Beck and Call

The President recently started a war of words with Rush Limbaugh in which the liberals quickly jumped on Rush, too. Now Limbaugh is a big man in the GOP (pun intended) but I think the far left would be better served to stop another man – Glenn Beck. In the long run Glenn just might be more of a threat to the far left than anyone else in the Republican Party.

Although a professed libertarian, Beck’s ideology is pretty much in step with conservatives. For years he had a radio show plus a half hour show on CNN where he was one of the token conservatives. This year he moved from CNN to Fox where he easily fit in. In his first few months with Fox the ratings for his hour long show at 5pm EDT has been a huge hit with ever increasing viewership. Then a few weeks ago he hit on an idea or more like a philosophy to help people cope with the world today. And if you haven’t heard about it yet, you will. For this is literally sweeping the nation and growing by leaps and bounds.

Glenn Beck’s concept is succinctly outlined in the name: You Are Not Alone. No, this isn’t about ET but rather for the millions of people who feel unwelcome in today’s society, who feel that our government does not reflect who they are and that if you believe the media, no one shares their values anymore. In other words, Beck is filling the huge void in the GOP by helping the rank and file feel empowered.

The basis behind You Are Not Alone are Beck’s Nine Principles:

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, libery and the pursuit of happiness but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And his Twelve Values: Honesty, Reverence, Hope, Thrift, Humility, Charity, Sincerity, Moderation, Hard Work, Courage, Personal Responsibility, Gratitude.

Yesterday Beck kicked off what he called his 9.12 Project. This partly stands for his nine principles and 12 values. But it also symbolizes how most of the country reacted on the day after 9-11. As he put it, on 9-10 our heads were in the sand, on 9-11 we were scared and angry but on 9-12 people reacted as Americans always have by rising to the occasion and reaching out to help each other. Beck wants us to return to that kind of commitment based on the above values and principles. Anyone, regardless of race, religion or politics can be a part of this if they believe in seven of the nine principles.

Beck wanted this kickoff and the entire movement, in fact, to be a grassroots effort. So he asked his listeners to do a couple of things. First they could send in a picture of themselves. Unbeknownst to them, his show took some of the pictures and patched them together to make the picture on the right and found on: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/program/we-the-people.

Then he asked his audience to gather together to watch Beck’s show on Friday when he kicked off his movement. Oh my. I was completely in awe by the response. I don’t know the exact number but well over a hundred meetings were held throughout the country. Heck, there were easily five or six gatherings just in Central Florida. And I am sure Tampa wasn’t the only area where they were overwhelmed with over 1000 people wanting to attend so they had to find second and third sites to watch Beck’s show.

Glenn Beck has definitely tapped into the heart and soul of the American people with his principles and values. He not only is igniting the conservative base but he is also starting to draw fire from the far left and the media (yes some will say they are the same thing). They are still at the name calling stage but if Beck continues to attract more and more people than the media will get harsher.

This movement might fizzle out as swiftly as it was ignited. I hope not for it could become the next religious right or silent majority. A powerful group of citizens who could change America for the good by voting in men and women who believe and live these principles and value.

Audacity to Tell the Truth

I had never listened much to Rush Limbaugh and must admit I wasn’t sure if I really liked the man. But after this weekend and all the uproar over his speech at the CPAC convention I decided I should see or rather hear for myself what he said. So I found a video on line and listened to his speech.

Wow. I apologize to Mr. Limbaugh for after listening to him I realized that I agreed with almost everything he said. There were quite a few things he discussed that hit home for me which I will probably be referring to over the next couple of weeks. Today, though, I want to give my 2 cents worth on the whole wanting Obama to fail hoopla.

Of course when the Main Stream Media (MSM) shows a clip of Limbaugh they always take it out of context and this was especially true about his remark on Obama failing. Make no mistake, Rush did bluntly state that he wanted Obama to fail. But it was the follow up that few people, other than those in his audience, heard.

First he said that he believed that if Obama’s economic policies succeeded it would mean, well, let me explain it in his own words. After reminding everyone that the Democrats made no secret that they wanted the Iraq war to fail, he went on to say “So what is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed?”

He continued to explain his point of view by saying that he wants the country to survive and how the country is under assault and that Republicans need to stand together and fight for what we believe in. It was all very stirring while at the same time rather scary. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stand and cheer or go out and buy a gun like so many people are doing today.

So I found myself agreeing with Limbaugh on his, well, you could put it as Rush’s audacity to hope that Obama fails. Except I wish he hadn’t said it out loud. For now, if or rather when, Obama’s economic stimulus plan not only fails to stimulate anything but drags our economy further down it will all be Rush’s fault, not Obama’s.

Obama is our rain man. In the old days a rain man was a charlatan who went from town to town promising a draught struck countryside he could make it rain. And if he couldn’t produce rain, most of these small towns didn’t string him up and run him out of town. No, because he brainwashed them into believing that it was their fault for not believing in him enough. That if even one person doubted that it would rain then it was the unbeliever’s fault, not his, that the skies remained clear and cloudless.

Can’t you just see the same thing happening here? Every time Obama announces something, such as his stimulus package or his budget, the stock market responds by dropping to lows unseen in more than a decade. But you know what? It isn’t Obama’s fault. It’s not that his nearly trillion dollar stimulus package won’t work; it’s that people and businesses don’t believe in it. And that’s all Rush Limbaugh’s fault for being so negative about these plans.

Come to think of it, maybe Obama’s doing a con job on America from the start. Argue that he didn’t have any experience? Argue about his questionable friends? Ask for details of what he wants to “change”? All these questions were retorted by being told you have to hope, to forget the facts, just believe in him. And now, Obama is leading this country with nothing concrete, no evidence at all that supports his “hope” that his outrageous stimulus package and budget will work. Once again the American people are told to turn their backs on evidence and facts and instead be governed by hope, by instinct, by what “everybody believes in”. The list of things you should believe in is endless; climate change and clean coal and open hands to our enemies, even now negotiating with Putin in “good faith” etc. etc. It is scary and frustrating and sometimes you feel like the world has gone insane. No one wants to be bothered with facts and evidence not when they are in contrast to their beliefs. Why else would Congress vote on a 1000+ page bill without even reading it? They just “knew” it was good.

So there stood Rush actually speaking cold hard facts. Even worse is that Rush dares to admit he isn’t a believer in Obama and wants him to fail. OMG. He actually realized the emperor is not wearing any clothes and then had the audacity to… not hope but to tell the truth. No wonder Obama has to squash Rush immediately for if he gets people to doubt Obama, to start demanding the truth then more will see Obama for what he is, a con man, and a fraud. The MSM has already been compromised so we need Rush, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly and all the other men and women like them to stand up and tell the truth. And we, the citizens, should demand the truth from our government and media and stop accepting their lies, half truths and hopes.