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Title: Why Conservatives are Turning on Beck
Source:
Religion Dispatches
URL Source: http://www.religiondispatches.org/d ... ervatives_are_turning_on_beck/
Published: Feb 9, 2011
Author: Sarah Posner
Post Date: 2011-02-09 00:27:50 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 32936
Comments: 53
Adam Serwer asks a good question: why now? Why, after all the obvious agreement between conservatives and Beck -- on Israel, on Islam, on big bad bogeymen like shari'ah water-carriers and socialists and Stalinists et al. -- are conservatives suddenly, as Anthea put it yesterday, circling Beck like sharks? As I discussed as the Egypt news was breaking and Beck was jumping on the opportunity to link the Muslim Brotherhood to the grand socialist conspiracy, American conservatives have a long-standing affection for conspiracy theories surrounding the Muslim Brotherhood and its supposed plot to take over America with a "caliphate." As Media Matters notes today, Beck shares a pundit with the "creeping shari'ah" industry: Zuhdi Jasser, a claimed "moderate" Muslim who seems to think that "radical Islamists" lurk in America. As I discussed last week, Jasser is the star of the Clarion Fund film The Third Jihad; "crazy bigot" Frank Gaffney serves on Clarion's board; and despite the Conservative Political Action Conference's decision to shut Gaffney out, there is still a screening of Clarion's latest endeavor, Iranium, at this week's conference. Jasser also will be a star witness at Republican Peter King's "radical Islam" hearings. Ali Gharib reports in AlterNet on an earlier screening of Iranium, which hypes Tehran's nuclear threat, at the Heritage Foundation, and about how the film being promoted by a former colleague of World Net Daily's Aaron Klein, who was one of the first conservative writers to jump on the conspiracy train: lest you forget, that line of thinking goes, Mohamed ElBaradei, while head of the IAEA, let Iran off the hook on its nuclear ambitions; ElBaradei's OK with the Muslim Brotherhood; therefore he must be behind the plot to install a nuclear-armed-Islamic-caliphate-that-will-impose-shari'ah-on-us-all. I paraphrase, of course, but you get the drift. That Jasser is both the right's poster boy for "moderate Islam" and a Beck guest demonstrates that Beck is drinking from the same well as a wide swath of the American conservative movement. (On Hardball last night, Chris Matthews zeroed in on the John Birch Society, but it's hardly been a pioneer of the shari'ah scare.) CPAC might have shunned Gaffney; he might have struck back with the comically desperate claim that CPAC itself has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood; but let's face it, the right is happy, for instance, to let Peter King go ahead with his 21st century McCarthy hearings. But Beck has gone too far? Three years ago, I wrote a story about the Clarion Fund, and talked to Jasser about his role in the making of The Third Jihad. The film, which also features political figures Sen. Joe Lieberman, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, posits -- just like Beck does, although with a rather frightening if ill-conceived coherence that Beck can't match -- that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind every American Muslim group, and that every one of those groups shares its supposed goal of imposing shari'ah law in the west. "They want shari'ah law where they're able to install it in America," Jasser told me, "in enclaves and court systems." These groups believe, he insisted, that "the construct of government isn't based on natural law and reason, but the construct is that the Qu'ran is the constitution and the clerics rule through oligarchy and lay Muslims have to abide by the clerical injunction of shari'ah." Beck has never been shy about showcasing rapture-ready end-timers like Joel Rosenberg or John Hagee; his apocalyptic rantings about Islam of late are tinged with that sort of Ezekiel Gog-Magog prophecy -- which, in the view of Christian Zionists like Hagee, foretell not only a grand confrontation between Christ and the Antichrist, but between Christianity and Islam. As Anthea observed last week, Beck is clearly trying to tap into those narratives to fuel his -- and his viewers' -- paranoias about current events in Egypt. That's not to say these end-times prophecies aren't criticized in right-wing circles -- they are, but they are largely tolerated. And tolerated, for example, by pro-Israel neocons like Bill Kristol, now leading the charge against Beck, because they supposedly support Israel. This is exactly the sort of thinking that led Newt Gingrich and John McCain to suggest (quite inaccurately, in retrospect, right?) that the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah amounted to World War III, and Kristol to suggest that bombing Iran might not be a bad idea. McCain might have disavowed Hagee during the 2008 campaign, but his Christians United for Israel continues to flourish, and institutional Jewish tolerance for his professed "love" of Israel, while dampened somewhat, continues nonetheless. So why is Beck getting the cold shoulder? I think he's gone too far with the crazy talk. Conservatives want this sort of anti-Muslim stuff to be respectable -- I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying they're straining to present it that way. As far as the religious part of the conservative movement goes, the religious right has probably been cheered by having movement that is no longer seen as being led by a single person whose embarrassing moments have to be owned by the whole movement. The lack of a single leader is a sign of the religious right's success, not its demise. Beck has long troubled many within it who don't want him to be seen as their de facto leader. Don't misjudge that, though -- he still has his defenders. But no matter who prevails here, don't be fooled by the conservative pile-on about Beck. It's more about form than substance.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
In a nutshell, he's a bushbot neocon libtard. Conservatives don't like that kind of Shiite.
