Posted on 08/28/2010 9:40:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Where to begin telling the story of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin's "Restoring Honor" rally, on the site of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I have a dream" speech exactly 47 years later? As promised, we published Sarah Palin's 8/28 speech alongside King's, and Mark Benjamin reported from the event. I'm excited Beck announced his "Black Robe Regiment;" it's long past time to retire the white robes.
Since Beck insists the gathering wasn't about politics, but about religion, let's take a look at a couple of the religious figures there.
I was surprised when, early Saturday morning, Beck introduced a rabbi on stage with him. As I wrote earlier this week, Beck expressly said he wouldn't hold his rally on a Sunday, so as not to force people to work on the Sabbath – and since the Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, I observed that maybe Beck wasn't looking for Jewish involvement. But there he was, introducing a rabbi! God bless him. Then the rabbi stood silent, while Beck's first religious speaker, praised Jesus Christ our savior.
Who was the silent rabbi? Not surprisingly, it was right winger Daniel Lapin, friend of convicted Republican felon/lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and Tom DeLay, too. Media Mattters digs up Washington Post profiles of Lapin that make sense of why he was there. A 2005 Post profile detailed Lapin's web of Republican buddies:
Every few weeks or so Rabbi Daniel Lapin finds a reason to fly east from his home in Mercer Island, Wash., near Seattle, and spend a few days here. He might be leading a Bible study on the Hill, having dinner with his "close friend" House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, breakfast with Karl Rove. Last year he came for a private Shabbat dinner with President Bush. "The president recognizes my enthusiasm for his faith," says the rabbi.
Usually on these trips Lapin stays with Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist who is an old friend of the Lapin family….Abramoff is under investigation for allegedly defrauding his Indian casino-owning clients and for allegedly breaking lobbying laws. In a stack of e-mails released this week by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, several scandal sidekicks made unexpected cameos. Among them were Daniel Lapin and his younger brother David, rabbis from South Africa who are heirs to a 200-year-old rabbinical dynasty and very updated ambitions.
A 2006 Post article revealed that Abramoff moved client money he wanted to hide through Lapin's foundation:
E-mails show that Abramoff also moved client money through a conservative Jewish foundation called Toward Tradition, run by longtime Abramoff friend Rabbi Daniel Lapin. In January 2000, when [Ralph] Reed sent Abramoff an $867,000 invoice to be billed to a Choctaw official, Abramoff responded: "Ok, thanks. Please get me the groups we are using, since I want to give this to her all at once." Reed responded: "Amy, Grover, Lapin and one other I will get you."
Talk about Restoring Honor! Later in the rally, Beck featured Rev. John Hagee, the bigoted right-wing minister who called Hurricane Katrina " the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans" because the city hosted a gay pride parade. What a way to commemorate the fifth anniversary of that tragedy. Hagee also called Catholicism "the great whore" and said all Muslims "have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews." Poor John McCain welcomed Hagee's endorsement in 2008, only to have to reject it as more of his hateful proselytizing came to light. I certainly hope the Catholic League's Bill Donohue, who bashed Hagee in 2008 and called on McCain to reject his backing, will denounce Beck and Palin as well now.
Speaking of McCain, Sunday is the second anniversary of his greatest accomplishment, making Sarah Palin a national figure. How did Palin do Saturday at Beck's big party? Well, the two preening GOP titans seem to disagree about big issues. Where Beck described his rally as "the beginning of the great awakening in America" and said Friday night "This is going to change everything," Palin rejected those who want to "fundamentally transform America." Who's telling the truth? Of course Palin wasn't just contradicting Beck but violating the alleged non-political spirit of his event by attacking President Obama with everything but his name; she has repeatedly chided Obama for saying his campaign was about "fundamentally transforming" the country. She's so sly.
As Mark Benjamin reports, nothing terribly interesting went on at the Beck event. That's at least partly thanks to everyone who rose up to denounce it, and forced Beck to revise his plans, and make the day about honoring the military and religion and avoiding politics. Organizers asked attendees not to bring signs, so they wore T-shirts instead, and you can judge whether politics was involved, thanks to Think Progress. Beck got goofy talking about how he related to King because "we haven't carved him in marble yet. He's still a man."
But let's remember, also thanks to Media Matters, all of Beck's self-important delusional pronouncements when he was trying to compare his cause to Dr. King's:
In March, after healthcare reform passed, he told his radio audience:
"[W]hile Martin Luther King had to face German Shepherds, we have to face SEIU and leftist thugs. That's okay, we will continue to stand. We will continue to march forward. We will not pick up a weapon because our greatest weapon will be God." Beck also stated, "You may destroy me, but you will have to kill me to stop me from speaking out."
