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Glenn Beck's rhetoric grows increasingly racial, militaristic after low ratings month
By all records June was a horrible ratings month for Glenn Beck, and he seems to have responded in July by ratcheting up the tone of his rhetoric. As the video clips below illustrate, Beck is now focusing on stories about the new Black Panthers and a supposed future race war. While the country deals with high unemployment, the Gulf oil spill, and two wars Beck has decided to emphasize a story about two African-Americans outside a polling station in 2008.
The new Black Panthers were a relatively obscure organization until Beck and Fox News significantly increased their profile in the last month. At the heart of the controversy is a video showing two African-Americans standing outside a polling place during the 2008 presidential election. One of the men is carrying a nightstick. Conservatives, Beck leading the charge, have claimed the men represent a nationwide effort to intimidate white voters. They also claim the Obama administration is complicit in the effort.
Contrary to conservative claims, the charges against both men were not entirely dropped by the Obama administration. Conservatives also neglect to mention the fact that no voter complaints were made about the two men. Beck has compared the new Black Panthers reach to that of the KKK after the Civil War. However, the organization is actually very small, and relatively powerless. Hardly anyone knows about the new Black Panthers, as opposed to the KKK, which effectively ran many Southern state governments post-Civil War, and Beck has produced no direct link between the organization and any government structure. Instead, Beck conspiracy is built mostly on a political version of "six degrees of Kevin Bacon."
Despite the scant evidence supporting his theory, in the video clips below Beck warns his audience of an "army" from the "extreme left" which is preparing to "kill the cops." Later Beck would tell his audience the left "wants a race war" and that the President will "stand by and let them do it." Throughout the past few days, Beck has also been referring to hate speech of one new Black Panthers member who claimed he wanted to kill white babies. Beck claims this language is a "portal inside the mind of some that advice the President." For an explanation of the tortured, twisted, extenuated logic Beck uses to try and connect the new Black Panthers to the Obama administration click here.
Despite the focus on race and a coming race war Beck later claims that he is not really talking about race. It is worth noting that Beck actually made his high mark in television ratings after calling President Obama a "racist" with a "deep-seeded hatred of white people." Beck was routinely gaining a 3 million person audience following that controversy. Last June, Beck's ratings fell dramatically. At one point Beck drew only 1.39 million viewers (very good numbers for anyone else but a drop of more than 50% for Beck). Now, in July, Beck seems to be turning once more to race and a conspiracy involving the President's supposed vendetta against white people. Is Beck's sudden return to themes race and violence coincidence? It is possible, but the cynics may accuse Beck of going back to the well that helped him rise to his ratings summit.
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