The Great American Stupid

by John Cory, Reader Supported News

Sunday, 29 August 2010 09:36

Scenes from a Tea Party rally, Capitol Hill, 03/16/10. (photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Reader Supported News | Perspective

he Glenn Beck Magic Revival Hour is over now. The concession stands have sold out of "Freedumb Pop," while Believers shout hosannas and praise the "Word" as revealed to Beck from the burning sagebrush of John Wayne's sacred spirit.

The great Oz Media has analyzed, punditized, commercialized and celebritized the Archie and Veronica of moral mediocrity, proving once again that if it sparkles like shallow water in sunlight it must be worth ratings.

There is nothing new here, nothing even original. Joe Pyne did it in the late 1950s, Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson did it in the 1920s, and my friend's dad, Cleon Skousen, warned all of us, America's children and parents, that creeping Communism and Sputnik and rock 'n' roll would bring about the downfall of America unless we joined the John Birch Society.

The country is awash in Commies and Sinners. The End Times are upon us. Again.

Sing a hymn. Say a prayer. And send a dollar for God's profit - Glenn.

The great American stupid goes on and on.

People died in Afghanistan today.

Equipment at a construction site for a new mosque in Tennessee was set on fire.

Americans continue to lose jobs and houses with little relief on the horizon.

The GOP plans to hold probes into possible impeachable offenses by the Obama Administration if they win the midterms. Or at least shut down government.

But hey, a bible-thumping millionaire bunko artist set up his Chautauqua tent on television and spoke in tongues and that is twice as cool as life and death.

God bless America.

In the name of the Holy Trinity: Larry, Curly and Moe -

Amen.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

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+57 # Guest 2010-08-29 09:31

What a clever (and so sad) commentary on our 21st century snake oil salesman, Beck.

+37 # Guest 2010-08-29 09:35

Great Article

+61 # Guest 2010-08-29 09:49

God knows I am concerned about some of the problems in my country but I have to admit, I am really worried about what's happening south of our border. The only 'news' we hear through the mainstream media is coverage on what the 'Far-Right' has to say and, frankly, I am just not interested in the ramblings of the Becks and Palins in your land. They contradict themselves within the same sentence at times (or so it seems!). It's like one big smear campaign since President Obama was elected. Is NOTHING positive happening for the great people of the U.S.A.? If there is, I haven't heard about it.

+36 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:22

Not so much "great" American people as "mystified" American people and a good portion of Americans are "myth"ified as indicated by Beck's grandstanding and noxious drivel which panders to every bogus belief that appeals to those who believe a thing is so because they say it is. I'm flummoxed and planning to turn off my TV set permanently....

+21 # Guest 2010-08-29 16:33

Try looking inside. Try looking at your fellow men. Try doing a good deed.

The problem is not the USA, but the media. People are likely to buy a product that stimulate the mind like murder, wars, killings, etc. The good life does not sell very well.

Next time you read about how bad it is, think about how many people are now being helped by the Obama programs. Did you notice that the companies are making huge profits and that most have paid back their tarp? You know where the money is? In the fat cats' pockets, unwilling to hire more workers because they can squeeze blood out of a turnip.

+40 # Guest 2010-08-29 09:59

I had almost forgotten the old Three Stooges movies I saw as a boy. Thanks for reminding us that the latest update is Glenn, Sarah and Army.

+28 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:53

The difference is that Larry, Curly and Moe were honest entertainers. Even the 5 year olds knew it was fake.

+12 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:51

Worth adding Koch, Koch and Murdock who are the folks funding all the crazyness.

+34 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:02

A worthy summation. Bravo John Cory.

+32 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:04

Absolutely right John. Good article.

+32 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:12

John Corey, you said it well. None of us could have be as straight to the point or as truthful with black humor. Made even blacker by the fact of those who follow Beck or anyone like him.

+71 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:12

Glenn Beck is such a patent charlatan and crook that it puts the thinking of the average American in great doubt. What do they really expect him to do for them? They already have all the religious fakes they can turn to. What in heaven's name do they see in this foolish idiot? The public is not to be trusted -- but it will do great harm, and people like Beck will lead them -- and us -- over the cliff. Tears for America.

-67 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:13

Two wrongs don't make a right. If Mr. Cory is truly upset by limited gov't types getting together to say they've had enough (as opposed to trying to score some fast & cheap ad hominems himself)... he should spell out specifically what they are actually doing, and why, exactly, that is wrong, given our current situation... and maybe even what we or they could do to realistically improve the situation.

As it is, however, Mr. Cory has added only some juvenile nostalgic unsubstantiated personal invectives. RSN SHOULD be above such inane drivel.

Politics and public dialog is a serious matter, whether we like it or not.

Better luck next time.

+41 # Guest 2010-08-29 11:34

Politics and public dialog is a serious matter

Just how does one dialog with such stupidity?

