Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Even Glenn Beck Is Right Twice a Day
IF only it were just about the color of his skin.
With all due respect to Jimmy Carter, the racist component of Obama-hatred has been undeniable since the summer of 2008, when Sarah Palin rallied all-white mobs to the defense of the "real America." Joe Wilson may or may not be in that camp, but, either way, that's not the news. As we watched and rewatched the South Carolina congressman's star turn, what grabbed us was the act itself.
What made the lone, piercing cry of "You lie!" shocking was that it breached a previously secure barrier. It was the first time that the violent rage surging in town-hall meetings all summer blasted into the same room as the president. Wilson's televised shout was tantamount to yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater. When he later explained that his behavior was "spontaneous" rather than premeditated, that was even more disturbing. It's not good for the country that a lawmaker can't control his anger at Barack Obama. It gives permission to crazy people.
The White House was right not to second Carter's motion and cue another "national conversation about race." No matter how many teachable moments we have, some people won't be taught. (Though how satisfying it would have been for Obama to dismiss Wilson, like the boorish Kanye West, as a "jackass.") But there is a national conversation we must have right now - the one about what, in addition to race, is driving this anger and what can be done about it. We are kidding ourselves if we think it's only about bigotry, or health care, or even Obama. The growing minority that feels disenfranchised by Washington can't be so easily ghettoized and dismissed.
Many of those Americans may hate Obama, but they don't love the Republican establishment either. Michael Steele, who was declared persona non grata at one of the mad "tea parties" in April, was not invited to that right-wing 9/12 March on Washington last weekend. There were no public encomiums for McCain or Bush. No Senate leader spoke to the gathering, and perhaps only Palin and Ron Paul would have been welcome from the ranks of what passes for G.O.P. presidential timber. If there was a real hero to this crowd, it was the protest's most prominent promoter, the radio and TV talker Glenn Beck.
Time put Beck on its cover this week. Man of the Year may not be far behind. Beck is not, as many liberals assume, merely the latest incarnation of Rush Limbaugh. He is something different. That's why he is gaining on his antecedents - and gaining traction in the country's angrier precincts.
Though Beck's daily Fox News show is in the sleepy slot of 5 p.m., his ratings are increasingly neck and neck with the prime-time tag team of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, and he has beaten them in the prized 25-to-54 demographic. It's not just because he is younger (45). This self-described "rodeo clown," who wells up with tears for dramatic effect, doesn't come across as cranky or pompous, like Limbaugh and O'Reilly. A fervent Mormon convert and proselytizer, he is untainted by association with the old Dobson-Robertson-Reed religious right. Unlike Limbaugh, he bonds with his fallible listeners by openly and repeatedly owning up to his own mistakes, including his history of drug and alcohol abuse. Unlike Hannity, he is not a Republican apparatchik.
Beck has notoriously defamed Obama as a "racist," but the race card is just one in his deck. His ideology, if it can be called that, mixes idolatrous Ayn Rand libertarianism with bumper-sticker slogans about "freedom," self-help homilies and lunatic conspiracy theories. (He fanned Internet rumors that FEMA was establishing concentration camps before tardily beating a retreat.) It's the same crazy-quilt cosmology that could be found in last weekend's Washington protest, where the marchers variously called Obama a fascist, a communist and a socialist, likening him to Hitler, Stalin, Castro and Pol Pot. They may not know that some of these libels are mutually exclusive. But what they do know is that they need a scapegoat for what ails them, and there is no one handier than a liberal, all-powerful president (who just happens to be black).
Beck captures this crowd's common emotional denominator - with appropriately overheated capital letters - in his best-selling book portraying himself as a latter-day Tom Paine, "Glenn Beck's Common Sense." Americans "know that SOMETHING JUST DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT," he writes, "but they don't know how to describe it or, more importantly, how to stop it." This is right-wing populism in the classic American style, as inchoate and paranoid as that hawked by Father Coughlin during the Great Depression and George Wallace in the late 1960s. Wallace is most remembered for his racism, but he, like Beck, also played on the class and cultural resentment of those sharing his view that there wasn't "a dime's worth of difference" between the two parties.
