This blog will discuss many issues pertaining to current events and encourages others to discuss and do the same. The goal is to raise the level of discourse and hopefully have a good time sharing thoughts and ideas.
I know that my posting has been non-existent over the last few weeks. This has been due to my move to Los Angeles and all of the fun stresses that come with such a big change.
I am not sure what direction this blog will take in the future, but for now, I thought I would pass along this hilarious Lewis Black bit from the Daily Show last night:
On March 21, 2010, the Health Care Reform legislation was signed into law after a contentious and heated year of debate that gave way to the rise of the Tea Party movement.
As health care reform became the primary target of this movement, we saw Fox News and the Republican Party latch onto this rage and harness it into a well promoted and corporate sponsored Conservative machine. This machine rolled through the country, turning out large crowds who carried signs declaring that we were being taken over by Communists and who showed up to health care town hall meetings to shout down members of Congress who supported any and all versions of proposed health care legislation.
During the past year, this Tea Party movement has continually claimed that they are a grassroots movement of concerned patriots, but as has been highlighted on this blog as well as in other media outlets, Republican backed corporate dollars have played a large role in assuring that the Tea Party momentum continues to build.
This momentum and this outrage that has been primarily directed at the Obama Administration and at progressives in general, has also been adopted by Republican politicians for reasons that are self-explanatory. The result of so many interests trying to work within the same movement has resulted in a brand of schizophrenic conservatism that mixes (what started out as) a primarily Libertarian movement and the politics of traditional Republican Party from the last few decades.
After a year of promotion by a major news channel and lots of Republican money being pumped into this cause, it is clear that those traditional Republican interests appear to be having an impact. Locally, members of the Cincinnati Tea Party have held rallies at which former Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) spoke. Many members of the tea party that I have talked to are advocating voting to put the long-time Republican Party member back into Congress in order to get Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) out. I have also talked with members of the tea party who feel that it is not a viable strategy to back more Libertarian-based third party candidates. Instead, it is clear that getting Democrats out of Congress is the priority, even if it means putting familiar Republican faces back into power.
While the confusion and internal struggles of the Tea Party movement are sometimes disguised, what has been most noticeable over this past year has been the anger and sometimes violent rhetoric. Locally, I documented some of the behavior that was evident at local town hall meetings and nationally we have seen racist, homophobic and violent rhetoric directed at those with who this movement disagrees. This behavior continued right up until (and ever since) the passage of this bill.
The Saturday before the House of Representative passed the legislation, there was a "Hands off my Healthcare" rally in Columbus, Ohio that was organized by Americans for Prosperity. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has been one of the groups that has been instrumental in keeping the tea party momentum rolling by using their corporate funds and expert PR personnel to whip up the anger. Rachel Maddow:
This is what these groups do. They're experts at fake grass roots campaigns that promote corporate interests. Americans for Prosperity is the group that ginned up anti-stimulus rallies earlier this year. They also organized what they called the "Hot Air Tour" to campaign against the whole idea of global warming. They were the ones who sent Joe the Plumber around the country to rail against the Employee Free Choice Act, which is pro-labor legislation.
This oil industry and Republican operative billionaires club is according to the Republican party spokesman today, just average middle class Americans. Just regular American folks sitting around the kitchen table thinking about whether they can get away with saying that the government, continuing its long standing policy of encouraging living wills, is really a secret plot to kill old people.
[...]
These guys are the pros. This is an industry. Americans are showing up at these events to shout down the discussion, to chase their Congressmen, and they are enraged. And they're enraged at least in part because they're being riled up by over the top, fabricated conspiracy theories about health care. And they're being directed and orchestrated by the corporate interests that do this for a living and do it very well.
At this "Hands off my Health Care" rally in Columbus, an incident transpired that has been widely circulated. Bob Letcher, a 60-year-old man with Parkinson's Disease, was mocked, yelled at and had dollar bills thrown at him by anti-reformers as he sat quietly with his sign advocating his support for health care reform. Video from The Columbus Dispatch captured the scene:
"I have seen the video and found the man's behavior completely inappropriate. Americans for Prosperity certainly does not encourage or condone harassing behavior. Our goal is to send a message to Rep. Kilroy that we oppose this health care takeover bill. We always encourage our members to be considerate of others in their demonstrations."
I caught up with Heimlich after a Conservative-sponsored candidates forum the other evening to ask about AFP's future plans, but also to ask whether AFP was going to apologize to Mr. Letcher for the behavior of individuals at an event which they sponsored. The full interview is below and the specific question about Letcher is at about 1:35 into the clip:
(Note: I refer to Bob Letcher as "Bob Letchman" during this interview. That was my spoken mistake. I also mention that Letcher had described the movement as being "cultivatively violent or harsh or something along those lines." Letcher's quote is "cultivatively angry" and can be found here.)
