Beck is on a huge roll. Over the last month, the right-wing Fox News talker has claimed the scalp of the president’s green jobs czar; motivated thousands of conservatives to turn out for town hall meetings and a Sept. 12 march on Washington; pummeled Democrats over ACORN and Obama’s czars; and landed himself a spot on the cover of Time magazine.
“Beck is the man of the moment,” says the Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb. “Everybody in town is watching him, waiting to see what he’ll do next, who he’ll take down next.”
But if Beck is the man of the moment, where does that leave Rush?
In an e-mail to POLITICO, Limbaugh said any attempt to compare him with Beck in terms of Washington influence rests on a “flawed premise.”
“I do not, and never have, measured my success in ways you describe, such as ‘impact’ in Washington,” Limbaugh said. “I am a broadcaster and judge my success by those standards.”
By those standards, the slimmed-down Limbaugh is still large and in charge.
Well Rush seems to be advocating racism and segregated buses so he’s trying hard to out outdo Beck.
Both are an embarrassment for the right in the same way Keith Olberman and Nancy Pelosi are for the left.
Are there any centrists anymore?
1 jccalhoun,
But he doesn’t cry on TV… that’s bigup points!
#2 Amen! nuf said
Once again, Uncle Dave comes through with a rather weak attempt to divert the spotlight off the huge liberal failures that are wrecking havoc on the economy.
But of course, that is because any negative comment I make confirms I am a racist, along with half of the USA.
@2 “centrist”
The “left” and the “right” have successfully sold everyone, by repetition, that their views are on some sort of sliding scale.
This is false.
Which “party” or “wing” would you trust to not waste your money? Which “party” or “wing” seeks to cost effectively and proactively solve problems?
And I don’t mean “talks as if they want to” but rather actually takes action.
And since the entire left/right premise is false, there is no center “either”.
Each “party” and “wing” seeks to exploit resources and power for the sake of doing so because the Democratic and Republican party have successfully rigged up a no-win 2 party monopoly with no accountability.
re: Beck
Beck occasionally says some really brilliant things (and some annoying things).
Same with Keith Olbermann. Sometimes Keith Olbermann says some brilliant things.
Rush Limbaugh’s heart is in the right place but his grasp of economics and sociology is not strong enough for himself to advance interesting ideas.
That worked great for him (Limbaugh) in the 1990s when everyone knew what the problems were in this country, but in these new modern and more complicated times it is clear he has no special insight into, say, the current economic and political situation in this country to provide interesting commentary of any kind except the usual trash the “left” by taking a sound bite from some incompetent politician.
I am sure I speak for many here when I say, “Who cares?”.
Once again lets try and discredit the messenger instead of trying to prove the message wrong.
I don’t get why people call Beck a shill for the right. He gives Republicans the same respect he gives Democrats. None.
Beck is the hillbillies’ Oprah Winfrey.
#5 Once again, Uncle Dave comes through with a rather weak attempt to divert the spotlight off the huge liberal failures that are wrecking havoc on the economy.
You’re calling Dubya a liberal? You’re calling the Republicans liberals? Because it’s the last 8 years of Republican f*ckups that has put the Democrats in the position of cleaning up the mess after the kids wrecked the place.
You don’t clean up 8 years of screwups in less that a year, moron.
Being a “centrist” only makes sense when you have two intellectually honest sides to choose from. That worked back in the days when Republicans really were conservative. But nowadays, they’re so far off the deep end, that if you try to stake out a position halfway between the R’s and the D’s, you’re off in wingnut wonderland.
Don’t be a “centrist”. Think about what *you* believe in and take your own stand. Don’t depend on others to define what is acceptable.
Trying to stake out a position halfway between sanity and insanity is insane.
#5 Good luck with that “all of us who oppose Obama are racists” strategy, pal. That only works when it’s obviously false, and there is obviously a lot of truth to it.
I love the people who are called “Wackos” that only post video of the people in their own words. How does pointing out facts make you a wacko? I’m speaking of Beck, since I’ve never listened to Rush Limbaugh.
Alfred…that irrelevance assumed the RNC would have a leader. Since they failed miserably at finding one, Rush filled the power vacuum. The RNC has fusked up–big time–because now they’re following a pied piper and his butt buddy Glenn.
should be interesting to watch. longevity-wise rush survives if not thrives. he’s is too smart and too cowardly to do what beck is doing. beck self-destructs
I guess Glenn Beck is an acquired taste. I find him tearing up while commenting on a news story a bit embarrassing.
Real men don’t cry with the exception of losing a loved one or having your fingers crushed inside a car door.
