Despite widespread ridicule of his recent shows about the unrest in Egypt, Glenn Beck is insistent that he's proving his theory about the situation there. So insistent, in fact, that Beck mocked Daily Beast contributor Michelle Goldberg for her statement that “lunatic theories” about Egypt have aired on Fox News -- a reference to Beck.
After playing a clip of Goldberg's statement on his Thursday show, Beck said, “You're going to feel bad for her at the bottom of the hour. You are because it's so -- I mean, it's really like a fourth grade argument.” Beck then tried to defend Fox News by absolving it of responsibility for airing his lunatic theories: “First of all, that's not the network's theory. That's not Fox's theory. That's my theory. My theory.”
During the first segment, Beck claimed that “it's really less theory than it is facts in their own words,” and said, “I mean, it would be a crazy theory if I only had, you know, them saying catch phrases like social justice, then it would be a theory and it would be pretty thin. ... [I]f that's the only evidence I had to support the theory, then it wouldn't be a very strong case and I'd probably be off the air. That's why we've devoted this entire week of shows to diving deeper in this story.”
Not only does Beck's attempt at excusing Fox not wash, but his preening certainty looked embarrassing after the following 60 minutes, which were filled with distortions, false claims, and material utterly unrelated to the events in Egypt.
Below is a rundown of the wreckage contained in that one show -- the February 3, 2011, edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck.
Beck says his theory is “not Van Jones or anything else” -- but he looped in Jones on Tuesday
Changing the subject: Beck's revised theory about Egypt doesn't mention Egypt
“Social justice” is a “code word” ... used by Beck idol MLK
Beck falsely claims Sunstein discussed dismissing conspiracy theories in a “White House memo”
Beck presents quote from FrontPageMagazine article as a direct quote from Hamas
Beck returns to dubious claim that he warned we should “take [bin Laden] at his words” in the '90s
Beck misattributes words in NYT profile article to the subject of the profile
Beck sees great import in the use of the word “shadow”
For some reason, Beck talks about the Brazilian constitution
Beck upset about phrase used in title of book by his guru, Skousen
Beck repeats his debunked smear of Anita Dunn as a Mao sympathizer
Beck tut-tuts about “calling fellow Americans a disease,” falsely claims he hasn't done the same
Beck says his theory is “not Van Jones or anything else” -- but he looped in Jones on Tuesday
Beck began his response to critics of his Egypt theory by airing a clip of Goldberg:
GOLDBERG [video clip]: I find it astonishing so many Republicans, on the one hand, crowed about democracy spreading throughout the Middle East when they were preparing to go to war for Iraq -- to go to war with Iraq. And now that we actually see an uprising of the Egyptian people demanding the right to self-determination, there's not just skepticism by outright hostility, right? Your own network has been running absolutely, you know, lunatic theories about this being some kind of conspiracy between Van Jones, Code Pink, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
BECK: Yes. You're going to feel bad for her at the bottom of the hour. You are because it's so -- I mean, it's really like a fourth grade argument.
They were reacting with surprise afterwards, you know, like what? I've never heard that. Because she's 100 percent wrong.
First of all, that's not the network's theory. That's not Fox's theory. That's my theory. My theory. And it's not Van Jones or anything else.
Let me ask you this, let's start here. Since when is having a theory when you're trying to figure out what's going on a bad thing in America? And it's really less theory than it is facts in their own words.
Here's Beck on Tuesday -- two days earlier -- nonsensically attempting to tie Jones to the Muslim Brotherhood:
BECK: We got this -- this is their official memorandum from the Muslim Brotherhood about their plans for North America. In the memorandum, it says right here: “Enablement of Islam in North America; meaning, establishing effective Islamic movement led by the Islamic Brotherhood, which adopts Muslim causes, domestically and globally, which works to expand the observant Muslim base, aims at unifying and directing Muslim efforts, presents Islam as a civilization alternative” -- as a civilization alternative -- “and supports the global Islamic state wherever it is.” the global Islamic state, that is a caliphate.
Now, who were some of the members? Because this remember is their document on their plan for America. It's available now at GlennBeck.com. You need to read it.
Here are some of the graduates. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the hairy back guy. He's the architect of 9/11. Dr. al-Zawahiri -- this guy was arrested for membership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Later he went to Afghanistan, joined al Qaeda, and orchestrated the '97 massacre of 77 foreign tourists, do you remember, at Luxor.