+5 # Guest 2010-08-31 04:44

You totally miss the point that Beck, Palin & the teaparty are funded and backed by big oil and the same founders of the John Birch society. These big oil corporate interest have bought and paid for a media that forments lies and even treason. They are busy "swift boating" this administration because they want to continue the rape of what is left of the USA. The world is now their plum to rape and plunder, but no one including you is looking behind the curtain to the dude pulling the levers.

+64 # frank67 2010-08-29 10:25

Aw come on - Larry, Curly, and Moe were funny.

Glen Beck and the rest of the FOX propagandists are not funny - they are rotten disasters spewing hate and racism.

+35 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:26

Truly brilliant reporting! I find it difficult to envision the insanity America is exhibiting for all to see, being more accurately described. Kudo's

+25 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:32

This "in your face" straight up truth in reporting and commentary is why I follow RSN. (Those awesome troubadours formerly of truthout.)

I don't want cryptic innuendos softened with colorful politically correct words of misdirection, misstatements, empty meaning, blame & religion. (regardless of the "brand" being served.)

All hail the three kings of mass confusion, illusion & hysterics the founding fathers of the modern Glennbeckian Utopia!!

Larry, Curly and Moe

Thank you again for everything you do...

+10 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:37

I am sorry, lol I just am amazed that anyone would dress up like this dude has done. Sure makes me proud to have served in Nam..

+29 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:41

Thank you, John Cory. With a less acerbic tone I make the same point to my first-year college students. It is important that young people learn mistakes of the recent past because, once shown the regularity of these uprisings and who actually benefits from them, these students might reasonably avoid embarrassing themselves and the rest of us in future. I will be able to use this succinct column of yours to enhance my reliability. Some of us, unlike Gbeck, do want to be reliable when instructing others.

+35 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:42

The problem is that media (information or misinformation) were not so available to everyone in the 20s or 50s. Today, the media contribute to the flow of lies and the lies might win. It's really scary.

+50 # Gryzelda 2010-08-29 10:43

It is truly scary what is happening in this country. Fear and stupidity rule; reason, tolerance and common sense are derided or ignored. And the right claims all positive "moral" ground for itself. What will become of us all??

+6 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:44

Yes, yes, it's stupid. And yes, yes, there are a lot of stupid people in this world. But I don't think articles like this are a big help. Do some among us "progressives" need to feel superior to mainstream America? Apparently. Is this, maybe, counterproducti ve? Of course. Mainstream America prides itself on being folksy, not elitist. That is what they accuse us of, (in case everybody reading this is not aware), and that is a big negative for the progressive movement. Until we learn to COMMUNICATE with mainstream America in terms that do not confuse or offend, there is no future for the progressive movement. Just my two cents...

+8 # Guest 2010-08-29 16:21

Please offer some examples of HOW we should communicate! I agree that we definitely should communicate, but I don't know how to! Susan

+5 # Guest 2010-08-30 06:08

First we must make a commitment to stick to the facts, refusing to exaggerate, or sensationalize, no matter how vicious their response. Then, we can write letters to the editor, of our local papers; we can set up "truth booths" at local flea markets, fairs, and festivals; we can hand out fact sheets in neighborhoods and at local malls; we can join local progressive groups; etc. There are ways to communicate, if we will just do it. There is one very important requirement: we must speak to them from our compassion, not from our contempt.

+6 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:26

You seem to be making the assumption that these are reasonable people with whom you can have sensible discussions.
The actions you suggest seem to be speaking into the wind - hardly noticed.
I think the real answer is a foundation in education, especially history and that would take generations.

+4 # Guest 2010-08-31 07:51

While I agree that Republican voters are very close-minded and usually beyond persuasion, many of the independents who are leaning Republican are simply careless, they allow traditional media to do their thinking for them. While they are angry about the economy, they are not beyond reach. If approached in the right way, I do think that the independents are open to the truth. Once they see that Republican politicians care only about programs that benefit the richest among us, I think that many can be turned around. I don't think that local activism is "speaking into the wind", and my personal efforts in that respect have borne much fruit. And anyway, doing nothing is not an option, we don't have generations to save this democracy.

+18 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:49

Hey, don't drag the Brothers Horwitz - Chaim and Moshe - and Larry FineBERG - into this. They were honest actors, PORTRAYING stupid people!

As for the others....FEH!

+29 # Brenda 2010-08-29 10:54

Ha, ha, ha. Alleluia. Like I wrote somewhere else...the public is allowing theirselves to be dumbed down, and allowing ignorance to fill the void.

Republican lies and distortions, FOX/FIX/FAUX News baloney, and the Radical Right Wing Racist Bigot groups are feeding a toxic pablum to the dummys.

