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Richardo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:24 AM
Original message
Glenn Beck is not crazy.
I wish people would stop saying that he is.

Glenn Beck is a cold-blooded, calculating, cynical showman who has stumbled upon an extremely lucrative career for himself - fanning the flames of bigotry and hatred, promoting ignorance, and dehumanizing those he disagrees with - all for his immediate benefit and gratification, and to the long-term detriment of rational discourse, an informed electorate, and the state of the country.

He is a self-professed 'rodeo clown'. Rodeo clowns are not crazy - they're not simpletons who just happened to show up in a bull ring to run around aimlessly in garishly-colored clothes and comically large shoes. Rodeo clowns are experienced, well-trained professionals, and their job is to attract the attention of an extremely large, enraged, irrational, dangerous animal, and divert its fury from those who are actually causing its pain and outrage.

That's not a job for a crazy person.

On the contrary, Beck consciously and transparently panders to every simple-minded, selfish, individual who cannot be bothered to even try to grasp the complexity of the world we live in. That person demands simple answers in the face of complexity, absolution from responsibility for any of his or her problems, facile explanations for perceived injuries. Glenn serves them up with gusto, and is handsomely rewarded for it.

The blackboard? The byzantine conspiracies? The tortuous connections? The vilification of seemingly random progressives and service organizations? The convoluted acronyms? These are the tools of a man that knows that outrage pays - and so he continues to be more and more outrageous.

Glenn Beck is not crazy, and I wish people would stop saying he is. It's an insult to those who are truly struggling with mental and emotional challenges, and it gives him a HUGE pass that he does not deserve.
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Jackpine Radical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
1. Incisive.
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olegramps Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 10:03 AM
Response to Reply #1
41. Ther is a sucker born every minute and there has always been those to capitalize on their ignorance.
Edited on Sat Feb-19-11 10:04 AM by olegramps
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lame54 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:26 AM
Response to Original message
2. the crazier he gets the more his ratings drop
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RainDog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
3. yeah, he's just a scumbag n/t
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terrya Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
4. Excellent analysis. Recommended.
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RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:28 AM
Response to Original message
5. Yep, just follow the money trail of all of these hate-talk people, the money flows right
into their wallets and their keepers. Hatred is a formula that works, tried, tested and proven.
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Cleita Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:29 AM
Response to Original message
6. I believe you are right or someone would have thrown a
strait jacket on him some time ago.
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lpbk2713 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:31 AM
Response to Original message
7. He's an experienced broadcaster.




He found a gig that really works for him. I doubt very seriously if he believes any of the BS he
puts forth but it earns him a good paycheck so he will keep on doing it as long as it pays well.
And that's what it's all about.

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el_bryanto Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:34 AM
Response to Original message
8. Glen Beck is Crazy
The stuff he says is Crazy. The conspiracy theories he spouts are at such varience with reality that to grapple with them is to grapple with a world in wich down is up and wet is dry. Possibly the man himself is the cynical huckster, but who cares? What he proports is insanity, what he preaches is madness. And that's the part we have to deal with.

Bryant
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Taverner Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:36 AM
Response to Original message
9. "Rodeo clowns are experienced, well-trained professionals..."
He is a self-professed 'rodeo clown'. Rodeo clowns are not crazy - they're not simpletons who just happened to show up in a bull ring to run around aimlessly in garishly-colored clothes and comically large shoes. Rodeo clowns are experienced, well-trained professionals, and their job is to attract the attention of an extremely large, enraged, irrational, dangerous animal, and divert its fury from those who are actually causing its pain and outrage.

You got it right, my friend

100% dead on
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Jackpine Radical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 12:26 PM
Response to Reply #9
16. I thought that was a brilliant analogy.
Perfect.
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Crystal Clarity Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 04:59 AM
Response to Reply #9
31. That paragraph stood out for me too
The whole post was excellent but that paragraph painted an especially good portrait. I just finished reading a book about Beck called 'Tears of a Clown'. I think the author of that book would agree w/Richardo's assessment.
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Hell Hath No Fury Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:39 AM
Response to Original message
10. Yup.
He saw Rush getting famous and obscenely wealthy and said, "I want a piece of that!"