And then you have Abdullah Azzam. He's a Palestinian who joined the Muslim Brotherhood at 18 and became a preacher. Oh, and he was also a mentor to that guy.
So, no big deal, right? Muslim Brotherhood, we should bring them to the table.
Let me show you the game that's being played right now. And you can find it in “The Coming Insurrection.” You can find it in the Muslim Brotherhood. You can find it in “Reclaiming Revolution.”
This is “Reclaiming Revolution.” this is STORM. This is a militant communist group that Van Jones was part of. There were 13 members plus Van Jones.
And I was looking through this the other day and I found this. “The new political commitment to Marxist, Leninist politics raised questions about structure and potential for relevance and growth. You see, most young activists around us, particularly women and people of color, were hostile to revolutionary Marxism.
Would new members undermine the new political unity to red politics? Would there be political differences too large to resolve without divisive struggle and destructive arguments? Looking around us, we didn't think it was possible to build an explicitly Marxist organization.
And after the previous period of division and power struggles, it seemed risky to bring new people in to ours, but recently delicately cohered group.”
In other words, what it's saying is we had to lie. We had to make this -- we had to present ourself as something else because we couldn't get people in.
So, let's see. Are these tactics being used that are outlined here, outline here and outline here? What does it mean? Let's look at the Muslim Brotherhood. As for the role of Ikhwan, it is the initiative pioneering leadership, raising the banner and pushing people in that direction." Pushing people -- otherwise known as nudge.
To do this, they say they need to -- they need to stress the need to master the art of coalitions. Wait minute, that's what the Marxist revolution said. Coalitions. Again, back to STORM. STORM members brought experience in militant street tactics, revolution agitation and coalition- building to this crucial fight.
Changing the subject: Beck's revised theory about Egypt doesn't mention Egypt
When Beck described his theory in response to Goldberg's criticism, he never actually mentioned Egypt. Instead, he changed the subject:
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?
In reality, Beck has said that the protests in Egypt are “being orchestrated by the Marxist Communists, and primarily, also the Muslim Brotherhood.” He also said that “what you saw last week in Tunisia, now in Egypt” is "The Coming Insurrection," a reference to an obscure French anarchist book that Beck has fixated on.
“Social justice” is a “code word” ... embraced by Beck idol MLK
When he was discussing people from the “hardcore socialist left and communism and extreme Islam” using “code words” like “social justice,” Beck made a disgusting juxtaposition. He aired a clip of Anjem Choudary, a fringe Muslim radical recently hosted by Sean Hannity, using the term, and then a clip of Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei doing the same. Beck didn't clarify whether he was identifying ElBaradei with the “hardcore socialist left and communism” or “extreme Islam”:
BECK: 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?
I should tell you something that the left is ramped up the spin machine so quickly on this one. Maybe it hits too close to home. You think?
I mean, it would be a crazy theory if I only had, you know, them saying catch phrases like social justice, then it would be a theory and it would be pretty thin. We have that. Watch.
CHOUDARY [video clip]: I do believe that when the Sharia is implemented and you have the education system of Islam, and you have the social and economic justice, suddenly appeal --
ELBARADEI [video clip]: A lot of people expected the U.S. to be on the side of the people, you know, who are -- legitimate needs for democracy and social justice.
BECK: All right. That would be a crazy theory. That would be nice, OK?
I mean, we told you about social justice. It's a code word. Not every time you hear it, but you should question it every time you hear it because it's a code word -- comes from the Fabian society, the communist, and the progressives here in America.
It's really used mainly by those with an agenda or those who are just oblivious to what it really means, where the origins are from. Now, if that's the only evidence I had to support the theory, then it wouldn't be a very strong case and I'd probably be off the air. That's why we've devoted this entire week of shows to diving deeper in this story.
As we've pointed out, Beck has consistently demonized the concept of social justice while ignoring the fact that Martin Luther King Jr., whom Beck has likened himself to, identified social justice as a desirable goal:
- King: "[W]e will be able to go this additional distance and achieve the ideal, the goal of the new age, the age of social justice." King gave a speech in 1963 at Western Michigan University expressly on the topic of “social justice.” During the speech, King identified “the age of social justice” as a “goal” and “the ideal”:
There is another thing about this attitude. We'll help those of us who have been the victims of oppression, and those of us who have been the victims of injustices in the old order, to go into the new order with the proper attitude, an attitude of reconciliation. It will help us to go in not with an idea of rising from position of disadvantage, to one of advantage, thus subverting justice. It will not cause us to substitute one tyranny for another. This is why I have said all over this nation that we must never substitute a doctrine of black supremacy for white supremacy. For the doctrine of black supremacy is as dangerous as white supremacy. God is not interested merely in the freedom of black men and brown men and yellow men but God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race, the creation of a society where all men will live together as brothers.