+35 # Guest 2010-08-29 10:56

Beck displays the blind certainty and boldness typical of those in the grip of the Messianic Delusion. Hitler was always saying things like, "I have an unshakable
belief that I was sent by a divine providence"....etc. etc. Google it. Hitler didn't have television and Fox News. Nor did Father Coughlin et al. Beck is a dangerous nut, and as his malign influence grows, those that support and helped create him, will find as did the German Bankers and industrialists, that supported Hitler, that they are mistaken in their belief they can control him. Like Hitler, his growing boldness and rhetoric is inflaming mobs of half wits in a stressed nation. He will be even bolder after this weekend.

Wait and see.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:04

I keep getting the feeling that Glen Beck is playing a role and seeing how far he can lead his audience off a cliff or where ever he wants them to go. Behind the mask, he is smirking at those who do not know he spouting incoherent bombastic nonsense. He thrills at the impotence of those who do know its nonsense but not how to counter it. He has tested both groups.He takes our most cherished national symbols and turns them inside out.Why? Because, his audience applauds anything he says if it sounds anti-government or anti-Obama or anti-socialist. He tells the Purple Heart is bad thing because it was introduced by progressives.He says he's introducing another medal for merit that does not require getting wounded in combat and calls it the name of the predecessor of the Purple Heart. Look up the history of these medals and compare it with Beck's version. Yet,how many in his audience or even his critics will bother. He knows how lazy the public is.

+5 # Papá Kokopelli 2010-08-29 10:59

Yes, yes, there are a lot of stupid people in this world. And yes, yes, there are great contradictions within and behind the Tea Party. And yes, Glen Beck is a charlatan.

But do we "progressives" really need to put them down this way? Do we need to feel superior to mainstream America? Doesn't anyone among us realize that a big part of the pain felt by these people is that they've been lied to and left behind by elite groups and their representatives their whole lives?

Until the "progressive" movement can get off its high horse and COMMUNICATE with mainstream America. in terms that neither confuse or offend, there is no future for progressive politics.

Just my $0.02

+11 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:39

Papa Kokopelli, it would be nice if we could do that; but they have been overdosing on the Beck kool-aid.

They will not listen their ears are closed and hermetically sealed. It is scary that at least 300,000 people came to worship their prophet of doom.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:17

The number of 300,000 is disputed by most sources. The crowd was spread out over a large area and was sparse. Not such a big number considering it's August and vacation time when many people visit Washington with their kids in tow to visit the monuments.

However, I think they can be reached at some point. Remember the Emporor's new clothes. It was a child who pointed out the obvious. The adults were either a part of the scheme or cowards. Our problem is more one of laziness and feeling superior as Papa said. Their ears are no more sealed than many on the left who also buy scary stories of doom and gloom. Only the stories are different but they share laziness and gullibility.

+5 # Guest 2010-08-29 19:54

Quoting

But do we "progressives" really need to put them down this way? Do we need to feel superior to mainstream America? Doesn't anyone among us realize that a big part of the pain felt by these people is that they've been lied to and left behind by elite groups and their representatives their whole lives?

Yes Papa Kokopelli, we do need to put them down this way. I will risk being called an elitist for labeling a stupid cretin for being exactly that. Communicate with them? Oh but I DO! I communicate my contempt as frequently as I possibly can. I couldn't care less about winning over such vermin, for that is what they are and any thinking person has a responsibility for calling these rats for exactly what they are.
Beck and his ilk aren't mainstream America at all, by the way, and if they were, they would be just as boneheaded...and wrong. That's why we supposedly do have a Constitution...because sometimes the majority is wrong.

+4 # Guest 2010-08-30 06:53

Mr. Fletcher, in America, the majority is wrong quite often. We live in a nation where a group of adult, juvenile delinquents, are making decisions for the rest of us. It is a sickening situation. But allowing them to drag you down to their level is not the answer. If we truly want the world to be a better place for future generations, we must find more productive ways to deal with ignorance, or we will simply be aiding and abetting the right-wing, in its destruction of this democracy.

0 # Guest 2010-08-30 11:17

Has anyone read "Tears of a Clown" by Dana Milbank or "Common Nonsense" by Alexander Zaitchik? Do they have suggestions for countering the Beck movement?

+5 # Guest 2010-08-31 04:52

Left behind??? Are you kidding me? We are talking about white people that are whipped into a frenzy by groups funded by big corporate interests. It has nothing to do with communicating with them. It has everything to do with corporate owned media speaking lies over and over and over again until people start to believe it. The best thing is to drag these so called "news media" outlets into court for slander and hold them accountable instead of laughing it off that anyone could beleive such stupidity. Say it enough times and everyone starts to believe. Kinda like religion.

+8 # Guest 2010-08-29 11:07

That Glenn Beck and Fox News and Sarah Palin and all the Tea Parrots are over-the-top loons is nothing new, as the author points out. Outbreaks of mass political quackery have flared up sporadically in American history like smoldering cases of athlete's foot rash: Bothersome, cosmetically ugly, but not really serious.

