Glenn Beck: Preacher of Hate

America’s greatest crisis is expressed above all in the fury of its own citizens. No one uses this more cleverly and dangerously than television personality Glenn Beck.

Just a few days after the attempt on Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ life, Glenn Beck was in his studio losing little time in talking about the six killed. He briefly managed to keep within the bounds of decency and restraint before the Fox News star cut loose.

Beck began by saying, “It is Wednesday. Families in Arizona continue to grieve. They continue to pray. In some cases, they’re hoping against all hope for a miracle. While those people are dealing with the realness of the tragedy — real life — many are dealing with it as a game; a chance maybe to fundraise, chance to push some legislation or some regulation through, a chance to push an agenda.”

It’s a classic Glenn Beck moment. In a disrespectful about-face, he divides the world simplistically into good and evil. Over here we have the faithful common people who pray and deal with the authenticity of the tragedy. Over there we have the snooty, progressive elite in Washington betraying our American values, looking to silence their critics with regulations and turn the United States into a communist-fascist dictatorship.

Beck, 45, is a former alcoholic who embraced the Mormon religion and has become America’s most successful right-wing conservative entertainer. His opening here is typical for his show and also for the way Fox News deals with politics. Beck begins his appeal with simple key words — family, faith, hope — directed at his predominantly Christian-fundamentalist audience and their myths. Then he indulges in innuendo and suspicions against a supposedly out-of-control government trying to impose its laws and regulations. His audience knows precisely how to decipher each of his sentences.

Beck sighs emotionally; he’s famous for shedding tears in public. Every one of his pauses is dramaturgically designed to evoke sympathy. His arguments, however, are thin. Words taken out of context are proof enough for him. At the conclusion, all these emotions are heaped together in a meaningless phrase, dripping with pathos: “The truth has no agenda.” Whatever that’s supposed to mean. As diffuse as Beck’s words seem, the more frighteningly stringent they are. Beck constantly makes arbitrary and often merely guessed-at references. He repeats simple enemy stereotypes over and over until these omnipresent clichés need no further explanation. Beck over-simplifies until every incident and every political process becomes a weapon for his anger. Assessments aren’t necessary; they remain the truth of emotions. In crisis-plagued America, that emotion is often hate.

It’s no coincidence that Beck reminds us of a preacher. He doesn’t want to convince anyone; we’re just supposed to believe him. Accordingly, his rhetoric is overloaded with religious phraseology and political pathos. In order to stir up hatred, Beck finds anything, no matter how crude, fair game — particularly comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis. Dana Milbank, author of a book on Glenn Beck, counted the number of times Beck made reference to the Third Reich during the first 14 months of his broadcasts: “fascism” appears 172 times, “Nazis” 134 times, “Hitler” 115 times, “Holocaust” 58 times, and even “Goebbels” scored an eight.

Beck even refers to himself Simon Wiesenthal-style as a “progressive hunter.” And he means that literally. The liberal think tank, “Media Matters,” which the right wing monitors very closely, drew up a list of those already targeted by Beck’s verbal attacks. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Beck said, ought to be poisoned. He also once said Michael Moore should be killed as well.

Beck isn’t alone in using such rhetoric. His colleagues at Fox News successfully cultivate a similar heavy-handed style. Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity like to present themselves as the last line of defense for America’s values, as a megaphone for the weak and disenfranchised, and they particularly enjoy depicting themselves as objects of persecution, as do the nationalist-Christians who make up their audience. That’s how these shows have become the most successful political broadcasts in the United States — especially Glenn Beck’s show. With his radio show, books and personal appearances, Beck managed to rake in more than $23 million last year.

Of himself, Beck says he’s not a journalist; he’s just a guy worried about his country. And then he breaks into tears.