{"id":3944,"date":"2011-02-26T11:05:35","date_gmt":"2011-02-26T19:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3944"},"modified":"2011-02-26T11:05:35","modified_gmt":"2011-02-26T19:05:35","slug":"the-problem-is-bigger-than-glenn-beck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3944","title":{"rendered":"The Problem Is Bigger Than Glenn Beck"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GlennI have been writing about the cerebral rot virus that is Glenn Beck for quite a while. And in all of that time I have striven to note that, as bad as Beck is, he is but a parasitic wart on the butt of the rightist media. Almost two years ago I wrote an article that showed how “Fox News Is Killing The Republican Party.”<\/a><\/p>\n

You simply cannot grouse about Beck in a vacuum. He has a media machine that makes his brand of lunatic harangue possible. It starts with Fox News and Premiere Radio Networks and extends to the web of deluded defenders he has attracted – from conservative media moles like Andrew Breitbart to political unreality stars like Sarah Palin.<\/p>\n

Lately some on the right have had the cobwebs brushed from their eyes<\/a>. Reliable conservatives like Bill Kristol have found the courage to step away from Beck and the mental short circuit that defines his world view, but they continue to see him in isolation.<\/p>\n

This week in the Washington Post, conservative Jennifer Rubin came a little bit closer<\/a> to the source of the rhetorical shock doctrine that is electrifying the gray matter of America’s right wingers by saying…<\/p>\n

“Conservative groups and candidates should be forewarned: If they host, appear with or defend him they should be prepared to have his extremist views affixed to them.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s true, but what she just barely missed is that it isn’t just conservative groups and candidates who are infected by exposure to Beck. It is also his so-called “news”<\/em> associates attached to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Roger Ailes and Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and Murdoch himself are covered in Beck’s detritus.<\/p>\n

Conor Friedersdorf has realized these broader truths<\/a> and articulated them nicely in his article at the FrumForum observing the necessity to confront…<\/p>\n

“…the fact that Fox News under Roger Ailes knowingly broadcasts factually inaccurate and egregiously misleading nonsense every day.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And…<\/p>\n

“It’s going to be very difficult, however, to persuade conservatives to start regularly evaluating Fox News and talk radio on the substance of the rhetoric offered, and policing its absurdities.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And…<\/p>\n

“Those writing as if Beck is an extreme outlier in the conservative world should use their newly opened eyes to survey the rhetorical landscape. Yes, his style is singular, and his conspiracy theories are particularly colorful. But is his brand of conspiratorial nonsense really any more blinkered than some of what’s uttered by other conservatives in good standing?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Exactly. The diversion from reality is not limited to rodeo clowns like Beck. It has spread throughout the Rightosphere and threatens to make a mockery of everyone it touches. And Fox News in particular must be held to account for the “factually inaccurate and egregiously misleading nonsense”<\/em> it feeds its gullible audience.<\/p>\n

For our part, the left should make a point of connecting the dots between the crazies and the conservative mainstream who think they can profit from the controversy to which they contribute without bearing responsibility for degrading the discourse. And, as Rubin said, everything that the Beckoids say must be affixed to his enablers, particularly Murdoch and Ailes, until they take explicit steps to inoculate themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been writing about the cerebral rot virus that is Glenn Beck for quite a while. And in all of that time I have striven to note that, as bad as Beck is, he is but a parasitic wart on the butt of the rightist media. Almost two years ago I wrote an article […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[597,637,33,44],"class_list":["post-3944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-andrew-breitbart","tag-david-frum","tag-fox-news","tag-glenn-beck"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-11C","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4277,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4277","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":0},"title":"Andrew Breitbart Throws Glenn Beck Under The Bus For Throwing Him Under The Bus","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/20\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This just keeps getting better. Last week the feud between conservative stalwarts Glenn Beck and Tucker Carlson became public in a big way with Carlson's web site citing numerous rightist pundits who claim that Beck has plagiarized them. Beck shot back accusing his critics of jealousy. Andrew Breitbart was one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1487,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1487","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":1},"title":"The Felons Of Fox News: Glenn Beck’s Blind Spot","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/8\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"For two days now, Glenn Beck has aimed his goofball dementia at what he hopes will be his next Van Jones. Beck is employing all of the same smear tactics that prodded a weak White House into jettisoning Jones even though the circumstances are not remotely similar. Chief amongst these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2231,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=2231","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":2},"title":"Why Fox News Is Racist","author":"Mark NC","date":"7\/26\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"For the past few weeks Fox News has been ratcheting up the racial content of their tabloid fare. Megyn Kelly's obsession with a trumped up story about the New Black Panther Party and their dozen or so members is a perfect example of the race-baiting that Fox passes off as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29514,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=29514","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":3},"title":"Reporters Shot On Live TV: Glenn Beck Says God Did It To Warn Him","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/26\/2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Today another tragedy occurred when a gunman took the lives of two innocent people in the course of doing their jobs. Reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot by a former colleague, Vester Lee Flanagan (aka Bryce Williams), as they were conducting an interview. And predictably the media\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"Glenn Beck Messiah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/jesus-beck-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/jesus-beck-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/..\/Pix\/Trump\/jesus-beck-11.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4146,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4146","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":4},"title":"LEAKED MEMO: Fox News Considers Glenn Beck’s Replacements","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/1\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"[UPDATE 4\/6\/11:] Just a few days after this startling April 1st revelation was published, Glenn Beck and Fox News announced that Beck's program will end later this year. [BREAKING: April 1, 2011, New York, NY] In recent weeks there has been growing speculation as to the future of Glenn Beck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2595,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=2595","url_meta":{"origin":3944,"position":5},"title":"If You Still Think Glenn Beck Is Not Racist…","author":"Mark NC","date":"9\/2\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Glenn Beck and his defenders have fiercely denied allegations that he is a racist or has incited racial hostility on his radio and TV programs. But the evidence of his animosity toward people of color is abundant since the election of a black president. Looking back on Beck's crusades since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3944"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3946,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3944\/revisions\/3946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}