I think with all of these challenges being met and with all of the work, and determination going on, we will be able to go this additional distance and achieve the ideal, the goal of the new age, the age of social justice.
- King Discussed The “Pursuit Of Social Justice.” In an interview that appeared in the January 1965 edition of Playboy magazine, King lamented the “socioeconomic vise” that led to riots. King specifically pointed to “social justice” and the “pursuit of social justice” as one of his goals:
PLAYBOY: Whom do you mean by “the establishment”?
MARTIN LUTHER KING: I mean the white leadership -- which I hold as responsible as anyone for the riots, for not removing the conditions that cause them. The deep frustration, the seething desperation of the Negro today is a product of slum housing, chronic poverty, woefully inadequate education and substandard schools. The Negro is trapped in a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign, caught in a vicious socioeconomic vise. And he is ostracized as is no other minority group in America by the evil of oppressive and constricting prejudice based solely upon his color. A righteous man has no alternative but to resist such an evil system. If he does not have the courage to resist nonviolently, then he runs the risk of a violent emotional explosion. As much as I deplore violence, there is one evil that is worse than violence, and that's cowardice. It is still my basic article of faith that social justice can be achieved and democracy advanced only to the degree that there is firm adherence to nonviolent action and resistance in the pursuit of social justice.
Beck falsely claims Sunstein discussed dismissing conspiracy theories in a “White House memo”
Defending his theory, Beck said:
BECK: You know, it's weird that they're dismissing it as a crazy conspiracy theory because that's exactly what Cass Sunstein said in a White House memo, that you should dismiss people as crazy conspiracy theorists even, quoting, “Even if some conspiracies end up being true, they do not cease to be conspiracy theories for that reason.” Oh. You learn from Cass Sunstein. You get out of here, you knuckleheads.
In reality, the Sunstein quote comes from an academic paper published in 2008 -- before President Obama took office -- and it addresses “demonstrably false conspiracy theories.” Sunstein and his co-author, Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule, specifically stated that their “focus throughout is on demonstrably false conspiracy theories, such as the various 9/11 conspiracy theories, not ones that are true or whose truth is undetermined.” They went on to write, “Within the set of false conspiracy theories, we also limit our focus to potentially harmful theories.” From the article (purchase required):
Our focus throughout is on demonstrably false conspiracy theories, such as the various 9/11 conspiracy theories, not ones that are true or whose truth is undetermined. Our ultimate goal is to explore how public officials might undermine such theories, and as a general rule, true accounts should not be undermined.
Within the set of false conspiracy theories, we also limit our focus to potentially harmful theories. Consider the false conspiracy theory, held by many of the younger members of our society, that the mysterious “Santa Claus” distributes presents around the world on Christmas Eve. This theory turns out to be false, but is itself instilled through a widespread conspiracy of the powerful -- parents -- who conceal their role in the whole affair. It is an open question whether most conspiracy theories are equally benign; we will suggest that some are not benign at all.
Beck presents quote from FrontPageMagazine article as a direct quote from Hamas
Beck made a quick leap from talking about the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to Hamas:
BECK: Remember, Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. This is what they talked about, caliphate, Hamas, birth by the Muslim Brotherhood. They talk about it.
In fact, they've openly pined for a caliphate. After Hamas won sweeping Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, they declared it “an important springboard toward establishment of the caliphate,” end quote.
Those words aren't from Hamas. They're from a 2006 FrontPageMagazine.com article that uses no quotation marks around those words:
To Mousa Abu Marzuk, Deputy Chief of Hamas' Political Bureau in Damascus, HAMAS' triumph is an important springboard towards the establishment of the Caliphate - a global Islamic state, where life would be dictated by the Shari'a.
In a statement Abu Marzuk made on January 26, following HAMAS' sweeping victory of the Palestinian legislative elections, he said that HAMAS, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), is reaping the fruits of its efforts over the last six decades. It was established in Palestine in 1936 - not in 1987, as most mistakenly think. Since then, the movement, according to Abu Marzuk, has carried out its political, social agenda, including Dawa (Prosetylization) and Jihad.
The Council on Foreign Relations states that “Hamas published its official charter in 1988, moving decidedly away from the Muslim Brotherhood's ethos of nonviolence.”
