Originally Posted By DAR I've only heard Beck's radio show once and might have caught his tv show on CNN a year or so. I never considered him to be crazy but probably because he wasn't part of the I'M SHOUTING SO HOW CAN I POSSIBLY BE WRONG CROWD.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Glenn Beck says many outlandish things, and I can't defend every one of them. I don't listen to his whole show nor do I watch his TV show often. He's also frequently talking about the possible futures, which can sometimes be extreme - he'll tell you that, too. However, I read one of his books and when I do hear him on the radio, I agree with him. I believe he is sincere, and cares deeply about the country, probably more than ratings - no matter how much you think differently." Josh, you blatantly contradict yourself here. In the first paragraph you admit he says many outlandish, idefensible things and that you don't hear or see him that much, then the next paragraph you praise him for his love of country and the little you do hear. Is it safe to assume you're a sincere, indefensible extremist like he is? Your words, not mine.
Originally Posted By utahjosh Oh geez, SPP, calm down. I didn't contractict myself, quit nit picking at every little word to try to "win." Glenn Beck is not crazy, but he can be extreme on some of his "guesses" about America's future. I admire his love of country and share his concern for the direction the country is headed (socialism)
Originally Posted By ecdc >>However, I read one of his books and when I do hear him on the radio, I agree with him. I believe he is sincere, and cares deeply about the country, probably more than ratings - no matter how much you think differently.<< Sincerity and sanity have nothing to do with each other. I'm sure Timothy McVeigh was plenty sincere too. There's a larger issue here. The 20% or so who disapprove of President Obama's performance get their news from places like Fox News and Glenn Beck. These people do real harm with this nonsense. Thanks to these people, there's Americans who believe their President was a terrorist. Thanks to these people, they believe their President is someone who rounds up people who don't think like him and puts them in concentration camps. They believe he's a socialist. It's the ultimate hypocrisy from people who claim to be all about patriotism and "Country First." There's nothing less patriotic than spreading these kind of lies about the American President. There's plenty of room for reasonable disagreement with the President and his policies. Concern about increasing the debt I can understand. But what's the point of this extremism other than to drum up ratings or to demonize the other side to compensate for some deep-seeded insecurity?
Originally Posted By ecdc And BTW Josh, you don't have to defend Glenn Beck just because he's a convert to Mormonism.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I admire his love of country and share his concern for the direction the country is headed (socialism)<< More of the same. We're not heading towards socialism. We're heading towards fixing an unsustainable system. Go watch the link I provided to Frontline. We cannot continue to sustain Medicare and social security as baby boomers hit retirement age in the next couple of years. Right now Medicare is 5% of federal spending. In 40 years it will be 20% of federal spending. We literally cannot sustain that. Something has to give. Republicans have offered nothing other than fear tactics and nonsense about "socialism." They won't cut Medicare because it's political suicide since seniors are the largest voting segment. Of course, they can't define why it's socialism or give specifics about exactly what the problem is. They just don't like Obama because he has a "D" after his name, so they rant on nonsensically about "socialism."
Originally Posted By utahjosh <And BTW Josh, you don't have to defend Glenn Beck just because he's a convert to Mormonism.> Pretty presumptuous to think that's why I defend him, ecdc. That doesn't make you someone I'd like to continue a conversation with. I liked Glenn Beck before I knew he was LDS. And you did you really just blame Glenn Beck for people believing that Obama is a terrorist? Wow. Have you ever listened to him?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "Oh geez, SPP, calm down. I didn't contractict myself, quit nit picking at every little word to try to "win." The hell you didn't. Here's either a nutjob or he isn't. You called him outlandish. And then you didn't. And trying to "win"? What are you talking about? "Glenn Beck is not crazy, but he can be extreme on some of his "guesses" about America's future. I admire his love of country and share his concern for the direction the country is headed (socialism)" You still haven't explained the concentration camp remarks.
Originally Posted By utahjosh The camps comment is blown out of proportion by the Liberal voices in the media. From NPR, the news I'm sure you love and respect: "In a recent interview at Fox News' Manhattan studios, Beck worked up a full head of steam over Obama's spending plan, saying, "Unless we hold them responsible for their actions — unless we actually say, 'Enough!' Unless we say, 'You play by the same rules that we have to play by' — unless that happens, we have an out-of-control government that will steamroll us." In person and on the air, Beck is a self-deprecating and often buoyant guy who has spoken publicly on the importance of getting past partisan divisions. But his depiction of the country is frequently bleak and conspiratorial. Beck has brooded on the air about whether FEMA is somehow setting up concentration camps — a notion that few take seriously and that even Beck has told viewers he can't prove. He hammers on the idea that Obama has throughout his life been surrounded by Marxist thinkers and that his program seems socialistic. He satirically plays off Stalinist imagery in characterizing the administration's proposals. As for his own politics, Beck invoked an affinity for a group of politicians from an earlier era — an affinity over which he says he has bonded with Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes. "I have become more and more libertarian every day — more and more against both of these parties," Beck said, adding, "As every day goes by I have just become much more like the Founding Fathers. I just wanted to be in a place that understood that." "
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder NORMAL would be either a Republican or Democrat who says "I disagree with his philosophy ans his tactics but for the country's sake, I hope he's right." Normal would even be "I disagree vehemently". Normal is NOT "I hope he fails" or "He's going to put us all in FEMA concentration camps" or "he's a socialist". Calling Obama is a socialist is nothing more than a lowest common denominator fear and scare tactic, akin to calling him a "commie". Ridiculous and extreme.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "But his depiction of the country is frequently bleak and conspiratorial. Beck has brooded on the air about whether FEMA is somehow setting up concentration camps — a notion that few take seriously and that even Beck has told viewers he can't prove." But why does Beck bring it up at all? And do you actually read these quotes? He "brooded"? Sounds like Beck has some emotional issues that make him, well, not normal.
