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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Glenn Beck is this week's Time cover















"Mad Man: Is Glenn Beck Bad for America?"

7 Comments:

  • What's the old saying "No such thing as bad publicity"?

    Beck must be lovin' all the attention.

    By Blogger -epm, at 11:02 AM  

  • He got his highest ratings ever on his "9/12" show.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:06 AM  

  • For those who have closely studied the rise of national socialism following World War One, Beck disturbs.

    By Blogger MarcLord, at 11:24 AM  

  • After reading this on Think Progress, I'm realizing that the Beckian's don't really care that the government provides (ie public) services, they're just looking for a free lunch. In fact, I think a fair number of these folks don't really have a clear notion of what the government actually DOES (beyond military machismo) or what a public service really is.

    Sure, some of them are real survivalist/anarchists. But most Beckian's are just irrational and insecure and selfish. Above all else, they're more concerned about saving a nickel than their neighbor.

    By Blogger -epm, at 11:41 AM  

  • Marc, I first had that experience in the 90's watching a group of Limbaugh listeners using his lines to basically drown someone out at the watercooler.

    ...

    EPM, I'm not so sure about that. I think the public transportation complaints were more that they were "being silenced" by the process more than a desire for more services, you know? They see it as "hindering" their voices.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:23 PM  

  • Well that's part of the insecurity; they always think they're being oppressed.

    I still think they have a whole sense of privilege-without-responsibility. Yes, they felt the government -- the metro -- ("Obama's America") was picking on them personally in this example. But just as big an issue is their feeling that "I'm a taxpayer, damnit, I deserve better service" coupled with a white-knuckled death grip on their pocketbook.

    As with every group, there isn't a single psychological trait at play in this group. It's more like a syndrome which is classified by a collection of traits. So, yes, there is the insecure "I'm a victim of the gub'mint," but there's also the feeling of entitlement, exceptionalism along with extreme selfishness/stinginess and the feeling that they're always being screwed.

    They're most likely in the lower income quartile, but somehow feel a tax on the upper 2% is a direct hit on them.

    I'll bet money they think their insurance premiums are too high for the service they get, but they oppose legislation to regulate those complanies. They think a 10% tip is extravagant but complain if the waitress doesn't treat them like royalty. They think the oil companies are conspiring to manipulate prices at the pump, but support "drill, baby, drill."

    They want better roads, but don't want to pay for it. They want their street to be plowed first, but they vote against the new plow. They want their well water to be pure, but the don't want the gub'mint telling them they can't dump crank case oil in a pit in the back yard....

    Crap. I'm just ranting now. I've failed to make a cogent point. Sorry.

    By Blogger -epm, at 2:05 PM  

  • Actually, no. Defining privilege is a different thing than the first comment. Privilege has to do with place in society, and, if you accept my point that the response is about losing dominance, we're on the same page.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 4:42 PM  

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