What Happened to Beck's 'Plan'?

What Happened to Beck’s ‘Plan’?

MediaAugust 2010 • Views: 4,889

Will Bunch says it all with his headline: It takes Beck just 55 hours to start cashing in on ‘restoring honor’ to America.

Glenn Beck’s original “I Have a Scheme” idea for his Washington rally that he announced in late 2009 was clearly one that was highly focused on a goal of….making boatloads of money for Glenn Beck. The concept, Beck told a large crowd in the Fox-happy retirement community of The Villages, Fla., was that he would consult a bunch of experts and develop a “100-year plan for America.” Then, after luring a huge audience in person and on TV to watch him at the Lincoln Memorial on what he claims he then didn’t know was the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”�speech, he would roll out new product, a book called “The Plan” that would surely be the Beckian best-seller to end all Beckian best-sellers.

That didn’t happen. Weeks later, the king of all right-wing media pulled a complete 180 (hardly the first time). The rally would still be on the same day and the same place, but everything else would be completely different. The event would be completely non-political, not about policy prescriptions but “Restoring Honor,” with a goal of raising money not for a Beck book but for a four-star charity called the Special Operations Warrior Fund. And to some extent, that’s what unfolded Saturday. Beck used his bully pulpit to urge America to turn inward, toward God as a source of answers, and although most of his aggressive fundraising went toward the massive cost of the National Mall event, Beck claims that SOWF will also reap a large donation.

There is indeed no book called “The Plan” coming out this week.

Nope. Instead, Beck — basking in the wall-to-wall coverage on national TV and the front pages of America’s newspapers — is using that afterglow to roll out a completely different for-profit venture of Glenn Beck Inc., one that could greatly add to the showman’s $32 million windfall�that he reaped last year.�His plan to stop America from wandering in the darkness apparently involves you visiting his new website aimed at competing with the Daily Beasts and Huffington Posts of the world.

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43 comments

jamesfirecat Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:12:56pm

“new website aimed at competing with the Daily Beasts and Huffington Posts of the world.

When the Republicans try to come out with a copy of something the Left Wing already has it never ends well.

See the Half an hour news hour…

HappyWarrior Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:14:59pm

re: #1 jamesfirecat

“new website aimed at competing with the Daily Beasts and Huffington Posts of the world.

When the Republicans try to come out with a copy of something the Left Wing already has it never ends well.

See the Half an hour news hour…

Was that half an hour news hour the Fox version of the Daily Show? Was talking about that earlier as an example of why conservatives/republicans usually fail in the satire department.

jaunte Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:15:21pm

So many geese to be plucked, it’s a miracle.

Turu The Terrible Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:16:20pm

The Villages? Isn’t that Plugs’s favorite hometown?

Youtube Video

SpaceJesus Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:16:20pm

the villages looks like republican disney land

Boondock St. Bender Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:16:29pm

Lets just hope we’ve seen his popularity crest,and get to enjoy a nice downward slide into irrelevance for beck
perhaps he’ll go back to morning zoo radio

jamesfirecat Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:16:30pm

re: #2 HappyWarrior

Was that half an hour news hour the Fox version of the Daily Show? Was talking about that earlier as an example of why conservatives/republicans usually fail in the satire department.

Yeah it was.

It failed hard.

Besides there’s already a conservative leaning version of the Daily Show… it’s called the Colbert Report… 4 out of five wingnuts can’t tell he’s not conservative!

(Not actual statistic just doing the “its not butter” style joke…)

prairiefire Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:17:00pm

“The Blaze”. There is a link in the article.

Mich-again Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:18:15pm

A resonating echo chamber. Can’t wait to visit. /

Cato the Elder Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:18:54pm

Will there be Homo sapiens sapiens (with appropriate fig-leaves hiding their demon genitals) riding around on dinosaurs?

‘Cuz that cool shit always gets me to open my wallet.

HappyWarrior Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:19:13pm

re: #7 jamesfirecat

Yeah it was.

