The Record of Right-Wing Crazy

[Lord J Esq]

Attention New Readers: If you've got something to add to the record of right-wing crazy, then this is the place to put it! You're welcome to post a bit of commentary along with your links, but mostly the links should stand on their own. Do not open up debates on other people's posts. If you want to have a debate...make another thread.

One of the differences between the leading left-wing media pundits and the leading right-wing ones is that, at worst, the dishonesty coming from the left is rhetorical or negligent, whereas on the right they just make shit up as they go. They really don't give a damn. They just say whatever they want, facts be damned, logic be damned, reason be damned.

Consider Glenn Back, the Fox News host who was most recently in the news for calling the president a racist. This caused dozens of advertisers to flee his show, so Fox sent Beck on vacation for a week to cool down. When he returned this Monday, fresh and sober, he dedicated all his shows this week to proving that President Obama is plotting to overthrow the government and turn us into a Nazi state.

Here are some clips from this week's episodes:

http://www.dailykostv.com/w/002087/

Go ahead and watch the full twelve minutes, if you can. It's...well...it's ludicrous, is what it is. He's either genuinely crazy or he's the best actor on Fox News. I was going to put this link in the Frustration thread, but it doesn't really frustrate me, because Beck's show has gone so far over the top that nobody would take it seriously except the viewers in his audience who are already, themselves, crazy. I was going to put it in the Love thread, but, fun as it is to watch a right-wing blowhard implode on national television, what he's doing is massively irresponsible, and I take no pleasure from it.

Then it occurred to me that the right is always up to something crazy. Granted, Beck has set a standard of crazy this week that elected Republicans and conservative mass media personalities would be hard-pressed to match, but they do excel in their own way often enough, I think, to warrant a running tab here at the Compendium for all those who think that liberals are simply being partisan when they say that the conservative movement has been hijacked by lunatics. So, this thread is to document the Crazy coming out of prominent conservative figures.

P.S. If you're one of the people who actually believe the stuff Glenn Beck is saying, this thread definitely isn't for you. =P

[Lord J Esq]

Here's a good collage of Fox News reporting on healthcare reform in recent weeks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-dA9kPYKI8

This is why so many Americans honestly believe that "death panels" are going to be a part of healthcare reform. Fox News! We report, you decide. Fair and balanced!

What a distraction from any reasonable healthcare reform debate. That is, of course, their whole point. "Crazy"? Not technically. They're doing this very deliberately. But, on the face, yeah, it's fucking insane. I am amazed that anybody takes Fox News seriously.

[mav]

Glenn Beck makes Sean Hannity look like Keith Fucking Olbermann. I mean I honestly wonder what goes through Beck's head: it's not just that he spouts out the same dribble and misinformation that most of the other Fox News info-tainment broadcasters do, it's that he's actually fucking nuts. He sincerely stated that Obama had a deep seated hatred for white people and then moments later says that he didn't say that Obama hates white people. And he broke down in tears about how he feared for America's future! This isn't news anymore, it's just nonsense. He comes off as delusional, and I fear for his sanity. Listen to this for an example of how off the wall, arrogant, and downright dickish Beck can be.

Fox News as a whole is pretty horrible, in my opinion, but they cater to their audience and they really know how to follow their talking points. Do I agree with their skewed way of presenting "facts"? Absolutely not. Do I find any of their broadcasters entertaining? Occasionally. Do I despise what they're doing to journalism? You bet your ass I do.


And why the fuck do people still think the Death Panels are real? BAHHHHHHHHHHH.

[ZeaLitY]

Damn. Never thought I'd see people championing propaganda and propaganda techniques.

-1 Humanity.

Political news isn't and shouldn't be entertainment without sincerity (The Daily Show sincerely informs, despite having entertainment value). It's a serious problem with the media in general; yellow journalism, sensationalism, etc. dominate because they get ratings, create furor, and even manufacture their own hot stories. This goes all the way back to the earliest days of reporting in the United States, and was iconic in the days of Hearst, who supplied a war with sensationalism regarding the U.S.S. Maine.

A democracy relies on an educated populace to function well. If the majority is going to choose the best course for the country, it needs to be educated, intelligent, and informed, and the media is charged with doing the informing. Because the media is for-profit, news outlets go with whatever rakes in the most ratings and viewership, not necessarily what people need to know or what's best for a democratic populace. This is why we get situations like this:



As Thought pointed out, the BBC is often better at reporting what's going on in North America than any mainstream American news outlets are. When the media appeals to the lowest common denominator to get the most ratings and profits, at the expense of real information and education, democracy is impeded.

[Uboa]

But anyway, most liberal commentators seem way too pissed off and confrontational, and, unless your Bill O'Reilly, being pissed off isn't going to get you viewers, IMO.

It worked decently for Keith Olbermann.  Aside from him I'm at a loss for other liberal commentators who could be called (edit: way too) confrontational.

I mean, we have Rachel Maddow for crying out loud.  We're nice people.