As we've previously documented, FrontPageMagazine is not a credible source.
Beck returns to dubious claim that he warned we should “take [bin Laden] at his word” in the '90s
Beck tried to give credibility to his theory by claiming previous far-sightedness:
BECK: You know what's really funny? I remember back in '99, taking Osama bin Laden seriously because I didn't have a horse in the race. I couldn't care about politics. I could care less. I cared about my country.
And when he threatened to kill Americans in our own land, I read his words, and I said, you know, this guy's not stupid. I think maybe we should read it and we should take him at his word. I warned that at the time that New York would have blood, bodies and buildings in the street. Yes, the media brushed it off. Don't pay attention to it.
Beck has made similar claims several times before.
He appears to be referring to a WABC radio broadcast he did in 1998 that is available on a page on his website labeled “Classic Beck.” The description of the clip reads: “Glenn debuts on the WABC in New York City. Glenn discusses the recent U.S. attacks on Afghanistan and Sudan and if the American people are ready for the upcoming War on Terrorism ( remember, this is in 1998! )”
During the recording, Beck reads bin Laden's words:
BECK: Now, another newspaper in Pakistan says that it received a statement for the--from the spokesperson for Azma bin Ladin [sic]. Is that is name? Bin Ladin? Bin Ladeen? Bin jelly bean, green bean, Mr. Clean? I love him. He's hot. He says he's ready for war with the U.S. Oh yes? Thank you Mr. Baked Bean.
A respected newspaper quotes the statement as follows: “The war has just started, and Americans should wait for the answer.” Now, Mr. Ozma Dig-my-scene, I don't even know what the question was! Was the question “is my turban on too tight?” Yes! I think it is. The blood's not pumping around the whole brain. Loosen the turban, Mr. Clean, dig my scene. Oh yes, let's look at the latrine.
During the rest of the recording, Beck does discuss the threat posed by terrorism with callers to the show. But saying bin Laden's “blood's not pumping around [his] whole brain” is definitely not saying “we should take him at his word.”
Beck misattributes words in NYT profile article to the subject of the profile
Beck introduced a new figure, Tariq Ramadan, to his audience and purported to quote him. (Beck also made a big deal about Ramadan being the grandson of the Muslim Brotherhood founder. Henry Ford was a renowned anti-Semite. His grandson owns the Detroit Lions. So what?):
BECK: I want you to look up somebody else. Tariq Ramadan. Tariq Ramadan, he looks like a nice guy, isn't he? He is a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Oxford.
It's great. Quite a lineage. His grandfather, oh, founded the Muslim Brotherhood. So, you remember, Muslim Brotherhood gave birth to Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood's goal is destroy and kill Israel and Jews. And Hamas, well, they want to destroy Israel and kill the Jews.
But his grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood, and he was banned from the U.S. He was about to become a tenured professor at the University of Notre Dame, but he was banned from entering the U.S. in 2004 because, well, there were accusations that he was supporting the militant Palestinian group, Hamas, which is the offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood that his grandfather started. So -- all right.
So, why is he a danger? Well, because he was accused of supporting Hamas, we don't want him around, and I believe he was more dangerous because of his beliefs on something called Islamic socialism. It's a crazy idea. And it is an idea that -- are you ready? -- “to be a sworn enemy of capitalism does not mean you're a communist, a fascist, a religious fundamentalist, or indeed an anti-Semite. But it is something these otherwise disparate groups frequently have in common. Advocating a revolt against Western materialism on the basis of superior spiritual values is an old project.”
Yes. Yes. Probably back to what, Crusades?
I wouldn't need to come back to him and I probably wouldn't bring him up if he was still banned from entering the United States, but, no, he's not. Last January, President Obama and Hillary Clinton restored his visa. So, he's free to come and go, isn't that great?
Just remember: Islamic socialism. This is why you see the left coming to the aid of the Islamic fascists because they're cool with socialism.
Beck was quoting from a February 4, 2007, New York Times Magazine profile of Ramadan. But Beck wasn't quoting Ramadan's words -- he was quoting Ian Buruma, who wrote the profile. He managed not to read the part of the paragraph that referred to Ramadan in the third person (bolded):
To be a sworn enemy of capitalism does not mean you are a communist, a fascist, a religious fundamentalist or indeed an anti-Semite, but it is something these otherwise disparate groups frequently have in common. Advocating a revolt against Western materialism on the basis of superior spiritual values is an old project, which has had many fathers but has never been particularly friendly to liberal democracy. Ramadan's brand of Islamic socialism, promoted with such media-friendly vitality, in conferences, interviews, books, talks, sermons and lectures, has won him a variety of new friends, especially in Britain and France.