It failed hard.

Besides there’s already a conservative leaning version of the Daily Show… it’s called the Colbert Report… 4 out of five wingnuts can’t tell he’s not conservative!

(Not actual statistic just doing the “its not butter” style joke…)

Yeah I saw that once. I was in awe of how lame it was. And I’ve heard that about Colbert and conservatives. It’s amusing to me since it should be apparent to anyone that Colbert is being sarcastic.

jamesfirecat Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:20:40pm

re: #11 HappyWarrior

Yeah I saw that once. I was in awe of how lame it was. And I’ve heard that about Colbert and conservatives. It’s amusing to me since it should be apparent to anyone that Colbert is being sarcastic.

Maybe Conservatives just don’t get sarcasm?

Gus Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:20:55pm

The Blaze is a production of Mercury Radio Art Inc. (Beck owned) and is run by Christopher Balfe.

Cato the Elder Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:21:36pm

And I totally regret the absence of “The Plan”. I have always hankered for an idiot populist to tell me what to do next.

prairiefire Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:22:11pm

There is also ‘The Secret.”

Decatur Deb Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:22:16pm

re: #11 HappyWarrior

Yeah I saw that once. I was in awe of how lame it was. And I’ve heard that about Colbert and conservatives. It’s amusing to me since it should be apparent to anyone that Colbert is being sarcastic.

Audience says “No”.

[Link: hij.sagepub.com…]

Turu The Terrible Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:22:35pm

re: #10 Cato the Elder

Will there be Homo sapiens sapiens (with appropriate fig-leaves hiding their demon genitals) riding around on dinosaurs?

‘Cuz that cool shit always gets me to open my wallet.

I ain’t gonna let any homo ride me, sapiens sapiens or not!

Pterodactyls don’t swing that way.

palomino Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:22:58pm

Hitchens on Beck. Pretty much nails it.

For example, so strong is the moral stature of the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement that even the white right prefers to pretend to emulate it. (This smarmy tactic long predates Glenn Beck, by the way: I remember Ralph Reed trying it when he ran the Christian Coalition more than 10 years ago and announced that he wanted to remodel the organization along the lines of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.) Thus, it is really quite rare to hear slurs against President Barack Obama that are based purely on the color of his skin. Even Beck himself has tried to back away from the smears of that kind that he has spread in the past. But it is increasingly common to hear allegations that Obama is either foreign-born or a Muslim. And these insinuations are perfectly emblematic of the two main fears of the old majority: that it will be submerged by an influx from beyond the borders and that it will be challenged in its traditional ways and faiths by an alien and largely Third World religion.

Mr Pancakes Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:23:39pm

re: #10 Cato the Elder

Will there be Homo sapiens sapiens (with appropriate fig-leaves hiding their demon genitals) riding around on dinosaurs?

‘Cuz that cool shit always gets me to open my wallet.

Is Homo sapiens sapiens a sub sub genus genus specie specie?

freetoken Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:24:32pm

Beck doesn’t need to publish a book with a plan, because his hero Cleon Skousen already did it for him:

Cleansing of America

I doubt that a book by Beck would be any different, really, under the skin.

sagehen Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:28:16pm

re: #11 HappyWarrior

Yeah I saw that once. I was in awe of how lame it was. And I’ve heard that about Colbert and conservatives. It’s amusing to me since it should be apparent to anyone that Colbert is being sarcastic.

If they’d known he was being sarcastic, they sure wouldn’t have picked him for that White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“Rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic? No! This Administration is *not* the Titantic. It’s the Hindenburg!!”

“This President believes the same thing on Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happens on Tuesday.”

SanFranciscoZionist Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:28:39pm

re: #12 jamesfirecat

Maybe Conservatives just don’t get sarcasm?

There’s a Sylvia strip where the punch line is “Republicans haven’t had a sense of humor for very long, and they’re still experimenting with it.”