Now, as then, a Dixie-oriented movement like this won't remotely capture the White House. Now, unlike then, it is a catastrophe for the Republicans. The old G.O.P. Southern strategy is gone with the wind. The more the party is identified with nasty name-calling, freak-show protestors, immigrant-bashing (the proximate cause of Wilson's outburst at Obama) and, yes, racism, the faster it will commit demographic suicide as America becomes ever younger and more diverse. But Democrats shouldn't be cocky. Over the short term, the real economic grievances lurking beneath the extremism of the Beck brigades can do damage to both parties. A stopped clock is right twice a day. The recession-spawned anger that Beck has tapped into on the right could yet find a more mainstream outlet in a populist revolt from the left and center.
"Wall Street owns our government," Beck declared in one rant this July. "Our government and these gigantic corporations have merged." He drew a chart to dramatize the revolving door between Washington and Goldman Sachs in both the Hank Paulson and Timothy Geithner Treasury departments. A couple of weeks later, Beck mockingly replaced the stars on the American flag with the logos of corporate giants like G.E., General Motors, Wal-Mart and Citigroup (as well as the right's usual nemesis, the Service Employees International Union). Little of it would be out of place in a Matt Taibbi article in Rolling Stone. Or, we can assume, in Michael Moore's coming film, "Capitalism: A Love Story," which reportedly takes on Goldman and the Obama economic team along with conservative targets.
Unlike liberal critics of capitalist inequities, of course, Beck and his claque are driven by an over-the-top detestation of government. Washington is always the enemy, stealing their hard-earned money to redistribute it to the undeserving and shiftless poor (some of whom just happen to be immigrants or black). Though there is nothing Obama can do to stop racists from being racist, he could help stanch the economic piece of this by demonstrating how a reformed government can at times actually make Americans' lives better. That's what F.D.R. did, and that's the promise Obama made, swaying some Republicans and even some racists, during the campaign.
Too many Americans are impatiently waiting for results. It's hard to argue that the stimulus package reviled by big government-loathers is a success when unemployment continues to rise and most Americans feel none of the incipient "recovery" spotted by Ben Bernanke. The potential dividends to be gained at the end of the protracted health care debate also remain, for now, an abstraction to many who have lost and are continuing to lose their jobs, their savings and their homes.
Nor has Obama succeeded in persuading critics on the left or right that he will do as much for those Americans who are suffering as he has for the corporations his administration and his predecessor's rushed to rescue. To mark the anniversary of Lehman's fall, the president gave a speech on Wall Street last Monday again vowing reform. But everyone's back to business as usual: The Wall Street Journal reported that not a single C.E.O. from a top bank attended. The speech sank with scant notice because there has been so little action to back it up and because its conciliatory stance was tone-deaf to the anger beyond the financial district.
That same day a United States District Court judge in New York, Jed S. Rakoff, scathingly condemned the Obama Securities and Exchange Commission for letting Bank of America skate away with what Rakoff called an immoral and unjust wrist tap to settle charges that it covered up $3.6 billion paid out in bonuses when it purchased Merrill Lynch. How is this S.E.C. a change from the Clinton-Bush S.E.C. that ignored all the red flags on Bernie Madoff?
Beck frequently strikes the pose of an apocalyptic prophet, even insisting that he predicted 9/11. This summer he also started warning of domestic terrorism in the form of a new Timothy McVeigh. On this, one fears he knows whereof he speaks. For all our nation's unfinished business on race, racism is not Obama's biggest challenge during our unfinished Great Recession. He - and our political system - are being seriously tested by a rage that is no less real for being shouted by a demagogue from Fox and a backbencher from South Carolina.
80 Comments so far
Show AllBeck asks a lot of good questions. He then gives logical responses based on the research he and his staff apparently have done. If the establishment (old) media could remember how journalism is performed, Beck would be a non-factor. If the establishment (old) media would return recapture its heritage as government watchdog, as entrusted with in the Constitution, Beck would be a non-factor. If the establishment (old) media had not moved from a position of bias to one of outright advocacy, Beck would be a non-factor. Beck is merely exposing the sickening and destructive incest that exists between Wall Street, Washington and others, while the establishment (old) media sits on its thumb and rotates in self-congratulatory repose.