I read an analysis that it's the Chicken Little effect - people were amped up about Beck's predictions of the imminent collapse but when the apocalypse did not happen and they spent a small fortune on over priced gold and survivalist supplies sold by Beck with nothing to show for it they stopped tuning in. Also, the GOP PACs manipulated the old people, paranoids and right wing crazies so they can mobilize for the mid-terms but now that they are done they are ditching them so Beck is not needed and now that the GOP controls one branch of govt they want to tone down the crazy talk because the crazies can sabotage the Republican efforts. So I think it's all those factors. With that said, I am kind of disappointed by the so called conservatives on here - I was hoping for some enlightened discourse but most of the right wing posters on here kind of come off as loons also - that includes Stone. I mean Stone posted an article with a title that called a woman a "C" word. That kind of kooky - crazy attitude is what I saw in the McCain-Palin rallies that evolved into those town hall crazed meetings that gave way to the tea party rallies. Also, I have to add the majority of so called conservatives on here justify lots of their beliefs with claims of 'conspiracies' like global warming is a leftist conspiracy using scientists because all scientists are commies somehow. Kook talk like that. Even discussing the economic collapse under Bush you get inserted some reference to a conspiracy here and there. if this is the best thinking conservatives can do online in these forums (all right wing forums not just this one have this kook culture) then the movement is doomed.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
She was a cunt and is a cunt. Democrats actually support murdering babies. Yet the evil left remains silent. They must really like dead babies. To the left they are sacrifices to their god satan.
Thanks for illustrating my point!
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Thanks for illustrating mine that liberals are fine with murdering babies. Not a peep out of you perps.
Liberals are fine with murdering fetuses. Conservatives are fine with allowing babies to be neglected after they are born and left to die of natural causes since they don't want to pay for their care.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
That was an asinine statement. Everyone knows (who isn't in denial) that Obama is the one that voted for the kill a baby after it is born bill in Illinois. MADISON, Wisc., August 13 /Standard Newswire/ -- The National Right to Life Committee has obtained documents that prove presidential candidate Barack Obama has been blatantly covering up his actions as an Illinois state senator to actively defeat legislation to protect the lives of living, breathing babies who survive abortion attempts. http://obamawantsyou.com/abortionsanction.html
You got that right.
And of course Conservatives have no problem with babies dying if their parents lack the means or insurance to pay for their health care, right?
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
You're wrong as usual.
You're wrong as usual. You support socialized medicine for childcare from conception till they turn 18 along with any additional help the mother needs like tax payer supported day care centers or food stamps, etc?
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Keep it up; you come across as a crude, controlling man, lacking in respect for human life once outside the womb.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
I don't support threatening to put someone in jail if they don't pay taxes to pay for someone elses food, welfare, daycare etc. Does that mean I hate those kids in your somewhat warped view?
Does that mean I hate those kids in your somewhat warped view? Of course you do. You love the fetus and hate the born child who should get a job as soon as its born. You call women the C word. Which tells me that you hate abortion because in your mind that liberates a woman? Who knows what's in your minds. And yea, I am all in favor of jailing people who don't pay their taxes. Jesus is even OK with it since he hung out with tax collectors and told his followers to "render unto" the govt the taxes due. Praise Jesus, who is Lord.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Because he's bat-shit crazy?
You liberals come across as hating babies so much that you want people to be able to murder them at will. I have no respect for pro abortion sickos. That a baby murderer or supporter of baby murder calls me crude or controlling means nothing to a sane person. I mean I wouldn't get upset if some child rapist didn't like my views towards them. And murder is so much worse then rape.
