I have not yet heard the entire text of Glen Beck’s speech yesterday. I’m still just to tired to clean the barf that would be soaking my keyboard if I had. However, from almost everything I have read and heard, it was a complete flop, except on Fox, of course. If Beck’s purpose was, as he has claimed, to restore the civil rights movement and reenergize America, he failed miserably. I don’t see Beck doing anything for any purpose other than promoting himself.
The official estimate of crowd size was 500,000, while most of the MSM are guessing at 100,000 to 120,000. I was in the same place in 1963, and helped organize several demonstrations in Washington from 1966 – 1968. The 500,000 claim is absurd. From the pictures I have seen, I would estimate the crowd at between 50,000 and 100,000.
This is a day that we can start the heart of America again,” Beck said. “It has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with God. Everything [with] turning our face back to the values and the principles that made us great.”
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a featured speaker, invited not as a political leader, she told the crowd, but as the mother of a soldier who fought on behalf of the nation. Still, her remarks were peppered with references to how elected officials had led the nation astray.
“It is so humbling to get to be here with you today, patriots — you who are motivated and engaged and concerned, knowing to never retreat,” she said. “No, we must not fundamentally transform America as some would want; we must restore America and restore her honor.”… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <LA Times>
One of the most poignant observations I found comes from Mark Herman of Salon.com that there were only 27 African-Americans in the crowd, including the 3 on stage. Mark provided this video of his interviews of rally attendees:
Are those people clueless or what?
After the rally, the attendees seemed subdued:
The Glenn Beck fans on my subway car after today’s rally were a subdued bunch. They didn’t seem energized by having spent time with their idol and many thousands of fellow fans. Why not?
“It was kind of boring,” said one. “It wasn’t what I expected,” said another. “It was good,” one said with an unenthusiastic shrug. “He had some good speakers.” One recalled someone sitting near them grumbling, “I didn’t come all this way for an awards ceremony.”
Not the reaction you’re going for when you’ve declared your intention of fundamentally transforming the country and sparking a Great Awakening that will turn the country back to God.
It wouldn’t be surprising if a lot of attendees at today’s rally feel like victims of a bait and switch. Beck built a huge fan base with over-the-top attacks on President Obama – he hates white people, he’s a communist-socialist-Nazi – denunciations of “social justice” Christians, and hard-hitting appeals to the anti-government Tea Party brigades to save America from all the evil villains who are trying to destroy it from within. There are a lot of people in America who love Beck because they believe he is telling them these hard truths that nobody else has the guts to tell them. They were the folks with the “Don’t Tread on me” and “Taking our Country Back” T-shirts. But today Beck was preaching love and unity. We’re all Americans aren’t we?… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Right Wing Watch>
Perhaps Beck is trying to recast himself as a saint, but he built his media following on a base of hatred, racism, intolerance and lies. The Republican base that follows him and his cohorts at Faux Noise won’t accept anything less that the vile tripe he has built his career spewing. They wanted blood, and he didn’t even have a scream.
22 Responses to “He Didn’t Even Have a Scream”
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I listened to Beck a couple of times last week and if his rally was close to anything I would call it 1933 Nuremberg. One time last week Beck equated anything remotely “progressive” as a vile evil. I am glad to hear his little shindig flopped although I’m sure my foreman from work will returned all hyped up like a good little proto-Nazi
And I’m sure he’ll be back to the same thing today.
The 500,000 claim is absurd. From the pictures I have seen, I would estimate the crowd at between 50,000 and 100,000.
CBS is saying 87,000. That’s the only neutral estimate I’ve seen.
I hadn’t seen this. Thanks, Infidel! I can hardly call my estimate (50-100k) neutral, but this demonstrates that at least it was honest.
“An estimated 87,000 people attended a rally organized by talk-radio host and Fox News commentator Glenn Beck Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.”
Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20014993-503544.html?tag=contentMain
Of course we all know that in Bizarro Land of Faux Noose the “fair and balanced” estimate was brazillions and brazillions!
Thanks Nameless! Batshit Backmann claims there were over $1 million.
