April 2, 2009

Glenn Beck – A Rising “Star”?

April 2, 2009

The Facts

A couple of days ago The New York Times had several articles on Fox News latest addition to their lineup. Glenn Beck joined Fox in October of last year. The term “Rising Star” was used in most of those articles. This is one such article. Several points were made about Beck — “mad, apocalyptic, tearful, etc”. He is both revered and hated, as one might expect. Beck makes some good points, some idiotic points, and some total off-the-wall remarks. So what is Beck?

My View

Glenn Beck might have some credibility if he wasn’t so obvious about which political party he supports. That’s how he ended up at Fox News in the first place. They hired Beck for the same reason CNN let him go. There are a plenty of great host out there that have better credibility, but they speak equally about both political parties and a lot of other subjects. Therefore they don’t fit in with the unwritten mission statement at Fox News, so they aren’t welcome.

I wrote a post in March 2008 that said ‘Glen Beck Should Move To Fox‘. That’s how obvious he is. I guess I really didn’t think at the time he would end up at Fox, but after he did, I wasn’t surprised — because it made sense. His commitment to the Republican Party is further exemplified in this post I wrote in January of last year where I pointed out that Beck wanted to “cut corporate tax rates so American businesses [could] once again bail us out by creating thousands of jobs”. Yea, that worked out really well under Bush’s tax cuts in 2001 and again in 2003, didn’t it? We lost well over 16 million jobs from 2003 through 2007 after Bush’s second tax cut. That was on top of nearly 11.5 million from 2001 through 2003, after Bush’s first tax cuts. So, sure, tax cuts are definitely the answer to jobs as well as everything else, just as Beck says. (Yes, I know I only put one “n” in Glenn’s name back then. That’s because I know someone very well whose name is “Glen” with one “n”.)

Beck could be a great voice for the American people if he wasn’t so obsessed with political ideology. His ability to “sell” people as being genuinely sincere is what makes him so popular, not necessarily what he’s actually saying. Fox News has plenty of people who say the same thing — they just say it with a different personality.

I read one comment from one reader who said she believed Beck was sincere about his beliefs. She asked ” why is it not ok to question authority”? She asked a good question. It IS ok to question authority. However, she’s so in-focus with how he says what he’s saying that she doesn’t hear the message. If she would broaden her focus, she would see that his message is always critical of the Democratic Party and praising of the Republican Party. And that’s what upsets people with Beck; not the “down-home — teary-eyed — good-old-boy —I’m-the-good-guy” attitude. Beck is just a brilliant self-promoter. That’s all.

People should take Glenn Beck for what he is, which is where his roots are — a comedian, an actor, and an entertainer. I wouldn’t mind living in a world that Beck sometimes describes, but I damn sure don’t want to live in a world run by those he promotes. Wait!! I already do!