Did you see his story on the funeral home in Louisiana? Great stuff. Looks pretty accurate and well researched to me.
Yes, sometimes something is true, even if Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'reilly, Sarah Palin or Ann Coulter says that it is.
odoco
I would agree with you. I attended a Constitution Party / Religious Revival (yes - all in one) yesterday and did hear some (political) truths spoken. But as with Beck, Limbaugh and others who constantly stir the pot - I heard few substantive solutions for the identified problems. Cut spending - where? Increase the military - how - without increasing taxes or going further in debt? Paint Christianity as the victim - why - it is rapidly - and illegally - making strong inroads in our US military system - the perfect storm, etc. Talk about deviations from constitutional law - but can't site specific examples, etc.
Everybody is the victim, everyone thinks someone else should sacrifice, but not themselves, and those in government are the culprits (and many times they are), but we have an electorate that is too ignorant and misinformed to make better choices about their representatives. And yes - much of the rest of the world is laughing at us, slowly moving leftward, while this country sinks into a medieval religiosity and financial concentration with impending serfdom of the masses.
Only 23% of Oklahoma 2009 seniors could name the first president of the US - need I say more - and by the way - isn't this where Mr. Inhofe is from?
"Only 23% of Oklahoma 2009 seniors could name the first president of the US - need I say more - and by the way - isn't this where Mr. Inhofe is from?"
And isn't that exactly what the educational community has been aiming for?
odoco
Good morning Henry8 - I am not sure of the point of your question. I was a member of the 'educational community' for 28 years and such intellectual vacuity was never my goal. There is plenty of room to criticize public education - and I have done so for years - and was often politically ostracized and isolated - but I suspect that certain sectors of the leadership community would prefer an ignorant electorate as opposed to a truly informed electorate. The economic leadership community has, for years, stressed the importance of math and science and the subjectivity and relative unimportance of the social sciences - which makes perfect sense in a prostituted, corporate-controlled and cancerous capitalistic country. The point, of course, is that we have produced technology capable of ending life on the planet as we know it - but are still so emotionally and psychologically retarded that we fail to grasp and solve the 'human' problems that will, I am afraid, inevitably lead to the use of the weapons that the 'objective sciences and math' have developed. Of course - that is just my take on it.
Seems to me that if those on the Right and the Left would stick to issues and facts as opposed to labels and misinformation and demogoguery we might actually be able to solve some problems that would promote a positive outcome for the masses. But we both know there are those in this country that don't wish such harmony to be found among the masses - lest the masses unite - 'ya know what I mean pardner?
And by the way, I was in your state just last week and it seemed like a nice place to me. Of course, I didn't run into your governor . . . . .
Morning sir
"And by the way, I was in your state just last week and it seemed like a nice place to me. Of course, I didn't run into your governor . . ."
How you could miss his hair I don't know. Gov. Goodhair is everywhere these days!
That was a sentence left hanging out there wasn't it? I had just discovered there are only 26 districts here in Texas that require civics. When I e-mailed friend that teach in other parts of the country, they said it was less and their schools didn't either.
How anyone expects kids to grow up and be responsible without even knowing how the government is supposed to work is beyond me. I e-mailed a friend in Ok. that teaches History and he said just pick up a history book and the explanation of why their kids didn't know that is clear. Hes only mentioned once. He told me their textbooks are a disgrace.
"But we both know there are those in this country that don't wish such harmony to be found among the masses - lest the masses unite - 'ya know what I mean pardner?"
Yes I do and apparently they are in every area.
Texas is a weird state, we are economically conservative, politically conservative (though that was changing) but far more liberal socially than people expect, with a more ethnically divers population than many think. We still have pretty nice folk here, you won't go unhelped in an emergency....well Dallas maybe,,,,,glad you came last week, it was cooler! Come to East Texas, its gorgeous!
odoco
Hi Henry8 - your friend in Oklahoma should forsake history books and actually teach a curriculum with whatever resources are required to fulfill those learning tasks. I got away from textbooks along time ago - they are usually used by only new teachers who haven't had time to create their own meaningful material, or by those who are too lazy to do so.
