Did Glenn Beck think Adolf Hitler was one of history's "best minds"?
October 16, 2009 1:30 pm ET by Brian Frederick
Given Glenn Beck's specious attacks on Anita Dunn's statements on Mao Zedong, it seems noteworthy that in his 2003 book, The Real America, Beck wrote: "I wish I were the president, just for the 747 and the cabinent I could assemble. I would have the best minds that I could find with a special eye out for those people who would vehemently disagree with each other." He then explains that since he's not president, he did "the next best thing." He gathered books that presumably represent those "best minds."
Among them? Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.
Beck said he'd love to take lawyer Alan Dershowitz and "put him in a room with ... Adolf Hitler." Beck adds: "I'd love to see those guys go at it."
From The Real America, pp. 210-211:
Why I Am a Mormon
Growing up Catholic in my family, there were questions you don't ask because "the devil is making you question this" or you'd get my favorite answer: "It's a mystery." Now in my thirties, I realized that I really didn't know God at all on a personal level. I only believed in God because someone told me He existed. And I was no longer afraid of questioning.
I wish I were the president, just for the 747 and the cabinet I could assemble. I would have the best minds that I could find with a special eye out for those people who would vehemently disagree with each other. I'd let them argue it out and just listen. Well, I'm not the president so the jet doesn't take off when I tell it to and I can't hire great minds to argue.
So, I did the next best thing, I drove to the bookstore. Here is who I put on my "book cabinet": I got Alan Dershowitz. He's opinionated, obnoxious and at times-when he's not talking about the OJ Simpson case-he makes a good point. Let's see, let's put him in a room with... Adolf Hitler. I'd love to see those guys go at it. So next: Hitler's Mein Kampf. The something by Pope John Paul, along with Carl Sagan. I looked really hard, who else would I like to see in a room together? Hey, how about Nietzsche and Billy Graham? Yeah!
I thought it all made sense and was cool until I got to the checkout counter. I will never forget the look on the woman's face or her comments as she scanned the bar codes "Oh! Alan Dershowitz! That's a great book (Boop!) Okay, Pope John Paul (boop!)... and Nietzsche... interesting. (Boop!)... Adolf Hitler... Uh...(boop!) Thank you!"
As I saw the freakish collection of titles pass through this woman's hands I realized I was assembling the library of a serial killer! This is what Hannibal Lecter reads. I began to imagine that the FBI databanks were being alerted as to my location. "Oh, one more thing, do you have a copy of The Catcher in the Rye?"
Meanwhile, my quiet little friend Pat was still saying, "Glenn, if you're looking for answers I have some for you."
"No thanks, Pat! You Mormons are freaks!"
Really? Which sick freak is reading Mein Kampf?
First to speak on my book council was Carl Sagan, who's an atheist. He took organized religion apart, and did it very well. He talked about the power and the manipulation and the greed, and I said to myself, "Now, there's a point of view I've never really considered. I've never considered atheism. Maybe there is no God. Maybe I'll try this on." That's the kind of world I live in. I try things on. I immerse myself in things, then pick them apart from the inside.
So I tried on atheism. I said to God, "I don't know if you exist. I do know, however, that if you were really our 'Father in Heaven' that you would leave breadcrumbs for your children to find their way back. Why would you erase your tracks. If you exist, I will find you, because you would want me to find you."
My path, my spiritual journey ended up taking me to Yale. There were too many questions that I couldn't figure out without some kind of structured study.
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This shows a remarkle level of self-awareness. He's just risen one notch on the ladder of respectability IMHO.
[God,] I don't know if you exist. I do know, however, that if you were really our 'Father in Heaven' that you would leave breadcrumbs for your children to find their way back. Why would you erase your tracks. If you exist, I will find you, because you would want me to find you
So he follwoed the breadcrumbs, had this long, studious journey through rational thought, and ended up not only coming back to religion, but to MORMONISM of all things? He understood all "about the power and the manipulation and the greed" and ended up in F---ING MORMONISM?!
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He's no longer even on the ladder of respectability. He's on the floor. In a puddle the dog left there because he though the ladder was his.
He'd be better off explaining why he's a moron......
This has now become an insult to LDS's everywhere. This guy really IS a Beckerhead!
...and THIS is coming from a Spiritual Agnostic!
But you, highliter, are quite obviously on of history greatest minds. I mean that, dude.
Why don't you conservatives see if you can put 2 and 2 together.
I was replying to Highliter.
Now read the opening line of this story.
"Given Glenn Beck's specious attacks on Anita Dunn's statements on Mao Zedong..."
Could it be that the entire POINT of what you just read is that Glenn Beck wasn't writing admiringly of Hitler... and NEITHER WAS ANITA DUNN OF MAO?
So, I did the next best thing, I drove to the bookstore. Here is who I put on my "book cabinet": I got Alan Dershowitz. He's opinionated, obnoxious and at times-when he's not talking about the OJ Simpson case-he makes a good point. Let's see, let's put him in a room with... Adolf Hitler. I'd love to see those guys go at it. So next: Hitler's Mein Kampf."