Let us not worsen the problem by over-reacting to the kooks.

+23 # giraffe 2010-08-29 11:08

Beck is not worth comparing to one of the 3 stooges -- C-Span not only televised it but took phone calls comparing the 2 gatherings.

Beck, Palin, etc are on payroll of "F.X" and no matter what Beck tells the media -- that was political - all his religious messages did the trick intended by the writers. G-D bless America (i.e. if the Republicans get in office. But they say not what they will do to fix anything (punish Obama, et all?) Why not start with "W" -- and his "treason" (lying to the public he is supposed to serve, for one).

Obama promised 500 somethings when elected. This morning (yes, somebody is keeping score) he has accomplished almost 200 (I don't have exact figures) and he's been in office almost 2 years -- AND he has the party of "NO" ....

Only thing I HATE is that the Military runs the USA enough to keep us fighting a useless war -- Put that money into "our country" not a foreign nation.

.

-41 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:08

Yes... Glenn Beck is so stupid that he managed to raise $5 million for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) that provides college scholarship grants, along with financial aid and educational counseling to US vets and their children. So..what have RSN and the Beck critics done to help those who are so in need????

+18 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:49

Glen Beck is a stooge of the Koch brothers and Murdoch. There are a lot of decent, worried people who are being fooled by him and his money men. The crazy thing is that his followers are raging against big money while being paid by them.

Who do they think pays for for the busses and all the other things they need at their big rallies??? Their sugar daddies Kochs and Murdoch. Beck is not stupid. He is an evil charlatan.

+1 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:43

The Koch brothers paid for a lot of the fringe costs to get people there. The major costs for the rally were paid for by the non-profit which pulled the permit. That's why Beck had to go God instead of politics since it was sponsored by the non-profit. It wasn't his idea. The finances behind the rally are quite interesting.

+26 # johncorye 2010-08-29 14:53

BARBBF

The $5 million does not go to SOWF - only what is left after paying the expenses of the rally. Follow this link to VetVoice: http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3799

Beck disrespects the Purple Heart if you follow this link:
http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/video-glenn-beck-degrades-the-purple-heart-medal-plans-to-replace-with-badge-of-merit

Folks like RSN and myself have worked to change the GI Bill so it pays for college for the children of soldiers who die in service of their country which was passed in August 2009. Here is that link: http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/fry_scholarship.pdf

I have a Purple Heart among other medals. I have fought for veterans care and honor for over twenty years.

Does this answer your question?

John Cory

+17 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:57

Even Hitler did some good things for some people. It doesn't take away the negative aspects of the man. Glenn Beck is a cancer on America and, if he doesn't self destruct soon (or, if his followers don't wake up soon) this cancer will end in certain death to America's honor and fragile, dwindling intellect.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:52

I am afraid you post sounds very much like Beck in its tone and images. He's more of a pimple than a cancer. He's a big, ugly boo-boo that will go away when Americans start feeling more pain and figure out the real source of the pain is not big government or liberal policies but deregulation and legislation written by lobbyists for Big Greed,Inc.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:39

How much did he raise for himself and his speakers? The expenses were not paid by Fox or Beck but by the non-profit you name which pulled the permit...not Beck. That's why it had to be non-political or the SOWF would lose its non-profit status. It is unclear how much the organization got after paying all the expenses for the rally itself. How much was Palin paid? and the other speakers?

As for helping those in need, some of us are also concerned with helping the victims of US militancy whose need is so much greater than those of families of special ops forces. Special Ops forces have done a lot of damage to us all. If you want to support them, that's your business. My experiences with them would forbid me from doing anything that would paint them as heroes or patriots. I feel sorry for their families in spite of the harm done by special ops forces.

+19 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:18

The Great Unwashed are fearful because they are intellectually lazy. They don't want to know. "If only we could turn back the hands of time, we would be so much happier"...ah yes, bigotry, inflation, the Cold War...lovely times. They want a Big Daddy to take care of them, this the draw of Ronald Reagan... and that folksy Maine-born cowboy Dubya.

God help us now that we have a (half) black President in the White House! The sky is falling! oh noes!

We have to stop fearing the made-up boogeyman. There is plenty of work in this country; just no jobs! This time, how about we invest in our people instead of bailing out the banks and Wall Street with our money? They owe us, big time. Instead of jacking up interest rates on old credit card debt when prime is so low, how about letting loose of some of that "free" money and saving some people's homes? Ya know, it's just too easy to make fun of the Beck crowd. They're not bad people, just easily lead. Poor fearbunnies will cause their own demise.

+5 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:02

Fear is what it's all about. Obama's biggest failure is not being able to allay those fears. FDR had the same problem but was better and speaking directly to the public in terms they could understand. He wasn't worried about a second term or making nice with the people who caused the Great Depression. He welcomed their curses and derision. Obama is no FDR but I wish he would act more like him in this respect.