In short, Heimlich did not know if it would "be appropriate" for AFP to issue Letcher an apology because it was not clear that the "man in the white shirt" was a member of her organization. She also stated that she didn't know if it would be AFP's "responsibility" to issue an apology due to this event having many sponsors.
Heimlich also stated that she does not think that this movement is primarily violent or angry and that she has not seen any other inappropriate behavior at her events. She also said that she thinks it is good for people to express their opinions in a respectful way and even went as far as calling a moment where two sides were yelling at each other "substantive debate".
Since my interview with Heimlich, the "man in the white shirt" has been identified as Chris Reichert and interviewed by the Columbus Dispatch. In his interview, he told the paper that he was sorry:
"He's got every right to do what he did and some may say I did too, but what I did was shameful," Reichert said. "I haven't slept since that day."
"I made a donation (to a local Parkinson's disease group) and that starts the healing process."
As Reichert begins his own healing process, groups like AFP continue to forge ahead in attempts to make health care an issue in upcoming elections. The fact still remains however that the Conservative and Tea Party movements are still trying to figure out if they are really Libertarians or Republicans with a new populist message. This disconnect was illustrated at the end of my interview with Heimlich:
CB: Do you think Glenn Beck is a positive voice for your movement?
RH: ...I don't watch that show, so I can't really tell you if I think he is or not because [...] I don't know that much about him...
CB: Is there any differentiation you think between the 9/12 groups and the Tea Party groups or is it pretty much...?
RH: From what I have seen in Ohio, they all work together I mean they are all part of the Ohio Liberty Council, so I have not seen any differentiation.
So the Tea Party movement is no different from the 9/12 movement. Glenn Beck motivates the 9/12 Movement with his show much like AFP motivates Tea Party groups with their rallies, yet Heimlich doesn't know if Beck is a positive voice for her movement? Schizophrenic Conservatism indeed.
I've listened to preachers
I've listened to fools
I've watched all the dropouts
Who make their own rules
One person conditioned to rule and control
The media sells it and you live the role
Photo courtesy of here and the lyrics are from Ozzy Osborne's "Crazy Train".
Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) appeared on Glenn Beck's show this afternoon in what can only be described as a complete train-wreck.
Massa has made news as of late due to his announcement that he is resigning his Congressional Seat due to intense pressure from the White House surrounding his potential vote for the health care legislation. The White House has denied this claim and shortly after Massa made this claim, Glenn Beck jumped at the chance to let Massa tell exactly how the White House had pressured him to resign.
This situation got even more complicated earlier today when it was revealed that Massa was being investigated for inappropriately groping male staffers.
Glenn Beck was quite intrigued by the "White House forcing out a Congressman" angle of the story and desperately tried to get Massa to give him all the juicy details. Massa had nothing to offer aside from the "shocking" revelation that Washington is a town that has fallen victim to partisanship.
Beck set up the segment saying that he didn't know who this guy was or if he was a bad guy, but that the allegations of being forced out of office made this an interesting story. After a five-minute build-up, Beck introduced Massa and the first words out of Massa's mouth were:
"Can I just start off with something? I wasn't forced out, I forced myself out. I failed. I didn't live up to my own codes. I own this."
Wow, glad that was settled so quickly! Not only that, but Massa continued on and admitted that he did grope a male staffer and "tickled him until he couldn't breath". Beck was clearly taken aback from the very beginning and it only got crazier from there. Watch the whole intro and the first segment:
Picture of x-ray's, tickle fights, a reversal of position and that is all within the first segement of this program. It actually looks like Beck is the sane one in these clips. Massa would go on to describe an encounter that he had with a naked Rahm Emanuel in the House of Representative's communal shower. From the Huffington Post:
"I was in my first two months," he said. "I was in a battle about the budget, Rahm was angry with me. He poked his finger in my chest while we were in the shower. I went through it on the radio show. Not only did it happen, I will never forget it. Rahm Emanuel doesn't like me. I get it."
Despite all of this, Beck continued to plead with Massa to tell the public something new about how he was forced out of office by the White House, but Massa continued to give him absolutely nothing:
This all led Beck to apologize to his viewers for "wasting their time" with the interview. Just watch Beck's face during this last segment as he realizes that he has successfully booked someone on his show who is spouting off something crazier than him:
This was truly a crazy interview, one that Beck certainly did not see playing out as it did. Former Rep. Massa showed signs of dealing with some intense pressures that are obviously affecting him and led to his being all over the place during this hour of television. I think it can be surmised that the White House probably didn't force him from his job and that there is more that has yet to have been discovered regarding the investigation into Massa's "groping" of his staffers. Massa even stated that there are "probably text messages" out there that could be wrongly perceived.
