Glen Beck Leaps Over a Large Fish

I'm going to take a quick break from the health care discussion tonight to inform you that I have decided to officially remove my support for Glen Beck. While some of you may ask, "what took you so long?", I'm sure there are others who wonder why I'd abandon Beck.

I first saw Beck when he was on CNN Headline News and found him mildly entertaining, somewhat refreshing, and the least bad of the rest of the right-wing talk show hosts. I was cautiously excited when he arrived at Fox News as his neo-conservative rhetoric had recessed. He had also taken to be very critical of the bailouts and expanded his anti-GOP stance.

His emergence on Fox News along with his book Glen Beck's Common Sense both served to increase my interest and support of his show. Yes. He uses hyperbole. He exaggerates from time to time and will take quotes out of context. However, he was asking the right questions and (feigning?) a disdain for the duopoly of our political system.

Then he became obsessed with ACORN. His views became increasingly focused against Obama and the Democrats. Sure, he still makes it a point to say that he opposed Bush on some things and that the Republicans are bad too. However, that has been looking more like grandstanding than his true ethos.

Last week, he dedicated his show to "The New Republic" by asking the "tough questions" that Americans should be asking. A recap is available here. This culminated Friday with his call to action: "In or Out 2010". Let's quickly analyze these five pledges that he asks that we ask our Congressmen.

1. I believe in a balanced budget and therefore will vote for a freeze in government spending until that goal is realized.

Balanced budget: check. I agree on this one. It sounds like a GOP policy.

2. I believe government should not increase the financial burden on its citizenry during a difficult economic times, therefore I will oppose all tax increases until our economy has rebounded.

I'm no fan of taxes. However, my issue with taxes comes primarily due to the fact that I believe spending of all sorts is out of control. I do believe that if the government is spending that we do need taxes (duh). I am opposed to massive deficits and borrowing which is nothing more than inter-generational theft. I regret to admit that I'd prefer tax increases at this point (more on that in the future). This also sounds like classic supply-side Reaganomics.

3. I believe more than four decades of US dependence on foreign oil is a travesty, therefore I will support an energy plan that calls for immediately increasing usage of all domestic resources including nuclear energy, natural gas and coal as necessary.

I do agree that our dependency on foreign oil (and oil in general) is a dangerous recipe for our future. I also support the exploration of alternative energy sources as well as expanding nuclear power and leveraging our existing fossil fuel resources. National energy policy is a subject that is too big to discuss here, but Beck's position is essentially a re-write of the Republican policy. All he is missing is "drill, baby, drill!"

4. I believe in the sovereignty and security of our country and therefore will support measures to close our borders except for designated immigration points so we will know who is entering and why. I will vehemently oppose any measure giving another country, the United Nations, or any other entity power over US citizens.

One of Beck's favorite subjects. In fact, this subject is the one that he and other conservative talk show hosts tend to hang their hat on to show that they are not Republican operatives. I do believe that we must maintain our sovereignty and avoid international legislation. I also believe that illegal immigration is an issue, but it has more to do with the welfare state than anything else.

5. I believe the United States of America is the greatest country on earth and therefore will not apologize for policies or actions which have served to free more and feed more people around the world than any other nation on the planet.

Oh boy. Here we go. Phrases like "greatest country on earth" and "will not apologize" are disgusting. There is no rational basis to support such broad general claims and unabashed arrogance does not help. While the U.S. has done a lot for other countries, we have also done a lot of harm around the world. Further, his comment that we have fed more people around the world stands in stark contrast to his opposition of feeding people in the U.S. using government money. This is not-so-thinly veiled neo-conservative rhetoric.

I think Beck has jumped the shark. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad that he has allowed libertarian voices on his show. However, the more excited he gets, the more he sounds like Sean Hannity crossed with Michael Savage. It's not entirely bad. But, it makes me wonder if it's part of a GOP strategy to co-opt libertarians into the party via a backdoor.