Conservative Peter Wehner: Beck “Portray[s] Himself As The Great Decoder Of Events”

Wehner Calls Beck “The Most Disturbing Personality On Cable Television.” Former Bush speechwriter Peter Wehner wrote in a February 24 Commentary post titled, “The Most Disturbing Personality On Cable Television”:

It's hard to tell how much of what Beck says is sincere and how much is for show. Whatever the case, and even taking into account the entire MSNBC lineup, Glenn Beck has become the most disturbing personality on cable television. One cannot watch him for any length of time without being struck by his affinity for conspiracies and for portraying himself as the great decoder of events. Political movements are not just wrong; they are infiltrated by a web of malevolent forces. Others see the shadows on the wall; Beck alone sees the men casting them. The danger when one paints the world in such conspiratorial terms is that it devalues the rational side of politics. It encourages a cast of mind that looks to expose enemies rather than to engage in arguments. Few things, after all, are as they appear.

Beyond that, of course, is the sense of impending doom, of the coming Apocalypse, of our world being on the edge of calamity. If taken seriously, this has the effect of creating fear, hopelessness, and feelings of helplessness. [Commentary, 2/24/11]

Beck Criticized Progressives For Purportedly Treating Tea Partiers Like “Dummies”

Beck Recently Criticized Soros For Supposedly Saying Conservative Protesters “Are Being Tricked.” From the February 24 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: But not only that, did you know that you are being tricked into believing things. Yes, you don't make your own decision you're a moron. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOROS: Look, I think the people in the Tea Party are very decent people, hard-working. They've been hit by a force that comes from somewhere, which they can't fully understand and they are being misled. They are misled by people who are using it for their selfish purposes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[...]

BECK: Tea Parties are dummies. That's weird because that's almost word for word what Obama reads probably on his Blackberry every day. They say Tea Parties are dummies. I'm sorry. Did I say that out loud? Yes, that is really interesting.

[...]

BECK: We confirmed in George Soros' own words that he's not the puppet master. No. No. Rupert Murdoch is, definitely not him. Then he said revolutions usually end in tears. Then he went on to say almost word-for-word what Obama says about the Tea Parties. You know that they're decent people. The hard part, but they don't realize they are used for money because they're dummies. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/24/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck Claims Workers Protesting In Wisconsin “Don't Know What's Really Going On”

Beck: “Union Workers, Are You Comfortable? Because You Are Being Used.” From the February 28 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: You're being used. Average Americans, union workers, you don't hate America. You don't want an end to the Western way of life. But you are standing with people unbeknownst to you that do.

Van Jones, everyone says, if I hear it one more time, he's no big deal. Do not dismiss this man. First of all, he's a 9/11 truther. And that's the good part. That's where you start and like, well -- really?

He's also an unrepentant communist revolutionary who advocated the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. And your union rallied with a permit for the American Dream event supplied with the International Socialist Organization.

Union workers, are you comfortable? Because you are being used. They are organizing the organized. Is that who you want to stand in solidarity? [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/28/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck: “The Workers Have No Clue” They Are “Being Used” By Those Who Want “The Destruction Of The Western Way Of Life.” From the February 28 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: [A police officer] is supporting in Wisconsin and he said Glenn, we don't have to support the communists just because the AFL-CIO -- just because Van Jones is involved and he's running that restore the American Dream thing. And that was a union rally. And the permit was filed for and went out to for that rally from the International Socialist Organization, calling for the destruction of capitalism and the Western way of life. And he says, “I can't help that, I'm just for collective bargaining.” We'll get to that in a second.

OK. Well, so you will stand for collective bargaining and you will do it with people who are calling for the end and the destruction of the Western way of life. “Well, but that's just crazy talk.” Oh is it? Are you better organized? You don't even know what they've got going on. Does your union?

The workers have no clue. They'll just dismiss them. Oh, well that's -- really? Because they seem to be doing a really nice job in the Middle East. They seem to be doing a really nice job with Organizing for America. I mean, look how that whole thing happened. Look how health care happened. Wow, they are pretty well organized aren't they? You know who that was? SEIU. Pretty well organized. They got that done didn't they?

[...]

BECK: Now add on top of it that the union leaders are communists. They want a destruction of capitalism and the Western way of life. Now are you for that? “No, but I'm just standing with them. They're just there. They're just showing up. How can I?” No, no, no. This is their movement. This is their rally. You are going to join them. You are being used.

[...]

BECK: It's not all unions. It's just the most powerful unions that are looking to cobble together global coalitions. AFL-CIO and SEIU are the two big ones. Now this is their movement. And you are standing in solidarity with them. It's like standing with Iran. You can be against Mubarak, but you are a fool if in the Middle East, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are the best organized, which they are. And you come in and say, “Yeah, I'm for that freedom thing.” And you don't have the organization and you won't even admit that there is any other organization.