Beck expected Massa to come on and spill the beans about how the White House is full of unprecedented corruption and how they threw their weight around, forcing Massa to resign. What became clear to Beck from very early on was that his plan backfired in a big way. Massa is obviously having some problems in his life right now and his behavior in this interview exemplified why it was probably a mistake for Beck to try and embrace him politically.
Glenn Beck's rousing keynote address at CPAC last week was filled with his views on American values, American history and how the Conservative movement must move forward.
One of the most interesting and provocative comments that Beck made during his speech was his belief that the progressive movement is a "cancer" to America. Beck also called for its "eradication". Watch:
This tactic is an interesting strategy that moves forward a certain kind of "elminationist rhetoric" as has been described over at Crooks and Liars. This rhetoric doesn't call for a countering of ideas and debate, it labels a movement as a deadly disease that must be fought and wiped out to ensure the survival of the country. Serious stuff.
Author, journalist and radio-host David Sirota says that we should all thank Glenn Beck...seriously:
We owe this talk-show-host-turned-political-leader gratitude for using his televised keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference to so frankly outline what the conservative movement has become — and why it repulses so many Americans.
[...]
The lesson was eminently clear, coming in no less than the keynote address to one of America's most important political conventions. Beck taught us that a once-principled conservative movement of reasoned activists has turned into a mob — one that does not engage in civilized battles of ideas. Instead, these torch-carriers, gun-brandishers and tea partiers follow an anti-government terrorist attack by cheering a demagogue's demand for the physical annihilation of those with whom he disagrees — namely anyone, but particularly progressives, who value "community."
No doubt, some conservatives will parse, insisting Beck was only endorsing the "eradication" of progressivism but not of progressives.
These same willful ignoramuses will also likely say that the Nazis' beef was with Judaism but not Jews, and that white supremacists dislike African-American culture but have no problem with black people.
Other conservatives will surely depict Beck's "eradication" line as just the jest of a self-described "rodeo clown" — merely the "fusion of entertainment and enlightenment," as his radio motto intones. But if Beck is half as smart as he incessantly tells listeners he is, then he knows it's no joke.
[...]
Really, the threat isn't even veiled. To understand it, just ponder comparisons. For instance, ask yourself: What is the difference between Beck's decree and that of Rwanda's genocidal leaders in the 1990s? The former broadcasted a call to "eradicate" the "cancer"-like progressives; the latter a call to "exterminate the cockroaches." Likewise, what separates Beck's screed from a bin Laden fatwa? They may employ different ideologies and languages, but both endorse the wholesale elimination of large groups of Americans.
Sirota does bring up an interesting point in questioning just how one is to separate the calls for the eradication of a movement from the eradication of the members of that same movement. Beck is a massive figure in the tea-party and conservative movement and when he continues to rant and rave about progressivism being a disease and that it must be eliminated, it only throws red meat to the base.
Remember that this is the man who started the "9/12 Project" and who is the hero of many members of the "Tea-Party" movement.
What is continually interesting about Beck isn't just his circus-like antics that make you question his stability, but also how he has fun with facts. Take this recent spat between Beck and Rachel Maddow which Maddow addressed on her MSNBC show the other night:
After the election and inauguration of President Obama in 2009, it seemed as if tea-party movements began to surface all across the country. These groups strongly voiced their opposition to President Obama and the Democrats and advanced the claims that the country was being steered in a new and radical direction.
Not coincidentally, this was the same time period when Fox News host Glenn Beck was rising in popularity as part of Fox News' new business strategy in becoming the voice of opposition to the Obama Administration. I have written time and time again about Beck's wild and crazy antics over the last year and it is no secret by now that tea-party chapters all over the country look to him as a voice of sanity and reason in their quest to combat what they view as "socialism" and "communism" being forced upon the public. Beck and Fox News fueled and promoted tea-party protests all over the country during the Summer of 2009 and while some local groups were formed at the grassroots, much of the tea-party activity has been funded by corporate and Republican interests.
As the debate over healthcare reform became heated last summer, tea-party organizations began showing up to local town hall meetings to shout-down Congressmen and make hyperbolic and factually troubling claims about the proposed legislation. Not only were people showing up to rail against health care reform, but also to question President Obama's citizenship, claim that the United States was being taken over by Marxists and offer their support for Republican ideas. There was certainly a mixture of viewpoints within this movement and I wrote about this paradox in the protests at the time:
What was once political opposition driven by political figures of the 90's, has now morphed into that same opposition being embraced by national media figures as well as their viewers/listeners thus these views are presented as a genuine populist uprising.