Crazy like a fox, Beck-o is.
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HappyMe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:45 AM
Response to Original message
11. Well said. n/t
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niyad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
12. k and r--you are very much correct.
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siligut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:50 AM
Response to Original message
13. Money and the support of a small but loud and dedicated minority
He is a manufactured product, all his conspiracy crap pulls focus from the real problems. He was recruited for his lack of critical thinking and big bravado. He is a tool.
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Uncle Joe Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
14. I agree with you to a point, but at another level he is crazy, his actions are
narrow, self serving and dangerously short sighted, to that extent he's insane.

Beck is actively tearing down his own nation and endangering countless lives through his rational/irrational behavior.

His total embrace of divisiveness, bigotry and the trashing of science; warning of the imminent peril to all of humanity due to the looming catastrophe of global warming climate change is no different than the insanity of Slim Picken's character riding on the back of a nuclear weapon.



Thanks for the thread, Richardo.


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Richardo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 05:03 PM
Response to Reply #14
23. Nice analogy....
Yeeehaw!! :nuke:

Thanks, UncleJoe.
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PerpetuallyDazed Donating Member (806 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 09:55 AM
Response to Reply #14
40. Very true! n/t
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salinen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 12:03 PM
Response to Original message
15. And he's crazy
I think it's the opposite of your analysis. He's a crazy who's appeal to other crazies is guaranteed being that this countries policies are insane and produces a class of paranoid delusional characters. Similar to a blind date that goes really well.
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Bunny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 12:57 PM
Response to Original message
17. K&R!
Good analysis, Richardo. :applause:
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QC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 12:58 PM
Response to Original message
18. K&R!
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DainBramaged Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 12:59 PM
Response to Original message
19. Beagles flying
Edited on Fri Feb-18-11 12:59 PM by DainBramaged
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GoCubsGo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
20. Yup. He's as crazy as Anthony Hopkins was when he played "Hannible Lechter"
The real crazies are the ones who tune into him every day, and parrot every word he says.
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Motown_Johnny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 01:02 PM
Response to Original message
21. when the rodeo clown thinks the bull is "The Beast" then he is crazy
that doesn't mean he can't still do his job


and the ability to do his job does not preclude his mental illness




The only way to know if he is sane or not is to know if he believes what he is saying or not. I can't prove that he believes his own fantasies, can you prove that he doesn't?
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upi402 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 01:04 PM
Response to Original message
22. Unless a sociopath is considered crazy
Some Repukes in congress are far more sick than that bozo. They would kill us for the gold in our teeth if they knew they'd get away with it.
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Guy Whitey Corngood Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Feb-18-11 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
24. I've been saying this for a long time. He knows what he spews is 100% bullshit. But he
stumbled into a goldmine. Why give it up now.
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Jmaxfie1 Donating Member (707 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-20-11 12:13 PM
Response to Reply #24
46. He actual has come pretty close to admitting it.
I read an interview of him we he basically said people who don't believe in global warming are nuts and a bunch of other things. I've heard the same about Rush Limbaugh. Most of these guys are just entertainers stringing the slow witted rubes along.
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Hissyspit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 03:07 AM
Response to Original message
25. He is a con artist, a grifter. He is Lonesome Rhodes.
Thought probably with real psyche problems.
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JCMach1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 03:18 AM
Response to Original message
26. You are correct... this is what these people BELIEVE
:(
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RandomThoughts Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 03:28 AM
Response to Original message
27. He is tanking.
Edited on Sat Feb-19-11 03:28 AM by RandomThoughts
You are correct, bypass him, go for the casters in the back row.