Rush on the other hand is the man.
President Palin? How long before she would quit claiming she could better help the country by being outside of politics?
#18 I would choose Beck over Rush. Beck is more fun than Rush. He’s called out both Democrats and Republicans and he pretty much broke the ACORN story and got Van Jones fired. His Know your Czars segment is an eye-opener.
#20-Benjamin-I would choose Beck over Rush.
I don’t see it as a contest between the two because in the end truth is where you find it. To their credit, both provide insightful commentary not found in lesser venues.
Rush was fun to listen to back during the Clinton Administration. He became irrelevant when Bush 43 came into office. And, since he was outed as a drug addict who supports the drug war, I have no interest. I will listen to a few minutes now and then just to make sure nothing has changed.
Beck as someone said, sometimes says brilliant things. But he says so many cuckoo things that they outweigh the brilliance. Kind of like Hitler building the autobahns. A great accomplishment, but I’d pass on the package deal.
The difference between Rush & Beck is, that Beck actually believes the stuff he says, and Rush is just an entertainer, like Howard Stern, or any other “in it for the money” host.
I’m not a fan of either, they both seem to be poising America to greater or lessor degrees.
#18 Rush on the other hand is the man.
Rush on the other hand is a coward and a bully who hides behind his call screener and his cutoff switch. The few times he’s ventured out from behind them, he’s had his ass handed to him by smarter and better informed people.
But he’s a smart cowardly bully, and he knows just what to say to rile up the rubes and boost his numbers so he makes his millions. He laid it all out in that video early in his career.
#21, I just enjoy Beck more. I work during Beck and Rush, so I don’t get to listen, except on holidays and on Saturdays when they play a repeat of Beck. I mean Rush is good radio, but I have less and less time for three hours of radio
I can’t watch Limbaugh==hate monger.
I used to watch Beck when he first appeared because he does cover more in depth issues that others don’t but when he started crying on TV and demonstrating hypocrisy within the same sentences, his clown act that he is quite proud of became too much a distraction.
Last week I tuned in for a check up. In the one hour show, Beck had two legitimate ad sponsors. The rest of the ad time was filled with promo’s for Fox itself. I don’t think he is long for the tube with “all but two” sponsors shunning him.
So, the Jewish Aphorism applies: “When given a choice, I say neither.” They are clowns, Limbaugh certainly aware and more evil. Beck’s problems may be more clinical and he just needs some of Alfie’s afternoon meds.
THE REAL ISSUE is the actual in fact leadership of the Republican Party who are just as bad, but oh so typically, not even as clever enough to think up the hate routines themselves.
Pelosi’s appeal for civility before we get another assassinated President will be seen as a certain percentage of politics as usual but Byner’s rejoinder was 100% politics and he should be impeached for stupidity and crassness, and playing the Republican Base for the stooges they are.
I like Olbermann. Partisan==yes. I challenge any righty here to parse Olberman for us. When he comes out with his “Special Report” on some issue, separate the facts from the issue he is attacking. I’d like to hear specifically when he was an asswipe like Byner, Bockman, Limbaugh, or Beck rather than simply calling them out for who they are.
You know, calling the Republicans hypocrites, appealing to the worst in us, the party of no ideas is not partisan. Just accurate.
#18
Rush or Beck real men ha!
They are just riding that media gravy train milking it for all they can there convictions will always be suspect.
A real man(same for women) would put up or shut up not hide behind a mic. and throw stones. To criticize or destroy something is very easy to get in roll up your sleeves and help build that’s the real work. If they really can do a better job then those in office they should run.
Al Franken is more of a man than these wankers will ever be.
#27 Well said Howard! Since Rush is so obviously a coward and a bully, he reminds me of that bully we all seemed to know in elementary school or junior high. The bully was bad enough, but equally bad were the whining little chickensh*ts who hung around with him, who didn’t have the guts to take anyone on themselves, but after the bully pummeled someone, would take their own cuts at him knowing that he couldn’t fight back. Dodd and the other dittoheads kind of remind me of those little scumbags.
Or who knows — maybe dittoheads were the ones beat up by the bully in junior high, and now are sucking up to the bully in some weird psychological transference thing…
Either way, they’re pretty sad specimens.
#28-Phydeau-blah, hate, blah
The monsters in your head seem to be working overtime. I hear Obama’s witch doctor has an opening – in your case it couldn’t hurt.
I sure hope that a good healthcare bill passes, and soon. It better cover MENTAL health issues, because guys like these, as well as their followers, surely need it.