Glenn Beck: Right-Wing Extremist??

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Caleb8844

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After watching this video, I'm even more confused as to what huge issues all liberals seem to have with Glenn Beck. During the video, he spoke of his support of legal gay marriages, repeatedly attacks Bush, and says President Obama is far superior to a would be President McCain. So, I'm really curious now. What exactly are the main issues liberals cite for HATING him so?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRohgYwzRMU
 
I used to think he was okay back when he was on CNN. I remember him bitching about the spending of the Bush administration - which is something that warmed my heart back then. The problem with him is that he is super religious and can't see the foreign policy dynamics, specifically in the middle east, in any kind of rational or objective way.

Because of this same thing, he trends towards conspiratorial John Birch-like views.
That includes the economy...because it's all a conspiracy to him.
Written by John of Patmos.

I was in similar shoes, 20 years ago...when I was 17. A close friend of mine was working with a dude that introduced him to those kinds of conspiracy books that (for one example) claim MLK was a communist...additionally I personally know people that still believe Obama was born in Kenya (among other lovely morsels) long story short, I know all about Glenn Beck and his followers and that whole paranoid segment of the Right.

Glenn Beck plays to this crowd and confirms their erroneous beliefs- either because he's true wacko, or a cynical businessman like Limbaugh. The real reason liberals hate him - apart from naturally believing caricatures about certain conservative types - is more or less because of this, JMO. Rush Limbaugh might say some ridiculous things, but I don't know that's he's pretending there is some factual or historical justification for it - it's just his opinion. Glenn Beck would stand in front of a chalkboard, taking historical facts and twisting them into a paranoid conspiracy linking reality - into some kind of precursor to the Book of Revelation. And I think that scares people.

But I think the Left is full of irrational hate as well as the Right, there isn't anything unique to it. Some people are just assholes and don't want to understand...and there is a segment of the Left (Leftists, not all liberals) that doesn't feel the need to understand people like Beck. Especially when he calls their Saviour a "racist" and other such ignorant nuggets.

All in all, - if sincere - he's probably more misunderstood than anything.
If not sincere - he's just as deplorable as a lot of people think. FTR, I think he's a true believer, and his intellect is saddled by how reality conforms to his eschatology. He's not such a bad guy, really. This is why = the best that Jon Stewart and his otherwise brilliant writers could do - was just a mockery of him - without really attacking the meat of what he was saying. That sort of tells you it all. Beck was using a lot of facts. He was/is just correlating them in an ignorant way.
 
Glenn is a master manipulator, and works the audience he thinks he's speaking to. So of course he toned it down and twisted it for Katie.

He is not for gay marriage, just do a quick search on YouTube.

You really think that he thinks Obama is "far superior"? He voted for McCain, don't doubt that, but he's giving you a armchair quarterback version that he thinks you want to hear.

And of course he bashes Bush, they all do. Why? Because they all figured out that they would be hypocrites if they didn't. The question you should be asking yourself is why wasn't he doing this DURING Bush's presidency?
 
U2DMfan said:
But I think the Left is full of irrational hate as well...and doesn't feel the need to understand people like Beck. Especially when he calls their Saviour a "racist" and other such ignorant nuggets.
"Saviour"? How cute :|
 
In the Fox news vs other media debate, I believe that Fox News is the only real conservative news channel in a sea of liberal media, and thus stands out. All media in America is pretty biased which is why I tend to get my news elsewhere. As for Glenn Beck, I think he's a sell-out. He used to be a voice of reason and now he's a voice of propaganda. He says what his target audience wants to here and because he's been right in the past, people listen to him. Ultimately, any political talk show should not be considered an accurate source for whatever political theories you may have.
 
In the Fox news vs other media debate, I believe that Fox News is the only real conservative news channel in a sea of liberal media, and thus stands out. All media in America is pretty biased which is why I tend to get my news elsewhere.



really? could you give us some examples of the "liberal media"?
 
really? could you give us some examples of the "liberal media"?

CNN and MSNBC have spun many things in the past to be extremely liberal. I believe ABC is guilty of this as well. I am of the opinion that news shouldn't have a "spin" and should just display itself as is. Unfortunately that's really hard to find these days.

I more interested in when was he the "voice of reason" and how has he been "right" in the past?

Something about him predicting something and it actually happening (like the economy crashing).
 
CNN and MSNBC have spun many things in the past to be extremely liberal. I believe ABC is guilty of this as well. I am of the opinion that news shouldn't have a "spin" and should just display itself as is. Unfortunately that's really hard to find these days.

I agree news shouldn't be spun in anyway, but I hope you realize that it's going to take a little more than this, like possibly some real examples.


