On Wednesday, Media Matters explained that “Martin Luther King would have been on Glenn Beck's chalkboard,” pointing out that many of the values and ideas King espoused and stood for have been ridiculed and demonized by the Fox News host over the past year and a half. Today, we show the chart Beck could have done, but hasn't, linking King to the various present-day progressives and progressive organizations Beck regularly attacks, including Barack Obama, George Soros, the Tides Foundation, the Rathke brothers, ACORN, SEIU, Andy Stern, Cass Sunstein, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Jim Wallis and Van Jones.

Below, we show the connections Beck has posited on his shows between the progressive ideas, individuals, and groups he attacks on a regular basis. We also illustrate how those progressive people and organization are tied to King and his associates, and how the ideas Beck attacks were shared by King. Some of the ties listed below are dubious at best, but these are the links Beck himself has drawn in his conspiratorial assault on progressivism.

Legend

1. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. → “GUARANTEED NATIONAL INCOME”: In his final SCLC presidential address, King called on the United States to “develop a program that will drive the nation to a guaranteed national income” to counter the “dislocations in the market operations of our economy.”

2. “GUARANTEED NATIONAL INCOME” → CLOWARD AND PIVEN: Beck has attacked obscure academics Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven for supposedly creating a strategy followed by progressives to “collaps[e] the system and replace it with a system of guaranteed annual income for all the workers.”

3. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. → “ECONOMIC BILL OF RIGHTS”: In 1968, King called for an “economic bill of rights” that would, among other things, “guarantee a job to all people who want to work and are able to work.”

4. “ECONOMIC BILL OF RIGHTS” → CASS SUNSTEIN: Beck has labeled Cass Sunstein the “most dangerous man in America” in part because Sunstein supposedly called for a “second Bill of Rights” that includes a guarantee of jobs.

5. CASS SUNSTEIN → BARACK OBAMA: Obama appointed Sunstein administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget.

6. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. → “SOCIAL JUSTICE”: King identified “the age of social justice” as a “goal” and “the ideal.” King also pointed to “social justice” and the “pursuit of social justice” as among his goals. While King was firmly opposed to communism -- considering it to be “basically evil” -- he credited it with leading him to “a growing concern about social justice.”

7. “SOCIAL JUSTICE” → JEREMIAH WRIGHT: “When you say, you know, I see 'social justice' -- when you see those words, run. Because social justice is what Jeremiah Wright preaches.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 10/8/2009]

8. JEREMIAH WRIGHT → BARACK OBAMA: “For 20 years, Barack Obama was part of Jeremiah Wright's liberation theology church in Chicago. In fact, Obama himself said that he found Jesus through Jeremiah Wright.” [Glenn Beck, 7/13/2010]

9. “SOCIAL JUSTICE” → JIM WALLIS: “I spoke my mind on social justice, because I needed you to know that there was a poison in many of our churches. This poison, I explained, is social justice the way Jim Wallis or Jeremiah Wright understands it.” [Glenn Beck, 7/13/2010]

10. JIM WALLIS → BARACK OBAMA: According to Beck, Wallis is “very influential” because he “is the spiritual adviser to the president of the United States” and also “consults on policy.” [Glenn Beck, 3/24/2010]

11. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. → 1963 MARCH: King served as one of 10 chairmen of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. At the march, he gave his celebrated “I Have a Dream” speech.

12. 1963 MARCH → JOHN LEWIS: Lewis was also a chairman of the march.

13. JOHN LEWIS → SNCC: Lewis served as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the time of the march.

14. SNCC → STOKELY CARMICHAEL: Carmichael joined SNCC's staff in 1964 and served as chairman from 1966 to 1967.

15. STOKELY CARMICHAEL → BLACK PANTHER PARTY: According to Beck, Carmichael “was the honorary prime minister of the Black Panthers Party.” [Glenn Beck, 7/16/2010]

16. BLACK PANTHER PARTY → NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY “These two groups, they don't associate with each other. They don't -- they don't like each other, et cetera, et cetera. But, boy, you read their platforms and they're almost identical.” [Glenn Beck, 7/7/2010]

17. NEW BLACK PANTHER PARTY → BARACK OBAMA: According to Beck, the New Black Panthers are part of Obama's “army of thugs.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 7/9/2010]

18. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. → SCLC: King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957 and served as its president until his death in 1968.

19. SCLC → ELLA BAKER: Baker helped organize the SCLC in 1957 before leaving the group in 1960.

20. ELLA BAKER → ELLA BAKER CENTER: Baker is the namesake of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, “a strategy and action center working for justice, opportunity and peace in urban America.”

