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January 24, 2010 -
Media Matters Attacks Beck – Ignores Progressive Roots Of The Klan And
Holocaust - blog on BigGovernment.com by Andrew Marcus -
Comment: The many reader comments miss the point. This
argument is all just a distraction. It is intuitively obvious that the
neo-progressive agenda is harmful. Whether or not it is as ruthless and
harmful as progressives of the past is a moot point. Either way, it
needs to be defeated, and therefore the task before us is to get on with
that work in the 2010 election cycle. We need to
clean out the House by getting good candidates through the primaries
this year, and hopefully also get enough good Senate candidates to
transform the Senate too. The goal isn't to flip them both to a
Republican majority, but rather to defeat the progressive agenda and
restore commitment to limited government and accountability to the
voters for more than just pork deliveries. |
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November 21, 2009 - Glenn Beck has announced his
plans to organize a convention in Orlando on March 27, 2010 as part of a
series of "education" meetings leading up to yet another book launch in
August 2010 at the Lincoln Memorial, this time to promote "The Plan" he
has about "Refounding".
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/33398/
This raises the question again - is it about him as a
celebrity organizing events and book launches, or about taking our
country back in the 2010 elections, starting with the primaries?
Is he jumping in front of the parade and pretending to be leading it?
He may mean well, and has certainly done some good things this year, but
Beck should look in the mirror and carefully examine his motives and
actions.
There was concern back in August, as in February and
April, that he still doesn't "get it" about the Tea Party movement.
We are not looking to be educated politically by what he regards as the
"best minds in the country". We have to work at taking our country
back - precinct by precinct, district by district, primary by primary -
as already provided by our Constitution, as our founders trusted we
would do to quickly defend our liberty. We can't just wait until
November and hope for a better outcome. |
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During his August 28 show, Glenn Beck suggested what he thinks Americans
should do now. He said they should boldly ask for 5 pledges from
politicians. He referred to this as "In or Out 2010". Either
they agree ("in"), or they should be voted out in 2010.
See more details about those pledges, including our
reply to his August 28 suggestion.
He also reconfirmed plans to cover the
9/12 protest in Washington DC (1-3pm ET).
Glenn announced his new book, for release 9/22 - "Arguing
with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government".
His recent "Common Sense" book is already a bestseller. |
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Glenn Beck announced (8/12/09) that he will cover 9/12/09
events, such as the 9/12 protest in Washington DC,
from his studio in New York rather than as a participant.
This is a smart move. Please thank Glenn Beck and Fox
News for deciding to cover the story, rather than becoming the story.
The same is true of the Tea Party Express and other protests, such as
those at health care town halls.
This is about "we the people". We're the ones who
need to take the lead and hold our members of Congress accountable for
their actions. We need millions of Americans to stand up for
what they believe. The news media isn't driving this movement.
They should just honestly report it.
This is not a celebrity popularity contest or network
ratings battle. It is a fight to define the future direction of
America by defending what has worked so well for over two centuries
thanks to the inspired debate among our founding fathers. We are
standing up against reckless changes. Americans
have always been relentless at the achievement of great progress through
innovative improvements driven by individual creativity and teamwork,
market competition, and responsibility. Success is rewarded
handsomely. Failure is not. Charitable values and private
philanthropy rather than entitlement programs are the social safety net.
America was not built by social engineering experiments through
government legislation and a vast, unaccountable regulatory bureaucracy. |
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Tea Party coverage - Congratulations to Glenn Beck for his
excellent May 1, 2009 follow-up show on Fox News about the Tax Day Tea
Parties. See comments below.
He mentioned the plans for July 4 - Independence
Day Tea Parties.
See "Tea Party Tactics" for our
action suggestions.
Suggestion to Republican leaders: invite
all of the Tea Party organizers and enthusiasts who wish to
join them to meet privately, like a convention with no news media in the
room. Stop posturing and making speeches or doing superficial town
halls to test-market your own big policy ideas and rhetoric in preparation
for 2010 campaigns. Get out of the bubble of fawning sycophants
and listen carefully to those Americans whose trust you have lost. |
| This
"The One Thing" segment from the May 1 Glenn Beck show is his opening
remarks for his "The Truth About the Tea Parties" program. He also
acknowledges his own initial skepticism about the Tea Party movement
when it got started in February - at which time he
launched his own 912 Project.