This kind of complication manifests itself when you mix legitimate concerns of citizens with interests that work hard to maintain the status quo. These interests include national media figures like Beck, the influence of party interests who are working toward the political goal of defeating Obama, and those who perpetuate so-called "facts" that end up being completely wrong. What results is more than a complete mess. What results is a movement that does not know whether they are coming or going, let alone where they stand.
What has resulted, has been what equates to an identity crisis for the Republicans. Some Republicans are cautious about embracing the tea parties and some Republicans are icons within the movement. Sarah Palin recently suggested that the Republican Party try to "absorb as much of the tea party movement as possible" and South Carolina Republicans have officially started to collaborate with the tea party movement.
As Republicans continue to fund, promote, and work with factions of this movement, there is a disconnect that bubbles to the surface and only exacerbates the mixed identities that all seem to stem from seemingly the same movement. After all, it was the supporters of Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) who held the first tea party way back in 2007. What was different was the libertarian message that was being espoused by Paul and how the Republican Party explicitly rejected their association with this movement. This recent segment of The Rachel Maddow Show features Ron Paul and gets right at this very issue:
These recent tea-partiers seemingly came out of the woodwork after the election of America's first black President and have a much different message than that of the grassroots movement that united behind their support for Ron Paul's Presidential Candidacy. This is the confusion that we are seeing both on a national level as well as locally here in Cincinnati.
Ohio Public Radio did a story this past week that aired on 91.7 WVXU regarding the local tea-party movement and the Republican Party's willingness to accept tea-party candidates and supporters. The story states that Party Chief Kevin DeWine is "throwing out the welcome mat" by stating:
"If that group is concerned about fiscal discipline, fiscal restraint, lower spending and lower taxes, I'll put my candidates up against the Democrat candidates any day when it comes to trying to attract their vote."
This should not come as a surprise to any citizen who has been paying attention to the Cincinnati Tea Part movement. This local organization has embraced Republicans like Steve Chabot who was a featured speaker at a protest in Downtown Cincinnati along with Cincinnati Tea Party founder Mike Wilson back in October. Here is video that I posted at the time of the event:
As Chabot stated in his speech, he is "looking forward to working with" Wilson if he is elected to the Statehouse and if Chabot can reclaim his old Congressional seat. The Republican Party's willingness to absorb those within the tea-party movement is certainly a political strategy to try and harness the Conservative outrage into votes and in instances like we have seen with the Cincinnati Tea Party, they are often willing to throw their support behind long-time members of the Republican Party like Steve Chabot. This is what happens when you have a movement that takes an angry public, whips it into a political fervor and directs that anger into continued support for the same Republican politicians who have had a hand in the mess that we find ourselves in today. Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake sums it up the paradox between the old and new tea-party movements quite nicely:
The GOP establishment, on the other hand, struck a bargain for power with corporate America that is totally at odds with everything the libertarians stand for. I’ve often thought they have more points of honest intersection with progressives on the war, civil liberties, accountability and transparency than with the GOP and the “For Sale” sign they’ve affixed to the taxpayer trough.
Ron Paul has been tireless in taking his message to college campuses, and he has tremendous support among younger people who identify themselves as fiscal conservatives but are uncomfortable with the fundies and their gay-bashing. But as the libertarian message is gaining traction, it is being hijacked by the Neocons — and Sarah “bridge to nowhere” Palin leads the parade.
It’s completely incoherent that there are now tea party-identified candidates are trying to oust Ron Paul himself from his seat. I hope the libertarians lay down markers and come down on the side of ending ConAgra’s corporate welfare, and showing Palin and her many bombs to the door.
Roger Ailes, President and CEO of Fox News, made a rare appearance as a member of the "Roundtable Dicussion" on ABC's This Weekearlier this morning. Rounding out the panel was Washington Post columnist George Will, Founder of the Huffington Post Arianna Huffington, and economist Paul Krugman. There was some discussion on the election of Scott Brown to the Senate, health care, and the media, but I knew that things were going to be interesting when Ailes began the segment by offering to pose nude for $100.
By watching this discussion it is crystal clear to see why Fox News operates as it does. Ailes defends the crazy rhetoric of Glenn Beck, his network's coverage of President Obama, and the idea that Fox is a "fair and balanced" network. Also funny is how Ailes rails against other media outlets for being slanted and then proceeds to defend Beck's misinformation and spout the same Republican talking points that hosts on his channel espouse.
In Ailes' defense of Glenn Beck he tries to turn the tables on Arianna Huffington by claiming that her website calls him awful names. Ailes, just like Bill O'Reilly has done, accomplishes this by quoting from the "user comment" section of the Huffington Post and trying to project the views of some anonymous commenter onto the founder of the site. These are the fun tactics that we have come to expect from Fox and Ailes shows that not only is this part of his business model, but the views that he finds acceptable for his network. Below are the full videos of the Roundtable segment from this morning:
One of the complexities that is interesting right now in America is the populism that exists on both sides of the political spectrum. It can be confusing, can send mixed political signals, and quite frankly can overlap on various issues of interest.
