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Good-Bye Glenn Beck

Posted 13 months ago|23 comments|543 views
Written by
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
Bravo to FOXNews and Roger Ailes for finally axing Glenn Beck's controversial television show. Long-time Rant-Ravers may recall a piece I wrote some 24 months ago entitled "Rightwing Talk Shows Are Killing GOP" where I argued that Mr. Beck and company were alienating the independents by pandering to the extreme right and weakening the GOP's national position as a legitimate political party. Mr. Beck, a self-proclaimed everyman without a formal education will fade into the background of FOX documentaries which, no doubt, will prominently feature crazy conspiracy theories of an anti-Semitic nature drawn out on elaborate 20-m whiteboards in full technicolor®, 3D viewing splendor. Why it took so long to oust Mr. Beck is unclear. His sponsors began abandoning him a while ago perhaps to the tune of over 400 advertisers (source) who had already given up support. You have to like a guy who believes passionately in something, but why not something useful instead of shameless? Good bye Glenn Beck may FOXNews find someone better to fill your shoes.
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COMMENTS
13 months ago: You must have watched Glenn Beck more than the uber-conservative Tea Party.
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: Actually, I watched his tv show exactly three times. I have listened to his radio program about 50 times (sometimes there's nothing else one can get on a drive between Denver and Lincoln, NE). Oh, and I've watched the many parodies which are hilariously available on YouTube.com.
Altruist
Altruist
Eugene, OR
13 months ago: Glen beck was popular and was carried for so long by Fox because the right wing is driven by fear and paranoia. Glen Beck was good at feeding that fear and paranoia.

Good riddance. Perhaps the right wing can now begin the long slow transition back to the real world of rationality and facts.
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: Let's hope so! I'd like to have the old GOP back and be able to be a moderate independent again rather than seeming like a flaming liberal because I don't like the direction fo the current GOP and especially the Tea Party.
13 months ago: I knew it ! A die hard ! "because I don't like the direction fo the current GOP and especially the Tea Party"

Uh? Your liberal freind should be proud ! I for one am counting down the days when people like you will follow the Constitution instead of spouting how it needs to grow with the times.
13 months ago: Al,

What is the opposite of a right wing "Truther?"
Out Of The Box
Out Of The Box
 Moderator
13 months ago: I don't think Beck was fired as much as he felt stifled by the whole TV format. He still has his radio show, and several other production venues, which all take a toll on his time. There are only so many hours in a day. He threatened to quit numerous times when FOX tried to dictate what he could or couldn't air, and his ratings remained through the roof, approximately 50 times greater than Kieth Olberman's on Olberman's best ratings day.

Out of the big three on talk radio, Beck is the only one who isn't a mouthpiece shill for big business. And for this reason, Beck was constantly in fear of being "silenced" in one way or another. I know no one here believes big business or big government would ever arrange an "accident" for those who expose them.

Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: OotB,

"NEW YORK — Glenn Beck later this year will end his Fox News Channel talk show, which has sunk in the ratings and has suffered from an advertiser boycott." from the article I listed as my source above. His ratings were NOT through the roof, and he was costing the network millions in lost revenues. Not only were major sponsors fleeing the program, but local affiliates were losing local revenue as well.

I am curious why you think Beck was the only non-shill? Either the others aren't shills, or Beck is just as much a shill. The entire point of my "What motivates" series of rants relates back to this. Limabugh is motivated by his ten-year $40million contract. Beck has been motivated by his book sales and salary figures. He used to always claim that he wasn't doing it for the money.

Let me give an example of what "not doing it for the money means". In college, I had a professor who never cashed his pay check from the college once. As a young scientist, he invited a medication that was licensed and he got a royalty check every month for his work for the rest of his life. So, he resigned and when to teach a new crop of scientists. He found a small liberal arts college in the midwest and was appointed full professor in no time. He really wasn't doing it for the money. Was Beck cashing his pay checks? Of course he was doing it for the money.
Out Of The Box
Out Of The Box
 Moderator
13 months ago: OK, you got me. You quoted an AP opinion piece from a local rag, peppered with quotes from . Did you forget to read this part?

Ailes dismissed the financial impact of the boycott but expressed some frustration with it.
"Advertisers who get weak-kneed because some idiot on a blog site writes to them and says we need to stifle speech, I get a little frustrated by that," he said.

Now, there is also a quote from James Rucker, executive director of ColorofChange.org, which happened to organize the advertiser boycott. What do you think motivates him? And then there was "David Brock, founder of the liberal watchdog Media Matters for America — said that "the only surprise is that it took Fox News months to reach this decision."" Motivation?????

"Beck's 5 p.m. ET show averaged 2.7 million viewers during the first three months of 2010, and was at just under 2 million for the same period this year, the Nielsen Co. said.......

"Beck said ratings for his television show were not an issue, noting that "we have buried the competition in every sense.""

"Call CNN and MSNBC and ask them if they'd like to have Glenn's ratings at 5 in the afternoon," Ailes said.

As to your logic on his shillness, I just don't follow it. It seems we both read the samr article and came away with entirely differing views on what it it actually said. What does that say for the motivation of those who seek answers? Things are not always as simple as one would like.
13 months ago: While I don't watch Glenn Beck on FOX news...

I also don't watch Hannity or O'Reiley....

I also don't watch Chum Bucket "Colbert" or ****ie Kurick or the likes.