+16 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:22

It was brought up today on a CNN technology report that more and more people are forgoing big search engines like Google, instead going straight to their cell phone apps. The problem is that people will only get a more narrow selection of viewpoints contributing to more dumbing down of America. Had to spend 3 hours in a car dealer's waiting room and noticed I was the only one watching CNN Headline News while every other customer waiting there played continuously with their cell phones, seemingly totally oblivious to the TV and what was happening in the world. I fear too many are letting those poisoned mendacious emails their friends send around the world give them a phony perspective, e.g., that ALL Muslims are terrorists and that Obama is a socialist, fascist commie Muslim, too.

+26 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:23

It amazes me that so many people fall for the Glen Beck and Sarah Palin rhetoric. Neither can open their mouth without sowing lies and hatred AND they call themselves Christian. People need to wake up and research and find the truth about these two, Rupert MURDOCK and principle backers the KOCH BROTHERS. Its available on the internet.

+1 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:10

Beck is not a Christian. He's a Mormon and Mormons have a different holy bookrI sometimes wonder if Beck isn't trying to pave the way for Romney who had problems with the voters for not being a nominal Christian. So, they keep bringing up the Muslims as not being a religion to make Mormonism seem more palatable to Christians. Romney wants the Presidency very badly and that is probably his biggest negative to the conservative voters.

+9 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:34

I used to fret that Ronald Reagan had "given birth" in a manner of speaking to the existence of Rush Limbaugh, (as well as Faux Fraudcasting) since the removal of the FCC Fairness Doctrine was the act which enabled Limbaugh to blather on without having to face anyone who could contradict his lies, distortions, and Pro-GOP bias.

But Rush lacks the ability to bring God into the picture, and enhance the fear factor among the dupes, the pawns, the robots, and the know-nothings who are naive enough to buy into the Beck/Faux/Rush crap machine.

Beck, on the other hand, is a combination of Joe McCarthy, Rush Limbaugh, and Father Caughlin, and is therefore far more dangerous.

Unfortunately there is an incredible dearth of ministers, journalists, and reasonable members of the GOP who will stand up and call for them to try speaking the truth.

0 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:13

I think there are plenty of conservatives and Republicans who do stand up against the Becks and Palins, but have just as hard a time as liberals at getting their views published or broadcast. They have been marginalized as well.

-12 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:45

Of course Beck's a charlatan. He's also a heretic. But he is no more a charlatan than Obama who swayed a naive audience 2 years ago. The naivete' in America swings both ways. Progressive elitism is so out of touch with American people and all it can do is attack them with hate and then be baffled why people follow Beck. The Beck followers are blind and the Obama elite can't see.

+28 # Guest 2010-08-29 12:57

The reality is - if you don't stand with the Democrats and vote for every Democrat you can, then the Republicans will win, take control again and continue to ruin our country far faster and far worse then anything the Democrats would do.

Voting for anybody else is voting for the Republicans.

That's how Bush became President! Not voting at all is STILL a vote for the Republicans.

If you’re disappointed now, how disappointed will you be when the Republicans win.

VOTE!!! Tell your friends that voted for Obama to VOTE. WE MUST VOTE!!!

WE NEED MORE SEATS NOT LESS!!!

+13 # Guest 2010-08-29 16:05

You are so right and republicans are counting on progressives staying away from the polls. I agree and I am not thrilled with Jerry Brown but Meg Whitman must be defeated at all costs along with the other corporate candidates. If we have enough dems we can begin to move them to a more progressive platform.

Beck and Palin are front people for the Koch's and other corporatists. I am sorry to say the TPs cannot think and are looking for cover for their underlying racist reaction to an African American president. The event on the mall, sick as it was, anti-american and anti-constitution as it was, was also well orchestrated. It was right up there with the propaganda film, Prelude to War. Let's take these people seriously and take action. We did it 2008 and we can do it again even if our enthusiasm has lessened. I am going down to dem headquarters on Monday and once again manning the phones and working in the office. More republicans is not the answer to America's problems. Let's just do it.

+4 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:35

We will not get more seats as long as we are stuck with blue votes not having voting power equal to their numbers. When a blue voter in Alaska has 25 times the voting power and representation as a San Francisco voter, there is a tremendous imbalance in ability to influence national policies. The Senate is not representationa l and neither is the Electoral College. This imbalance must be dealt with or nothing will change. Either blue voters are going to have to move to red states or the number of Senators will have to be changed to be more democratic. Why is no one talking about this?

+2 # Guest 2010-08-30 14:17

RIGHT ON JOHNATHAN MAN. KEEP POUNDING THAT IN. IT IS ALSO MY MANTRA.

After the election WE should PUSH HIM ON THE ISSUES THAT REALLY MATTER. THANK YOU

+1 # Guest 2010-09-01 05:55

Thanks, how do we reach all of the people who voted for Obama. If every Obama voter voted for all their Dems we would take seats not lose them. We have two months to get them back on board. I was thinking if I had a list of Obama voters from areas I could possibly make a difference, I would make calls and ask them to make calls.