Something about him predicting something and it actually happening (like the economy crashing).
That's specific...
 
CNN and MSNBC have spun many things in the past to be extremely liberal. I believe ABC is guilty of this as well. I am of the opinion that news shouldn't have a "spin" and should just display itself as is. Unfortunately that's really hard to find these days.

MSNBC is left-leaning, I give you that. CNN, on the other hand, quite honestly, I don't know what their deal is anymore. They seem to be turning into a tabloid/"let's ask Twitter followers what stories we should cover!" network more than anything else.

As for Glenn Beck...I don't know at all what his past pre-Fox News was like, so maybe at one time he was something along the lines of sane. Whenever I saw him on Fox, he just came off like a raving lunatic who made absolutely no sense of any sort. If that's how he really is, I think the guy needs help. If that's not how he is, and he's just acting that way because he knows that gets a certain part of the viewership riled up...that's just scary.

And by the way, Obama's not even close to being my "Saviour". The only time anyone would get that sort of a title from me is if they actually, you know, literally saved my life.
 
MSNBC is left-leaning, I give you that. CNN, on the other hand, quite honestly, I don't know what their deal is anymore. They seem to be turning into a tabloid/"let's ask Twitter followers what stories we should cover!" network more than anything else.

I haven't kept up to date with them in recent years except during major events. I remember turning on CNN and just thinking "What?". I agree with the tabloid description.

That's specific...

Yeah, I'm not defending him.
 
Yeah, I'm not defending him.

I guess I'm confused then, I thought you were trying to say that he was the voice of reason at one time.

I thought you were talking about some specific events that you knew of where he was correct and that's why he has an audience.
 
I more interested in when was he the "voice of reason" and how has he been "right" in the past?

"This guy's a great guy, Glenn Beck. I listen to the guy coming in to work at night. You're great. I listen to you all the time. I think you're about 30 years older than you are- you're amazingly smart for such a young guy."

chris_matthews.gif

I'm still a Beck fan, though I don't get to catch him very often anymore. And for the record, his old show on HLN and his radio show are a lot better than his old FNC show, which is probably the only thing many of his critics form their opinion of him off of.
 
Heh, that doesn't mean much to me, 'cause I don't pay a whole lot of attention to Chris Matthews. I've seen him on TV and stuff, sure, but he's not one I follow.

I haven't kept up to date with them in recent years except during major events. I remember turning on CNN and just thinking "What?". I agree with the tabloid description.

I often have that same reaction when I watch CNN :D. Every time they start bringing out the fancy-schmancy graphs and "Ooh, look at this new technological toy we have!" deal I just roll my eyes and put my head in my hands.

Mind you, I'm not saying new technology can't be helpful to a news network, certainly it can. But not the way CNN uses it.
 
"This guy's a great guy, Glenn Beck. I listen to the guy coming in to work at night. You're great. I listen to you all the time. I think you're about 30 years older than you are- you're amazingly smart for such a young guy."

chris_matthews.gif

I'm still a Beck fan, though I don't get to catch him very often anymore. And for the record, his old show on HLN and his radio show are a lot better than his old FNC show, which is probably the only thing many of his critics form their opinion of him off of.

I've never watched an entire show, but I've been listening to him since the early 2000s.

My take: he's always been a horrible human being, and always been a little off. Now, he's completely off.
 
I guess I'm confused then, I thought you were trying to say that he was the voice of reason at one time.

I thought you were talking about some specific events that you knew of where he was correct and that's why he has an audience.

Nope, I was saying that the reason people believe him now is because they think he was right about a few general things in the past so he is clearly a wizard who knows what he is talking about. It makes no sense to me.
 
All media are right wing. They're owned by corporations and serve the interests of those corporations. Fox News is just way better at it because they're willing to be completely disingenuous. The other networks have tried to mix honesty in with their corporatist views and have failed to come close to Fox's ratings.
 
All media are right wing. They're owned by corporations and serve the interests of those corporations. Fox News is just way better at it because they're willing to be completely disingenuous. The other networks have tried to mix honesty in with their corporatist views and have failed to come close to Fox's ratings.



this is the actual truth. MSNBC, Fox, and CNN are in the entertainment business, with only CNN trying to hold onto a modicum of hard news, the rest is all meant to keep your attention as they compete for ratings in order to sell ad time to massive corporations interested in furthering their own bottom line.

further, what there is of media that presents itself as left (like much of the MSNBC primetime lineup) isn't nearly as far to the left as Fox is to the right.

if you want actual, unbiased news you'll seek out sources that don't have traditional advertisements and heads towards NPR or PBS.
 
All media are right wing. They're owned by corporations and serve the interests of those corporations.