My father would sometimes substitute “German shepherds” for “Republicans” when the dog did something weird.

b_sharp Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:29:51pm

re: #19 Mr Pancakes

Is Homo sapiens sapiens a sub sub genus genus specie specie?

Not all that long ago they created two subspecies, sapiens and neanderthal, to give us in their wisdom Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens neaderthalensis.

There is now talk of going back to Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.

jamesfirecat Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:30:07pm

re: #21 sagehen

If they’d known he was being sarcastic, they sure wouldn’t have picked him for that White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“Rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic? No! This Administration is *not* the Titantic. It’s the Hindenburg!!”

“This President believes the same thing on Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happens on Tuesday.”

If they had picked up on sarcasm, then he wouldn’t have been invited to that dinner in the first place…

Gus Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:30:10pm

re: #18 palomino

Hitchens on Beck. Pretty much nails it.

Thanks. I just linked that. Hat tipped ya.

b_sharp Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:31:05pm

re: #19 Mr Pancakes

Is Homo sapiens sapiens a sub sub genus genus specie specie?

The singular of species is species, not specie which is a coin.

cliffster Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:33:44pm

Is there something Beck did at his rally that was particularly bad? I didn’t really pay that much attention, but I flipped through news channels while on the stairstepper today and all I really saw was him calling out some genuine heros, saying good things about them, blah blah.

And, some pointing out of a few people in his crowd that were jackasses, which is going to happen in a crowd of tens of thousands.

And he said that MLK’s niece was there?

Honestly, I’m not getting the vitriol about the event, except for just people hating Beck.

Stanley Sea Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:35:15pm

re: #27 cliffster

Is there something Beck did at his rally that was particularly bad? I didn’t really pay that much attention, but I flipped through news channels while on the stairstepper today and all I really saw was him calling out some genuine heros, saying good things about them, blah blah.

And, some pointing out of a few people in his crowd that were jackasses, which is going to happen in a crowd of tens of thousands.

And he said that MLK’s niece was there?

Honestly, I’m not getting the vitriol about the event, except for just people hating Beck.

You missed the sermon. I watched it. It was crazy crazy crazy.

SanFranciscoZionist Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:36:48pm

re: #27 cliffster

Is there something Beck did at his rally that was particularly bad? I didn’t really pay that much attention, but I flipped through news channels while on the stairstepper today and all I really saw was him calling out some genuine heros, saying good things about them, blah blah.

And, some pointing out of a few people in his crowd that were jackasses, which is going to happen in a crowd of tens of thousands.

And he said that MLK’s niece was there?

Honestly, I’m not getting the vitriol about the event, except for just people hating Beck.

I hate Beck’s guts, and I hate Palin’s guts, and I’m probably going to make fun of anything they do. And I think they’re part of a bad moon rising on American politics.

Apart from that issue, the event appears to have been a perfectly nice, if somewhat bland and meaningless, church revival, and I hope that everyone involved had a nice time.

cliffster Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:39:11pm

re: #29 SanFranciscoZionist

I do so appreciate your honesty.

SanFranciscoZionist Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:41:28pm

re: #30 cliffster

I do so appreciate your honesty.

Any time, dude!

If it’s any consolation, my mother, a lifelong liberal Democrat, commented that ‘it didn’t seem as though they did anything bad, and everyone has a right to hold a rally’.

SteveMcGazi Mon, Aug 30, 2010 7:54:07pm

re: #21 sagehen

Colbert’s Correspondents’ Dinner appearance was in my mind the greatest home run ever hit.

Cato the Elder Mon, Aug 30, 2010 8:03:37pm

re: #19 Mr Pancakes

Is Homo sapiens sapiens a sub sub genus genus specie specie?

“Homo sapiens” means “the man who knows”. “Homo sapiens sapiens” means “the man who knows he knows”.

Big difference.

Mr Pancakes Mon, Aug 30, 2010 8:08:59pm

re: #33 Cato the Elder

“Homo sapiens” means “the man who knows”. “Homo sapiens sapiens” means “the man who knows he knows”.