In April, Beck told his Fox audience:
"[I] wouldn't be surprised if in our lifetime dogs and firehoses are released or opened on us. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of us get a billy club to the head. I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, some of us go to jail, just like Martin Luther King did, on trumped up charges. Tough times are coming."
On May 26, he said about his 8/28 event:
"This is a moment, quite honestly, that I think we reclaim the civil rights movement. It has been so distorted and so turned upside down because we must repair honor and integrity first, I tell you right now. We are on the right side of history. We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties, and damn it, we will reclaim the civil rights moment. We will take that movement because we were the people that did it in the first place."
"We were the people that did it in the first place." Yes, that's a quote. So when the predictable mainstream media voices say, hey, Beck wasn't so bad, remember that's because he was caught before he could be.
This is, in six words, the most substantive post, and observance, of the entire day. It is truly unreal, I have several friends who are far lefties, and their 'social media' posts today...Facebook, Twitter, etc..were apoplectic, almost beyond comprehension. It was truly the most reactionary, and uninformed bigoted response I've ever seen my entire life, and I've seen a LOT.
A KKK reference right off the bat--that didn't take long.
And since when is the 47th anniversary of anything so important? I don't seem to recall anyone making a big deal last year about the 46th anniversary. I guess in order to honor Dr. King's memory, we can't do anything on the day he called us all to action?
And someone needs to remind this person that, whatever his other political ideas, Dr. King was a Republican, so please, spare me the "You crackers have no right" crap.
Since Beck insists the gathering wasn't about politics, but about religion, let's take a look at a couple of the religious figures there.
With all the thoroughness with which you took a look at the religious figures in Obama's life, I hope.
It’s all smear by association.
The Rabbi was a rabbi to many, but she cunninly tries to single out Abramoff.
What a dishonest article (and writer). imo
Liberals need to “own”issues in order to control minorities. If they can’t control minorities they’ll never win another election.
That have to be a sucky job for those that hate Beck. They have to report what he said.
Have you noticed the dems have started using this as their go-to smear, just behind 'racist'?
They've come a long way since quoting that one comment by Cheney. Now they get the "unamerican" lable out there quick, before it can be slapped on them.
I don't think they're fooling anyone, though. Even liberals and moderates I know ignore that, like they're embarassed by the use of such an obvious tactic.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has accepted campaign contributions from a Saipan garment-industry tycoon, sometimes described as a sweatshop operator, whose ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff have been part of the lobbying scandal investigation. Newly filed Federal Election Commission records show that the businessman, Willie Tan, last year gave $2,000 to Friends of Hillary, one of the senator’s political action committees. Friends of Hillary also accepted $2,000 contributions from Raymond Tan and Siu Lin Tan, family members who are top executives in Willie Tan’s businesses. All three contributions were received on September 30, 2005, according to FEC records. Another family member, Josie Tan, who listed her occupation as homemaker, made a $2,000 contribution received on October 2, 2005.
Clinton, Obama bank major donations from Abramoff’s former law firm
Boy, they are really threatened by Beck - aren’t they?
Liberal articles left and right....
This article is nothing but slander and smears. Ms. Walsh should be forced to retract it with an apology.
She’s the hysterical bag of hammers right? I get them confused.
As much as I LOVED Glenn’s rally, I forgot about the other reward - seeing the libs go absolutely insane over its content!
Not only did Glenn et al speak of restoring honor to the country, but virtually every speaker gave praise to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!
I’m sure most libs are just as upset and rabid as Joan Walsh. Good!
Joan Walsh seems to have the mentality of one who would defend Judas,just because it would get more coverage today.
And also she has the same reasoning as the late movie star
that defended Jezebel “because she walked with kings.”
The truth must be killin this bitch
They are terrified that the Country might actually turn back to God, and also return to honoring the Constitution.
So this Joan B!tch has no problem with Obama sitting in Rev. Wrights Church for 20 years, but Beck and Palin have John Hagee at an event and its guilt by association?
And now they are attacking the Rabbi as well for having shady connections, when they don’t have ANY problem with Obama and his troubling connections with terrorist...
And those last 2 quotes from Beck at the end of the article, why is the left scared of those quotes? Maybe because they are the truth?
I can bet you dollar to donuts that if an Imam was asked to pray and said “Praise Allah and Muhammad Peace be upon him” while in prayer with a bunch of Christians, the left would have no problem with that. In fact if you were a Christian and have a problem with that, to them you must be an intolerant BIGOT.
But we are supposed to feel sorry for this Rabbi because the man praying with him praised Jesus Christ? GIVE ME A BREAK!
The double standard is horrendous!
lol
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