David Sirota has been writing about this issue for quite some time and he appeared on CNN earlier today to discuss this very issue. Granted it is hard to delve into this issue in a 4 minute segment, but I think this clip is worth watching:
I think Sirota is largely right. People are very angry at the system that has created this mess and I think that the alliance of governmental and corporate interests has been and will continue to be a big problem that stands in the way of real reform. People from all political walks are angry by this as well they should be. The Republican Party is trying to frame this populism as simply opposition to this Administration that is currently in power. This has created this weird brand of "GOPopulism" that you see in certain tea-party/Glenn Beck movements. People need to see through this nonsense and actively work to push the Obama Administration toward meaningful reforms and away from caving in to corporate powers.
Glenn Beck is back in 2010 for another year of crazy and he devoted an entire hour of his program to interviewing former Governor of Alaska and new Fox News Contributor Sarah Palin. It's an hour of paranoia, self-victimization, and rehashing everything that you have known about these two figures since 2008. Below is the full interview in various segments, but I also wanted to share how Palin prepared for this interview (according to Beck) to demonstrate Palin's mindset. Listen to this clip from Beck's radio program as he describes what happened pre-interview.
Here is the interview:
and of course, Jon Stewart had a fun take on this interview as well:
The end of the year usually brings about many "Best of" and "Worst of" lists that attempt to summarize various points of interest from the previous year. Media Matters for America is no exception to creating such a list as the liberally-slanted non-profit has compiled the most "Outrageous" comments from Conservative commentators in 2009.
Many of the usual suspects are on the list, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck even had the dubious honor of being dubbed 2009's "Misinformer of the Year" for calling the President a racist and comparing modern day America to the rise of Nazi Germany. You can watch the special video that Media Matters created for Beck at the bottom of this post.
In the mix with all of these nationally known Conservative voices is a man who resonates in a special way with the city of Cincinnati and who had three of his comments make the "Most Outrageous" list that was compiled by Media Matters.
Bill Cunningham has always been known for stirring up controversy on his Monday-Friday talk show and there have been a few instances when he has gained some national attention for his antics. Remember when Cunningham warmed up the crowd at a local event before John McCain took the stage in 2008 during the campaign season? Or how about the times when Cunningham has gone on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News to give voice to one crazy theory after another?
It should come as no surprise that Cunningham would land on such a list.
Here are the three comments that Media Matters considers among the "Most Outrageous" of 2009.
On the January 4 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Cincinnati-based radio host Bill Cunningham continued his attacks on the poor, stating: "[P]oor people were not and are not poor because they lack money. They're poor because they lack values, ethics, and morals." Cunningham added: "All that the mid-'60s and '70s did to the black community was to pay black fathers money on condition that they not be involved in the lives of their children and that black mothers were told that if you married, it would have a painful consequence. If, on the other hand, you acted irresponsibly by producing children out of wedlock, you would have a positive consequence, because government would fund bad behavior."
and here is the video that Media Matters put together for Glenn Beck's "Misinformer of the Year" award:
You should check out some of the other items that made the Media Matters list and also feel free to post your favorite "outrageous" quotes in the comments section. What moments stick out in your mind from the past year either from national figures or on a local level from figures in Cincinnati?
Blogging has been a little sparse as of late due to some research that has consumed some of my time but this item was pretty revealing.
I know it can be hard to keep all the antics of Glenn Beck straight in your mind, but think back to the summer when Beck stated that President Obama was a "racist" and that he had a "deep seated hatred for white people".
Remember that?
Well, media mogul and creator of Fox News has now come out in an interview and stated that while Beck probably shouldn't have said it, he was right to call Obama a racist:
If you didn't want to watch the entire video, here is the quote:
Speers: Glenn Beck who you mentioned has called Barack Obama a racist, and he helped organize a protest against him and others on Fox have likened him (Obama) to Stalin is that defensible?
Murdoch: No, no, no, not Stalin, I don't think, ah, not one of our people.
On the racist thing, that caused a (unintelligible). But he (Obama) did make a very racist comment. Ahhh -- about, you know, blacks and whites and so on, and which he said in his campaign he would be completely above. And um, that was something which perhaps shouldn't have been said about the President, but if you actually assess what he was talking about, he was right.
Dave Neiwert over at Crooks and Liars has a good breakdown analyzing the "who said what and when" in this entry. Here is a clip:
Now, what exactly was it that Obama said that brought Beck to this conclusion -- and which Murdoch claims was a "racist" thing for him to say? Well, he was talking about the Henry Louis Gates arrest:
"Now, I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts what role race played in that, but I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry. Number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home and, number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. And that's just a fact.
