The Washington Postcolumist Dana Milbank has a few words to say about Glenn Beck and his new-found affection of civil rights.
Civil rights’ new ‘owner’: Glenn Beck
By Dana Milbank
Sunday, August 29, 2010There is a telling anecdote in Glenn Beck’s 2003 memoir about how the cable news host was influenced by the great fantasist Orson Welles. To travel between performances in Manhattan, Beck recounts, Welles hired an ambulance, sirens blaring, to ferry him around town — not because Welles was ill but because he wanted to avoid traffic.
Most of us would regard this as dishonest, a ploy by the self-confessed charlatan that Welles was. Beck saw it as a model to be emulated. “Welles,” he writes, “inspired me to believe that I can create anything that I can see or imagine.”
I was reminded of Beck’s affection for deception as he hyped his march on Washington — an event scheduled for the same date (Aug. 28) and on the same spot (the Lincoln Memorial) as Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic march 47 years ago. Beck claimed it was pure coincidence, but then he made every effort to appropriate the mantle of the great civil rights leader.
Beck as the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream? And you thought “War of the Worlds” was frightening.
It’s been just over a year since Beck famously called the first African American president a “racist” with a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” And now, accused of racial pot-stirring, he apparently has determined that the best defense is to be patently offensive.
“Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King,” he tells us, any more than whites own Lincoln or Washington. “The left” doesn’t own King, either, he says.
No, Beck owns King. “This is the moment, quite honestly, that I think we reclaim the civil rights movement,” he said this spring. “We are on the right side of history. We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties and, damn it, we will reclaim the civil rights moment. We will take that movement because we are the people that did it in the first place.”
We are? Let’s review Beck’s history as a civil rights pioneer, a history I’ve studied while writing a book about Beck.
When Beck was a radio host in Connecticut in the 1990s, his station apologized for an on-air skit in which Beck and his partner mocked an Asian American caller and used their version of an Asian accent. As a CNN host a couple of years ago, Beck interviewed Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim elected to Congress, and challenged him to “prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.”
President Obama, who Beck says was elected because he isn’t white, is “moving all of us quickly in slavery,” Beck has asserted. On his radio show, he declared that “you don’t take the name Barack to identify with America. . . . You take the name Barack to identify with . . . the heritage, maybe, of your father in Kenya, who is a radical.” He accused Obama of seeking “reparations” from white America, seeking to “settle old racial scores.”
Beck has spoken on air about “radical black nationalism” in the White House and “Marxist black liberation theology” influencing Obama. He has further determined that the New Black Panthers have “ties to the White House in a myriad of ways” and are part of Obama’s “army of thugs.”
This is not quite the ideal background for a man who would claim to be King’s heir — and that’s where Orson Welles comes in.
First, Beck employed the hand of God in justifying his decision to co-opt King. He said he chose the date without knowing it was the anniversary of King’s march, claiming it happened because of “divine providence.”
Second, he invoked some selective history, using his Fox News show to deliver a three-part series updating the history of the civil rights movement. “How has the Democratic Party assumed the mantle of defender of minorities, if you know their early history?” he asked. “Dating to Andrew Jackson — this is the 17th century . . . .”
Seventeenth century, 19th century, whatever. He informed viewers that “it was the GOP that took the lead on the civil rights” cause.
Finally, Beck updated the meaning of the civil rights movement so that it is no longer about black people; it is about protecting anti-tax conservatives from liberals. Civil rights leaders, he said, “purposely distorted Martin Luther King’s ideas.” Over the past century, Beck reasons, “no man has been free, because we’ve been progressive.” To his followers, he says: “We are the people of the civil rights movement.”
All that is left is for Beck to drive around town by ambulance.
There is just something horribly annoying about Beck’s proclamations of innocence regarding the date. Even more annoying is his attempt to claim some sort of perverted ownership of the civil rights movement. He needs to leave it alone. Not only do many black folks feel that he and his kind have attempted to hi jack the civil rights movement, so do a lot of white people. I learned a long time ago to take the high road on some issues. This is one of them.
If Beck is truly interested in furthering civil rights he needed to have started out a long time ago, before he committed so many faux pas in that department. Furthermore, he does not have the right to redefine the heart and soul of the civil rights movement. He is a middle age white man who had nothing to do with the real movement. He was not even born when the I have a Dream speech was originally made. He doesn’t even qualify as an honorary member of the Civil Rights Club, not with the remarks he has made.