That's absurd. MSNBC trumpets that they "lean forward. The Washington Post couldn't be more different editorially than the Washington Times. True, corporations want a profit but the business models can vary 180 degrees.

Fox News is just way better at it because they're willing to be completely disingenuous. The other networks have tried to mix honesty in with their corporatist views and have failed to come close to Fox's ratings.

No. Fox News succeeds by not being in the herd.

Or as Charles Krauthammer said, “the genius of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch is that they found a niche… that is half the American people.”

A niche displeased with the bias of traditional news. You want proof? That's why we have a Fox News thread here, because their very existence is a threat to the progressive agenda so rarely challenged by non-Fox outlets.

Or are you going to tell me FYM doesn't "lean forward" either?
 
Or maybe that half the American people don't like it when reality conflicts with their worldview, so they'd rather listen to an echo chamber that tells them what they want to hear while at the same time identifying various enemies and threats.

Judgi g by the success of conservative media, it seems conservatives are much more willing to pay to be lied to because it feels good.
 
Just quietly, I've heard that Murdoch privately regards Ailes as a lunatic. The genius of Rupert Murdoch was to put a lunatic on a lunatic errand.
 
Or maybe that half the American people don't like it when reality conflicts with their worldview, so they'd rather listen to an echo chamber that tells them what they want to hear while at the same time identifying various enemies and threats.

And that's your nuanced take on it is it? Well here's mine. Maybe half the American people are still awake having yet to fall asleep next to a Progressive pod.
 
Conservatives want to be told they're right and that people are against them.

Liberals want to be told that they are smart.
 
INDY500 said:
And that's your nuanced take on it is it? Well here's mine. Maybe half the American people are still awake having yet to fall asleep next to a Progressive pod.

The most successful advertising reassures a person that what they are doing is okay. Fox does this. They tell their viewers that ignorance is okay so long as you wrap everything in jingoism and religious persecution.

I am many things, but I'm sure as shit not asleep at the wheel. I appreciate your attitude though. You sound above it all, like an activist judge!
 
He had to open his own soda? Well that is just not right. Take that to the highest levels. The humiliation of that must not be tolerated.


DALLAS (AP) -- Radio talk show host Glenn Beck isn't backing down from his public attack on American Airlines.

For a second straight day, Beck on Wednesday used his show to complain that a flight attendant treated him rudely. Beck claims it was punishment for his conservative views.

Beck said American should fire the flight attendant, and he vowed to never fly on American again.

"These big, stodgy airlines that think they can treat people like garbage - they can't," Beck said during a 14-minute segment he devoted to the topic. He suggested that such poor service could explain why American had to seek bankruptcy protection, yet insisted that he wasn't trying to hurt American or urge fans to boycott the airline.

American said it regretted that Beck "had a disappointing experience" on his flight home Monday from Newark, N.J., to Dallas. The airline said it was still looking into Beck's complaint, a response that the commentator called "lumbering."

Beck said a flight attendant fawned over other passengers in first class but spoke only one word to him, and slammed a can of soda on his tray without opening it as he did for others. As for evidence of political bias, Beck said the man loudly told other passengers "how he was so proud of the very liberal cities in America." However, Beck acknowledged that his wife, seated across the aisle, didn't notice anything unusual.

American spokesman Matt Miller said the airline was still trying to figure out what happened on the flight. He declined to say whether the flight attendant would be fired if Beck's account is accurate.

"We take customer complaints seriously, but we owe it to all of our customers and people to follow our prescribed process to get the facts first and then take appropriate action," Miller said.

Thousands of travelers lodge complaints about airlines with the federal government each year, and many more gripe to the airline without filing a formal complaint. In June, the latest results available, American ranked 10th out of 15 airlines in rate of complaints.

Beck is no ordinary traveler. He has a radio show that attracts more than 8 million listeners per week, trailing only Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage, according to Talkers, a magazine for the talk-show business.

But his protest likely won't affect the airline's revenue, said analyst Vicki Bryan, who follows American Airlines for bond-research firm Gimme Credit. She said Beck's followers are cost-conscious and will still shop for the best fare.

The president of the flight attendants' union, Laura Glading, said all passengers deserve and get courteous treatment from flight crews. She said that her group "will not allow Mr. Beck, or anyone else for that matter, to use a bully pulpit to jeopardize the livelihood of an American worker."

Airlines have feuded publicly with celebrities before. In December, actor Alec Baldwin was booted off an American flight for refusing to turn off his phone. He lampooned the airline on a "Saturday Night Live" skit in which he played an American pilot.

Baldwin is a liberal activist.

American is the nation's third-biggest airline. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, it is owned by AMR Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection in November.
 
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