Tom, the really scary thing is that Beck had a much bigger turnout than anyone expected. I have read estimates up to 200,000 — and that is from liberal websites. It’s fairly easy to estimate how many were there, and it was definitely more than 50,000. There were only about 3,000 at Al Sharpton’s rally. Something is definitely afoot… What on earth is going on? Why is there so much polarization in the U.S.? Can people really be that far apart on political and philosophical beliefs? There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground anymore. What is happening?
Josie, I stand by my 50-100k estimate. When we put 200,000 in the mall for a couple 1960s demonstrations the pictures showed no green areas at all, as the one of the Beck rally does. Beck’s rally was astroturfed. Corporate front groups provided free transportation and lodging to all who needed it. It was publicized on all the major networks over and over again for weeks. Sharpton’s rally was truly grass roots. Those who attended did so on their own. It received virtually no publicity. Even I did not find out that it was happening until Thursday. As for the middle ground, the Republicans have rejected all Democratic attempts at bipartisanship. For two years, Democrats have tried to compromise. Even when we agree to what they say they want, they want more. They have even filibustered bills that they wrote themselves, because Democrats agreed to them. That’s what is happening.
Yes, I agree that it looked like about 200,000 people, and I have attended several bit outdoor concerts and other events where there where 200K people and more, so I know what a crowd of 200k people looks like. However, you must take into account that the event was broadcast in the MSM weeks before, and the curiosity factor probably drew at least 75k people, especially young folks who love to go and party and be “where the action is.” IMO if Beck had that much power and influence, there would have been at least 350k to 500k people. THEN I’d be worried. I would be more interested in where all the people he interviewed CAME from. I bet 90% of them are locals.
Nicolai, I still say 50-100, because I have organized events at that specific location. Another thing we need to consider is that on any given summer weekend, there are 20-50K tourists already at the mall whjen nothing at all is happening.
Let’s review:
1. The teabaggers say, “We wanna TAKE BACK AMERICA!” From who? If you really want to take back America, leave the different peoples from other nations OUT of the equation, since that’s who/what made America great, and maybe think about taking America back from wealthy republicans, you know, the ones funding the tea party! DOH! Awkward!
2. Glen Beck is not doing this since he’s a patriotic American, he’s doing it because he’s making a lot of MONEYand it’s his JOB. Get a CLUE people!
3. Raising taxes? It is a FACT 90-95% of American have paid LESS taxes the past two years! The only ones who will be paying more tax are the 10% of Americans who make over 200k per year and received HUGE tax breaks over the past NINE YEARS! BTW, these are the same people who put the USA in the economic bind it is in today!
All excellent points and I agree.
I also haven’t followed Glennfest — or Beckstock, whatever you want to call it — very closely. I watched Jon Stewart’s take on it a few days ago, and that was plenty.
I didn’t see that, Tom, but I’m sure it was good.
One of the biggest ironies was Paling saying “It is so humbling to get to be here with you today”. Palin has never had an humble thought in her life.
Too true, Charles.
At least they didn’t bring their misspelled signs – they were asked not to. Perhaps they were getting sick of being made fun of by people who CAN spell?
Lisa, they were not requested not to bring them, They were told, flat out, that signs were not allowed, and I just figured out why. Because there are normally 20-50K tourists on the mall, Beck wanted to count them in his propaganda, and knew that the crazy signs would scare lots of the tourist crowd away.
Great post, as usual. I hadn’t seen any good videos. this was great. I also got the feeling that this whole thing was a bust. Glenn Back is a paranoid egomaniac, with a Messiah complex ……and I’m not even a psychiatrist. (snark) I’m saddened and dismayed that sooooo many people in this country are that ignorant or dissatisfied with their lives that they think Glenn Beck is the answer. If they’d only follow the $$, they’d find out that they are being used. But it’s so much easier to blame that “black guy in the WH and his Obamabots”.
Thanks Judi! Long time no see. {{{hug}}}
You don;t have to be a rocket scientist to know that a booster full of BS won’t launch.
Stupid is (Beck), stupid does (followers). Good article because it makes me feel just a little bit better.
Leslie, any day I help you feel better is a worthwhile day. 🙂