They are required to use those books apparently and he says its almost impossible to teach real history anymore. By the way I looked back at the e-mail and its Jeffereson mentioned once. Washington got 3!
Hey Henry...what part of East Texas? That's my stomping grounds as well (Lufkin.) Sorry to everyone else for jumping off topic.
aussidawg
Yep...you guys forgive us please.....South of Cedar Creek Lake.
Somewhere between Seven Points and Trinidad. And here I thought he (they- it's a composite John Wayne PR personality) was from Bugtussle.
My God, the child can't even read a map.
Your childish attacks reveal your character, you might want to stop making a fool out of yourself.
Indeed, color's been the only notable "change" in the executive. And US real liberals better wake up and smell Obama's Bush-hog sty, for with him, Pullosi Punch and Judy Reed, we're being fed nothing but Repubican (sometimes literally: Gates, Specter, Bernanke, etc.) Democrap!
Frank Rich is correct that it is foolhardy to dismiss the growing minority that feels disenfranchised by Washington. Eric Hoffer’s classic, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, has great relevance to our times.
Hoffer speaks of the gifted propagandist who “brings to a boil ideas and passions already simmering in the minds of his hearers. He echoes their inner most feelings. Where opinion is not coerced, people can be made to believe only in what they already ‘know’. Propaganda by itself succeeds mainly with the frustrated. Their throbbing fears, hopes and passions crowd at the portals of their senses and get between them and the outside world. They cannot see but what they have already imagined, and it is the music of their own souls they hear in the impassioned words of the propagandist. Indeed, it is easier for the frustrated to detect their own imaginings and hear the echo of their own musings in impassioned double-talk and sonorous refrains than in precise words joined together with faultless logic.”
Hoffer’s words should serve as a warning. “Words are an essential element in preparing the ground for a mass movement…Mass movements do not usually rise until the prevailing order has been discredited. The discrediting is not an automatic result of blunders and abuses of those in power, but the deliberate work of men of words with a grievance...the masses listen to [the man of words] because they know that his words, however urgent, cannot have immediate results. The authorities either ignore him or use mild methods to muzzle him. Thus imperceptibly the man of words undermines the established institutions, discredits those in power, weakens prevailing beliefs and loyalties, and sets the stage for the rise of a mass movement.”
Pray that the rage testing President Obama and our political system does not become a full-blown mass movement. It is something they and we should all fear. For as Hoffer describes, “a full-blown mass movement is a ruthless affair.”
Are you talking about Glenn Beck, .....or Obama 2008?
Beck's use of the US flag adorned with corporate logos is a rip-off of Adbusters, who have long articulated the argument that the US is a soft Fascist state, with it's politics and policies dictated by corporate need.
Adbusters had the Corporate America flag at least 5 years ago. Adbusters magazine is a *very* liberal effort, who if Beck actually read, would have him screaming and tearing his clothes in a right-wing foaming frenzy. Their comment and criticism of modern 'culture' and 'lifestyle' is withering and dead on.
So once again, Beck is late to the party, relying on others to do the heavy lifting for him. He is a pathetic blowhard, unworthy of the title 'bombast'.
Walk in peace.
Maybe you and Beck have some "common Ground" then.
What exactly does he and Beck have in common? I suspect that you think that the socialist party is right wing.
The prophet loud mouth Glen Beck predicts there will be another terrorist attack like the Timothy McVeigh. Lets hope not. But if it happens let it be Fox Studio with Beck, Hannity and O rielly in there. They spew hate with every word they speak.
That's the irony of Beck warning of a home-grown terrorist attack. His own anti-government rhetoric is bound to stir up the McVeigh types out there.
Rich gets to the heart of the matter, I believe, when he points out that one of Beck's continuous messages is that "Washington is always the enemy". Here in the Pacific Northwest, where it seems that everyone and their mother is a libertarian, the people seem to enjoy giving in to the fear and hysteria that the government's role is to make sure that their lives will somehow be wrecked if Obama's lukewarm public option is put into effect. One could imagine the indignation if Obama and Congress actually had the courage and common sense to advocate for a single payer system. One letter writer in the local paper complained about the, in her words, "so-called" 50 million uninsured Americans while saying that not enough emphasis is given to the [supposed] 285 million Americans who do have health insurance. This woman's thinking seems to be, perhaps like other rabid libertarians and conservatives, that because she and others do have health insurance, then it should not matter what happens to those 50 million others who do not. She seemed to be saying, in essence, that those people who are dying and whose medical bills have not been paid because they are not covered by health insurance can go to hell for all she cares. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for good old Christian values. And women like this letter writer in all probability comprise the core of Glenn Beck's audience.