[Uboa]

My bad, had a hair-trigger reply moment.  Didn't notice your post until it was too late; for me, for you, for the world...

[mav]

Brilliant vid, Uboa. Big Bill treats his guests so terribly that it physically sickens me. See, that's what I don't get: why people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck need to rely so heavily on shouting matches to get their points across. Now, I haven't seen Olbermann in a interview/confrontation setting, but I doubt he'd go to their levels. Sure he'd yell, but I doubt that he'd go so far as to to ridicule the guests. Then again, the left probably has just as many figures that do this...THEY JUST DON'T GIVE 'EM FUCKING TV SHOWS!

Fucking despicable. These personality-driven news programs make legitimate journalists look like shit.

[MsBlack]

"The RNC doesn't try to scare people...we're just trying to get the facts out on health care. And that's what we do every day."

[Uboa]

Brilliant vid, Uboa. Big Bill treats his guests so terribly that it physically sickens me. See, that's what I don't get: why people like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck need to rely so heavily on shouting matches to get their points across. Now, I haven't seen Olbermann in a interview/confrontation setting, but I doubt he'd go to their levels. Sure he'd yell, but I doubt that he'd go so far as to to ridicule the guests. Then again, the left probably has just as many figures that do this...THEY JUST DON'T GIVE 'EM FUCKING TV SHOWS!

Fucking despicable. These personality-driven news programs make legitimate journalists look like shit.

The whole Olbermann confrontation phase (...is it over?) seemed to be limited to his diatribes directed at a perceived audience of contemptible right-wing figureheads.  Even though he wasn't shouting directly in anyone's face, watching those was the closest I came to really being put off by a liberal commentator's style.  I don't think that much of what he said was undue.  But, at the same time the segments seemed overdone in frequency and theatrics to the point where they didn't come across as sincere as they should have after the first few.

But in all seriousness, Olbermann doesn't hold a candle to the level of Bill-o's arrogance.  How people take him seriously I'll never understand.  I think that if the left gave an approximate left-wing equivalent of Bill-o a TV show, then the guy, or lady, wouldn't last long.  I don't know of many on the left who go for that kind of personality, or lack thereof.

Alright, time to fill my crazy quota.  Glenn Beck's infamous "eyes" bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex695VSHmSs

[Lord J Esq]

Preacher Says God Wanted Him to Hijack Mexican Jet
"God" can be, and routinely is, invoked to justify just about anything.

Obama Heckled During Speech Before Congress in Extraordinary Breach of Congressional Decorum
The South Carolina Republican shouted "You lie!" as the President spoke before a Joint Session. That would have been a risky enough move if the charge had any truth to it. As it is, our GOPer from Caroliner is the one who lied. That's some brass!

[Thought]

How is claiming that God spoke to you classified as "right-wing"?

Now, if someone starts giving a few sermons about how they hate Obama and pray that he will die and go to hell (a curiously non-Christian stance for a "Christian" pastor to take), then I can see that being just downright crazy, which happens to be of the right-wing type: http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/cspanjunkie/why-i-hate-barack-obama-pastor-steven

[GenesisOne]

In the words of Rick Perlstein of the Washington Post:

“the crazy tree blooms in every moment of liberal ascendancy, and elites exploit the crazy for their own narrow interests.”  Perlstein also notes that the media goes so far as to lend credence to these voices.

Here are two definitions that right-wing politicians would do well to ingrain into their neanderthal skulls:

Insanity - Attempting the same stunt over and over in the hopes of getting different results.

Fanatic - A person who redoubles their efforts while losing sight of his or her goal.

Apparently, all's fair in politics (and love and war and so on).

[GenesisOne]

"And now the liberals want to stop President Reagan from selling chemical warfare agents and military equipment to Saddam Hussein, and why? Because Saddam 'allegedly' gassed a few Kurds in his own country. Mark my words. All of this talk of Saddam Hussein being a 'war criminal' or 'committing crimes against humanity' is the same old thing. LIBERAL HATE SPEECH! And speaking of poison gas... I SAY WE ROUND UP ALL THE DRUG ADDICTS AND GAS THEM!"

-- Rush Limbaugh, Nov 3, 1988
 
Wow.  Just... wow...

[Lord J Esq]

Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), who walked out on Obama's speech to Congress last night, also attracted attention when he made this argument against progressive climate change legislation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7h08RDYA5E

His logic is that global warming is a non-issue because sea levels are not going to rise, and sea levels are not going to rise because, in the Bible, god promised that he would never flood the Earth again. Yes, that's actually what he said. And, yes, he is actually an elected member of Congress.

For good measure, he then goes on to argue that there isn't enough carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

[Lord J Esq]

Here's Glenn Beck making a point of some kind by using the old frog in hot water story...with real frogs and real hot water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nVpO1Dvfk

The extra amusing twist in this is that somebody at some point actually performed this experiment and found that the conventional wisdom is wrong. Heh.

He didn't actually throw frogs into hot water, but it doesn't really matter. This freak is a piece of work!