Don't get sucked into his anti-abortion vortex.
You would of course force the child to carry the rapist's baby to full term - even if it killed the child.....
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
Yeah, Stay pro infant murder. Homicidal asshole.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Like Pontius Pilate you like clean murder, and the slow killing of the human spirit.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
The Bible blames Eve for Adam's downfall, so naturally Stone thinks men are superior to women.
You support the mass murderer Barack Obama. You owe me an apology. I favor no murder. That is democrats and some stupid republicans.
Mike you don't know about the Bible. You don't have the right kind of ears to hear.
war knows it is a losing argument to debate the merits of abortion. Nothing good comes out of murdering babies.
Adam blamed God and the woman. "That woman, the one you gave me, gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Poor guy! He was a helpless victim.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
You support policies that lead to death because you think it saves you a couple of bucks at tax time.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you." To Adam He said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree .... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life..." Quran: "O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.' And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' They said: 'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (7:19:23). What would really piss Stone if he were literate to know this is how accounts of the story of the Creation, Christian and Islamic reveals some basic differences between them. The Quran, contrary to the Bible, places equal blame on both Adam and Eve for their mistake. Nowhere in the Quran can one find even the slightest hint that Eve tempted Adam to eat from the tree or even that she had eaten before him. Eve in the Quran is no temptress, no seducer, and no deceiver. Moreover, Eve is not to be blamed for the pains of childbearing. God, according to the Quran, punishes no one for another's faults. Both Adam and Eve committed a sin and then asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them both. Guess that's why Stone thinks Islam is of Satan and thinks Islam is anti-woman's rights.
Rape is an act of violence. And women should have the right to control who's genes they allow into the pool. This attempt to redefine violence will result in more violence if the sort of perp who rapes thinks his theft of a woman's body to create offspring will be protected. I don't like abortion, but if a pregnancy endangers the woman bearing the child, or is due to an act of violence and would harm the woman emotionally of physically, she should not be sanctioned for aborting the fetus.
Nor do I like abortion. The person who has responsibility should also be the person who has control. It seems like a form of tyranny to deny another human being control over her body, first by rape, and then by telling her she must carry the baby to term.
Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. Thomas Jefferson
As you've noticed, Stone has the most simple-minded understanding of the Bible possible.
really? So who pays for the care of a severely disabled child, or a child with a rare form of childhood cancer if the parents lack insurance or the means to pay themselves? A good family friend went bankrupt caring for their 4 year old child who had an extremely rare cancer, required multiple surgeries, over a year of chemo, and then a bone marrow transplant when the chemo caused damage to his own marrow. They racked up nearly a million dollars in medical expenses. What's your answer?
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
I think you, like most people, wouldn't force a woman who was impregnated by a rapist to carry the baby to term.
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
Yes he would.
A good family friend went bankrupt caring for their 4 year old child who had an extremely rare cancer, required multiple surgeries, over a year of chemo, and then a bone marrow transplant when the chemo caused damage to his own marrow. They racked up nearly a million dollars in medical expenses. What's your answer? "Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"Keep Your Goddamn Government Hands Off My Medicare!" - Various Tea Party signs.
And if the woman was to die giving birth, even better in Stone's sick little world.
Nope, he may say he would, but I don't think he would actually do it.
Since January 3, 2011, Republicans have controlled the power of the purse.
A good family friend went bankrupt caring for their 4 year old child who had an extremely rare cancer, required multiple surgeries, over a year of chemo, and then a bone marrow transplant when the chemo caused damage to his own marrow. They racked up nearly a million dollars in medical expenses. What's your answer? You are one of those people who believe in the tooth fairy and millions of years. So my answer is that the same people who have been paying for the care for millions of years would pay for it.
If there was a conviction of a person for rape then I guess there could be an exception. That is after someone is found guilty of rape. Afterall you are people are considered innocent until proven guilty. Is your position that rape is the only time that baby murder should be allowed. Or do you think baby murder should be allowed on any whim?
So it is sick to be against people being allowed to murder babies. It's people like you that crucified christ.
Just remember that I warned yinz about getting sucked into this vortex.
Comments (41 - 53) not displayed.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestWhy Conservatives are Turning on Beck
#2. To: hondo68, Brian S, go65, AKA Stone (#1)
(Edited)
#3. To: Godwinson (#2)
Stone posted an article with a title that called a woman a "C" word.