21. ELLA BAKER CENTER → VAN JONES: Beck has said: “Van Jones spun off the STORM-affiliated Bay Area Police Watch in 1995, which expanded to become the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.” [Glenn Beck, 8/24/2009]

22. VAN JONES → BARACK OBAMA: Beck has called Van Jones Obama's “green jobs czar.” [Glenn Beck, 8/24/2009]

23. VAN JONES → APOLLO ALLIANCE: Van Jones is “a board member for the Apollo Alliance.” [Glenn Beck, 8/24/2009]

24. APOLLO ALLIANCE → JEFF JONES: According to Beck, Jeff Jones is “one of the leaders from the Apollo Alliance” and “is helping write our bills.” [Glenn Beck, 8/25/2009]

25. JEFF JONES → WEATHER UNDERGROUND: Beck has said that Jeff Jones “co-founded the Weather Underground,” a “domestic terrorist group that came out of the communist revolutionary SDS group, Students for Democratic Society in the 1960s.” [Glenn Beck, 8/28/2009]

26. WEATHER UNDERGROUND → BILL AYERS: Beck has said that Ayers “was part of the Weather Underground group” and “summed up the Weather Underground philosophy as, quote, 'Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and their apartments. Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents.' ” [Glenn Beck, 6/10/2010]

27. BILL AYERS → BARACK OBAMA: Beck has said: “I'm not saying that Obama is picking up the phone and calling Bill Ayers by any stretch of the imagination. But there is coordination because people think alike. There's no conspiracy theory here, there's none! You don't need a star chamber. They think alike. And they're moving in the same direction. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 6/1/2010]

28. BILL AYERS → FREE GAZA MOVEMENT: According to Beck, Ayers and his wife “played a key role in organizing something that's been in the news recently, the Free Gaza Movement -- you know, the one that launched the flotilla whose crew attacked Israeli soldiers, who boarded and then they stabbed them violently and through one over the deck.” [Glenn Beck, 7/27/2010]

29. FREE GAZA MOVEMENT → PERDANA: According to Beck, “Perdana, the peace group, is the single biggest donor, $366,000, of the Free Gaza Movement.” [Glenn Beck, 8/10/2010]

30. PERDANA → IMAM RAUF: Beck claimed that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf “is a clear and key figure in the Perdana Global Peace Organization” who is “right there on” its website “under role players and contributors.” [Glenn Beck, 8/10/2010]

31. IMAM RAUF → PARK51: Beck called Rauf “the Ground Zero mosque imam.” [Glenn Beck, 8/25/2010]

32. BILL AYERS → JOHN AYERS: John Ayers is “Bill Ayers' brother.” [Glenn Beck, 4/26/2010]

33. JOHN AYERS → JOYCE FOUNDATION: Beck has said that “Joyce Foundation gives money to John Ayers.” [Glenn Beck, 4/26/2010]

34. JOYCE FOUNDATION → TIDES FOUNDATION: According to Beck, “The Joyce Foundation funds the Tides Foundation.” [Glenn Beck, 4/26/2010]

35. TIDES FOUNDATION → GEORGE SOROS: Beck regularly refers to Tides as the “George Soros-funded Tides Foundation,” “George Soros' Tides Foundation,” or the “George Soros Tides Foundation.”

36. GEORGE SOROS → BARACK OBAMA: According to Beck, Obama's presidential election “was the Soros plan. It was the Tides Foundation that put them all together and said look, this is the winning strategy.” [The Glenn Beck Program, 8/17/2010]

37. ANDY STERN → BARACK OBAMA: Beck: “Stern shows up at the White House more than anybody else. I mean, judging by Solis' announcement, he apparently is having quite an impact on policy. SEIU and Andy Stern seem to be getting their way with just about every issue with this administration. Obama has told us that Stern is his go-to guy when it comes to health care.” [Glenn Beck, 12/9/2009]

38. ANDY STERN → SEIU: Stern was SEIU's president. [Glenn Beck, 12/9/2009]

39. SEIU → WADE RATHKE: Rathke is “closely tied” to SEIU. [Glenn Beck, 9/21/2009]

40. WADE RATHKE → DALE RATHKE: The two are brothers. [Glenn Beck, 9/18/2009]

41. DALE RATHKE → SEIU: Rathke “is at SEIU. We think. We're not sure.” [Glenn Beck, 9/18/2009]

42. WADE RATHKE → ACORN: Rathke founded ACORN. [Glenn Beck, 9/21/2009]

43. DALE RATHKE → ACORN: Rathke “was with ACORN.” [Glenn Beck, 9/18/2009]

44. ACORN → BERTHA LEWIS: Lewis was ACORN's chief organizer. [Glenn Beck, 4/22/2010]

45. ACORN → BARACK OBAMA: Beck claimed that the “president has made it clear he is walking in lockstep with ACORN.” [Glenn Beck, 7/7/2010]

(Transcript from the Nexis database where no links provided.)

Fae Jencks and Oliver Willis assisted in the production of the legend. Drew Gardner produced the chart.