In order to demonize Ramadan, Beck left out other relevant facts:
- Beck Ignored Full Story Of “Accusations” Of Hamas Support. Beck said Ramadan faced “accusations that he was supporting the militant Palestinian group, Hamas” but did not explain the situation any further. In fact, Ramadan was accused of donating $1,300 to a Swiss-based charity prior to the Treasury Department's categorization of the group as a terrorist organization because it provided money to Hamas. [The New York Times, 7/18/09] Ramadan has since said that he had believed the charity had no connections to terrorist activities or to Hamas. [The New York Times, 1/21/10]
- Ramadan's Visa Restored After Judicial Panel Reversed Earlier Denial. The restoration of Ramadan's visa came after a July 2009 federal appeals court ruling stating that the government was required to “confront Ramadan with the allegation against him and afford him the subsequent opportunity to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he did not know, and reasonably should not have known, that the recipient of his contributions was a terrorist organization,” and it was unclear whether the consular officer who had denied the visa had done so. [The New York Times, 7/18/09]
Beck sees great import in the use of the word “shadow”
For someone who downplayed his reliance on the people involved in his theory using “code words,” Beck seemed to read great significance into the word “shadow”:
BECK: May I quote The Wall Street Journal from today? “Even before last month's popular ouster of Tunisia's president, electrified protesters in Egypt and across the Middle East, these people held dozens of meetings lasting more than 100 hours. They created 100-member shadow legislator of union leaders, judges, representatives from youth parties and the country's banned but influential Muslim Brotherhood, say the people in attendance.”
That is weird. What do they call that again? Tiffany, what do they call it, a shadow?
FEMALE VOICE: Shadow party, shadow government.
BECK: Shadow government. Oh, this is the shadow party. This is the book that we showed you. Remember the puppet show we did? It's a shadow party. It's a shadow government. Shadow --
And remember Arianna Huffington? Remember when she had the Shadow Party Conventions? Isn't this weird how it all -- hmm. Islamic socialism. God, it sounds newfangled; we should check into it, maybe it's something we want to do.
This harkens back to Beck's fearmongering about George Soros' funding of the 2004 shadow conventions during his series of hit pieces on Soros.
For some reason, Beck talks about the Brazilian constitution
Beck inexplicably brought up the Brazilian constitution and then informed his viewers, “This is not a revolution in Egypt. This is an Islamist socialist revolution in Egypt. It has nothing to do with democracy”:
BECK: Now, the media will continue just to punch the clock at best or will continue to believe that you are so stupid -- that they'll just call anybody a freedom fighter or democracy lover, and you'll buy into it. You're not that stupid.
Do you remember when I told you about Brazil? They elected a former communist terrorist that was in prison for a while. As the president of Brazil, everybody said, no, no, no. She's changed. Yes.
Well, this is how stupid the communists believe the people of Brazil are. They just announced and voted on yesterday the “pursuit of happiness” amendment. The media swoons and talks, oh, democracy, isn't this great? Oh, it's practically Thomas Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson, you know, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among these, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” That is where that line comes from.
Brazil is embracing the Constitution. No, no, no, no -- that's actually the way it was written in many stories, but let's get past the headline, shall we? You read that happiness in this new constitutional amendment means a guaranteed income, housing, jobs. Wow!
I don't know about you, because you have a life. I don't. I've read the Soviet communist constitution. It guaranteed right to work, rest, leisure, health protection, care on old age, sickness, housing, education, cultural benefit -- hmm, almost like a pursuit of happiness in a really twisted, distorted sort of way.
Do you see what they've done? They are taking the horrific ideas of communism -- a system that has produced nothing but misery, poverty and slaughter of tens of millions of people, hundreds of millions globally and packaged it around democracy, the republic, Thomas Jefferson.
They think you're a moron. This is not a revolution in Egypt. This is an Islamist socialist revolution in Egypt. It has nothing to do with democracy.
Beck upset about phrase used in title of book by his guru, Skousen
Immediately after discussing the Brazilian constitution and the “Islamist socialist revolution in Egypt,” Beck said:
BECK: I mean, they must think we're really dumb. I mean, the ad that Code Pink is running on the Muslim Brotherhood's Web site says, “Join us in cleansing our country.”
