It is an interesting question.

Fox Business' John Stossel would never call himself a "rodeo clown." From the top of his libertarian mustache to the soles of his long ago gone Galt shoes, his persona is far too serious for such self-deprecating humor. On the other hand, Beck has a far larger media presence with a successful television and radio programs, best selling books and now even his own University!

AlterNet's Daniela Perdomo examined the question, excepts of which you can read after the jump.

But what do you think? Is Beck or Stossel more dangers? Leave a comment with your opinions.

Stossel now hosts an eponymous show on Fox Business dedicated to spouting his staunchly libertarian ideology, and appears regularly on Fox News' shows as a commentator. He is something of an anomaly for the conservative channel, because while he can make racist statements as well as the rest of them, he couches his particular brand of hate in his passion for libertarianism. So his calls for the “right to be racist” come alongside his support for ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and legalizing all drugs, prostitution, abortion and assisted suicide.

Has Fox News identified a new form of fury to monetize? It would appear so; and they picked the right man.

Stossel has become something of a Tea Party hero (he has an effigy of Barney Frank hanging above his sofa), has long been one of the most popular speakers on the conservative lecture circuit, and his syndicated column is increasingly popular.

[...]

Fox has cleverly honed in on an audience cohort that doesn't completely identify with the weepy, conspiratorial entertainment offered by Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. Fox's two latest hires -- Stossel and fellow-libertarian blowhard Andrew Napolitano, who hosts “Freedom Watch” on Fox Business -- show that the network recognizes the difference between its conservative and libertarian audiences. With the rise of the Tea Party, whose loose framework of ideas is centered around anger at an out-of-control government and its runaway spending, libertarianism stands to rake in money and ratings for Fox.

In Stossel, Fox News and Fox Business have a commentator they can bill as an “award-winning journalist” -- courtesy of his 19 Emmys -- even though his record as a reporter leaves much to be desired.

[...]

His dismal track record notwithstanding, Stossel “came out of a very credible news background as he has slowly morphed into this slanted, inaccurate, opinionated person. I think he has the potential to be really dangerous because he has enough experience in the news business to give him the appearance of credibility -- and I stress appearance,” says Strupp. “But he is following the same line as Glenn Beck -- this growth of outrage.”

[...]

Stossel's call for the repeal of the public accommodations portion of the seminal Civil Rights Act was of course another opinion met with disdain by some of his Fox News colleagues. ColorofChange.org, a Web-based grassroots civil rights group, which has an ongoing campaign to pull Glenn Beck off the air, seized on those comments by launching a campaign to pull John Stossel off the air, too. According to James Rucker, executive director of ColorofChange.org, the group has collected nearly 100,000 signatures.

Rucker believes Stossel may be more dangerous than the likes of Glenn Beck merely because he appears to be less insane.

“With Stossel, when he says businesses should be able to discriminate, that would normally be crazy fringe talk, but it's not because Beck is defining crazy fringe,” Rucker says. “In Stossel you appeal to people who aren't happy with a black guy in the White House who is trying to figure out how government can support everyday Americans. But these people don't want to be labeled racist. Folks like Stossel make them feel comfortable where they are without having to join the Glenn Beck circus.”

There you have it. Racism and closed-mindedness, in the respected figure of a Princeton graduate and decorated journalist, whose soft-spoken yet hate-filled speech is made palatable by his disclaimer that although he believes businesses should have a right to be racist, he personally would boycott such establishments.