Originally Posted By utahjosh "Brooded" was the liberal media's word to describe beck to make him sound like he has "emotional issues" (a term you just added to exaggerate the exaggerated point) Plus, I never said he wasn't normal. I actually think he's better than normal. But he's not unstable or crazy.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I don't think Beck is insane. But I agree with this assessment very much: >>his depiction of the country is frequently bleak and conspiratorial<< In this, he is not alone. This is the way it works in talk radio. If your party isn't the one in power, you start painting grim images of what's to come. It's how you form a loyal following, huddled together to commisserate over how the country is going to hell in a hand basket. It isn't crazy. It gets ratings. Beck is far more likeable than Limbaugh or Hannity or O'Reilly -- he is far less of a blowhard than those three, so that's a good thing. I can imagine having a reasonable conversation with him one on one. But I think first he'd have to get away from some of that bleak stuff. It's that all-or-nothing approach that doesn't win anyone over, just feeds anger. If he is truly a libertarian, truly like the founding fathers like he claims, he ought to be a little more open to hearing ideas from all around, not dismissing everything as "socialist".
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "But he's not unstable or crazy." Again, concentration camps? Moreover, if you ever do take the time to actually listen to him, see how much substance there is rather than words that make sense in a row. Go on a listening safari for consecutive coherent sentences that form an idea backed up with evidence and aren't interrupted by a tangent. You can't do it.
Originally Posted By utahjosh <In this, he is not alone. This is the way it works in talk radio. If your party isn't the one in power, you start painting grim images of what's to come. It's how you form a loyal following, huddled together to commisserate over how the country is going to hell in a hand basket.> Except Beck has been saying this for years, even with W in office. <It isn't crazy. It gets ratings. Beck is far more likeable than Limbaugh or Hannity or O'Reilly -- he is far less of a blowhard than those three, so that's a good thing. I can imagine having a reasonable conversation with him one on one.> I totally agree. I can't stand Hannity or Rush or O'Reilly most of the time. <Moreover, if you ever do take the time to actually listen to him, see how much substance there is rather than words that make sense in a row. Go on a listening safari for consecutive coherent sentences that form an idea backed up with evidence and aren't interrupted by a tangent. You can't do it.> He'll agree with you on the random blabbing. But within his self-described A.D.D.-riddled rants, he's got a lot of meaningful and important things to say. He's also got lots of satire and a few out-there worst-case-scenarios, too.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 2oony nailed it, I think. More likable than Limbaugh or Hannity, but with a strange conspiratorial mindset. And must know somewhere that such musings set him apart and gain ratings. But why even raise the specter of concentration camps (!) when you have zero evidence of them? Also, "loves his country" should be pretty much a given, no? It hardly negates the other stuff.
Originally Posted By DAR Nobody in talk radio will ever be able to touch Art Bell in the arena of crazy. Or Michael McGee, a local guy around here.
Originally Posted By DAR <<More likable than Limbaugh or Hannity>> I think it was Entertainment Weekly in their top entertainers of the year issue last December included Hannity as part of the whole election coverage which included Stewart, Olbermann and such by labeling him "the Right's most affiable attack dog."
Originally Posted By ecdc Part of the problem here is that these people keep drawing the line between two camps. They have no sense of just how wacky they are, so they think everybody is like them. They don't even understand that there is some middle ground. A reasonable person can watch mainstream news and get their own sense of how to feel about these things, instead of watching these extremist filters. Last night President Obama got some tough questions from the press. He made sure to call on both Fox News and the Washington Times - two very conservative outlets. Some of the questions he handled quite well, others he dodged a bit. Someone could watch the Frontline episode I linked to and come away thinking Obama's plan is the way to go. Or they could come away thinking it's bad news. There is a broad middle ground. There's a million different reasonable ways to feel about this President and about the state of our country right now. There's a million different issues to agree or disagree on. It used to be that people would read the same news article and watch the same evening news report, and make up their own minds. But people like Glenn Beck paint a picture that if you're not in their tiny extremist corner, then you're a socialist. You're an Obama lap-dog. You're a victim of "MSM" reporting. It turns reality on its head - it takes the mainstream and makes it extreme, and it presents the extreme as normal and reasonable - like calling Obama a socialist. It creates an alternate reality that too many Americans live in. Then when they open their mouths to speak about politics, the rest of us just drop our jaws in shock that someone could be so ignorant and uninformed. This is what we have to thank people like Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, and Fox News for.
Originally Posted By DAR The other day I went to my favorites on my Direct TV remote. Brought both MSNBC and Fox News, removed both from my list. I don't really have the desire to watch either station.
