For you have torn off the mask and have unveiled the thinly shrouded southern Republican Party strategy, since the 1950's.
The GOP strategy, of course, includes blatant racism, exclusion, xenophobia, intolerance and hate. The toxic witches brew is mixed with an irrational hatred for big government.
Thank you, Rand, for shining a bright and stark light on your party's deeply racist and crony capitalism ideology.
When Rand and his Republican Party members shriek about how they must
Take our country back
It tells us that Republicans yearn to return to an era before the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sarah Palin has the same message when she refers to
Real Americans.
GOP scorched earth politics strategist and opportunist, Karl Rove, and his side kick, the hate talker and snake oil multi-millionaire manipulator Rush Limbaugh must be so very proud of Rand Paul.
With all the attention the Texas press corps tends to give to Glenn Beck and the Tea Party, you would think that he is the most powerful man in America. First of all, let's not discount Beck's popularity -- he has approximately 2 million viewers nationwide. BOR's traffic is only slightly below that. But the way that prominent Republicans like Rick Perry and Senator Dan Patrick continue to flock to Beck, you'd think he was the silver bullet.
it will help Tea Party activists and other conservatives unhappy with the GOP determine which elected officials have a conservative record and pledge to adhere to key principles.
"We're going to ask people for their trust," Patrick said. "Our mission is really our message and then living up to the message."
Sounds like a great strategy. In fact, I've heard one reporter describe it as "brilliant." Until you look at, you know, the facts. From a terrific yet simple analysis from April 8 that I just stumbled across today: "Glenn Beck's ratings: Not as meteoric as people think"
I collected the ratings for each and every one of his TV broadcasts since the premiere of his show on Fox in January, 2009.
Next, I calculated the average audience size for each week that the show has been on the air, and put the numbers into a chart. (To be fair and balanced, I excluded the weeks of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays, each of which artificially depressed Beck's numbers.)
The chart revealed something of a surprise: since Glenn Beck's ratings peak during the week ending January 22 (the week of Beck's special "Revolutionary Holocaust: Live free or die" broadcast), Beck's ratings have been on a steep slide, dropping nearly 50%.
So where's the value in jumping on a sinking ship? Easy -- it consolidates Rick Perry's conservative base as he continues his Perry for President 2012 run.
After an entire calendar year of Texas' political reporters wondering whether or not Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will retire, you'd think they'd be much more cynical -- and stop covering -- any of Rick Perry's attempts to cozy up to the extreme right wing of the Tea Party. The studies that show that Tea Party members are wealthy, older, and white -- and support former President George Bush by a large member -- should be red flags #1-4 that the so-called "Tea Party" crowd, as considered by the press corps, is nothing more than Republicans re-branding themselves.
That, however, would require some critical thinking. And when it comes to conversations involving Glenn Beck, Rick Perry, and the Tea Party, critical thinking just disappears...
My post tonight is written in response to a comment posted below in a previous diary. I had charged (and continue to charge) the nationally syndicated cable TV "news" talk show host, Glenn Beck, with unrestrained and unabashed bigotry.
The video clip that I had posted below drew criticism from one who, like Rick Perry, stands by Glenn Beck.
The Beck supporter demanded that I show proof of Becks' bigotry and unfiltered racism.
At first I thought the Beck supporter was joking because one only has to view the Beck show on FOX cable TV for 10 seconds to understand the obvious. One can also view the you tube clips of Beckian bigotry and racism that pervade the Internet, many of which are uploaded on a vast number of blog sites, including those that shine a bright light on the cable and mainstream media hosts, pundits and their invited guests.
If none of the above could prove my point, I thought, surely Jon Stewart's renditions of the Glenn Beck show should have done the trick.
Wrong.
Jon Stewart cannot help a group that does not do nuance, indirect language or political satire.
As we discussed earlier, Rick Perry and Glenn Beck held a rally for their right-wing extremist base over the weekend. Video has surfaced from the event, with Perry and Rep. Leo Berman praising known hate-merchant Glenn Beck. First, State Representative Leo Berman gifted Glenn Beck with a flag that flew over our state capitol, presenting the flag "in honor of a true American hero, whose patriotism is an inspiration to all Americans in this great republic." Next, Rick Perry made the outspoken bigot an "honorary Texan."
Before taking the stage Saturday night, Perry praised Beck as a national leader with a powerful message about Washington and "out of control spending."