How disgusting is that?
photo of Glenn Beck, with the text: May the stoopid [sic] be with you
that are grasping at straws. Glenn Beck himself
insinuates that Hitler is a nut later on the page.
(e.g., "what sick freak is reading Mein Kampf")
I dislike the influence Glenn Beck has on political
discourse. That is why operations like Media Matters, who
highlight the insanity, must retain their credibility with both liberals (easy) and independents (harder).
I am sure there are plenty of legitimate asinine comments made by Glenn. Cover those. This is beneath you.
Read some of the other comments in this thread, and maybe you'll get a clue.
If Glenn Beck doesn't have a suspicious connection to Adolf Hitler, then neither does Obama's employee have a suspicous connection to some of the people she's been being linked to.
Understand now? You can apologize for your misunderstanding any time, or you can fail to acknowledge your error and be clearly identified as a concern troll we should have distain for. Your choice.
Many many years ago, I bought a copy of Mein Kampf to see what was in it. And I didn't find much. It may be that Glenn was probably not conducting an exercise in examining some worthwhile ideas and some total junk. If he wants to put Alan Dershowitz and Adolf Hitler together in the same room, to see what would happen, that makes about as much sense as putting Glenn on TV. I don't think Glenn has an inquisitive mind.
The only mind that he might have would be one that finds conspiracy everywhere. Maybe Glenn selected a bunch of books because he thought they were all conspiring and that's exactly what he wanted. Imagine how kooky you can get if you thought the Dershowitz, Adolf Hitler, and Nietzsche, for example, were conspiring to put in a new world order, with of course, Glenn at head. Now wouldn't that be a scary thought.
Anita Dunn looks to Mao as great political philosopher! She admires a person who is known for the great oppression he has brought upon a nation!
You CANNOT compare someone who purchased a copy of Mein Kampf for research to a woman who admires someone who has killed 70 million people.
ALSO speaking on Anita Dunn's creepy speach, as a Catholic and a devoute reader of Mother Teresa's writing I firmly believe she would be rolling over in her grave for three reasons:
1. Being called a policial philsopher - she stated time and time again that she had not interest in politicas
2. Being mentioned in the same sentence as a genocidal killer (ARGH!)
3. The fact that I actually signed up for this stupid website to type this comment
Give me a break - - focus on the real issues. One of the President’s top adviser’s admires a tyrant. Now that’s what I call a real news story.
Our way of life was destroyed by people who hate who we are and how we live. They are the enemy and have ruined our country. If you love your country, you will stand up and take it back.
Beck always plays the victim. Just like Hitler.
"VAN JONES IS A SELF AVOWED COMMUNIST!!!!!!!!!!!"
We all know the guy is a recovering addict. As is Rush Limbaugh. As am I. In college, I would drink 3.5 liters of vodka a week. Sometimes, a liter of vodka a night. Then I graduated to oxy. ~160mg of oxy daily for about 6 years.
I got sober in March. Quit cold turkey. Quit smoking cold turkey too (from 2 packs a day for 12 years). Talk about feeling miserable. Ha.
It was tough. No doubt. I did it alone, though. I went to some NA meetings... but full of folks who kept playing the "victim" card. Drove me nuts. All my life I blamed others for my issue but one day woke up and realized the problem was me. I use that approach now for everything. The problem is me. Whenever I get an urge to use - the problem is me.
Thing is, with Glenn Beck, he may say "yeah, yeah, the problem is me." But he doesn't truly believe that. He blames it on the crowd he ran around with prior to "cleaning up his life." It's why he thinks the way he thinks. It's well documented that he ran with a liberal crowd, and thought people like he is now were crazy. But when he had a "liberal mind", he was doing drugs and destroying his life, etc. He thinks the liberal way of life is corrupting the country the way it corrupted him.
Thing is - the problem was HIM. He's still playing the victim card. Watch his show for a week. Notice a pattern? He is always a victim. His audience is always a victim. The only way to a good life is to be conservative (and dislike liberals, because their way of life is destructive). He's the worst kind of recovering addict - the kind that are forcing their beliefs on everyone around them and judging them if they don't believe what he does. He's the "Jesus saved my life!" guy. Ughh.
Thing is - he's not "healed". Not by a long shot. He WILL fall off the wagon. I promise you. I know exactly how he thinks. What motivates him. He thinks becoming "conservative" and "religious" saved him. No, Glenn, growing up did those things. Which is what I did. Which is what most normal people do when they TRULY get over it.
Mark my words. He will fall off the wagon. He already thinks he's way more important than he really is. He is a total attention whore. He will do ANYTHING for attention. And, sooner or later, he will start thinking he is more in control than he really is. And he will want some attention. And BINGO.