As you know, Lynn, when I was in the state legislature in Illinois we worked on a racial profiling bill because there was indisputable evidence that blacks and hispanics were being stopped disproportionately. And that is a sign, an example of how, you know, race remains a factor in this society. That doesn't lessen the incredible progress that has been made. I am standing here as testimony to the progress that's been made. And yet, the fact of the matter is that, you know, this still haunts us. And even when there are honest misunderstandings, the fact that blacks and hispanics are picked up more frequently and often time for no cause cast suspicion even when there is good cause, and that's why I think the more that we're working with local law enforcement to improve policing techniques so that we're eliminating potential bias, the safer everybody's going to be."
And this was racist exactly how?
I suppose if you redefined "racism" to include "bringing up historically and factually accurate information about racist behavior of white people", then I suppose you could say that. I don't think we're there yet, but Rupert Murdoch is obviously working on it.
On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people gathered outside the Carew Tower building carrying signs and chanting the phrase "We Surround Them" in order to voice their opposition to the health care reform legislation that is currently before both houses of Congress.
This event was organized by members of the Fairfield-based Cincinnati Tea Party as well as the Cincinnati 9/12 Project. While the march around Carew Tower was meant to send a message to Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) of Ohio's first district (whose office is inside Carew Tower), there were many people in attendance who were not constitutes of Driehaus. One protester was commenting on how she drove from Liberty Township to attend the event while others commented that they lived outside of Driehaus' district.
This event was the culmination of a week of protests that were staged at various exit ramps off of I-275, where members would hand out leaflets and other information on health care reform. I-275 was a symbolic choice as the highway literally "surrounds" the city of Cincinnati and the message of "We Surround Them" has been a central theme in Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project.
After the march, the protesters gathered on Fountain Square to hear speakers, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and listen to Lee Greenwood's patriotic anthem "God Bless the USA".
Chris Littleton, Director of the Cincinnati Tea Party, was the first to speak and he drove home the point that the while the Tea Party movement "has no problem" with health care reform, they believe that government intervention in the health care system will lead this country down a "slippery-slope" toward a single payer system and eventually, wealth redistribution. Littleton made the statement that the current health care system is broken due to the government's attempts at regulations and challenged the crowd to name something good that the government has done in the past 100 years.
Littleton chided the creation of the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Education mockingly saying "...that has really worked out well hasn't it?" Littleton did not cite any specific statistics to explain why he believed that these Departments were a problem, but the crowd seemed to agree as a chorus of boo's came in response to the mention of the Department of Education. It was also unclear as to what Littleton meant when he stated that former President Carter created the Department of Energy to stop "our dependence on energy".
Founder of the Cincinnati Tea Party, Mike Wilson, then took to the stage to exclaim that he didn't really want to be at the rally since it was the homecoming game for the Cincinnati Bearcats, but that he felt it was important to make the time for this cause. Wilson, criticized the mainstream media for ignoring stories like that of the undercover operation that recently took place by two Conservative activists who sought advice from ACORN employees while dressing and posing as a pimp and a prostitute. It is unclear which media outlets Wilson feels have ignored the story as a quick Google search shows a wide-range of coverage on this topic.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as Wilson asked if anyone listens to Glenn Beck. Wilson claimed that Beck is one of those in the media who are bringing important stories to light. Wilson cited the resignation of Van Jones from the Obama Administration as an accomplishment to Glenn Beck and stated that the White House is so afraid of Fox News and talk radio because they are always "scooping" outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post. Wilson also spoke of Glenn Beck's latest target within the Obama Administration, White House Communications Director Anita Dunn. Wilson stated, as Beck has done, that Dunn said that two political philosophers that she turns to the most are Mother Theresa and Mao-Tse-Tung...apparently further "evidence" of socialism/communism in the Obama White House.
It is important to note that, Crooks and Liars has shown how Beck edited Dunn's quote to serve his purpose. Here is the Dunn quote that Beck ran:
"[T]wo of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Tse-Tung and Mother Teresa, not often coupled with each other, but the two people that I turn to most ..."
and here is the full quote:
"The third lesson and tip actually comes from two of my favorite political philosophers: Mao Tse-tung and Mother Theresa -- not often coupled with each other, but the two people I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point which is 'you're going to make choices; you're going to challenge; you're going to say why not; you're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before."
This distortion was not addressed by Wilson, nor was the fact that Beck has lost dozens of advertisers on his program ever since he labeled President Obama as a "racist". What was addressed was how Wilson feels that the government is unfairly infringing in the lives of Americans and how health care reform is just another way that the government will be telling people what to do. Wilson's example of how government is currently overstepping its boundaries was how the school that his son attends apparently prevented his son from eating sugar-free pudding that Wilson had packed for him because it wasn't in one of the food groups that is approved of by the Department of Agriculture. "You know what? It's my life!" shouted Wilson.