Let me be the umpteenth person to say that Glenn Beck in no way represents the best of Texas, or America. He is not a hero but a bigot, making millions off of violent, divisive rhetoric that only serves to sew disunity in our nation. Here are just some of his more notorious statements:
"This president I think has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture... This guy is, I believe, a racist." -- Glenn Beck on President Obama
"I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. ... No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out. Is this wrong?" -- Glenn Beck on what he would do for $50 million
"The only [Katrina victims] we're seeing on television are the scumbags." -- Glenn Beck on Hurricane Katrina victims
"I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today." -- Glenn Beck on California forest fire victims
I have been nervous about this interview with you because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies. ... And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way." -- Glenn Beck interviewing Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim congressperson
Texas is facing serious challenges. Our state government needs to focus on solutions, rather than fan the flames of intolerance and divisiveness. Thank goodness Texas voters have a chance to end the Rick Perry Era this fall. Bill White cares more about fixing problems and achieving results than joking about secession as our state slips further down every national ranking of health and well-being.
Some folks say we shouldn't waste any more oxygen on Beck. They have a point, but when our state's Governor praises the maker of these statements, chooses to campaign publicly with him and praise his horrible brand of politics, people need to take note. That's not what Texas stands for. We need a governor who is inclusive, and focused on real solutions, not phony jokes about secession.
Texans, don't want your governor palling around with a noted hate-merchant? Do something about it. This November, vote for Bill White.
This past weekend, Rick Perry and Glenn Beck headlined an event in Tyler, Texas, where they riled up the Republican base with intolerance, violent rhetoric, and even a little mild sedition.
Before the rally, Perry spoke with press about his opposition to President Obama. From ThinkProgress:
"Americans can take their country back and send a message to this administration, to this Congress and I consider myself proud to be in that army," Perry said.
Perry's choice of words--joining an army opposed to the President--cannot help but recall last summer's shotgun-toting health-reform protesters. It's yet another piece of violent rhetoric that--while not as extreme as the words that come out of Glenn Beck's mouth--is part and parcel of the anti-American attitude emanating from the right-wing "Tea Party" crowd these days.
After all, it's not patriotic to want to withdraw from the United States. It's not patriotic to make thinly-veiled threats of violence against Democrats or elected officials.
Rick Perry wants to "take [our] country back." From who? The Americans who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, who comprise a majority of voters and majority of states? That's a bit of fuzzy math from a governor who got himself re-elected with only 39% of the vote. By trying to impose Tea Party rule on America, isn't he the one forcing extremist views on an unwilling public?
Not to be left out, right-wing extremist State Representative Leo Berman took to the microphone with his own message for Republican Party faithful. From ThinkProgress:
Berman told the crowd, "I believe that Barack Obama is God's punishment on us today, but in 2012, we are going to make Obama a one-term president."
That's a terrible thing to say, and it's equally terrible that so few followers of modern-day politics should be surprised to hear these words come from the mouth of an elected Republican official. Who in the Republican Party of Texas will renounce Berman's statements? Who will speak out against Perry's quasi-seditious rhetoric? None of them.
The Republican Party of Texas is more focused on making hateful speeches and all-but inciting violence to solve the real problems of everyday Texans. How does suggesting that the President is a punishment from God do anything to help uninsured children access medical care? How does it help families cover their skyrocketing insurance costs? How does it help our K-12 students become better-prepared for a changing economy? How does it control tuition and keep college affordable for the middle class?
The fact is, the Republican Party of Texas doesn't care about any of these agenda items, they don't want Texas to work harder for working people. They've proven it time and time again. These angry words are just an effort to distract the public and distort the truth -- and the truth is, Texans can and must do better than Rick Perry.
On the Republican side of the ticket, the most important returns tonight won't be for Rick Perry, and they won't be for Kay Bailey Hutchison. Debra Medina's support tonight -- and what her supporters do tomorrow -- could define the next eight months in a way nothing else we see in tonight's numbers can.
The old-guard Republicans accuse Medina and her supporters of being closeted Libertarians, while the Medina fans say the others aren't real Republicans because they don't adhere strictly to the GOP platform on issues such as abortion.
What both sides can agree on is that the Wharton County Republican Party wasn't the same after Medina took over.
Shaking things up in her party seems to be a pattern for Medina, who has sued the state Republican Party, clashed with Murrile over county spending and is now running for governor in a GOP primary that already includes two heavyweights, Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Fort Worth Tea Party activist Deborah TeSelle says she is unsure where she will ultimately place her loyalty if Medina, who was hurt by a gaffe in a radio interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck, doesn't survive Tuesday.
"There are reasons why we're not supporting Gov. Perry," said TeSelle, who founded the Fort Worth 912 Project, a grassroots conservative organization. "We're just going to look to see who's on the ballot in the fall and consider [which candidate is] most likely to stand up for our constitutional liberties."