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| This
initial segment of the Glenn Beck show on May 1 has clips showing
examples of biased media coverage, plus Obama's comment about having a
"serious conversation" and not "playing games", as well as Axelrod
talking about us as if we were unhealthy mutants while Nancy Pelosi
denigrates us as puppets who are being manipulated by unseen masters -
like Axelrod's staged "astroturfing". In short, this video summaries the
ignorance and arrogance of many of the leading Tea Party critics.
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| This
"Average Americans" segment from the May 1 Glenn Beck show includes many
questions directed to the Tea Party organizers and participants in the
audience. Note the questions about the "two party system" and
support for Republicans, as well as the one about the Homeland Security
assessment of veterans as a security risk, and about reluctant activism
or being against Democrats.
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| At
one point
Judge Andrew Napolitano, a frequent Fox News commentator on legal
issues and the Constitution, was asked his views related to the Tea
Parties, including recent discussions about the idea of having states
call for a constitutional convention. There was some predictable
interest in the idea of pushing an amendment to "starve the government"
by repealing the federal income tax, but there was visibly less
enthusiasm for his stance on extending legal rights to captured
terrorists. There was not much discussion of "fair tax" ideas or
other specific policy proposals. There was also no direct
discussion of the "Bill
of Federalism" proposal which some
July 4 organizers are pushing. One of the
other guests commented that if the founding fathers could have entered
this room, they would have readily recognized what they were fighting
for - and what they had been fighting against. In fact, the
conversation included arguments about the differences between Jefferson
and Hamilton on the proper role of a federal government, and limited
powers and spending authority. |
| This
"web exclusive" segment was online follow-up to the May 1 Glenn Beck
show, providing additional opportunities for comments among the Tea
Party participants in the audience. This is a bit long, but worth
watching to the end.
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We shared these comments
through the Fox News website, which are repeated here for reference by
our visitors. In response to "The
Truth About The Tea Parties" and liberal media bias:
You're missing the point, Glenn. It doesn't matter
what the liberal media thinks of us, or the Democrats in Congress. What
matters is what "we the people" decide to do next to defend the America
in which we still believe. We don't do the media's bidding, nor are we
the loyal subjects of rulers or parties in Washington. We are
individuals who can work together to achieve great things - including
taking our country back. We are not trying to launch a revolution. We
are trying to defend the one our Constitution was intended to protect
against the creeping tyranny of political parties, politicians, and
unaccountable bureaucracies.
Did the founding fathers worry a lot about the criticism in Parliament,
or by King George, or the bad press they were getting in London?
Did they worry about trying to come up with some alternative "big ideas"
for Parliament to ignore? No - they worried about how to create a
better future than the one which their "leaders" were trying to inflict
upon them. They had to take individual responsibility for creating the
American dream they wanted to pursue, instead of accepting the
exploitative dream of European elites.
The Republicans still don't "get it". That's maddening - because at
least they should listen to us, rather than test-marketing new campaign
rhetoric, specious policy proposals, and new "brand" ideas. Listen!
In response to Glenn Beck's
call for questions to ask during his May 1 show
My question for the organizers and participants is
simple: What’s next?
Whether we had 600,000 - 800,000 by my count, or 1+ million by other counts, the
turnout dwarfed what the DNC and Organizing for America got in March as
“pledges” of blank check loyal support for Obama’s budget plan. Their
214,000 pledges in response to 13 million emails and sending all their
campaign volunteers into the streets was dwarfed by the Tea Parties -
and yet we were scorned and mocked while Congress has continued to ram
this budget and their social agenda down our throats.
Even if millions turn out on July 4, or on 9/12 in DC, what difference
will it make? Much of the damage will be done already. We need to
reorganize in each Congressional district and state to get in the face
of these arrogant politicians whenever they show up for a speech,
fundraiser, or any other public appearance back home. National rallies
won’t do it. Tyrants will only fear their loss of power.
Don't forget to stand up with your local veterans on
Memorial Day. Thank them for their
defense of our liberty, and that of millions of others around the world.
We honor them, rather than regard them as a security threat, or
apologize to foreign critics and tyrants about America's role in the
world.
Question: Why not do this? Not a day of protest, but to
celebrate what we firmly believe? |
| Take the initiative and organize
an Independence Day Tea Party in your own
community on July 4. Spread the word!