You're a detriment to our society. You're a detriment to your own way of life. You have to educate yourself first and then ask yourself: Do I want to stand and be used by these people? I may agree with their goal, but do I want to be used by them? Because in the end, they'll get their way, then I have to fight them for my way of life? Because that's what it will be. That's what it always is. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/28/11]

Beck: “Some Of The Teachers” Protesting In Wisconsin “Are Just Useful Idiots. They Don't Know What's Really Going On.” From the February 28 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: We talked today about the police in Seattle. We haven't talked yet about the police in Wisconsin who are now throwing in with the socialist and the teachers. I mean some of the teachers -- some of the people that are there really are just useful idiots. They don't know what's really going on. They don't know that this is a coordinated effort. And the police, unfortunately, in Wisconsin have now thrown in with the protesters in the capitol, and they are not forcing them to leave. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/28/11]

Beck: Union Members “Think That They Want What's Fair. But Who Is Moving The Chess Pieces In Wisconsin?” From the February 22 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: In an attempt to transform the Wisconsin protest from the vulgar signs and angry union members, you know, come here, kinda like these guys back over here, you know the angry union members -- they're angry because the benefits that they have still far exceed the average worker in the private sector. Yeah. Well, they are going to try to transform everything that is happening in other cities and make it all about the working man. That's what's happening here.

The socialist and the communist signs are being ignored by the rest of the media. The huge community organizers staging these events are being left hidden. But here is what it is -- look at this. Party for Socialism and Liberation. Gee, liberation theology.

A new truth is being presented. Yes, there are union members who just think that they want what's fair. But who is moving the chess pieces in Wisconsin? We know the president's own organization, Organizing for America, has now been closely involved along with the DNC.

We told you also that the group that William Ayers was in, the SDS, Students for a Democratic Society, they have been involved and they are part of the planning.

Now Obama's former green jobs czar, Van Jones, what a surprise, a guy who was a communist, says he's introducing the new American Dream Movement. This is fantastic. He's calling on protesters now to turn Wisconsin into the hard left's own tea party. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/22/11]

Beck: Union Leaders Are “Using You Just As Political, Radicalized Islam Is Using The Average Person On The Street.” From the February 18 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: It is not the teachers, it is not the firefighters, it is not the police. They are the union leaders. Now, I don't know how many teachers -- I know none, I know zero teachers that are communists, but I'm sure they exist. I get calls, I know they exist on the college level. I don't know a single union leader -- union member that has ever done -- I've ever hired for stage show, I've ever hired for construction. I have never met the communist union member. Guy swinging the hammer ain't a communist, guy swinging the hammer loves America just as much as I do.

I don't know the garbage man that I've met that says, “Man I hate this country.” I don't know him, but I can give you a list of union leaders that hate this country. That are looking for -- that are using you, just as political, radicalized Islam is using the average person on the street. Do you not see? This is exactly how it works in political Islam. They blame the system, they blame the Jew, they blame the great Satan. They blame anyone. All the while they are the ones at the top that are responsible for their people's misery. It is their policies that are killing people in their own countries. You don't see this happening? [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/18/11]

Beck: “It's Not The Everyday Teacher That This Story Is Really All About.” From the February 17 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Unions are marching and protesting budget cuts close to $3 billion to close that hole. The unions claim that the cuts will affect teachers, but it's not the everyday teacher that this story is really all about. It's about the people looking to create chaos on the backs of the worker when the world's focus is on Egypt. This is the State House, it's a mess. Striking teachers have shut down schools for the second consecutive day, and now unions are actually marching on the home of the governor, Scott Walker. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/17/11]

Beck: “You Have Revolutionaries At The Top And You Must Understand That. ... Nobody Is Telling You These Things.” From the February 16 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: They are now comparing the governor of Wisconsin to Mubarak. A little out of control? Sure. The teachers unions shutting down schools and marching with students, teaching students to march. And there are riots now in Mexico. Can you tell me about the riots in Mexico?

STU: Looks like it's a protest of a teachers union who is upset because Calderon has given tax credits to parents that want to bring their kids to private schools, and they're not happy about that, so there are protests going on down there.

BECK: I'm begging you if you're in a union, I am begging you, begging you, begging you. You've got to decide, you've got to decide. Your unions are killing us. Your unions are anti-western way of life.

STU: At least the leadership seems to be, not necessarily the people in them obviously.

BECK: No, no, no, the union members are not.

BECK: I mean --

STU: Yeah.

BECK: I have problems with union members, but it ain't because they are communist or revolutionaries.

STU: No.

BECK: It is not. But they are turning a blind eye, and you have revolutionaries at the top, and you must understand that, and you must do your own homework. Nobody is telling you these things.

