr.

Except less effective.

One hopes.

Lost World · Aug 27, 2010

whistlelock said:
Beck hates Woodrow Wilson. How can you hate Wilson?!?

He's one of the best presidents we've ever had!

Because some people look at things from a different perspective than you do, perhaps? I also don't like Wilson--the League of Nations he so desparately wanted us to join was a failure, as is the modern version, the United Nations. Add to that the fact that Wilson was a galloping racist--which you obviously are not aware of, so go look it up--and you can see why everyone is not enamored of the man.

Does that make me evil, because I happen to share Glenn Beck's view of Wilson and can back it with facts? I don't think it does, but again, you might think differently.

robeiae · Aug 27, 2010

Woodrow Wilson blew chunks. People really think he was a great President? Scary.

kuwisdelu · Aug 27, 2010

While Woodrow Wilson wasn't great, there are much better presidents to hate, so it just kind of puzzles me.

robeiae · Aug 27, 2010

"Mediocre" is fine with me.

Don · Aug 27, 2010

Williebee said:
See, you make the jump to evil conspiracy, and I usually go with short sighted self-interest, or just plain stupid.

hnmmm, maybe YOU'RE a member of the oligarchy, and this is all a subtle sinister plot to spread informed discontent through the success of future writers....

or not.

Well, Beck's working from short-sighted self interest and stupidity, I'll grant you that. But he's the one that gets promoted as the face of "libertarians" for some reason.

And Woodrow Wilson? He was every bit as excellent a president as FDR, LBJ, and "Honest" Abe.

That is to say, Lost World and rob were way too kind to him.

robeiae · Aug 27, 2010

But here's the thing, Don: I hear Beck's show from time to time--bits of it anyway--and more often than not, he's saying pretty much the same things that you are saying. Seriously.

For my part, I think he's a goof. But he's not always coming at things from the wrong direction...

rugcat · Aug 27, 2010

robeiae said:
But here's the thing, Don: I hear Beck's show from time to time--bits of it anyway--and more often than not, he's saying pretty much the same things that you are saying. Seriously.

For my part, I think he's a goof. But he's not always coming at things from the wrong direction...

Perhaps his views are the logical endpoint if you follow Don's thinking.

So what are you saying, Rob? That he's a bit out there, but has some valid points? Kind of like what some say about Hitler? (Not a Godwin, because somebody already brought the H word up.)

blacbird · Aug 27, 2010

Don said:
Well, Beck's working from short-sighted self interest and stupidity, I'll grant you that. But he's the one that gets promoted as the face of "libertarians" for some reason.

Because he tacitly accepts and promotes that role, at least in terms of his rhetoric, and because a lot of "people who like to call themselves libertarians" embrace him as such.

li-ber-tar-i-an n. A person who calls him- or herself a "libertarian".

-- Blacbird's Unabridged Dictionary, 2011 ed.

Don · Aug 27, 2010

robeiae said:
But here's the thing, Don: I hear Beck's show from time to time--bits of it anyway--and more often than not, he's saying pretty much the same things that you are saying. Seriously.

For my part, I think he's a goof. But he's not always coming at things from the wrong direction...

To some degree, I'll agree. Unless I missed something, he's still religiously intolerant and a warmonger, although I hear he's starting to soften his chest-beating a bit.

I've been out of loop a bit; didn't his initial plan for a smalll-government protest turn into more of a neocon flag-waving? That was the impression I was getting.

Glenn Beck on the campaign trail?

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