Religion Dispatches : Why Conservatives are turning on Beck
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.