Note (from the Washington Post): Dana Milbank’s book, “Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America,” will be published Oct. 5.
Having watched as much of the Beck rally as I can find on line, several thoughts come to mind. The real test of sincerity with Beck will be to see if he goes on his TV show as a new man. Will he stop saying slanderous things about people? Will he stop making fun of little girls, like Sasha and Malika Obama? Will he stop calling the presidents names? Will he refrain from making hideous remarks about members of congress or past presidents? Will he remove the word ‘hate’ from his vocabulary?
He, more than America, needs to make some immediate changes in his behavior. Until that happens, Beck and his followers are just hypocrites. Faith, Hope and Charity my foot! True people of faith live it. They don’t mimick and ridicule others, nor do they bear false witness.
I don’t hate Beck. He is what he is and he makes a fortune being what he is.
To his credit yesterday, $5 million dollars was raised for Special Operations Warrior Foundation which is a college fund for kids whose parent has been killed in war. That’s a good thing.
I am glad so much money was raised for the Warrior Foundation. That’s good news. I am also relieved the rally went off peacefully.
“Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King,” is a pretty offensive statement, especially when considering the crowd at the rally was described as “mostly white.” Statements like that are sure to stir up racial tensions. But maybe that’s what Beck wants. Only from bits and pieces that I have heard, Beck reminds me of those radio show hosts who make lots of money just from being offensive. He seems more like an entertainer than anything else (though yesterday, I hear he was being a preacher).
Since I never watch Beck in full swing, I can’t determine whether or not he is saying anything worthwhile. I assume he must make some sense because statistically, not all of his listeners can be idiots. I wouldn’t know because I don’t watch a lot of television, and I don’t like Fox. Beck would probably annoy the crap out of me, the same way lots of media personalities do. They all want to force their opinions on us, and I resent that. Hence…I hardly ever watch television.
Have we come to a place in America where having different ideas makes us “dishonorable”? Am I dishonorable because I believe in major insurance/health care reform? Am I dishonorable because I believe in a stimulus bill, immediate government intervention into an economy on the brink of collapse? Am I dishonorable because I believe that Christianity is not the method in which to rule a country? Since when did Conservatives get to carry the mantle of “patriotism” and love for their country?
Republicans believe in a recession that govt. spends money by giving out massive tax breaks, Democrats believe in creating jobs by building roads, creating jobs programs etc. BOTH parties spend money. Tax breaks are free people, they COST money. That is why the Bush “stimulus” i.e. tax breaks were suppose to sunset back in 2004 (?). They are not sustainable. So for all those “conservatives” screaming about Obama’s stimulus money, what do you have to say about unfunded tax cuts?
I cannot wait to read Dana Milbanks book. For those who don’t follow him, he can be castigating of the left as much as of the right. Tears of a Clown is a great book title. Becks “crocodile” tears make me want to throw up.
I thought I was watching a Boy Scouts event when he started handing out medals….Faith, something, and something else were being honored.
Faith, Hope and Charity. I haven’t seen charity yet.
Beck is now saying on TV that ‘we’ have lost our way and that people need to turn their lives around and do something about it on a personal level. How dare he!
It was like a tent revival. I don’t think Beck gets to call on others to turn their lives around. Not when his own personal behavior is so questionable. I hope he has turned his life around and will set a better example.
I meant tax breaks are NOT free!
Thanks M-H for reminding me what the rest of the three something or others are that we Americans need in order to “restore honor”.
You are welcome. I had just finished watching it. He is giving an award for each one, based on the purple heart.
I suppose I would be more charitable towards Beck and whatever it is he wants to do but he has been so vile on his show. The crying, the name calling, the mimicking and the complete abandonment of accuracy have just defined him.
I do think that he is totally presumptuous thinking he can take over the civil rights movement or celebration of particular events from within that movement. To even allude to anyone ‘owning’ MLK just exibits how far off he is from being a part of that movement.
He should have been more magnanimous when he ‘realized’ (yea right!) he had obtained the MLK I have a Dream anniversary date and should have offered it to the group that usually commemorates that date and chosen another. He didn’t. He hi-jacked. It will never be seen as anything but that.
This is where you and I will never come close to agreeing. A tax break simply means that the government confiscates less of a person’s earned income. Since nearly 50% of all Americans do not pay federal income taxes, those of us who do pay income taxes are paying for someone else’s benefits (e.g. healthcare, stimulus, etc.).