The final speaker at the event was former Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) who will be running against Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH) to try and earn back his seat in Congress that Driehaus took from him in 2008. Chabot compared the Presidency of Barack Obama to that of the runaway balloon that received lots of coverage a few weeks ago: "Lofty and shiny at first, but found to be nothing but hot air and empty after crashing to the ground."
Chabot claimed that politicians and "their special interest friends" are trying to push through government health care that would "increase health insurance costs" and "increase the deficit". There was no mention of the score that the Congressional Budget Office gave the legislation put forth by the Senate Finance Committee which states that this particular bill will actually reduce the deficit by $81 billion over a 10 year period.
Chabot went on to claim that the Tea Party movement is important because they "are helping to educate your fellow Americans about the truth about what is actually taking place in Washington."
"The Washington establishment and their allies in the mainstream press said that you were just the Fox-watching political fringe, a temporary bump in the road. Well, they know better now," Chabot exclaimed. Chabot embraced the Tea Party movement and the 9/12 Project by associating himself with the movement, often using the term "we" and "us" in describing "Republicans or Conservatives or tea-partiers or 9/12'ers or whatever you want to call us..."
Chabot concluded by stating that the country will be "taken back" by Conservatives and Republicans. "No moderates!" shouted a woman from the crowd as Chabot insisted that the "left-wing agenda" of the last year can "do a lot of damage" and will be "hard to reverse" in the future. Chabot told tea-party founder Mike Wilson that he hopes to work with him once he is back in Congress and once Wilson gets elected to the Statehouse (which Wilson is running for to "fight back against the Federal Government").
There was much criticism of of Rep. Steve Driehaus by former Congressman Chabot due to Driehaus not agreeing to speak at this event. "It's unfortunate that Steve Driehaus chose not to show up today to listen to your concerns," Chabot stated, "and finally tell us where he stands on the important health care issue. Although he has been particularly cagey in letting his constitutes, you, know where he stands, he did find time to let Howard Dean know that he supports the so-called public option plan."
Though Driehaus did not speak at this event, it is important to note that it is not completely accurate to imply that Driehaus has been hiding from the public or failing to let people know where he stands on issues of health care. Rep. Driehaus has held multiple town hall meetings on the topic of health care, during which he was repeatedly shouted down and booed by members of the same organizations that sponsored this rally on Fountain Square. You can view footage of these town hall meetings at links here, here, here, and here.
The Fountain Square event concluded with the singing of "God Bless America" as well as a call for donations to help pay for the event on the square by members of the Tea Party organization. "It's on my credit card right now," joked Director Chris Littleton, "and that gets really scary for me."
Below is some video that I took at the event so that you can see what took place and discuss the topic further:
You thought that Glenn Beck's antics were odd in the clips that I have posted before? Well, it now appears that they have devolved to completely delusional:
The interview is very interesting and some of the highlights include:
- Beck connecting his former alcoholism with believing in "socially liberal" ideas. - Beck's continued insistence that he was yelling just as loud about President Bush as he is about President Obama. - Beck stating that he was angry about the passage of the Patriot Act. - His statement that "If you are not afraid of your government...the government can become a nightmare." - and his attempts to justify his calling Obama a racist because Obama views the society through the "prism" of a historical pattern of racism.
After watching this interview, it is still puzzling as to what Glenn Beck believes. Frankly, I don't think that he knows what he believes. Many of his answers went off on tangents and he often accused Katie Couric of trying to set him up. Paranoid is a good word to use in describing Beck's demeanor during this interview.
One of the most interesting moments comes at about the 23 minute mark in the interview when Couric relays a question from a Twitter user. The question asks what Beck meant by "White Culture" when he infamously said that President Obama has a "deep-seated hatred for White Culture". Beck initially says that he doesn't know and then proceeds to dance around the question. When Couric presses him, he then claims that she is attempting to trap into giving her a "sound byte". He even has a Sarah Palin moment when he claims that Couric is playing a "gotcha" game. Couric asks Beck if he should be able to defend the controversial statements that he makes and Beck continues to stay mum.
This exchange is important because it demonstrates that Beck has no clue what he meant by that statement. This response is a microcosm of Glenn Beck and shows him to be a man that is confused as to what he believes, paranoid, and someone who strings loosley connected questions and statements that only scratch the surface, but are presented as providing answers to deep and complex questions.
One of the more interesting topics that I find myself coming back to is the continuation of various protest movements that have sprung up around the country in opposition to the Obama Administration. I wrote about the paradox in these protests here, discussed how Glenn Beck's crazy hypocritical antics are fueling them here, and highlighted a video that shows the kaleidoscope of issues that are being protested here. Just when you think that all of this can't get any more confusing, it does.