He is webbed up pretty good, so is doing exponentially less damage every day. He has a really bad DOT on him, with an area expansive effect.

Go past him and get to those casters.

The firepower is on the side of Justice and Love.
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AsahinaKimi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 03:36 AM
Response to Original message
28. I think of him as a
creepy Clown
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florida08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 08:50 AM
Response to Reply #28
38. ugh! will never look at clowns the same way again hehe
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Imagevision Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 03:39 AM
Response to Original message
29. Beck copied off Limbaugh, controversy no matter how ignorant = $$$ - end of story
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deacon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 04:22 AM
Response to Original message
30. I think inciting racism and violence falls into the mentally disturbed category. n/t
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Volaris Donating Member (479 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 05:56 AM
Original message
He's America's newest Snake Oil salesman...
Beck consciously and transparently panders to every "simple-minded, selfish, individual who cannot be bothered to even try to grasp the complexity of the world we live in. That person demands simple answers in the face of complexity, absolution from responsibility for any of his or her problems, facile explanations for perceived injuries. "

In other words, Conservatives. One of the primary reasons they haven't figured out yet that Snake Oil is NOT good for them, is because the Glenn Becks of the world keep telling them that IS. (and to blame Dirty Liberals for spreading their nasty Cooties when they actually start to show symptoms clearly related to the ingestion of the aforementioned Snake Oil.)
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Response to Original message
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lonestarnot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 05:57 AM
Response to Original message
33. "divert its fury from those who are actually causing its pain and outrage. "
His sole purpose.
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Enthusiast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 06:44 AM
Response to Original message
34. Still, he manages to
convince millions of viewers of the most absurd conspiracy theories.
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Pooka Fey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 07:26 AM
Response to Original message
35. Thank you for this much needed clarification
and for this line:

Glenn Beck is not crazy, and I wish people would stop saying he is. It's an insult to those who are truly struggling with mental and emotional challenges, and it gives him a HUGE pass that he does not deserve.
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florida08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #35
36. oops..wrong spot
Edited on Sat Feb-19-11 08:47 AM by florida08

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florida08 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 08:48 AM
Response to Original message
37. saw crazy once
Walking down the street having an animated conversation with no one. That's not Beck. I think of him as a conspiracist like ALex Jones, who btw believes the Wisconsin protests are orchestrated by the NWO to put in place a police state. Beck believes a calif is coming (anti-christ).

Have they checked out of reality? Well no but they only have one foot in it. The other one is in the 6th level of Dante's Inferno
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PerpetuallyDazed Donating Member (806 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 09:53 AM
Response to Original message
39. One thing doesn't add up...
I think Beck has started to believe in the monster he created. The preposterousness continues to accelerate in spite of his ratings falling. Those don't strike me as the machinations of a profit driven rodeo-clown.
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redwitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #39
45. I agree.
I think he started out as the rodeo clown but has become as crazy as his followers.
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madamesilverspurs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 10:14 AM
Response to Original message
42. Crazy is not the same as insane.
Seriously.


=
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Chimichurri Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 10:15 AM
Response to Original message
43. Well said and spot on.
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underpants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Feb-19-11 10:17 AM
Response to Original message
44. Great post. With 20 hours of air time a week he could only muster 80,000 to a rally
Stewart and Colbert who have 4 hours of air time a week (the same as Beck on any given day) got 500,000 to the Mall.

Beck is not crazy but he still trails Rush in yearly earnings by about $20,000,000 a year.
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-20-11 12:29 PM
Response to Original message
47. B ut But he looks crazy, talks nuts, focuses on Nazi shit 24/7, how else are we to view him?
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EstimatedProphet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-20-11 12:32 PM
Response to Original message
48. Beck pretends to be crazy to raise delusional rabble
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Dappleganger Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-20-11 12:35 PM
Response to Original message
49. He's a sociopath.
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Blecht Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Feb-20-11 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
50. K
Too late to R.
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