Thank you to Glenn Beck for his coverage of the Tax
Day Tea Party in San Antonio at The Alamo on April 15. Thanks to
Ted Nugent and others who participated in the show - but also the many
thousands of Texans who gathered there to draw another line in the sand. |
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Glenn Beck
launched what he calls "The
912 Project" through his program on Fox News channel on March 13,
2009. The 9.12 Project website presents his summary of "9
principles" and "12 values" which he regards as basic to America, but
he doesn't advocate any specific policies or promote any politician or
interest group (other than himself, as the host of his new program on
Fox News). His basic premise is that ordinary
Americans need to get together and talk to each other about their shared
principles and values, and then figure out what they want to do together
to move this country forward. It's up to "we the people" to work
it out if we are not happy with the current direction which this country
is taking. Many clearly are not happy with it.
The point is to get together and do something about it
- rather than to just complain and leave it to others to push liberal
agendas without any resistance. As on 9/12/01, many Americans
still have an innate sense of what it means to do the right thing.
They don't have to be told what to do. They lead by example.
They live by their values. Their actions mean more than lofty
rhetoric. They don't look to government for everything to be provided
to them at the expense of others. They work together. |
| A
MeetUp event page was created to promote "viewing
parties" across the country on the "We Surround Them" theme, and short video clips from many of
these simultaneous viewer parties were shown during the March 13
program. |
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Here's part of the video about the 912 project from the March 13 Glenn
Beck Show on Fox News.
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| In
it, Glenn alludes to some projects on which he will be working over the
next 6 months, and suggests meeting again on 9/12/09 to compare progress
about what other Americans have been doing. It also promotes their
new website,
www.The912Project.com , which includes the opportunity to post
comments, call attention to news stories, or find information such as a
couple of books he suggested. |
| The
general theme was "We surround them" - which meant that "we the
people" are still in charge. If we don't like what our elected
representatives are doing to our country, then it is still up to us to
do something about it. That starts by meeting and talking with
those who share our concerns, and then figuring out what we can do
together to make a difference. It can start at a kitchen table
today. We aren't condemned to sit helplessly and
wait for the 2010 or 2012 elections to come along. If we want our
views to be heard, then we need to stand up for what we believe today,
not in 2 - 4 years. |
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Despite some of Glenn's more provocative rhetoric as an entertaining
commentator on current events, this is not about sparking a revolution.
On the contrary, it is about defending the one we already had around 230
years ago, and which has worked remarkably well ever since, with a few
brief exceptions. This isn't the time for the pitchforks and
torches with angry mobs in the streets chasing the monsters. It's
time to pay attention, and for each person to take responsibility for
doing what he or she can, both as individuals and in cooperation with
others, to achieve the better outcome we seek for this country. |
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Although this is an interesting initiative to encourage his viewers to
become more active and vocal, it's not entirely clear where it is going.
He doesn't seem to be encouraging them to follow his lead in any
particular direction. He is just encouraging them to find their
own direction by getting back to basics at the grassroots level in their
communities. He isn't agitating them against something specific,
such as a particular policy or politician, nor favoring some other.
As he recognized at one point, he is becoming a bit of a
televangelist, exhorting everyone to reassert their faith in very basic
American principles and values as they pursue their own individual path
through life. He isn't telling them what to do. He is
telling them that they already know in their hearts what is the right
thing to do, and what is wrong.
As on 9/12/01, we don't need to be told that it is our
patriotic duty to go out and shop or invest for the good of the American
economy or global economy. If we get the basics right through our
trust in each other as united Americans with shared principles and
values, rather than as divided special interest groups fighting for some
advantage over each other through the power of government, we'll
succeed. |
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Here's how Glenn opened the "You are not alone" program on March 13,
2009.
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| The
introductory video included various scenes from recent "Tea
Party" events around the country, but made only passing
reference to them. They have been mentioned in other Fox News
coverage, but Glenn Beck has focused more on promoting his own "viewer
parties" for the March 13 show until now.
It is not yet clear what he intends to do from this point forward.
Hopefully he will choose to draw more attention to the many
Tax Day Tea Party protests nationwide on
April 15, as well as the ones planned for July 4
on the "Learn the Constitution" theme. The Tea Party movement,
driven entirely at the local level by "grassroots" volunteers without
party, PAC, lobbyist, or celebrity support have already drawn a larger
turnout than the "viewer parties", despite the massive national reach of
Fox News and Glenn Beck's show.