WILSON'S 'OUTCRY' NOT SPONTANEOUS
"When [Wilson] later explained that his behavior was 'spontaneous' rather than premeditated, that was even more disturbing. It's not good for the country that a lawmaker can't control his anger at Barack Obama. It gives permission to crazy people."
Rich is surely right in grasping the link between Wilson's act and the crazed, 'brink-of-out-of-control' tone of Town Hall meetings.
But I think he is wrong to accept at face value Wilson's statement that his supposed outburst was "spontaneous."
Of course the town hall individuals are truly angry. But the hysterical tone of their attacks is also a fascistic 'style' of rhetoric and political theatrics, Wilson's 'outburst' was a deliberate act of communucation with that right wing and their deliberately orchestrated tone of incipient violence.
The town hall meetings and Wilson's action were no more 'spontanous' than a 'spontaneous' Nazi riot.
Frank Rich recognizes that Democrats must not take things for granted but still misunderstands the plight of the angry throughout the country. I'm sorry but Glenn Beck and his followers are only a symptom of what's wrong with Washington. I do not support their racist, sexist, and religious bigotry ways. The intense level of such animosity towards Obama is most likely due to the way Obama and the Democrats show contempt for the working class. People can laugh at Texas, Kansas, Northern Florida, etc ... for having conservative wackos but what they fail to understand often times is that they are misunderstood. Yes, there are conservative wackos who will never change even when the working class issues are satisfactorily addressed. It's just that taking away the liberal, progressive, conservative, etc ... labels and getting straight to the heart of the working class issues would severely weaken the strength and intensity of the Glenn Beck followers.
Well said, Jennifer.
Joe
Excellent post!
I should point out the value of the stererotypes used about my state and others Jennifer, if you use them you don't really have to look at the truth rather than what you'd like to think. It fits someones prejudice.
Its the same for all narrow minded folks. Think of the stereotype of Mexicans that some so fondly use, its a crock, but it suits their prejudice. The same for the
stereotype that black kids cannot compete unless you lower the bar, demand less of them than others, its just prejudice.
At least Rich rejected the absurd idea that Obama's problems are caused because he is black.
Speaking of your state and Mexicans, I keep getting reminded of the good old western movies of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s I used to see from time to time and especially the ones which took place right near the Texas/Mexico border. I think that's where a lot of the prejudices stem from. Then there's the rotten truth that both LBJ, Daddy Bush, and Dubya ruined your state's name. I'm surprised that Raygun hadn't ruined CA's name although that may have been because of the blue switch in 1992?
Your state is no doubt so huge that I couldn't visit most of it. However, I'm happy to get to know more about TX from you, aussiedawg, bliss doubt, and plenty of good people here on this site. Most of us in the other 49 states have very little to brag about it. I already feel disgusted by state corrupt in MO getting out of hand although the only good news about that is it isn't as embarrassing as some states in the Northeast such as NJ and PA or at least the major cities in those states. I'm still open to see a bright side of each and every state, yes UT included.
Every state usually has plenty to brag on....Texans have just been at it longer! (lol)
I think most folks think of Texas as they saw in "Giant" or "Hud" or the "Chase" and I frankly do think its hard for some folks in other states to realize how big Texas is and what we produce.
But we certainly still have our share of rednecks ans racists. And we have a few corrupt folks in governmnt as well. But the problems we really have are different than most states.
Well said Jennifer.
"It's just that taking away the liberal, progressive, conservative, etc ... labels and getting straight to the heart of the working class issues would severely weaken the strength and intensity of the Glenn Beck followers."
But that's the last thing that either party plans to do.
Obama has abandoned the few working class issues (re-negotiating Nafta, employee free choice) that he supported in the campaign.
