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For Time, Fox News and Bill O'Reilly are "liberal sources"

September 17, 2009 12:28 pm ET by Ben Dimiero

Time's David Von Drehle wastes no time in following the media's rich tradition of writing puff pieces about incendiary conservative demagogues.  Here's Von Drehle discussing the crowd size at this weekend's 9/12 protest in the first paragraph of his Glenn Beck cover story:

If you get your information from liberal sources, the crowd numbered about 70,000, many of them greedy racists. If you get your information from conservative sources, the crowd was hundreds of thousands strong, perhaps as many as a million, and the tenor was peaceful and patriotic.

Personally, I get my information from liberal sources like Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

And FoxNews.com:

The tens of thousands of protesters marched to the U.S. Capitol chanting various slogans and waving posters that voiced a rather broad array of grievances against big government and the leaders, particularly President Obama, who the protesters blame for its size and scope.

Or CNN.com, which, like Time, is owned by Time Warner:

On the final stop of the Tea Party Express, thousands marched to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday to protest health care reform, higher taxes and what they see as out-of-control government spending.

Damn liberal media. 

So, who are the "conservative sources" placing the crowd estimates much higher?  Well, there's cover boy Glenn Beck, citing a variety of university "studies," depending on the day.  Then we have Michelle Malkin, using imaginary ABC News reports.  Then there's Pam Geller and Thomas Lifson, repurposing quotes about Obama's inauguration and citing random people who overheard the police talking.

It's hard to know who to trust. 

And, to answer the title question "Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?"

Yes.  

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    • Author by pete592 (September 17, 2009 12:40 pm ET)
      1  
      "to protest health care reform, higher taxes and what they see as out-of-control government spending."

      The election has caused a metamorphosis. Chicken hawks have turned into budget hawks.
      Report Abuse
      • Author by NiceguyEddie (September 17, 2009 2:24 pm ET)
           
        They're always budget hawks when they aren't the ones writing the checks!

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    • Author by The_Cat (September 17, 2009 12:47 pm ET)
      1  
      demagogue: a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. (www.m-w.com)

      Well, that about sums it up, yes. I had to go find the definition, because I was interested in specifics. Money is power, ad revenue is money, ad revenue is driven by number of viewers.

      Yep. Glenn Beck is certainly a demagogue. I can understand why Mr. Beck has been so upset lately. His viewers are up, but of course ad revenue is down, because he foolishly called our President a racist. I wonder if this is mentioned in TIME magazine's puff piece.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by TavernWench (September 17, 2009 1:05 pm ET)
      1  
      Apparently, the DC Fire/EMS Department is also a member of the liberal media, since they were the first to report what they called an "unofficial" count of 60,000 to 75,000.

      That entire Time piece stinks from top to bottom. When not just blatantly making stuff up, the writer draws some of the most ridiculous false equivalencies I've ever seen. "Sure, Beck's nuts, but the left is just as nuts. And besides, who do you trust?"

      Un-flipping-believable. Thanks for lending Beck a hand in perpetuating Teabagger Mythology, Time. Heckuva job.
      Report Abuse
    • Author by MickD (September 17, 2009 2:12 pm ET)
         
      Why even put a partisan spin on crowd size? Why don't you do your own g-d reporting? Gawd, that sucks.
      Report Abuse

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