She said she will take a closer look at White but added, "It's hard to imagine that any Democrat would qualify." Supporting the yet-to-be-chosen Libertarian nominee might be another possibility, she said.
Two things I want to emphasize: the Glenn Beck side of this story and the 912 project, and why choosing a Libertarian candidate may not be TeSelle's only route:
For Debra Medina supporters, they saw their moment of truth. The 912 Project that TeSelle started was a Glenn-Beck inspired idea. Those principles -- crafted and created by corporate Republicans long ago -- were part of the anti-government movement generated by national Republicans. Medina's supporters are simply the Republicans who recognize the fiscal irresponsibility of Rick Perry, and don't believe Republicans are automatically great. Beck calling out Perry was a great moment.
GLENN: I think I can write her off the list. Let me take another look at Kay Bailey Hutchison if I have to. Rick, I think you and I could French kiss right now.
PAT: Let me tell you something. He's a damn handsome man.
The signers must be registered voters who have not participated in the general primary election or the runoff primary election of a party that has nominated, at either election, a candidate for the office you seek.
File the application, along with petition, by May 13, 2010.
Imagine a runoff did occur -- all signatures would have to be collected in the month between April 13 and May 13, 2010. Debra Medina cannot run as an independent, and neither can anyone at this point. Unless a lawsuit is filed -- which is completely possible. And considering the natural little-d democracy championed by Medina and her supporters, I'd imagine they would have a very authentic challenge to the law if they went down that path.
Then again, support for a Libertarian candidate from the Medina wing of the Republican primary would be huge. That's why what can matter most is how many votes Medina can get today, and how many continue to follow her tomorrow.
Medina has always faced uphill battles, but she's a true believer and someone very committed to her cause. Republicans like Perry will dismiss her as "frivolous" after the election ends, and the press corps will feel comfortable doing the same as they already did after the Glenn Beck setup.
But don't count Debra Medina out yet, I don't know if she has any quit in her...
Last week, I argued that Debra Medina was set-up by Glenn Beck and Rick Perry ("Gut Reaction: Team Rick Perry Used Glenn Beck to Attack Debra Medina"). As you'll recall, Medina was skyrocketing in the polls -- it was certain she would force a runoff, and becoming increasingly possible that she would be in that runoff herself. For Medina, a quick appearance on Glenn Beck's radio show probably seemed like a terrific idea -- Beck's constant promotion of extreme right-wing views appealed to the type of people who were supporting Debra Medina.
But Medina was not talking to Glenn Beck the activist -- because there is no such thing. Especially not when Beck's boss is such a major supporter of Rick Perry. According to the Texas Ethics Commission, Clear Channel CEO and Chairman Lowry Mays has donated almost $300,000 to Rick Perry.
Clear Channel CEO Donations to Perry
Year
Donation
2001-2002
$51,400
2003-2004
$55,000
2005-2006
$80,000
2007-2008
$50,000
2009
$50,000
Total
$286,400
Source: Texas Ethics Commission
Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and countless other right-wing radio station personalities are owned by Clear Channel. Beck is paid $10 million by a Clear Channel subsidiary for his radio show (Source: Forbes). Is it any surprise, then, that he ambushed Medina the way he did -- and subsequently told all of his radio listeners to support Perry? After he finished his interview with Medina, Beck went on to pronounce his love for Rick Perry (Source: Radio Interview Transcript):
GLENN: I think I can write her off the list. Let me take another look at Kay Bailey Hutchison if I have to. Rick, I think you and I could French kiss right now.
PAT: Let me tell you something. He's a damn handsome man.
GLENN: He's a damn handsome man.
PAT: Looks good in a pair of jeans.
GLENN: Wow.
PAT: He's a handsome man.
GLENN: Wow. The fastest way back to 4%.
The set-up by Beck was quickly echoed throughout the mainstream media. The Dallas Morning News went on to immediately call it a "game-ending-gaffe." Few in the media, however, noted Perry's financial ties to Clear Channel and Glenn Beck -- or took any moments to repeat the absolutely bizarre conspiracy theories Beck puts out on his own. After all, this is Glenn Beck:
Debra Medina's gaffe -- set-up by a suspicious line of questioning from an employee of one of Rick Perry's top contributors -- could end up being the turning point from the election going to a runoff to Perry winning the primary outright
Key Point: Do you think Glenn Beck had a large group of random people e-mail him about how Medina's advisors are 9/11 truthers? Or do you think, just maybe, that Team Rick Perry teed him up on this one to attack Medina because they saw her poll numbers were shooting through the roof? And now Perry is supposed to be ready go with radio attack ads about this already...
