A bit of background on Glenn Beck

[DonCoquixote]

It's funny to see Glenn Beck gain national attention, especially when I can remember him starting out his talk show career in Tampa. That's right, Glenn Beck is one more odd thing to come out of Florida. I humbly offer you some background, that I think will reveal more about the man, and why he acts the way he does.

Tampa Bay radio was known for being more like stand up comedy than a talk show. You had people who did crazy skits, and mixed in the right wing rants, but nobody every took these folks that seriously. The most notable of them was a fellow called Bob Lassiter, who seemed to offend everyone, not sparing left or right. Along came Clear Channel, taking over all the major radio in town, and of course, encouraging the talk to shift hard to the right. Bob Lassiter of course condemned this, especially as he saw people that used to be moderate start talking like Rush. True enough, he was fired, and along came Glenn Beck, who none had heard of. His coming pretty much signaled that Clear Channel was in town, after all, if they are willing to ax someone who had high ratings and bring in some unknown from Connecticut, nobody was safe.

As for the skits, Glenn seemed to fit in at first, being a bad comedian. However, there was always malice. One of his main skits was Satan writing love poems to Hillary, complete with special effects. He also Demonized the left, but always tried to act nice about it, the holier than thou tone that always seemed to say "don't you realize if you submit to god all will be better?" I remember during the 2000 election recount, he did everything possible to demonize those trying to count the votes. Keep in mind, while many fo you were safe and warm in the rest of the country, WFLA would get calls on every show from some of the more vocal anti-castro types. By more vocal, I mean people who were part of paramiltary groups that threatened riots. I mean people that would call in when some timid Florida Democrat came in, and tell them they would "hear from us soon." Keep in mind that the Elian fiasco was still fresh in people's minds, and many Cubans were going to make sure the democrats paid dearly. Well, of course, after pouring gasoline on fires, Glenn Beck gave this speech about "Are we still the good people Normal Rockwell painted? Can't we unite now?" Of course, callers called him out, saying e had helped to stir up things more than anyone.

Of course, his ratings went through the roof, and he got promoted to the national scene, after taking what was a mildly centrist market and making it safe for Rush Limbaugh.

So, what's the point?
A) He is someone the MSM know can go into somewhat hostile territory and make it safe for them. Tampa was not warm to Hard Right radio beforehand.

B) He buys his own BS, and believes he is really a nice guy who is trying to do good. Like W. this makes him a dangerous fool.

C) He has no problem letting the more rabid types go rabid. He knowingly stoked the fires of people who were threatening violence

This is all behavior he showed in Tampa, and he knows her gets rewarded for it.

[opihimoimoi]

1. A friggen Rush Wannabe...Beck is EVIL

[MrScorpio]

2. Glenn Beck is an idiot

Pure and simple

[Fovea]

3. Beck reminds me of my brother.

who section eighted out of the service.

I mean, it's kinda eerie.

[Gman]

4. Most importantly,

Beck is a (I assume recovering) alcoholic. However, he still has all of that faux sincerity that you hear from a used car salesman alcoholic. I wrote it down and put it in my sig line when I heard him say, "I'm an alcoholic. I speak fluent bullcrap." If you've been around enough of them, and I've seen plenty, you can picture Beck sitting at the far stool in a dimly lit bar at 2 in the afternoon drinking double Jack Daniels on the rocks and crying while telling the bartender how much he loves his country. To which the bartender starts thinking, "I think he's had just about enough."

My point is that because he's an alcoholic, he can turn on that faux sincerity and that fake emotion at will and actually feel it. And that's dangerous stuff.

[DonCoquixote]

5. BINGO!

Gman, you get first prize for getting my point! Add to this that the means he used to get off the sauce is a conversion to the Mormon faith. The danger is, I do not think it is "Fake" sincerity, Like W. this man believes his own propaganda, which makes him MORE deadly.

[dmr]

8. I don't know. I think he's a bad actor. Actually I think they're all bad actors at Faux.

I've purposely been tuning in on Fox - going back and forth between the three cable channels - trying to compare the 3.

Each day I've made myself watch the entire hour of Glen Beck, and I can't stress the "I MADE myself watch" too strongly here, either.

From all that I gather from Fox is their attempts to be outraged at the silliest and strangest things pertaining to President Obama and the Democratic Congress. I say attempt to be outraged because they are bad actors with very bad scripts. Some are better than others, but it's still bad acting.

Watching them talk back and forth with one another, sometimes breathlessly with their attempts at faux outrage, ridiculous film clips of Nazis, and whatever else they conjure up is meant to incite dangerous flames in the hearts and minds of the intellectually challenged, and out-right ignorant bigots. Yet, I found they stroke their viewers to convince them they are intelligent, or smart, or analytic to understand that what they are saying is the truth. And because on the Left we always talk about context, and about knowing history - Fox has begun to 'teach' history to their viewers - because to understand history is to understand just how dangerous Obama is to this nation and how we are losing our country and Constitution to Socialism or Marxism or whatever flavor Fox is peddling. Cue the hang-wringing and tears here.

What is striking is they've pretty much dropped the pretense of being a cable news channel, and have adopted a faux grass-roots anti-Democrat crusade.

They are in fact a well-financed, corporate sponsored anti-Democrat propaganda machine.

Fox is determined to create demons where none exist. Sadly for America, the demon is Fox Nation.

Beck knows exactly what he is doing. He's the guy who throws the rock and hides his hand. I believe he's an off-air bigot that can't stand the black man sitting in the Oval Office. Beck and his ilk cannot stand that that black man is an intelligent, respected, respectful, well-spoken, gentleman and family man, who is well-received here at home and around this globe. I truly do worry about the safety of President Obama.

When I watch Fox, I try to think of it as comedy - or else my head will explode, but it isn't easy and it surely isn't funny. I'm not sure how long I can continue to monitor Fox.

There's something to be said about facts and truth. I've written my complaint to the FCC, and my cable provider.

If this is how Fox is behaving so early in our president's term, just where are they going as time continues?

I think 2009 is going to have one very long hot summer.

[Prophet 451]

7. Dry drunk syndrome?

I'm presuming he's quit. Just a thought.

[tomreedtoon]

6. Thanks for the info. I thought he was familiar.

I can't recall ever listening to him, although a couple of decades ago I worked with a "controversial" radio talk show host named Steve Kane in Orlando. He later went to Miami. He was a protege of the original Florida media rabblerouser, Joe Pyne.

Where right-wing hosts have the Republicans and right-wing preachers for their support, supposed "liberal controversial" guys like Kane leaned on prostitutes and lawyers for topless bars. And oddly enough, Klansmen. The Klan welcomed anyone who would pay attention to them, and they were a steady source for Kane's faux outrage.

I lost touch with Kane (not that I wanted to follow him) but I bet he suddenly "saw the light" and switched to being a right-wing Limbaugh clone. Did you know there is a guy named Dan O'Day running a national broadcaster training and support site, who has a book about how to become a right wing talk show host? Yes, it's kind of like a home correspondence course.

[formercia]

9. People like Beck don't happen by accident

it's all brought to us by the very well organized and funded right-wing reactionary oligarchs that control the majority of the mainstream media. Beck, Limbaugh and others are just their shills to set the bar on polarized propaganda so that their message, which would otherwise seem extreme, seems mild and even acceptable to many.

These extreme messages, in various forms, have been going on for generations.

[DonCoquixote]

10. Second Bingo!

The whole point was to show that Glenn is no accident, he was put in my town as part of a plan to shift radio to the Rush Limbaugh side, and it worked like a friggin charm.