The left turns most Americans off because it is dominated by the upper middle class and projects a serious cultural arrogance and intolerance. So if for instance, if you don't accept gay marriage or the anti-male attitudes of many radical feminists, you are not welcome.
This is a dilemna because while feminism and gay rights are important, aspects of these are wedge issues that impede the formation of a mass populist movement.
When the left reclaims the issues of economic populism and place them at the top of the agenda, we will begin to work our way back from the fringe.
dreamjoehill - I disagree. Liberalism was / has been dominated by a small elitist clique - but that is changing. I know many, many people that could not be considered 'elitist' that fully comprehend the and agree with the need for progressive change. The younger generation is so much different than those of us my age (55), so much more open-minded, more concerned about the environment, racial justice, peace instead of war - this is what scares the conservative right: not only are they in the minority now - but unless they used totally fascistic means to accomplish the reverse - they will continue to be the minority in the future. The next thing, in fact already a reality, is that somehow Christians in this nation have become the 'victims.'
Ah yes, ever the repressed chosen people of the New World. . ??
Jen, you and I seem to be having the same sort of thoughts. We consider ourselves staunch liberals, populists, possibly even socialists. Yet we find ourselves agreeing with assholes like Glenn Beck and Joe Wilson! Obama did lie, does lie, will lie some more. Corporations do own all the power in America.
You hit the nail on the head when you said "Obama and the Democrats show contempt for the working class" but I would add that all of the Washington Gang shows that contempt, and if we are really to draw lines, it would be "The Ruling Class" Vs. "The Rest of Us".
What we have still are writers like Rich carving us up into sections and pasting the old labels on us, the better to blame each other with. And the labels also serve to allow Obama and others to act like they are trying to unite Americans with Bi-partisan (don't you just want to barf when you hear that word?) agreements.
These labels are not going to go away, since even the "liberal" press can't seem to get away from them, so rather than weakening the Glenn Beck followers we must somehow find common ground to unite with them! AACK.
Looking at my own philosophy, I think my first olive branch would be on the subject of fiscal "conservatism". For instance, I was rather appalled to find that the congressional rep from the district in which I used to live, Republican Steve LaTourette, whom I rather dispised (being married to a lobbyist and all) had voted more in line with my views than the Democrat Tim Ryan in my new district. (Ryan voted for the bailout and for the war supplemental. I repeatedly called Ryan's office and urged him to vote no on the bailout, like so many of my fellow Ohioans. I actually voted for his Republican opponent.) This could actually lead to the idea that war is financially irresponsible. Could financially irresponsible plus morally reprehensible equal Peace? And so on.
Getting straight to the heart of working class issues would allow us to see that they are not the same issues that Washington and its corporate masters are concerned with, and that is what truly divides us. What true liberals, and by that I mean those concerned with truth, tolerance, and inclusiveness, are called to do is to rise above our petty differences, temper justified rage with rational plans for action, and promote the idea that we are a society of one group: humans.
" So rather than weakening the GB followers we must find some way to unite with them ". Elainem, I do not purport to know how this can be done, but that is the only thing from my perspective, that would scare the hell out of the Glenn Becks, Limbaughs and the rest of their egregious ilk.
PR, thanks for the laugh. They sure do scare the hell out of me. But alas, their followers and fans include my friends and family. I had a cousin on facebook who responded 'yes' to an online poll that asked whether or not they liked Glenn Beck. I of course made a comment that he was a hate-spewing fiction-spinner and represented all that was wrong with the American media. But since then I have done a lot of thinking. How would I begin a true dialog with my cousin, whom I love dearly? It would certainly have to start with something we can agree on.
I read a book dealing with salesmanship sometime ago. It theorized that the first thing you want to get your customer to do is say "yes", even though it might just be to the question "Isn't it a beautiful day?". Then the more times you can get them to say yes during your conversation, the more likely they will be to say yes to your ultimate pitch and buy your product. Just a thought.
There's plenty to disagree with Joe Wilson and Glenn Beck on but yes there are odd moments to agree, or least partially agree, with them on something. I haven't watched Beck or Maddow much but it is of serious concern to watch one side unexpectedly siding against Corporate America while the other side is mum. If Mccain were in office, I would probably guess that Beck would be the mum one while Maddow wouldn't be as weak on speaking out against corporate abuse.
