Attention, Beck: Want Your Egypt Theory Taken Seriously? Prove It

Hey, Glenn.

We noticed you admiring our work last night -- thanks. We put a lot of time into understanding just what it is you're saying, and it's hard sometimes, so your approval means a lot to us.

We also noticed that you've been a bit touchy lately about commentators on the left and the right dismissing what you've said about the uprising in Egypt.

We understand. As you pointed out on your show last night, you bear a heavy burden:

BECK: When people come at us, it's just because they're behind the curvature of the earth, and they can't see, because they can't think the way radicals do. I don't know why I can, but I can. I can see -- I can predict their moves. But I've not seen such an unbelievable effort to discredit me and this show like it is right now. And it's all on the conspiracy theory.

So, I wanted to take a moment -- because, really, they're either right, or I'm right. And if they're right, you shouldn't watch this show. And I'm telling you that. You shouldn't watch this show if they're right. If they're right that this is just all pulled-out-of-the-air, crazy stuff, you shouldn't watch this show.

Well, those of us who are behind the curvature of the earth and can't think the way radicals do need some help. Specifically, we'd like evidence to support what you said about what's happening in Egypt early last week.

Here's a refresher. You had this exchange with Bill O'Reilly on his show on January 31:

O'REILLY: You've proving my point, OK? We tried to stay out of World War II. All right? The majority of Americans didn't want to get involved with Hitler. All right? And it was a disaster.

BECK: I understand that, but what you're not taking into account is that that is what the average person thinks, just like the average person on the street of Cairo thinks they're swept up in some freedom movement. It is not about freedom. It is being orchestrated by the Marxist communists and primarily also the Muslim Brotherhood. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 1/31/11, via Nexis]

That's what we'd like proof of.

That Marxist communists and the Muslim Brotherhood are orchestrating what's happening in the streets of Cairo.

Not your other theory, the one you introduced on Thursday, after Daily Beast contributor Michelle Goldberg said on Fox & Friends that you'd been peddling "lunatic theories" about what was happening in Egypt.

See, when you responded to Goldberg, your revised theory about Egypt didn't actually mention Egypt:

BECK: [L]et me show you what my theory is. And I stand by it. Everybody on the left, this is my theory and I stand by every word of it.

Groups from the hardcore socialists and communist left and extreme Islam will work together because of the common enemy of Israel and the Jews. Do I have to remind you what happens to Jews under communism, or how friendly they've been to Israel? Do I?

How about the -- how about extreme Islam? Oh, no, it's going to be good.

Groups from the hardcore socialist left and extreme Islam and communism will work together because of the common enemy of capitalism and the Western way of life. It's not just capitalism, it's not the United States, it's your way of life in the West. And I stand by that.

Groups from the hardcore socialist left and communism and extreme Islam will work together to overturn relatively -- relative stability because in the status quo, they are both ostracized from power and the mainstream in most parts of the world.

That's here. I'll put this up for you. Glenn's theory. Here it is. Got it?

That's it and I stand by it. Is it so farfetched, really? [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/3/11, via Nexis]

You can tie socialists and Marxists and communists to extreme Islam all you want. Showing video clips of them praising each other won't cut it. That's still not proof of what you were saying.

You were very specific: Both communists and the Muslim Brotherhood are "orchestrating" what was happening in the streets of Cairo.

You need to prove that those two groups are working together -- communicating and coordinating the movement behind the protest.

I know you backtracked a little bit last night when you were praising our rundown of your theory:

BECK: "During this span, Beck connected the violence in Egypt to, among other things, Islamic socialists." Yes. "Marxist communists." Yes. "Food prices." Of course. "Bill Ayers." Mm-hmm. "Code Pink." Yes. "ACORN co-founder Wade Rathke." Yes. "The Tides Foundation's Drummond Pike." Sure.

"The Muslim Brotherhood." Mm-hmm. "And the AFL-CIO." Stand by all of it. But it's not a conspiracy. And they're not necessarily coordinating everything. They're likeminded.

But please, help us out with your original formulation. Show us that a coalition of communists and the Muslim Brotherhood motivated these protests, rather than, say, a social-media campaign organized by a group of young Egyptians, led in part by a Google executive.

We'll examine whatever evidence you offer.

We're ready to do our own research.