#4. To: A K A Stone (#3)
#5. To: Godwinson (#4)
#6. To: A K A Stone (#5)
Thanks for illustrating mine that liberals are fine with murdering babies. Not a peep out of you perps.
#7. To: Godwinson (#6)
. Conservatives are fine with allowing babies to be neglected after they are born
#8. To: Godwinson (#6)
Liberals are fine with murdering
#9. To: A K A Stone (#3)
She was a cunt and is a cunt. Democrats actually support murdering babies. Yet the evil left remains silent. They must really like dead babies. To the left they are sacrifices to their god satan.
#10. To: go65 (#9)
And of course Conservatives have no problem with babies dying if their parents lack the means or insurance to pay for their health care, right?
#11. To: A K A Stone, go65 (#10)
(Edited)
And of course Conservatives have no problem with babies dying if their parents lack the means or insurance to pay for their health care, right?
#12. To: A K A Stone, Godwinson (#5)
Thanks for illustrating mine that liberals are fine with murdering babies. Not a peep out of you perps.
#13. To: Godwinson (#11)
You support socialized medicine for childcare from conception till they turn 18 along with any additional help the mother needs like tax payer supported day care centers or food stamps, etc?
#14. To: A K A Stone, go65, lucysmom (#13)
I don't support threatening to put someone in jail if they don't pay taxes to pay for someone elses food, welfare, daycare etc.
#15. To: Brian S (#0)
Why Conservatives are Turning on Beck
#16. To: lucysmom (#12)
Keep it up; you come across as a crude, controlling man, lacking in respect for human life once outside the womb.
#17. To: lucysmom (#12)
#18. To: A K A Stone, lucysmom (#16)
I mean I wouldn't get upset if some child rapist didn't like my views towards them.
#19. To: war (#17)
#20. To: A K A Stone (#16)
I have no respect for pro abortion sickos. That a baby murderer or supporter of baby murder calls me crude or controlling means nothing to a sane person. I mean I wouldn't get upset if some child rapist didn't like my views towards them. And murder is so much worse then rape.
#21. To: lucysmom (#12)
Keep it up; you come across as a crude, controlling man, lacking in respect for human life once outside the womb.
#22. To: lucysmom (#20)
Like Pontius Pilate you like clean murder, and the slow killing of the human spirit.
#23. To: Ferret Mike (#21)
#24. To: Rudgear (#19)
Yeah, Stay pro infant murder. Homicidal asshole.
#25. To: Ferret Mike (#21)
The Bible blames Eve for Adam's downfall, so naturally Stone thinks men are superior to women.
#26. To: A K A Stone (#22)
You owe me an apology. I favor no murder. That is democrats and some stupid republicans.
#27. To: lucysmom (#25)
In Genesis 2:4-3:24 God said to Eve:
#28. To: lucysmom (#26)
(Edited)
#29. To: Ferret Mike (#28)
I don't like abortion, but if a pregnancy endangers the woman bearing the child, or is due to an act of violence and would harm the woman emotionally of physically, she should not be sanctioned for aborting the fetus.
#30. To: Ferret Mike (#27)
#31. To: A K A Stone (#10)
You're wrong as usual.
#32. To: A K A Stone (#16)
You liberals come across as hating babies so much that you want people to be able to murder them at will. I have no respect for pro abortion sickos. That a baby murderer or supporter of baby murder calls me crude or controlling means nothing to a sane person. I mean I wouldn't get upset if some child rapist didn't like my views towards them. And murder is so much worse then rape.
#33. To: go65 (#32)
#34. To: go65, A K A Stone (#31)
really? So who pays for the care of a severely disabled child, or a child with a rare form of childhood cancer if the parents lack insurance or the means to pay themselves?
#35. To: war (#33)
Yes he would.
#36. To: war (#33)
Yes he would.
#37. To: go65 (#31)
really? So who pays for the care of a severely disabled child, or a child with a rare form of childhood cancer if the parents lack insurance or the means to pay themselves?
#38. To: go65 (#32)
I think you, like most people, wouldn't force a woman who was impregnated by a rapist to carry the baby to term.
#39. To: Skip Intro (#35)
And if the woman was to die giving birth, even better in Stone's sick little world.
#40. To: go65 (#36)
.
.
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