Do you have any info or ideas!

+1 # Guest 2010-09-01 09:54

Johnathon, check myobama.com and let them know that you want to help. I am sure they will be more than happy to get you involved.

Good luck. let us know what happens.

+1 # Guest 2010-09-02 10:47

myobama.com does not work!

+14 # Guest 2010-08-29 13:51

Our cultural memories may be short, but one cannot escape the bald comparison of Glen Beck, to the character "Lonesome Rhodes", played by Andy Griffith (his film debut) in "A Face In The Crowd", from 1957, written by Elia Kazan and written by Bud Schulberg. It charts the rise of a raucous hayseed from itinerant Ozark guitar picker to local media rabble-rouser to TV superstar and political king-maker. Patricia Neal is the girl who discovers "Lonesome" in a back-country jail and is the first to fall under his spell. 50+ years later and the US still succumbs to this demagoguery. Watch this flick and tell me Beck isn't the living embodiment of this charlatan.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:39

He and Palin are also similar to figures portrayed in Elmer Gantry. Those movies need to be brought back to the theaters and broadcast on TV. Elmer Gantry was a composite of Beckian types of another era.

-35 # Guest 2010-08-29 13:52

I consider myself a moderate, but I am really getting more and more conservative due to the overdose of radical liberalism which seems to prevail in sites like yours. What made this country the world leader it is or was is exactly what you wish to destroy. I lived outside the US most of my life, and this is the best country for its citizens, so they should be allowed to continue as they have. Why don't you listen to what the majority of Americans want instead of trying to just make changes - Sadly, we are tired of "changes"!

+18 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:44

Republicans are the ones who need to respect the majority of Americans... that is why we have elections. Barack Obama won the election by a MAJORITY!

I don't really understand the point you are trying to make. Obama wants to improve conditions for American citizens; republicans just want to keep the riches for their corporate buddies.

+16 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:52

The changes in the laws that have been made over the past couple of decades have been disastrous. Corporate power and corruption are rampant as is reflected in what has happened to our economy. Our middle class is shrinking, the poor have far fewer opportunities to advance and a huge amount of our personal wealth has risen to the top through a gross lack of protective regulations. We are the only industrialized nation in the world without universal health care. Our life expectancy is lower than many other nations. The infant and maternal death rates are higher than dozens of other nations. We're losing much of our industrial base to nations where workers are paid slave wages. And you don't want us to try to turn this around?

+5 # myungbluth 2010-08-30 12:38

Thank god this country ISN'T listening to what "the majority of Americans want". If we did, historically, women wouldn't have the right to vote, whites couldn't marry blacks, and there would be no social security! Since when do the wishes of the mob - no matter how big the mob is - decide justice in America? Apparently, ANY liberalism is "radical" to you. You're no "moderate". If you haven't been watching, sweetie - numbers don't lie: there are very few areas in which this country still leads, and the lack of intelligent discourse in this country makes us the butt of jokes in the entire civilized world. Life itself is all about change, and the "good old days" are not coming back. Get used to it.

+4 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:17

BARBBF I checked on the foundation and it looks legitimate and kudos to Beck for it. That, however, in my view does not make up for his insane rhetoric, divisive politics and destructive lies, propaganda and innuendo that ferment hate and misunderstandin g in our nation. He called himself a rodeo clown and is obviously a shill selling gold to fearful people. A manipulator mostly for his own aggrandizement and profit… That said, what he is doing for SOWF is appreciated and hopefully will be the beginning of a more constructive and honest discussion from his corner.

+15 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:45

But how much of the money was donated to the charity and how much went into the production of the show? And into the pockets of the organizers?

+4 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:45

A very good question. Let's hope we get an answer. I couldn't figure out why Beck was saying it was non-political until I saw that it was the non-profit that pulled the permit for the rally. If it did not exclude the overtly political, the non-profit would lose its status and have to pay taxes on the revenue generated by the rally. Since he could not talk politics, he was left with vague ramblings about God and Country.

+4 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:14

I don't agree. Beck is the worst of the worst, he's using the sympathy of Americans for veterans to glorify and promote his own selfish agenda. It is reprehensible, and very sad that so many Americans fall for it.

+18 # Charles Bowman 2010-08-29 14:18

I suspect that Glen Beck is a trial balloon for the military industrialists who believe that our nation's electorate is truly "nuts." Hitler was such a moron financed by the German military industrialists. Beck may not be the final product to be sold, but now is the time to see if such a product can be sold. I think that they will be sorely disappointed. The far right wingers are racists, but they know that they must wrap themselves in flags and flamboyance to harvest the tabloid journalism produced uprising that they desperately hope to invigorate. Their failure to convince small business of any real concern with their plight will keep independents and small business in the Obama camp which has dealt with the Bushes' recessions with real efforts, not rampant ideology. Even effective socialism is better than mad yelping. The Beckian circus is a balloon of hot air waiting for a pinprick.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 08:49

First will have to come media reform and a rebalancing of voting power from the blue majority and red minority. The blues may have more individuals but their votes count for much less than red votes in states like Alaska.

