Glenn Beck: A Mixed Metaphor

Over the weekend, apocalyptic evangelical Glenn Beck performed for a crowd of 8,000, who paid more than $120/per for a seven hour show.

And while the Philadelphia Daily News devoted a couple of paragraphs to Beck's calls for non-violence as they described him taking a sledgehammer to the "anvil of truth", they also note that his next book will be a political thriller which includes a civil war most likely won by a group called the "Founders Keepers".

The Orlando Sentinel may not have spent as much time mingling with the audience, but they do have a couple of different quotes from the stage and in both a paragraph plus the headline, they grabbed upon Beck's calls for his "army" to restore the nation.

Apparently in two weeks, Glenn will tell us how to cut the federal budget by 50% and he plans a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to coincide with the anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. If nothing else, he really wants to drive the debate.

Glenn Beck & Sarah Palin Kick-off in Tulsa

Sarah Palin

Oklahoma do you love your freedom?

***

It is time to take our country back.

Glenn Beck

I am not a journalist and I wear that as a badge of honor.

***

My job is to figure out what's going on.

Talk show host Glenn Beck and Fox News Analyst, former Vice-Presidential candidate and former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin kicked-off their "Take America Back" tour in Tulsa over the weekend.

The media was only allowed to tape the first five minutes of the headliner's speech, which I've linked the appropriate video to each performer's name, above.

The Tulsa World has a few more details, along with a slideshow and because who is angry at mainstream media may be dependent on where you live and who's serving the news, the protesters which came out for the show seem to be a little perturbed that they were ignored.

Kurtz: Behind the Curtain of Fox's 5 O'Clock Show

At eleven o'clock Eastern, Howard Kurtz is going to participate in one of his regular Q&As with online readers, but after this morning's column, where he shines a somewhat negative, but fairly even-handed light on Glenn Beck, one might expect the midday session to be swarmed by Beckheads and become something of a chore for the moderator.

A few takeaways;

• A FNC VP was assigned last fall "'to help keep an eye on that program' and review its content in advance".
• He "has surrounded himself with loyalists from Mercury, some of whom remain on that company's payroll".
• During rehearsals, "Beck has teared up or paused at the same moments as he later did during the show".

All together, Kurtz's column is an interesting read for anyone interested in the media phenomenon that is Glenn Beck.

The Colbert Bump: Jason Chaffetz

Freshman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) received a little attention for sleeping in his office and for the "cot-sides chats" he filmed for the internet, but his first day appearance on the Colbert Report, where he leg-wrestled the host, undoubtedly helped launch the Congressman's media exposure through the roof.

CNN, FNC, MSNBC, CNBC... the alphabet of news channels have been calling. So much so, he recently had to turn down five appearances for one day; Producers just keep calling because he's ready, accessible and has shown a willingness to speak on any topic.

Because of his Q-quotient and the impressive way he has handled the local D.C. media, who often contact him due to his position as ranking member on the subcommittee overseeing District operations, Republican leaders have been putting his face toward the front and some conservatives have suggested that he run for Senate.

Of course his first year hasn't all been a smooth ride and a profile in the Deseret News does a good job of mixing the good with the bad, but one might suspect that not too long after his show returns from hiatus, Stephen Colbert will be claiming the credit.

Related: The original "Better Know a District", plus three extras
Update: The Salt Lake Tribune has filed a similar, yet different story.

The Mission of Glenn Beck

A noted historian believes that Glenn Beck may have been drawn Mormonism because of his conservative beliefs and many of us have heard about Mr. Beck's affinity for The Five Thousand Year Leap, but Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix (reprinted in the Salt Lake City Weekly) has found a connecting, sometimes radical LDS thread through much of Glenn Beck's rhetoric.

His strong anti-communism views and even his oft-repeated "the Constitution is hanging by a thread" can be traced to the teachings of past Mormon leaders, including some who have been ex-communicated and to the religion's founder, Joseph Smith.

All together an interesting read and highly recommended.

Quickie: Change from the Inside?

A pharmaceutical salesman who attended Glenn Beck's 9-12 event and other rallies is expected to announce today that he's entering the Republican primary, with the hope of challenging Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA) in the 2010 election.

Update (12/8): He announced.

Landrieu Doesn't Hate on Jindal

Conservative talking heads and pundits were quite vicious in their attacks on Senator Mary Landrieu because she was undecided prior to the recent insurance reform debate and it appeared, she had been swayed by a $300 million dollar amendment to offset losses in Louisiana's Medicaid program.

"So we know you’re hookin’, but you’re just not cheap," Glenn Beck said on his Fox program and Rush Limbaugh called her the most expensive prostitute in the history of prostitution.

Initially, Louisiana Governor Piyush "Bobby" Jindal defended Senator Landrieu by releasing the following statement;

"The bill is awful, but I won’t criticize our congressional delegation for fighting to correct the flawed Medicaid formula that will unfairly cost our state hundreds of millions of dollars in health-care funding if not quickly corrected."

And because he had lobbied all nine of the state's members of Congress, seven of whom are Republicans, he told CNN that it's "unfair to criticize Sen. Landrieu or the rest of the delegation for fighting to correct this injustice to Louisiana", but then Beck, Limbaugh and other big-name pundits started slamming her and he's been silent ever since.

This has prompted Ms. Landrieu to tell the Baton Rouge Advocate that she wished he had been more robust with his defense and "it would have been very helpful. It didn’t happen, and I’m going to move on."

Republicans are Coming Apart at the Seams

Recently I linked to some snide and derogatory comments about Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert as were reported from an Illinois primary battle, and over the weekend at least four additional articles appeared in the nation's newspapers, which detailed more of the rift between ideologically-pure Republican conservatives and their more moderate brethren in races going all the way down to judgeship.

What's odd is that in South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey Graham has been censured or rebuked by several county organizations, even though he has a lifetime rating of 90% from the American Conservative Union.

And what's somewhat ironic is that all of the articles mention the Tea Party protesters and 912 Project members as instigators of this insurrection, but right now, I'd say the "leaders" of these groups and two of the biggest names in the Republican Party are Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, both of whom have backed or expressed a willingness to consider third-party candidates.

In other words, RINOs are under attack from Republicans-in-name-only.

• Conservative beliefs clash in race
• South Carolina Rift Highlights Debate Over G.O.P.
  
• Sen. John Cornyn faces Republican rift in fight for Senate seats
• Parties waging internal fights before battling each other in 2010

Update: Lindsey Graham has been censured again (1/5/2010)