What's up with this Glenn Beck guy? Is he for real?
Love him or hate him, you've got to admit he's an original talent of some kind. I honestly don't know for sure what kind, but some kind. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have made a career out of bringing Beck to our attention. Otherwise frankly I might not even know he existed. But of course that's the point. If we didn't know Glenn Beck and his ilk existed, we'd no doubt be even more puzzled as to how on Earth there are so many confused conservatives these days. More now than ever in my humble opinion.
But Beck is unique among right wing pundits in that he brings a certain level of showmanship that you don't see with O'reilly, Rush, or Hannity. Granted, each of them does their share of theatrics, but Beck has taken his act to a whole new level, and he seems to continually top himself over and over again to the point where I've begun to wonder what the hell he's really about.
He's a preacher of a sort, although calling him a scholarly preacher would be a gross overstatement. He's an historian, albeit one that distorts and disfigures the context and meaning of historic events on almost every attempt to explain them. He spans the spectrum of Libertarianism from objectivism to anarchism, but he never manages to clearly define any of his philosophical viewpoints, let alone seem to understand their implications.
A can't imagine that a rational viewer could take him seriously for more than a fleeting moment, but apparently his TV and radio fans number in the millions. I wouldn't put much thought into it except that Beck seems to be something of an anomaly. He is able to repulse any sane minded listener regardless of party affiliation while simultaneously mesmerizing a very distinct segment of the conservative population. He reminds me of a number of over the top evangelical preachers that I've seen on the God channel on occasion.
Roger Ailes seems to be satisfied with Beck's ratings, but does he actually think Beck is helping the Republican cause? Does he even care about that? Am I wrong in thinking that Beck is so off kilter and so absurd that he makes anyone who shares any of the same talking points look equally insane? He seems to be the perfect straw man for the opposition. Am I wrong in thinking that wing-nuts like Michele Bachmann, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck do more to hurt the reputation of the Republican party than help it? If that's the case, then by bringing even more attention to his show, are we somehow taking advantage of a loose screw in the conservative armor? By that I mean that Beck seems to thrive on the negative attention that he garners, while at the same time it seems to bother him so much that he grows increasingly radical and maniacal in his rantings. The more we watch and comment in horror, the more horrific he becomes. And ever since his sponsors began leaving in droves due to his flagrant remarks about Obama he seems to have stepped up his psychobabble routine and becomes increasingly disjointed and confused.
I've written this synopsis in an attempt to better understand this thing... this Beck. I just finished watching yet another insane clip of Beck on TYT. Watch the clip and tell me what you think was going on in his scrambled mind.
Beck radio insane clip - Cenk commentary on TYT