These are 2 problems that have to be addressed and other changes will follow.

+13 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:29

Shadow replaces light, slowly for some, more rapidly for others. Each breath taken contains floating fragments of hate and hypocrisy, embedding in the lungs of those too mentally and spiritually weak to expunge their noxious effects. Altruism and Egalitarianism, twin brothers under attack by "pious patriots" dig in ever deepening pits of sand with shriveling fingers, the flayed skins on their collective backs, pocketed by charlatans consumed in their eventual burial. Mass Media sings along to the jingle, jangle of "chump" change as we bleed out into an amorphous glob of witless consumers texting "wuz up" as the shadows make their inexorable march across our collective psyche's. 'Tis the "dark ages" renewed for mass customer appeal. Flags flap "faithfully", ethnic wedges are strategically placed by experts and a "cancer" known as avarice infects and disables what we we once proudly pointed to as "humanity." Climb to a mountain top, stand atop a rocky knoll near an ocean and breathe in, a last gasp of fresh air.

+1 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:20

Bravo!

+10 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:41

We're talking to ourselves, people! Now it's time to talk to our neighbors and relatives, uncomfortable as that may be. Because if we jut huddle in chat rooms with folks who agree with us, we will get the November outcomes we deserve.

Canvassing, phone banks, and, yes, funds for our Congressional candidates, especially those who have been honest over the past several years instead of caving every time somebody yelled NO!

+2 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:24

Don't forget letters to the editor; we can also hand out fact-sheets at fairs, festivals and flea-markets, contrasting the policies of Republicans with Democrats. If people were really informed about which party cares the most about their needs, many would change their votes.

+15 # Charles Bowman 2010-08-29 14:51

As an independent, I cannot see why the Democratic steamroller which has won the previous two elections, should not continue to roll unabated in this fall's elections. Our government's economic relief to combat the dark horizon which they inherited, in many instances has not had time to generate much steam, but most will give President Obama much more time to make his program work. The enormity of the war wrought economic malaise will not be wiped out in a minute. Most realize that the obstructionist Republicans are at least part of the problem. Far their part, they have brought nothing to the table that even resembles a serious palliative for the gigantic cloud that they left when the American electorate gave them the boot. Instead of real proposals they spew a witches brew of ideological broth that is repugnant to the taste and repellent to the mind. Their sick tea was brewed in a billionaire's bath tub and we do well to swirl it into the gutter where it belongs.

+14 # Guest 2010-08-29 14:59

ANNE BOSS The majority of Americans voted for Change. They voted for Obama. The biggest reason that people have become disappointed in Obama is that he hasn't made enough change. These people have to realize that the reforms passed were the best he could get with the Republicans more willing to destroy our nation than help restore it. The change they wanted was a change from the way Republicans did things. Now the Republicans want to bring down Obama regardless of who suffers. It took 8 years to nearly destroy our country mostly due to conservative ideology. It’s going to take more than 2 years to bring it back. And a lot longer if the Republicans retake congress.

+12 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:54

It takes a long time to clean up after an elephant!

+10 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:38

As H.L.Mencken said almost a century ago, No one in this world has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby. . Ain't it still the truth?

+6 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:41

I'm very upset that you tarred John Wayne with your brush. That's an insult to classic movies and the Mt. Rushmore school of acting.

Mr. Beck is in a separate class. There's no use preaching to us when idiots leave their SUVs idling in the supermarket parking lot while we send our kids to Afghanistan to die.

The idiots don't want immigration, but the top 10% of the high school population in India outnumbers our entire high school population in the US. We don't teach science, math or geography. Maybe they'd be interested if they could read. Beck just wants to keep them stupid and vulnerable.

Research the history of the KKK and you'll find remarkable similarities to the Glenn Beck phenomenon.

+7 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:45

Frank67 - Maybe we can start a movement, and refer to Fox News Channel as Fox News Comedy Channel? Glenn Beck Comedy Show? It could compete with The Colbert Report and Fox News could compete with The Daily Show in the Emmys :) Who knows, maybe the ratings would be even higher if everyone thought of it as comedy instead of taking it seriously.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:49

Not comedy
not funny
Beck is pitiful

+2 # Guest 2010-08-30 07:33

There's a very thin line between comedy and tragedy.