This redistribution of wealth, which Beck exaggerates as “moving us toward slavery,” is what infuriates so many of us. This talk of “unsustainable tax cuts” is sheer nonsense. If the government would stop taking so much from the 50% that pays and would start cutting “services” to the 50% that does not pay, then it would be sustainable.
Just to be clear: The tax breaks they are talking about now is the desire of the Republicans not to let the tax break for the top 1% of the wealthiest tax payers elapse. If Congress does nothing the tax break for the wealthiest tax payers will elapse and go back to the rate they had 10 years ago and it will mean Billions in revenue.If you want to check it out I’ve included a link: http://www.ctj.org/html/gwb0602.htm from June 2002
Thanks for that link, Bear. No one wants to pay taxes. I don’t know why the top 1% are such sacred cows other than they own the media and make the huge campaign contributions.
If I were king, they would get lose their tax breaks and the social security tax would take at least go to a flat rate on those making over $120k. However, 12% of my income hurts just as bad if not worse than 12% of someone making twice as much as I do. 12% is 12%.
Kelly, I dislike that 50% of the people pay no federal tax. I wish I were one of them. How does one get to be one of those people. Do they mean children? I haven’t yet figured out who all those people are. Are 50% of Americans living below the poverty level?
Even if everyone paid 10 bucks a month I would be happier.
this is just my feelings…
Dr. King was about us, us, us
Beck/Palin is about me, me, me
b
Fabulous Bruce!
Kelly,
How do you PAY for tax cuts? If the govt. takes in a certain amount of money via taxes and you CUT that income, WHERE do you make up the difference. The idea is that people will spend more, create jobs, and create more GDP. However, tax cuts are meant as a stimulus, not as a permanent fix, ergo, the sunset of bush tax cuts.
Please read this very excellent summary on tax cuts before we continue debating, I think it just shares a credible view regarding the inability of tax cuts to pay for themselves.
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2005/12/the_myth_that_t.html
Bill Golden over on Bill 4 Dog Catcher attended and documented the Glenn Beck Rally. He has an extremely interesting write up and review of the event. He noted that 99% of the audience was white and yet the majority of stage guests were non-white.
Beck is up to something. Perhaps he is doing a make over where he is a kinder, gentler, less harsh man. At any rate, I highly recommend Bill’s analysis. Part 2 will be tomorrow.
http://bill4dogcatcher.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/8-28-restoring-honor-rally-washington-dc-a-review-part-1/
How do you pay for tax cuts……..good God. Let’s say for the sake of argument, that you’re asking a serious question. The answer, and this ought to make you pucker up good and proper…….CUT SPENDING!!!
“He noted that 99% of the audience was white”
I also noticed a startling lack of racial diversity at the Sharpton gathering.
Yes, but that doesn’t matter, because Sharpton can do anything we wants to, and liberals will cheer. He is like their “yoda” of Racial Politics.
Slow poke, oh ye of little faith, I was speaking of the charity part of the program. That section has not been posted on youtube yet. Nothing I can do about it. I don’t know who the recipient of that award is or what the theme is.
Sorry to disappoint you. I realize I have been cannon fodder but on this one, shoot somewhere else. Basically, I will say the same thing I said to someone else, bite me.
And as a matter of fact, I am the one who came on and published that to BECK’S CREDIT he collected over 5 million dollars for the warrior’s foundation.
DIDN’T SEE THAT? WHY IS NONE OF THAT SURPISING? Because you only see what you want to see, Slowpoke. You owe me an apology.
A big one.
See comment #1. This thread.
Slowpoke, go read Bill 4 dog catcher and stop making nasty remarks. It isn’t about Sharpton. No one is talking about Sharpton but you. Hear the echo.
@Emma
That’s sad, isn’t it? They should have held the rallies together.
So what if I’m a dreamer?
Emma, if you would go read the link to Bill 4 Dog Catcher, you would see the reason he noted the racial make up. I don’t think Bill mentioned Sharpton. At any rate, his observations and statistics were very relevant.
Not @ Emma, Let’s everyone stop jumping the gun. That doesn’t do much to further discussion. Furthermore, if you are looking to start up a racial fight with me, you are barking up the wrong tree.
Bill is a moderate conservative with several excellent blogs. He has included pictures and analysis of the rally.
Pinko, YOU have a dream.