And finally, the more he alienates others, the more likely someone will be motivated to expose it when he does fall off the wagon. Pee Wee Herman style.
Anyway. That's all I have to say about that. What does it have to do with Hitler? Hitler thought everyone else was the problem, too. He never thought HE was the problem.
Get a life guys. He was searching for any answer he could find, and he read every philosophy he could when he was searching for truth. So yes he did read about every view point, even mein kampf. Turns out his quest for truth led him to see what the Mormon church had to offer. For people who I thought were so "accepting", it's hard to read all these name calling bigoted statements and not think otherwise.
One of her favorite political philosophers is Mao Tse Tung. This isn't taking anything out of context. This is point blank fact. It's a direct quote without taking or adding any words.
In contrast, here's essentially how MMFA treats the passage above written by Beck, "I would have the best minds that I could find [including] ... Alan Dershowitz ... Adolf Hitler ... Pope John Paul ... and Carl Sagan." Can none of you see the difference?
Dunn's statement today on Beckie-boy:
"The use of the phrase 'favorite political philosophers' was intended as irony, but clearly the effort fell flat -- at least with a certain Fox commentator whose sense of irony may be missing."
She also said:
"The Mao quote is one I picked up from the late Republican strategist Lee Atwater from something I read in the late 1980s, so I hope I don't get my progressive friends mad at me."
It sounds to me as though Dunn has a good dry sense of humor. That was the impression I got the first time I saw the video of her making the Mao reference.
If she would've just quoted Mao and not admitted he was one of her favorite political philosophers then she'd be fine by attributing it to Lee Atwater.
And even then it still doesn't excuse MMFA implying that Beck thinks Hitler is one of history's best minds.
Glenn Beck and his communist witch hunts may work for you but thinking people see through his red-baiting. Whose next linking Santa Claus to a communist conspiracy because he wears red and redistributes toys. This is total nonsense and a waste of time.
And the question doesn't stand about whether Beck thinks Hitler had a historically great mind. Where does he say that?
They call our newly elected President every name under the sun except maybe the Anti Christ only because they are already following him.They call him Fascist, communist, socialist. Beck's 9-12 movement had so many followers with posters of Obama with Hitler mustaches , they were every where. They are blaming him for the entire deficit, lets not talk about his predecessor.
Obama, Hitler? He's rather tall so it can't be his height!Why would they think this, he has not produced any scape goats to pass the blame for our present conditions only solutions to get out of it. He alone is the scape goat much like the Jews became the scape goat of the Nazis. Those that compare him to Hitler are Hitler themselves finding a new Jew to pass blame on.
Those that follow Glenn Beck and other personalities like him, they are like the people in Germany in the 1930's the protest , the signs and even the name calling. Yes they themselves have become what they rant about. The conditions here are similar, the economies also.The lack of jobs. They blamed the Jews for that, all of that. Who has Beck blamed? Who has he blamed for the economic disproportion in this country? While he earns over 23 million dollars a year, who has he blamed? What solutions has he come up with? He has a black board can he explain a civil way out of our current cituation? What is he teaching us?
I think not only did he admire him, study him but is using very similar tactics. He has painted Obama and the new administration as the new Jew. They say history repeats itself, Glenn Beck is proof.
He does nothing to solve our problems only passing blame and create anger amongst ourselves.
"They call our newly elected President every name under the sun except maybe the Anti Christ"
- He did jokingly ask someone once whether Obama was the anti-Christ. Does that count?
"Beck's 9-12 movement had so many followers with posters of Obama with Hitler mustaches"
- Oh, the horror! What were you saying when people made the same signs with Bush?
"Why would they think this, he has not produced any scape goats to pass the blame for our present conditions only solutions to get out of it."
- Yeah, bad solutions that have been proven not to work.
"Who has Beck blamed? Who has he blamed for the economic disproportion in this country?"
- Our government. Republicans and Democrats. Obama, Bush, et al.
"While he earns over 23 million dollars a year, who has he blamed?"
- What Beck makes is irrelevant.
"What solutions has he come up with?"
- Many solutions, actually. Try reading his books, listening to his radio show, or watching his television program. His solutions are mainly based on personal responsibility and free market solutions though so you probably will just dismiss them out of hand.
"I think not only did he admire him, study him but is using very similar tactics."
- No he doesn't. This is just false. He may have read about Hitler but to say he actually admires him is grossly inaccurate. In fact, prove it.
What's more, Beck's weird concocted theories are highly reminiscent, stylistically, of the same weird concoctions found in Mein Kampf -- unchecked by reason, facts, history, or any conscience at all.
And he smears Anita Dunn, disgraceful.
The ONLY thing the government cares about is more revenue, and more government power, and taking care of itself!
What ever happened to the Obamma 5 day legislative attendance that was promised? Where are they now? Let's see start work on Tuesday, leave for the cottage on Thursday, WOW they are soooooo busy.
blake_braesicke@netzero.net