Posted on 09/21/2009 4:22:12 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Unlike others associated with Time magazine, David von Drehle is a skilled, careful, and perceptive writer. So I was interested in his cover story on FOX News’s Glenn Beck, who is considered to be a red-hot commodity these days.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on Beck. In the past I assumed he was a typical figure in the pundit and cable-media world. Only recently have I watched portions of his television program, as well as interviews with him, and heard parts of his radio program. And what I’ve seen should worry the conservative movement.
I say that because he seems to be more of a populist and libertarian than a conservative, more of a Perotista than a Reaganite. His interest in conspiracy theories is disquieting, as is his admiration for Ron Paul and his charges of American “imperialism.” (He is now talking about pulling troops out of Afghanistan, South Korea, Germany, and elsewhere.) Some of Beck’s statements—for example, that President Obama has a “deep-seated hatred for white people”–are quite unfair and not good for the country. His argument that there is very little difference between the two parties is silly, and his contempt for parties in general is anti-Burkean (Burke himself was a great champion of political parties). And then there is his sometimes bizarre behavior, from tearing up to screaming at his callers. Beck seems to be a roiling mix of fear, resentment, and anger—the antithesis of Ronald Reagan.
I understand that a political movement is a mansion with many rooms; the people who occupy them are involved in intellectual and policy work, in politics, and in polemics. Different people take on different roles. And certainly some of the things Beck has done on his program are fine and appropriate. But the role Glenn Beck is playing is harmful in its totality. My hunch is that he is a comet blazing across the media sky right now—and will soon flame out. Whether he does or not, he isn’t the face or disposition that should represent modern-day conservatism. At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on.
“He is now talking about pulling troops out of Afghanistan”
So is George Will.
Tell you what. Why don’t you just let us conservatives decide what’s good or bad for us. We’ll do just fine, thank you.
He IS a Libertarian. He says so.
That’s part of the beauty of it.
He calls himself libertarian one day and conservative the next. He needs to make up his mind.
Harmful is correct...Feel the PAIN ?
They gotta be Hurtin and feeling the Glenn Beck never ending Pain machine...
THEY = LIBERAL MEDIA
They only attack the ones we Love.
When Vondriele or wahtever his name is can do the research on what is an out and our communist coup of our government then I’ll read him in Forbes or whereever he wants. Until then, Beck is doing more work for this country than any elelcted official. Period.
Why not keep em guessing?
Some of these things Beck is supposed to believe are wrong, some are right, and some are regrettable but understandable.
But I don't trust Wehner to sort these things out properly.
His way of simply dismissing opposing views as "silly" and wrapping himself up in invocations of Burke and Reagan isn't convincing.
There's a binary, either/or logic at work here -- either you're a crackpot or a neocon, either you're with Paul or Podhoretz -- but that doesn't present the full range of alternatives.
That's because Beck isn't Reagan, but he is a loud voice against Obama and we need that right now, not some quisling RINO trying to get along with Obama.
“At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose”
We should always aim for these things, at all times. Such is the way to communicate to the coming generations, like Russell Kirk did, for instance. But, of course, such intellectual depth is not for the quotidian politics. Because that kind of politics rises and falls on the passions of the masses.
That’s what Beck speaks to. He’s not trying, so far as I know, to appeal to intellectuals. Who, by the way, are dominated by liberals, considering liberals control education and the world of letters. Not that we shouldn’t fight the good fight in that world, but it is, within a span of 20 years or so, irrelevant to the street-level fight.
There is a middle ground, between lasting philosophical importance and immediate “news cycle” relevance. A ground that William F. Buckley covered well. Let Commentary fight on that ground. Let good conservatives everywhere throw out their televisions. But so long as people do watch cable tv, let them have a bloviating alternative to radicals like Olbermann and Maddow, or milquetoast convservatives like O’Reilly (who is most certainly does not have a milquetoast personality, but is unassertive when it comes to his conservativism, except when it comes to less impartant issues like how vulgar rap music is).
“At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth...”
Maybe some examples of this should have been provided because I sure haven’t seen any coming out of DC of late. In case the author isn’t aware, just like it says at the beginning of Glenn’s radio program, it’s the fusion of entertainment and enlightnement: important material that is presented in an entertaining way. I also don’t think it’s Glenn’s intention to be the “leader” of the conservative movement, especially since he raises points that every American who loves our freedom and the constitution should be concerned about. Do most Americans want a presidential administration crawling with extra-legal communists? I think not.
Somebody needs to be.
It is not possible to have reasoned discussions with Leftwingtards.
As someone who believes we desperately need to find a middle ground between Paul and Podhoretz in the area of foreign policy, I appreciate these remarks a lot.
“He calls himself libertarian one day and conservative the next. He needs to make up his mind.”
It’s not that he’s wishy-washy, the terms themselves are pretty complex. From what I’ve heard, he rejects the Republican and leans more toward the Libertarian party. Still, he calls himself conservative. An argument can be made, of course, that libertarianism itself is the most conservative of contemporary political movements. But at best the party is schizophrenic, so never mind. It’s perfectly reasonable for a conservative, if he doesn’t care about voting for a party to win, to consciously turn his back on the nominally conservative party and endorse a quasi-conservative but mostly permissive party, if he thinks part-conservative is better than liberal in conservative’s clothing.
Beck reminds me of this guy except this guy is louder and talks faster. The online version of Beck.
Bob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrpSxpGzdH8
btt
How come no one ever tells the NeoCom movement that one of their mouth pieces may be harmful to the movement? Is it that everyone expects NeoComs to be feckless fruitcakes? They can say things that are completely outrageous, like “You lie” really means “You lie, boy,” when said to a black person. Rather than hear the NeoComs tell their kooks to shut up, or waste time endlessly pondering on how their kooks are hurting their movement, they drag their old idiot into the fray to prattle off absurdities. Where are the reasoned voices of the NeoCom movement, telling NeoComs this liberal kook is okay, but you shouldn’t listen to that liberal kook? ...Whatever helps the conservative cause, and damages the NeoCom cause is good. You know it is good when the rabid, liberal kooks turn up their vitriol.
It’s not the time to raise an eye-brow, twirl the end of your moustache and opine “Aha,,” when viewing Obama. It’s time to storm in, kick over the tables and chase the crroks out the door. Beck gets it.
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