Slowpoke,
TWO wars and a medicare prescription plan that cost almost ONE TRILLION dollars is NOT CUTTING SPENDING…….EXACLTY my point, THANK YOU, glad we agree on something 🙄
Oh Elena, but you are so wrong….Obama did all that. He made the wars, he brought in the rx drugs. I just thank George Bush just for drill.
bwaaahahahahahaha
Just kidding just kidding
Listening for my apology from slowpoke……all I hear is crickets. Why is that?
Ah, and people wonder why I seem to have a hostility for uber-cons. Could it be the bad manners? Or how about the failure to meet people half way.
@Bruce Roemmelt
this is just my feelings… [sic]
‘Feelings’ are great (for chick flicks, poetry, etc.) The real exercise is in logic and reasoning.
Knowing proper grammar helps too.
Ring, we don’t have the grammar police here. Those are just comments that don’t need to be made on this blog.
I expect Bruce has logged more time using logic and reasoning than most of us. Furthermore, it is rather ill-advised to come to a blog run by 2 women and start with the sexist pig talk.
I am ignoring my gut feeling right now…
Funny. I should have predicted it. Big Uber-Con rally and everyone gets all puffed up and a full head of steam. I can see the meaness coming out at every turn. I know to look for that and I let my guard down.
Thanks for proving one of my theories, once again.
If you want to carry on discussion, do. If you want to make nasty comments, go to the dark screen. Things are a little dull there these days. Liven it up for them.
Just as soon as I get my apology for jumping all over me for pointing out what a disgusting bucket of vomit the person fantasizing about a tea-partier assassinating the president was. Of course, Elena validates him. Y’all might try holding your breath waiting for it to happen!
So you acknowledge the charity in post 1, then say you don’t HEAR it later on. Actions speak louder than words. Actually, the topic of charity is an interesting one. We used to have charity in the US (more than we do today). Now what used to be charity is done by the government (very poorly) at the point of an IRS agent’s gun or threat of prison. But that’s the way the left wants it…you know that, Moon.
Let’s make a deal. I won’t apologize to you because I don’t think I owe an apology, and you won’t apologize to me because you don’t think you owe an apology. Sound fair?
what a bunch of crap from all of you.
To say it clearly–Rod is a jerk to talk about assassination. End of story. Stop trying to justify a stupid remark. Jeeze, if you don’t chastise someone like that, you and Elena have NO cred.
And Dana Milbank? Wow I bet Glenn Beck is shaking in his boots.
I liked Milbank’s article….you can almost FEEL her hurting.
Rez, the reality is that hatred towards President Obama has been fueled by the Tea Party, that simple. Do I agree with Rod’s assessemnt and tone, no, but I do believe the Tea Party has whipped up hysteria beginning with the very election of Obama and health care was handled disgustingly. Comparing Obama to Hitler over health care??????? WTF!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/103236/the-obama-administration-obama-death-threats-put-strain-on-secret-service
Actually, I did address the assassination remark when I saw it. I didn’t justify any remark.
This is getting beyond middle school. I am tired of being bitched out by people who don’t even half read what is being said.
Slowpoke, I am not going to mention reading comprehension. Do you understand that there were three awards given by Beck? Hope, Faith and Charity. I watched the event on video up through Faith. I did not see the charity award given. The video was not available. I cannot pull a video that doesn’t exist from thin air to watch it.
I stated in comment #1` that I was watching the videos of the event.l I don’t like to speak to things I don’t know about.
What do you think I owe you an apology for, Slowpoke? Because you didn’t read carefully? Because you missed that I was watching the videos? Because I didn’t see a remark that should not be made?
I didn’t hear it or see it because it was not posted. Now let’s see how that makes me a bad person.
Sorry, not buying one bit of excuse for that crap. Keep trying.
Oh and by the way, George Bush won the election. Even moderate justices, like Justice O’Connor, believed that that the Florida Supreme Court overplayed their hand. That was what the court case was about and no amount of rewriting history will change that.
Our system actual is set up that the popular vote does not win Presidential elections.
The hatred about President Obama’s POLICIES is what is fueled by the Tea Party. So get over it! His policies suck.
MH,
Why are debating with him? Slow lives to be divisive.
Oh, and Slow, Dana Milbank is a man. In fact he is the son of my moms very good college friend.
Sloe, never had an apology from Wolfie, so don’t keep waiting for it.
I appreciate the correction! I did not know that. My wife’s name is Dana, so I suppose it’s just a habit for me to assume it’s a female. Sorry I don’t have anything “divisive” this time.