Geez, for the love of Pete. Look at the map and look what I told you just two weeks ago. People were saying I'm insane for saying it. And look at the map. There's no time in between here. It's happened. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 2/16/11]

Beck Previously Said Egyptian Protesters Are “Being Played”

Beck: Egyptian Protesters Are “Being Played.” From the January 31 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: I mean, decay is the natural state of things. Everything starts out great and then decays. You should have seen me 20 years ago. Well, I wasn't great, but I've decayed a lot since.

Same thing with a dictatorship -- if you start with a dictatorship, oh, I don't know, in 20 years, it's going to be pretty ugly. The chaos you are seeing now is not about the crazy young men that are employed, unemployed. Those crazy young men, the poor, those without a future, those who are hungry, those who are misunderstood -- they exist. But they're being exploited now.

High unemployment is a vehicle that others are driving and hiding behind to get to a different destination.

[...]

BECK: America, you're not getting any useful information at all from the media. That's why most people sit on their couch and say, I know I'm supposed to care, but I don't know why I should because you're left feeling uninformed and helpless. They're not giving you anything. They're showing you pictures of people that are rioting. You feel bad for them, as you should, because they're being played. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 1/31/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck: Unrest In Egypt Is “Not Pro-Democracy”; Egyptian Protesters Are Like “Useful Idiots” To “The Power Players.” From the January 31 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Now, I don't know if you've notice the cries of the media, saying that this Egyptian revolt is pro-democracy. But I can't think of anything that is more laughable. It is not pro-democracy.

Now, maybe it - maybe it is for some. I mean, the people have been abused by a brutal dictator. That is true, and I stand with people of Egypt that they're being played. Some said that this is like the Berlin Wall, but it's not.

This isn't about freedom or democracy for the power players. We've seen all of this before, and the useful idiots that the students played in 1979 - in 1979, under the iron fist of the U.S.-supported shah of Iran. Just like here. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 1/31/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck: “By Today And Tomorrow, You Will Understand There Are Strings Being Pulled”; Hungry People Are “Being Played.” From the February 1 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Most Americans don't know what a caliphate is. And you have to teach your friends and neighbors. Caliphate is like an empire. We'll explain here in a second. But, first, I want to know what is driving people, because it's not -- a caliphate is driving some. But this whole crowd -- this isn't driven by the caliphate. What's driving the average Egyptian, what has changed? They've had Mubarak for 30 years. Why all of a sudden? What's happened?

Well, there are a couple of things. And you'll understand it -- by today and tomorrow, you will understand there are strings being pulled. You're watching a well-orchestrated campaign, but it all really started for the average person with food.

Now, I know I have been made fun of relentlessly for being talking about being prepared. I know, I have some nerve telling people, live like your grandparents, you know, get prepared. Maybe do some canning like grandma used to, or have some food down in the basement, because food prices are going to rise. Yes.

I also said be prepared spiritually. I've -- look, that's what this is all about -- enlightenment, education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

Now, what does empowerment mean? What does that mean? Empowerment means don't be a slave to someone else. What is the easiest way to have you enslaved? Food -- if you don't have food. People can play you.

Please, if you take anything away from this show, please be prepared. Look at Egypt right now. These were people that were not prepared. Nobody warned them. People are now waiting in long lines in order to get a loaf of bread. Grocery stores have boarded up their windows and their doors, they can't get food.

So, now, you have angry people and we throw in a little hunger into the mix -- that's a deadly combination. Prepare. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up to being played. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/1/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck: “The Left And The Islamists” Are Raising Oil and Food Prices To Manipulate People As “Part Of the Coming Insurrection.” From the February 1 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: There is an alliance between the left and the Islamists. And that's not good for you, the western lifestyle or Israel. More on that, next.

[...]

BECK: There is a strange alliance between the left and the Islamists that we're seeing. I think it's all part of the coming insurrection. It is easier to put pressure on us and the west if we can raise the price of oil and have the fuel and food shortages that they now have in the Middle East. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/1/11, accessed via Nexis]

Beck: Oppressive Conditions In Egypt “Now Are Being Used.” From the February 3 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Report after report after report after report talks about how the unrest is spreading everywhere. But no one is looking into who's pouring the fuel on the fire. I don't know. The blue print is here. The blue print is here. People are living in a fantasy land. People are upset. They're hungry. He's a brutal dictator.

Yes. Yes! But those conditions now are being used. Never let a good crisis go to waste. If you can turn the heat up, why not?

[...]

BECK: Those who want caliphate and those who want communism or a new world order, they all need the same thing first. Unrest and chaos -- this is unmistakably planned. If you want to cause global chaos, what is the first place you set it? I mean, do you start in San Francisco? No. You start in Middle East.

If you need people to be hungry and you need economies to collapse, you start it in the Middle East. [Fox News, Glenn Beck, 2/3/11, accessed via Nexis]