What happened to them? Do we need to throw a few more "Liberal" names that had contracts cut short?

I'll be more than happy to continues the list. Where were you then?
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: "a local rag" – It's an AP story carried by a southern newspaper, hardly a rag.

I read the whole thing and read as Roger worked to save face, but every story I read on the end of Beck was clear that this was a top down decision based on money and the show was losing money. Ratings do not make a show money if the advertisers don't want their commercials airing during a show.

But, I am glad to see Bck's license to chalk-board end. He was so far out there as to be borderline El Pollo Loco.
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: The irony is that the rise of left-wing shows came as counter to the rise of the right wing shows. The interesting thing to me is the left-wing shows never garnered nearly the numbers or support. Anyone care to speculate as to why?

One of the things that used to and still drives me nuts and speaks to why is this very kind of forum on Rant-Rave. I will be glad when we can get past the extremes on both sides and get back to the middle. Both sides are wrong. I'm sorry, but the Democrats and Republicans in power both want the same thing, to keep themselves in power and rich. The Republicans are more honest about that goal, while the Democrats set up useless social programs to make themselves feel better. At some point, the citizens of the country, the real people, the pawns of the system need to stop fighting each other and realize the endemic problems come from government run amok and out of touch with its citizens – ironic in a representational democracy isn't it. It's not too much government or big government or too much government expenditure, it's that the people governing are no longer governing for us, they are governing against us.

My issue with Glenn Beck was never that he was conservative it was that he was anti-semetic and believed that a libertarian conservative agenda was best for our nation. I do not believe the current neo-conservative agenda, fueled too much by fork-tongued hippocrisy is right for our nation. I do not want Christian fundamentalism forced upon the nation – we have seen up close the problems with a theocracy throughout the Middle East. I do not want the government interfering in who can get married and who has to raise the child of their daughter gang raped by a team of lacrosse players. I do not believe in Bush Doctrine and think pre-emptive war is a crime against humanity. I am not pro torture. I believe in the peace process and nation building. I believe that human beings are responsible for global climate change.
13 months ago: Whoa just a minute. You either live or work in Colorado and you say...

"fork-tongued hippocrisy"...

What exactly is the percentage of government payroll in Colorado as opposed to private companies?
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: I have nothing against government workers or the government employing people. I am not a libertarian. I am an independent. I vote for policies I like and against ones I don't. My problem of late is that the GOP has become so hijacked by extreme right, that it's hard to be in favor of any other policies.
13 months ago: Ah...but you didn't answer the question.

What is the percentages of government vs: private jobs in Colorado?

I want facts along with reliable source links.
13 months ago: Let's try these numbers....

In thousands...

From the Bureau of Labor Stastics site (which you can verify) http://www.bls.gov/home.htm

Colorado Government Employees in January of 2011... (389.5) 389,500

Colorado Private Sector Producing employees in January 2011... (252.7) 252,700
13 months ago: To be fair, let's run the same data on another state...

Such as Texas...

Texas Government Employees in January of 2011... (1866.4) 1,866,400

Texas Private Sector Producing employees in January 2011... (1608.8) 1,608,800


Big difference in the percentages between Colorado and Texas. Wouldn't you say?
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: I am missing the point? Both TX and CO have more government-employed employees than private sector?
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: And yes, I think it's hippo critical to say you are going to create jobs by cutting spending.
13 months ago: Name a single item that the government has ever produced in a government factory with government employees that you have purchased.

That turned a profit...Too boot.
13 months ago: GM does not count.
Coloranter Raver
Coloranter Raver
Denver, CO
13 months ago: Cypress, you're kidding me right? Too easy. Just about every single factory in China! Well...you didn't say within the USA, and I hate to bring it up but the Chinese must be doing something right if they've made so much dough they can buy all our debt?

Ok, so on a serious note, because yes I'm well aware their workers make 22¢ a week and live in squalor – except, well that used to be more true and it's getting better over there, but once it all caches up, they'll have the same problems we do.

Anyway, I think I'm missing the gist of your question. Unless you are suggesting that the government doesn't make us money.

I guess I could argue that the government could be thought of, at least a part of it, as a giant collective non-private investment group. Let's look at the entire defense industry as just one example. Without the government as a client / customer would the defense industry exist? Does the defense industry turn a profit? Does it employ people? It may not be owned by the government, but it creates a profitable industry.

What percentage of industry in the USA depends entirely on the government as a customer? If you sake me, I'd say this is a part of our government operation that is all too often just forgotten by we people in the trenches. It's certainly not lost on the Congresspersons who face their lobbyists every day. Other private industries that have the government as one of their largest clients and exist because of the government and create profit and tens of thousands of jobs...

• aerospace
• interstate / highway construction
• defense

Then there are offshoot industries that exist only because of government investment in technology. The most obvious and elegant example is the Internet which was originally built, of course, as a government-only communication network that could survive an attack by a foreign power to keep the different parts of the government in touch. How many people are currently making billions off of it?
13 months ago: I figured you would take that route.

China Workers Union equals better wages and living conditions for it's members!

Why try to live on a cup of rice for a week in a 8 by 8 cardboard structure? Join the China workers Union today and enjoy the benefits of 2 cups of rice per week and a 12 by 12 cardboard structure.

I'm sure with you additional part of the comment you are speaking to...

Velcro
Zip Ties
Microwaves
L.E.D.s

etc......?

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