Steve LaTourette I can never forget. I remember once seeing him in TV sweating like hell as he had to put up with his own constituents hammering him for initially supporting the bailouts to W$. I'm glad he finally grew part of a brain. Tim Ryan sounds like a joke. My grandaunt lives in his district and she used to love James Trafficant to death. To me though, JT may have been a jerk and a crook but he was right about the IRS screwing poor people and he was right about China taking over America although it's slowly happening in a different manner. It's also odd that almost everyone who voted to convict him are no less corrupt than he is.
"I haven't watched Beck or Maddow much but it is of serious concern to watch one side unexpectedly siding against Corporate America while the other side is mum. If Mccain were in office, I would probably guess that Beck would be the mum one while Maddow wouldn't be as weak on speaking out against corporate abuse." -- Jennifer
Exactly! Like you, I don't spend much time watching any of them. But, I have noticed this same phenomenon on more than one occasion.
"It's just that taking away the liberal, progressive, conservative, etc ... labels and getting straight to the heart of the working class issues would severely weaken the strength and intensity of the Glenn Beck followers." -- Jennifer
If only we could remove the labels -- and meet each other as human beings instead of as people who are pitted against one another. This would mean that we, progressives, need to engage in conversations with the tea-baggers, and others who have different points of view. Quite honestly, this is the best way to find common ground. Who knows? We might find common ground in environmental issues, or economic issues, etc. -- that is, if we engage with them, instead of ridiculing them. Their rage is authentic -- and, so is mine! Certainly, we have that in common.
Once upon a time, labor unions in the U.S. brought diverse peoples together for the good of the group, and for the betterment of their communities. Union members crossed the lines of labels. However, over the past 25 or 30 years, they have been dealt one big blow after another. Now, EFCA, The Employee Free Choice Act, seems to be hanging by about half a thread. Of course, powerful corporations, e.g. CostCo, Whole Foods, Starbucks, etc., came together to lobby against the bill.
"Obama and the Democrats show contempt for the working class." -- Jennifer
I agree!
The media is very adept at dividing us -- almost every news program on the networks and cable channels seek ratings, and what better way to ramp up their ratings than to provoke controversy. Each program enlists a conservative, and a so-called progressive, and the issue-of-the-day is attacked, with the pundit often acting as the referee. The segment lasts about 6 or 7 minutes, and nothing is decided or accomplished. Time's up! Maybe, the discussion, or arguments, are continued the next day, or maybe, never.
Capitalism promotes competition rather than cooperation, collective harmony and social connectedness. The ultimate goal of capitalism is profit, and to then grow that profit at the expense of the many to benefit the self-interested few. It's the survival of the fittest, and if we stumble, and/or fall, we are all supposed to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. I ask, "What if we don't have any boots?"
People who write articles about telling the truth really should be careful about what they say. For instance, here's some stuff I didn't know:
Spontaneous, angry, accurate outbursts give permission to crazy people.
The president is a liberal.
The president is all-powerful.
Only a minority of the population feels disenfranchised by Washington. (56.8% of the voting age population voted in 2008, leaving 43% of the people so disenfranchised that they don't even bother to participate.)
The SEC belongs to Obama. (Even though he appointed only one of the five members, who was also, much earlier, appointed by Reagan. How could it change when it is actually the same by design?)
Mr. Rich walks up and knocks on the door but he doesn't quite open it. He continues to draw lines between liberals and conservatives, republicans and democrats, us and them. Our political system is being or will be tested by rage against the evils it has done to those it purports to serve. But the rage isn't just felt by the crazy people. Or if it is, count me as crazy.
What you said! And thank you very much for saying it.
Right on, woman. If an American is not pissed, s/he is not paying attention.
MichaelC
This is fun, watching Jennifer, Elaine, Henry, Kay and lots of others chat amongst themselves. They are so in synch, almost extensions of one another, except that they have all announced their locality from MO to TX to WA to NY, which shows that the sentiment "vote third party" and "anybody but Obama" is widely held. Makes me want to say "Yes" to whatever is being sold, just like Elaine mentioned.
