Dear me. Nowadays in this economy where unemployment is high and the economic ground is shaky even dangerous demagogues are not immune. Sagging ratings and loss of critical commercial sponsorship have forced Fox Network and news pundit Glenn Beck to come to an agreement for Glenn to “transition off” the news channel and pursue other “creative avenues” at the network. For clarification, the English translation for the media-speak term “transition off” is plain old fired.
Glenn is a special case. At the height of his popularity in the aftermath of the 2008 election, Beck was a rare bird of roughly the same species as Sarah Palin. We can never seem to bring ourselves to look away from them, no matter what they’re doing. Nor can the media or the pundits. To this day, both Mrs. Palin and Mr. Beck have this magical ability to make utter nonsense plausible; attractive, even. Look at his tears, look at the writing on her hand. Listen to the kind of words that come out of their mouths: race-baiting, incendiary, divisive, violent and untrue. They are both a kind of dangerous mind candy. You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t get enough, even when you can’t stand them.
I remember Beck’s famous blackboard lectures that Jon Stewart satirized brilliantly — they looked a lot like a diagram for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride; perhaps the blueprint for Mr. Beck’s mind. Beck used arcane history, exaggerations and fill-in-the-blank theory that often demonized President Obama as a Nazi and his health care reform proposals as Socialist, stirred up suspicion against Muslims and brought the Tea Bag Party enthusiasts to their feet. His specialty was conspiracy — mostly anti left-wing and anti-government, with a heightened paranoia about how FEMA camps were part of a government plot to subvert America into a totalitarian regime.
Beck has the soft look of a seemingly bright man in trouble. His vocal conviction conveyed intelligence and authority. Glenn was often so convincing in the hogwash he spurted that I think some people wanted to believe him, even when he would change his position or wild conspiracy theory days or weeks later. He was a consummate actor, even when using glycerin tears to make him appear like he was weeping for America. How could he not be a star on Fox News?