Glenn Beck is going to be interviewed on CBSNews.com this evening by Katie Couric. A short clip has been released to promote this interview. Watch how Glenn Beck says that he doesn't like John McCain because he is some "progressive like Theodore Roosevelt" and how he thinks that McCain would have been a worse President than Obama or Hillary Clinton:
Astounding coming from the same guy who has devoted his show on Fox News to claiming that Obama is a Marxist and a racist. Couple that with the continued exposure of Beck as an outright hypocrite and you can't help but ask where on Earth he stand politically. For example (h/t dday), here is Beck (back when he was on CNN) talking about how Ron Paul supporters are terrorists:
Also note that in that video clip Beck says (of Ron Paul):
"It's really not the way I would go, tying in my movement with a historical terrorist attack, especially in post-9/11 America."
Beck is the same guy who started the 9/12 Project.
Here is another video (made by a Ron Paul supporter) that contains a video clip of Beck stating that he supports the $700 billion bailout that President Bush proposed as well as Beck's endorsement of the Patriot Act:
and in this clip from the other day, (can you guess what is coming?) Beck states that he was critical of Bush and "hated him" for the bailouts:
This is the guy who has been a driving force behind the tea-party and 9/12 Project protest movements that we have seen explode since President Obama took office back in January. He is a personality that literally cries on-air while delivering passionate speeches about how this country is falling apart, yet it is quite clear that what Glenn Beck believes (at least politically) shifts when he needs to attract ratings.
What Beck is promoting a brand of Schizophrenic Conservatism that has resulted in people showing up at large rallies claiming that they are against everything from health care reform to socialism to spending to illegal immigration to a "Muslim" taking over the country, etc.
Increasingly, there is great difficulty in understanding not only Beck's political orientation but, even more so, the movement that has sprung up around him. Within that confusion lies several important observations about our political culture, particularly the inability to process anything that does not fall comfortably into the conventional "left-right" dichotomy through which everything is understood.
[...]
Ultimately, Beck himself is just a histrionic intellectual mess: willing to latch onto any hysterical accusations and conspiracy theories that provide some momentary benefit, no matter how contradictory they might be from one moment to the next. His fears, resentments and religious principles seem fixed, but not his political beliefs. Like the establishment leadership of both political parties, he has no core political principles or fixed, identifiable ideology. His description of himself as a "rodeo clown" might be the most perceptive thing he's ever said. Attempts to classify him on the conventional political spectrum are destined to fail, and attempts to demonize him as some sort of standard Republican bogeyman will inevitably be so over-simplified as to be false. Such efforts assume far more coherence than he possesses.
Far more interesting than Beck himself is the increasingly futile effort to classify the protest movement to which he has connected himself. Here, too, confusion reigns. In part, this is due to the fact that these "tea party" and "9/12" protests are composed of factions with wildly divergent views about most everything. From paleoconservatives to Ron-Paul-libertarians to LaRouchians to Confederacy-loving, race-driven Southerners to Christianist social conservatives to single-issue fanatics (abortion, guns, gays) to standard Limbaugh-following, Bush-loving Republicans, these protests are an incoherent mishmash without any cohesive view other than: "Barack Obama is bad." There are unquestionably some highly noxious elements in these groups, but they are far from homogeneous. Many of these people despised the Bush-led GOP and many of them loved it.
Add to all of that the fact that this anti-Obama sentiment is being exploited by run-of-the-mill GOP operatives who have no objective other than to undermine Democrats and return the Republicans to power -- manifestly not the goal of many of the protesters -- and it's impossible to define what this movement is or what is driving it.
This is exactly what we have seen in several of the videos that I have shot outside the health care protests that have taken place over the Summer. My video interview with Jim was a prime example of a protester who made several points that were loosely connected together under the umbrella of "we are being taken over by socialists."
This is not to say that some of the issues that are being voiced by protesters are not genuine. In fact, many of the issues transcend the mentality of left versus right. Many people, myself included, care about Wall Street's influence on the government, care about rampant government spending, and care about the erosion of our civil liberties. Greenwald is right to point out through these protests, the curtain has being pulled back on the countries inability to collectively analyze issues outside of the Beltway's typical "left vs. right" mentality. This mentality has certainly trickled down to the populous and end up making issues even more complicated in the long-run.
This kind of complication manifests itself when you mix legitimate concerns of citizens with interests that work hard to maintain the status quo. These interests include national media figures like Beck, the influence of party interests who are working toward the political goal of defeating Obama, and those who perpetuate so-called "facts" that end up being completely wrong. What results is more than a complete mess. What results is a movement that does not know whether they are coming or going, let alone where they stand.