I'd love to hear Kucinich yell "you lie", THAT would be an act of courage. God knows Obama has lied enough about issues dear to Kucinich: Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, the public option, gays in the military, Wall Street bailouts, torture, take your pick.
This Joe Wilson brouhaha is fantastic for Obama, let's divert attention from his backstabbing of 60 million voters, lies and betrayal of the American worker by focusing on the racist loonies on the right. The race smoke screen is a gift from heavens with Frank Rich as the perfect media enabler.
One way or the other Wilson did Obama a huge favor, now his numbers are up again and the illusion that Democrats and Republicans are opponents gets a boost. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the White House and Wilson arranged it all in advance.
Yes. These crazy right-wing attacks drive people to defend Obama, even while he's stabbing us in the back.
Matt Taibbi, writing about Glenn Beck and his minions, points out that "this country has no healthy avenues for genuine populist outrage. It never has. The setup always goes the other way: when the excesses of business interests and their political proteges in Washington leave the regular guy broke and screwed, the response is always for the lower and middle classes to split down the middle and find reasons to get pissed off not at their greedy bosses but at each other."
http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/2009/04/14/americas-peasant-mentality/
I watched Glenn Beck (twice to make sure) since so many of you referred to him and I had never seen him.
Yep, pretty much like Hannity except with an itch he can't scratch. Stereotypes abounding and little substance.
I did learn one thing watching him....you were all right....24/7
"It's the same crazy-quilt cosmology that could be found in last weekend's Washington protest, where the marchers variously called Obama a fascist, a communist and a socialist, likening him to Hitler, Stalin, Castro and Pol Pot. They may not know that some of these libels are mutually exclusive. But what they do know is that they need a scapegoat for what ails them, ....AND THERE is no one handier than a liberal, all-powerful president (who just happens to be black)."
The only truth in this last quoted statement is that Obama is black! Liberal....only with taxpayer dollars being given to the corporations/banks/rich folk. All-Powerful....there are three branches of govt. which is supposed to render ALL POWERFUL impossible to one arm of our govt. DOESN'T HOLD WATER.
The author misses the point when he fails to point out that we have no liberal/left/progressive talk-show host on mainstream television that can debate the small-minded/right-wing crazies that own the media outlets! Without a level playing field, the minority can recruit more ignorant masses to join them as long as they are protected & supported by their tons of money which is protected by the 1st Amendment according to our US Supreme Court ruling during the Bush 2 years!
Liberal talk radio does not sell in the USA because by definition Liberals tend to think for themselves. They do not need instructions as to how to think and what they should think.
The conservative mind is deferential to voices of Authority. They allow themselves to be told what they should think. In the mindset of this group financial success equals a "Voice of Authority" as in "He has millions of dollars and is on the radio everyday therefore what he says MUST be true".
Couple this with the corporate medias desire to ensure the Status quo is not questioned and you will have little in the way of "Liberal" talk radio.
You end up with lemmings going over a cliff with those in the back of the line pushing their way to the front forcing those in the front (who have stopped because there a cliff) over the edge.
odoco
Excellent and accurate observation Gw.
All conservatives? Come on guys....give the folks a break!
Now, as then, a Dixie-oriented movement like this won't remotely capture the White House.
Now is not like then. Now is never like then. And yes, it can capture the White House. Mr. Rich, like so many fundamentally well meaning people, cannot bring himself to believe that the United States can become Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union under Stalin.
FR writes "Unlike liberal critics of capitalist inequities, of course, Beck and his claque are driven by an over-the-top detestation of government." I.e., Rich takes Beck at face value .... does anyone in their right mind believe that Beck is a real 'conservative' ideologue?
Beck's rage is a charade, Rich's yammering is a charade. All to divert the hoi polloi, that's you and me. Neither address directly or indirectly the forces that rule the US.
In fact, the neo-cons have screwed the R's so bad they've become the polar opposites of the old R's. They have joined the left in making contempt of the US the common currency of discussion. I think we are witnessing the total collapse of the US identity.
What we need is to become conversant with the ideas of finance and the financial institutions that have ruled the world for the last 200 years. There have been wake-up calls in the past that have been routinely ignored, just as they are being ignored today, and the consequences have been disastrous, as they are likely to be once again.