Big difference.

I’m an idiot sometimes Cato, sorry dude…. I uslualy olnly psot atefr drniknig soem red wnie.

elbruce Mon, Aug 30, 2010 9:38:43pm

re: #18 palomino

Hitchens on Beck. Pretty much nails it.

I think the article’s subtitle or whatever you call that pretty nails it dead on:

Glenn Beck’s rally was large, vague, moist, and undirected—the Waterworld of white self-pity.

Yep, that’s what I saw.

philosophus invidius Mon, Aug 30, 2010 10:01:08pm

Beck want’s to make money with a website like HuffPo? Not until he adds boobs.

elbruce Mon, Aug 30, 2010 11:28:02pm

re: #36 philosophus invidius

Beck want’s to make money with a website like HuffPo? Not until he adds boobs.

Hopefully he’ll keep his shirt on.

ClaudeMonet Tue, Aug 31, 2010 12:27:38am

re: #20 freetoken

Beck doesn’t need to publish a book with a plan, because his hero Cleon Skousen already did it for him:

Cleansing of America

I doubt that a book by Beck would be any different, really, under the skin.

Ethnic cleansing? Racial cleansing? Is this nation to be Muslimrein und Judenrein?

freetoken Tue, Aug 31, 2010 1:54:18am

re: #38 ClaudeMonet

Ethnic cleansing? Racial cleansing? Is this nation to be Muslimrein und Judenrein?

Actually, I believe Skousen claimed that America was to be cleansed by disease - something like 90% will perish (as a form of God’s judgement).

That book was published posthumously by Skousen’s family, claiming he wrote it years earlier. It’s basically a rehash of Mormon prophecy, something towards which Beck is steering.

theheat Tue, Aug 31, 2010 3:33:35am

re: #22 SanFranciscoZionist

Lately, when I hear about something off-the-rails crazy, hateful, petty, tightwad, or willfully ignorant someone has said or done, I think, “My, how very Republican of them.”

I used to be one, ya know. I find the party utterly repellent any more. And fuck Glenn Beck, and the rest of that bunch, sideways, for counting their blood money while mainstreaming this shit. It isn’t harmless entertainment, it’s radical insanity.

Jetpilot1101 Tue, Aug 31, 2010 4:14:05am

I really don’t give a crap about Beck or Rush or the rest of the right wing spin machine. I don’t care for Maddow, Olberman or the rest of the left wing spin machine.

Honestly, I’m getting mighty sick of all the Beck coverage. Why can’t people just ignore him? He will always have his legions of fans regardless of how much coverage he gets just like Rush will have his and the Ed Schultz’s on the left will have theirs. The amont of coverage he is getting, not so much by the media but by websites (including I must say LGF Charles) are playing right into his hand.

We all know about his thoughts, ideas etc. Devoting so much time to him makes it appear that the oppositin is obssesed with him, only making him feel more relevant. I’m not telling Charles what to do but frankly, the Beck stories are getting old. Nothing new is ever revealed. I’d much rather read about the latest advances in the ongoing fight against Global Warming or maybe a few articles on the economy.

Not telling you what to publish Charles, just a friendly word of advice.

Romantic Heretic Tue, Aug 31, 2010 8:05:05am

re: #10 Cato the Elder

Will there be Homo sapiens sapiens (with appropriate fig-leaves hiding their demon genitals) riding around on dinosaurs?

‘Cuz that cool shit always gets me to open my wallet.

I think calling our species Homo Sapiens is a big mistake. Because, despite people like Socrates, Jefferson and Voltaire, a majority of our species doesn’t think. Not really.

I believe Homo Instrumenta, Tool Using Man, would be a better description. Because every one of us uses tools every day.

gehazi Tue, Aug 31, 2010 10:02:00am

I wish he *had* published The Plan. I still don’t know what the Cylon plan actually was.

Spy Mode Auto

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