+3 # Guest 2010-08-30 09:01

The difference between Beck and Colbert is that Colbert's audience (or most of them) know that he is engaging in satire. Beck's audience don't realize Beck is engaging in another form of something similar to satire. Beck is taking his audience for fools and Colbert isn't. Their material is not that different. It surprised some people that a large number of people think Colbert is the conservative he plays on TV. It would surprise more to find that Beck is playing a conservative as well. When he tells people to stay away from church if they preach social justice, what is that all about? Listen to his show about the Purple Heart. Imagine Colbert doing that same line. Colbert would get laughs. What is Beck doing but confusing his listeners.

+9 # Guest 2010-08-29 15:53

BARBBF,

Read the fine print about Beck's raising of money for vets. First he covers ALL the expenses of the demo, then IF any is left it MAY go to vets. Beck is not only a charlatan, traitor and liar, he is also a hypocrite. Follow the moron Beck and you are just as moronic IMO.

+11 # Guest 2010-08-29 16:04

Anne Boss,
The majority of Americans decided what they want, and that was Obama. Why do YOU not listen to the majority of Americans? Fascism/corporatism did NOT make the U.S. great, rather progressive leaders like both Roosevelts (one Republican party, one Democratic party) and progressive Americans made the country great. The business elite corporatists/fascists, e.g. Koch Brothers, Bush crime family, Democratic Leadership Council, Ronald Reagan puppet types are what has wrecked the U.S. the past 30 years. Oh yeah, and what Eisenhower warned us about, the Military Congressional Industrial complex. Seems to me we should go back to what Washington said and disentangle ourselves from foreign allegiances, then we cut the military to what is needed for defense and not for imperialism overseas which is bankrupting our country so the corporatists can live well. Google "Smedley Butler" (TWO time Congressional Medal of Honor winner) and hear what he wrote about the U.S. and its problems.

-8 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:48

the VOTE says differently.

+11 # Guest 2010-08-29 17:41

Hi Cathy Urban: You're right to worry, dear. As my Irish cousins pointed out to me about eight years ago: "You Yanks have had a coup de etat, and you're too naive to recognize it." And they were so right. We've been M.I.C.T.'ed, and are now ruled by the villianaires of the military/industrial/corporate/terrorism complex, the same crowd Pres. Ike warned us of as he left office.

All the "mess" press to which you refer is the bought-out major networks and the Murdoch owned Faux News. CNN has a sinful past re. how they ridded themselves of the station's founder, Ted Turner.

Yes, we are in big, big trouble, with loss of rule of law, loss of election fraud-free voting, loss of decent education (have to keep the dumb sheeple dumbed down), loss of a real free press, which has been replaced with spin, spin, and more spin (i.e. Beck, Palin, Limbaugh, etc. etc. etc.). And then there the Kochs, manipulating the hell out of us with Tea Party ca ca.

Please, do worry,

+4 # Guest 2010-08-30 09:05

The better informed and more educated voters are concentrated in densely populated states. They have much less voting power when it comes to national policy due to lack of proportional representation in the Senate and the Electoral College. This must be dealt with before anything will change.

+6 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:21

"Joe Kilcullen" planning to turn off my TV set permanently....
What? and miss Rachel?

+8 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:34

When G Beck talks, the official response from AW Beck recommends that no one should pay attention to this poli-nut.

+8 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:40

Why has this G. Beck caused so much furor? Other Becks (like me) consider him to be an insult to our last name.
AW Beck

+7 # Guest 2010-08-29 18:48

BRILLIANT....

Can you get this on mainstream TV?? might bring in a few votes..
Getting out the vote will be critical this Fall.

Dem votes, that is!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

+2 # Guest 2010-08-29 19:28

Let's call Beck's masses what they really are....Beckzis.

+1 # Guest 2010-08-29 20:38

Thank you for making the stooge connection.And in the immortal words of curly...hey Moe, hey Larry,I keep thinking ,but nothing happens.

+7 # Guest 2010-08-30 00:03

Why doesn't every single article about these phony "astro-turf" movements name the names of the money behind these movements? Where is mention of the Koch brothers and their direct business interests? Everybody knows about Rupert Murdoch, but no one seems to care. Just like the propagandists continuing the endless repetition of their lies; where is the repetition of the truth from ethical journalism? Are there any ethical journalists still out there willing to stand up and repeat the truth for every lie that is uttered? You have all become an embarassment to your profession and have failed to take your responsibility for upholding and protecting the founding principles of this nation. I have yet to hear a single journalist tell a protestor, "It doesn't matter whether you like a Muslim cultural center or not; it's protected by article one of the Constitution and you either defend it or you are a traitor to your country." Can the issue be stated any more simply?

+5 # Guest 2010-08-30 09:24

All who claim to be messiahs are dangerous. Especially former druggies who espouse racism, fear, and hatred.

+1 # Guest 2010-08-31 15:32

GOD BLESS AMERICA needs a title change.

How about GOD HELP AMERICA.
(The lyrics should be changed accordingly...)

0 # Guest 2010-09-24 19:55

Nice way to shine light on a snake.

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