Has Medina questioned the government's involvment in 9/11 in the past? Maybe. I don't know. I'm not supporting her, so I don't care too much. But wasn't this a really random question to just come out of nowhere?
Here's a big hypothetical that makes too much sense to just be a hypothetical...
Imagine you are Rick Perry. You're the Governor of Texas. The extremely popular U.S. Senator you're running against in the primary, Kay Bailey Hutchison, was supposed to defeat you handily this year. But because her campaign team is dumber than rocks, she's squandered her massive popularity in one of the worst run statewide campaigns in United States history -- and now you're sitting pretty and the clear favorite to win the Republican Party primary nomination.
Texas Governor Rick Perry has been in statewide office for twenty years. As a career politician, he knows every trick, and can create an attack out of nowhere if he has the right people on his side. And this morning -- with the help of Glenn Beck and Fox News -- he got his help (which shouldn't be too surprising, considering how much of a staple Rick Perry is on Fox News).
In fact, if you read the whole interview, it's pretty hard to not read it as a setup -- especially from a guy like Glenn Beck.
Beck asks her how she is doing, asks her who she is, asks her about her policies, and asks her to expand on her claims that we eliminate the property tax -- a claim that Talmadge Heflin, former Chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee and current director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation has advocated for repeatedly. Glenn Beck can't believe that proposal -- making him already out-of-touch with the Debra Medina supporters -- and then immediately launches into an out-of-nowhere question about 9/11.
September 11? Really? He asked that...because it was the eight-year, five-month anniversary of the terrorist attack? Why did that come up at all? Oh that's right -- it was a "theme" in some of the mail he received about her.
And then there was Medina's initial response:
GLENN: I have when I said that I was going to have you on, you can't imagine the mail pro and con that I received. There was a theme that ran against you and that is you are a 9/11 Truther.
MEDINA: Well, there's lots of mud that people would like to throw at Debra Medina and make stick. The truth is I'm an everyday ordinary person. I am fighting for the things that our founders fought for, those very basic principles of a constitutional republic, and I'm going to champion people that hold their government accountable, hold me accountable but that's the first time I've heard that accusation. So that's an interesting one.
Great answer. But did Beck end the line of questioning, even though she answered it right the first time? Nope.
Beck pressed on, and here is where Debra Medina -- a newcomer to the smashmouth world of politics -- made a huge mistake and let the wheels come off the PR wagon: she did not make a clear unilateral statement that the government was not involved in the September 11 attacks (something she did, once she got her bearings again, later on her website).
Was it a huge and damaging mistake? Absolutely. Beck was ready to pounce:
GLENN: Do you have advisors, do you have advisor
MEDINA: I'm not going to take a position.
GLENN: That's fine.
MEDINA: These questions have been raised and they are not answered.
GLENN: Do you have advisors that advise you or people that are around you that are 9/11 Truthers?
MEDINA: Not to my knowledge.
GLENN: Would you, if you found out that there were, would you disavow them like the president should have but I mean, he escorted them out in the middle of the night. Van Jones was a 9/11 Truther. If you found out that people around you are advising you were 9/11 Truthers, would you disavow them or allow them to continue to advise you?
At this point, Beck is clearly trying to trap her into taking a position on what her advisors think. Medina stumbles to the end, Beck closes the interviews then laughs at her once she's off the phone, and the rest is immediately spun by Rick Perry supporters online (via Twitter, largely) while Debra Medina is trying to figure out why she was just slammed on national television. With a (likely) head start, the Perry people pounced on the news and told everyone that "Debra Medina is a 9/11 truther" -- and it sticks because Team Rick Perry has a professionally paid spin machine, whereas Medina counts on grassroots support. So instead of Debra Medina getting to tell the press, "Rick Perry used Glenn Beck to set me up because he knew I was becoming a threat to his Governor's race" the story favors Perry. The rest is history in this wild and crazy Texas Governor's race.
Now the question is: what happens to Medina's supporters? Could she still force a runoff?
The truth is, we don't know the answer to that -- and we won't until we get a better sense of whether or not her supporters see the action of today as a political attack from Rick Perry, or as a disappointing and unforgivable performance from a first-time candidate who made a very big mistake on a very big stage.
It seems that the teabaggers, racists and right wing extremists have taken over the Republican Party. Of those polled as self-identified Republicans, 39% believe President Obama should be impeached. 63% think he is a socialist. 42% do not believe the President was born in the United States. 31% believe President Obama hates white people. 23% want their state to secede from the U.S..