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| Glenn
also gave some coverage on March 24 to the Orlando Tea Party protest
which attracted roughly 5000 attendees (although some of the Fox News
video is from the February 27 protest in Chicago)
He commented that we need better slogans. |
| His
"The One Thing" commentary on March 27 also alluded to the Tea Party
movement.
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Hopefully Glenn will choose to take more interest in
the "Tea Party" movement or other local initiatives, because it reflects
many of the basic American principles and values which he has started to
preach recently. It is not about "brewing a revolution". It
is about defending the American one because we the people are under
daily attack by those who are pushing a liberal agenda to mandate a new
way of life on all Americans through central government power. Is
this all about Glenn Beck and boosting his new show, or is it about the many viewers who may share his
basic values
and concerns? We shall see how this plays out over the next six
months. |
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Similarly, as the Tea Party movement grows, one can
expect other media celebrities and politicians to be drawn like a moth
to a flame, or to want to jump in front of the parade and pretend to be
leading it. Their participation and support
could be extremely helpful, but the key will be to keep the focus on "we
the people" as the ordinary, hardworking Americans who want to find
better solutions together, rather than just find fault in others.
Politicians and others claim to represent and to help us as they promote
their own political careers, agendas, and rise to power. By their
deeds you shall know them. |
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Glenn Beck seems to be sincere about The 912 Project
being about the viewers, rather than about himself and boosting the
ratings of his new show on Fox News channel.
It's an interesting initiative to watch, but the Tea Party movement is
already planning 115+ local events for April 15,
and probably far more by
July 4 and on Labor Day. |
While
Rick Santelli of CNBC just ranted in
February about the idea of arranging a "Tea Party" in Chicago in July,
this group has already done it, and is
growing rapidly. Rick and CNBC quickly beat a retreat and dropped
the subject when the Tea Party idea went viral on the Internet and his
rant drew White House criticism. That must surely have been
awkward since NBC's owner, GE, is led by CEO Jeffrey Immelt - recently
appointed by Obama to his
Economic Recovery
Advisory Board.
Even Jim Cramer of CNBC's "Mad Money" show, famous for his entertaining
"They know nothing!" rants about the Federal Reserve as well as Bush
policies during the election cycle, was quickly attacked when he dared
to question Obama policies recently. Similarly,
Glenn Beck has already been demonized by some critics. Regardless
of whether or not one agrees with him on all or many things, or on
anything at all for that matter, individual Americans have the right to
express their views without fear of intimidation, particularly by our
elected officials and those who claim to represent them, or who do their
bidding as proxies to maintain some plausible deniability. |
That's why the debate needs to move back to the local "public square" -
to engage in dialogue as free individuals, rather than empower
those who target and demonize specific groups or those individuals who
they perceive as somehow different or wrong just because they don't
agree on all things. The focus should not be on what divides us,
but rather on what unites us to achieve progress together..
This is still a free country in which we should all
respect each other, listen to each other, and work together to achieve
the progress we seek, rather than vilify each other. That doesn't
mean we should silence ourselves from ever being critical. We need
to stand up for what we believe, but also listen to those who may share
different views, and then figure out how to achieve progress together in
spite of the challenges involved and our differences. We already
do it in our work, as well as in our families.
We can still do it politically, too. If we want to achieve a
better civil society, then we need to be civil to each other, and
develop agreement rather than just seek the political power to impose
our own views as if "to the victor belongs the spoils". We don't
elect politicians to pillage on our behalf. We don't elect them to
bring more government money back to our districts. That's not the
metric for success. We don't elect them to rape
and pillage the resources of more prosperous states or other groups of
people for our own benefit. We don't elect them to destroy wealth
or spread it around more "fairly". We elect them to perform
certain delegated tasks as a limited government for the benefit of our
society as a whole, and to leave us alone to do the rest, even if they
may think they could do our job better. We do
not turn to our politicians and bureaucrats to pick winners and losers
for our economy. We drive our own success. We take
responsibility as individuals to improve our own lives. We do not
rely on government services to care for us from cradle to grave.
We choose instead to do that which is far more difficult, which is to
look out for ourselves and to care for each other as a nation of free
individuals. We rely on government to not become a burden which we
cannot bear. We still have a republic - if we
can keep it. We won't save it in Washington DC. We the
people have to save it, just as we were the ones who created it and have
defended it successfully for so long. |
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