When he’s not outright promoting Bircher conspiracy theories, Glenn Beck is still making outrageous claims. Here he rationalizes his comparisons between Al Gore and Nazis:
Can I get you to endorse, clarify, or nitpick a couple of things you’ve said so I understand where you’re coming from? You seem to have said that Al Gore has used Nazi-like propaganda tactics to promote the idea that global warming is a man-made threat, is that correct?
Yeah, the argument that he was making was the same kind of tactic used by the Nazis. I don’t believe Al Gore is trying to gas or round up Jews, I don’t believe the result is going to be the same thing. Just understand that the tactic used was a device used by the Nazis. For instance, we have him on tape during the convention or during the inauguration where he was talking to 12-, 13-, 14- and 15- year olds, and he said “Look there’s a lot of things you understand instinctively but your parents don’t understand those things because they’re just too trapped in old thinking.” Well, gosh, I mean, I know he’s not going to be rounding up Jews any time soon but that’s called the Hitler Youth where you turn the children against the parents.
If you take this Nazi comparison seriously, then many of the comparisons between Bush and the Nazis hold up far better. In the case of the Bush comparisons, they were cases of extreme hyperbole, but there was still some logic to them. Beck’s claims defy logic.
This is a fallback to safe conservative talk-radio bloviation of a bygone era, however. Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter were calling liberals Nazis before anyone knew who Glenn Beck was. The manner in which the right calls the left communist and fascist in the same breath has always been extremely entertaining, but it’s really Beck and his ilk who have the most in common with the Nazia: specifically Jospeh Goebbels.
i guess its the old “takes one to know one” mentality 🙂
Get past the whole Nazi thing its totally a wrong metaphor. Besides that what is wrong is the comment the Gore made to the children. Yes maybe there is old thinking or what not, but don’t turn the youth on the parents. And we do need to take this guy seriously not only is he amassing a large group of conservatives but also liberals to. He is starting to go above party lines because he makes some good points that are making people think.
I used the Nazi metaphor because Beck used it.
I think Gore’s comment to the kids was dead on the money, honestly. I live in the South. The age divide is very clear. Younger people are more likely to be cosmopolitan Americans with a connection to the genuine national culture while older people (with fortunate and notable exceptions) tend to be parochial bigots who wish to force their culture on all of the country in the belief that it is somehow ‘real America.’
Not everyone is like that, of course, but the divide is stark enough to be noticeable. Too many people are trapped in old thinking, and their kids do need to get past it to function in the modern world.
Just what good points do you think Glenn Beck is making? I’m really curious now. He’s the most extreme reactionary gasbag I’ve ever seen. Worse than Limbaugh or Coulter. I can see liberals /watching/ him, I watch Fox News from time to time, but not buying into him.