Well, can I ask you something? In this day and age of rhetoric, when you are working with a group -- two groups that want to destroy and kill Jews, this one and this one, do you really think it's a good idea to use the word “cleanse”? “Help us cleanse our country”? Does anybody think it's a bad P.R. faux pas that they are using, “cleanse our country”? Help us?
Beck observers will recognize the name Cleon Skousen, the far-right activist and conspiracy theorist whose books Beck's can't recommend enough.
Here is the cover of Skousen's posthumously published book, The Cleansing of America, released last year:
Beck repeats his debunked smear of Anita Dunn as a Mao sympathizer
Beck recycled his tired smear of former White House aide Anita Dunn:
BECK: Isn't it interesting how thrilled the left is with the uprising in Egypt? All of a sudden, they're so concerned about mankind's freedom and democracy, stopping the brutal oppressive dictators. Really? Really?
I seem to remember that one of the former White House communications directors, Anita Dunn - her favorite philosopher was Mao. So imagine my surprise - because he killed about 80 million people.
In fact, in the video Beck has used to support this claim, Dunn offers no endorsement of Mao's ideology or atrocities. Rather, she comments that Mao and Mother Teresa were two of her “favorite political philosophers,” and based on short quotes from them, she offered the advice that “you don't have to follow other people's choices and paths” or “let external definition define how good you are internally.”
Beck tut-tuts about “calling fellow Americans a disease,” falsely claims he hasn't done the same
Beck expressed his disapproval for “calling fellow Americans a disease”:
BECK: I've shown you Code Pink and what they said at the anti-Koch rally. But let me show you one of the posters that they were holding up. This is Code Pink and other organizing leftists.
“Quarantine the Kochs.” Now, if you notice this symbol, that is the symbol for a biohazard. This one jumps out at me because of what I've read from Hamas and I know history.
Biohazard posed a threat to the health of humans. It includes medical waste, virus or toxins. We have a group of people saying this kind of hate, calling fellow Americans a disease.
I want you to know I called progressive ideas a disease, a disease against the Constitution, but never people. I never wanted them silenced or quarantined.
But these people are not only talking about quarantining people, but they're using imagery that makes them a virus.
Here's Beck on his Fox News show, on January 25, 2010, asking, “How many times have I said they're like a virus feeding on the host of the republic, and this in case, the Democratic Party?”:
BECK: Anyway, progressives are very upset with this. Before the event, the progressive caucus of California, the California Progressive Democratic Party, sent a letter to Woolsey which read in part, “Dear Congresswoman Woolsey, we, the officers of the Progressive Caucus of the California Democratic Party are your constituents both in your district and throughout the rest of California.”
“We're your friends, your ardent supporters through your long and distinguished career and consider ourselves your progressive colleagues in the California Democratic Party.” Listen to this. “We have worked for the same agenda inside the Democratic Party.” Got it? How many times have I said they're like a virus feeding on the host of the republic, and this in case, the Democratic Party?
And here's Beck on his November 2, 2010, radio show, saying that progressives “went inside and infected the system.” Beck called the Tea Party the “anti-virus” and said that progressives are “feeding on the host, which is the republic. They are feeding first on the Democrats, then the Republicans. And they're feeding and feeding and feeding”:
BECK: Now, the Tea Party has said, “Yeah, you Democrats, you big-government Democrats -- you suck.” And now we've also said, “By the way, you Republicans, you big-government Republicans -- you suck.”
And we're inside both parties now. We're inside the head of both parties. And we have troops on the ground now in Washington, starting next year, assuming the election goes the way it is. You'll have Tea Party troops on the ground inside -- behind enemy lines.
This is exactly what happened in 1912 or 1913 with the Bull Moose Party, with Theodore Roosevelt. He started the Progressive Party, and we went in and said, “We're going -- I believe in the progressive thing.” And he went inside the Republican Party.
Well, the Republican Party didn't want it. It was a third party. He lost. And so it was folded into the Democratic Party -- and the Republican Party. They went inside and infected the system.
This is -- the Tea Party is the anti-virus. It is the antidote for what infected us over a hundred years ago.
Now, just understand, it took us a hundred years to get here. This one's not going to die easily. This one is going to fight and fight and fight.
They're feeding on the host, which is the republic. They are feeding first on the Democrats, then the Republicans. And they're feeding and feeding and feeding.
We've now sent in another feeder. Except this one restores the cells. But it's got to go in and consume the disease, as well. And it will. It will.