I think maybe we’re ships passing in the night, here, and it is taking too much space (my opinion), so I’m gonna let it die. We’ve all got better things to do than carry this on and on. Look at it this way…..in 100 years, nobody will care!
Comparing anyone involved with enforcing our nation’s immigration laws to Hitler?????? WTF??
(no idea what I’m referring to, right?)
Slow,
You are really going too far. I have never compared anyone to Hitler. However, when people believe it is perfectly acceptable to call children parasites and suggest they be turned into dog food, we have a problem!
Have you forgotten that the words Hitler and Nazi would slap you in moderation faster than greased lightening on this blog?
Rez, I was not aware you were owed an apology. Please tell me in detail why I owe you one.
@ everyone,
Please start debating the issues and stop the personal snide comments. Elena and I are not your whipping boys.
@Slow, I understand misreading things. Had you not made a snide comment at me …re you weren’t surprised about me not recognizing charity, we could have moved on. But you chose to make a shitty remark that was personal rather than about the topic.
Those kinds of remarks that are personalized just don’t need to be made.
You all are adults. If someone says something you can’t handle, email Elena or me. I don’t see everything and if I have to babysit this blog 24/7 I will just pull it down. Then it ceases to be fun.
Meanwhile, there is simply no reason for the rudeness that has been direct at both of us recently. If you don’t like our political positions, maybe you would be more comfortable on a more conservative blog. I suggested that you all might want to check out Bill 4 Dog Catcher on the topic of Glenn Beck. He was at the rally doing video. He wrote commentary. He is a conservative. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t get slack jaw from that suggestion.
The point on the election was: regardless of who was called the winner-the person who had 50,000 more votes, or the person who had the electoral college votes, the losing side would have been been royally pissed off. I certainly am not going to rehash all of that. Let the history books do it. To deny how contentious that election was is turning a blind eye. People felt like Gore had the election stolen from them. Had it gone the other way, people would have felt that Bush had been robbed.
Such was not the case with Obama. He won with twice as many electoral votes.
Elena, I said it. I said I didn’t know how we could possibly deport 10 million people without becoming like the Third Reich.
Several people became offended. I am no longer going to explain what I meant. I say that without apology. If someone is offended, get over it.
I no longer care who I offend.
So, starting today, we are going to stick to topic. Extraneous remarks go on the open thread.
Consider the statements:
What on earth is Beck thinking? How can white people reclaim the civil rights movement? Is Beck rewriting history?
I take it you’ve decided against the nickels. It’s the threats/pseudo power displays instead. Darn…I was really hoping for the nickels. I’d be on easy street!
If I recall correctly, it was “dog food supplement”. I doubt very seriously that the average illegal immigrant has all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients required by your typical domesticated dog or cat.
@Elena
You didn’t refer to Obama as Hitler over the health care bill either. That’s why you liberals always miss the point, you always think everything is about you. The world doesn’t revolve around you. Sorry to have to be the one to inform you.
Anyone who has read my posts on MH knows that I’m not a Glenn Beck fan. His knowledge of history is no better than that of an undergraduate “C” student and he pontificates like the world’s greatest expert. He ticked me off particularly when he attacked one of my personal heroes, Teddy Roosevelt, and lumped him in with today’s loony leftists simply because one hundred years apart, both used the term “Progressive.” If Beck wants to be a historian, he should learn that the term had vastly different meanings then and now. He is a fear monger and peddles bad investment advice on behalf of companies that sponsor his show.
That said, however, Beck has unquestionably struck a chord with the American people. I’m probably too much of an “egghead” to relate to this development. I’m much more of a discussion group/seminar person than a rally person. That’s why I don’t go near events like the one Saturday. Nonetheless, conservative, moderate, mainstream, in fact all, Republicans need to take note of this.
My way of dealing with the current situation is to analyze the negative economic impacts of Obama’s policies and propose better ones. Others react by getting mad and egging on people like Glenn Beck. I doubt that I will ever be a Glenn Beck fan, but he is expressing, in however much of an uninformed manner, what many people are thinking and feeling.
By the way Moon, thanks for your sentiment. My meeting in Baltimore went very well, but the trip was awful taking about two and a half hours each way. And I even avoided the construction at I-66 and the Beltway.
Can we discuss this without bringing up Hitler? Beck, if anything, is a corporate shill. He’s not a Nazi. Wow; I just used both forbidden terms.