OK, I know Glenn Beck is nuts, but millions of people listen to him… unfortunately.
On his radio show today, Beck called the Occupy Wall Street protesters dangerous revolutionaries who want to take down the US government. He asked the federal government to shut down the Occupy demonstrations by sending in the Marines and called on capitalists and Democrats not to trust the protesters or work with them.
From the Huffington Post…
Speaking on his radio show Monday, Beck made his already-crystal-clear disdain for the protests, which have spread across the U.S., even more plain. He took a slightly surprising turn, though, in warning establishment Democrats like Nancy Pelosi (who has voiced her support for the movement) as well as any rich backers of the protests not to trust anyone in Occupy Wall Street…
“Capitalists, if you think that you can play footsies with these people, you’re wrong. They will come for you and drag you into the streets and kill you…they’re Marxist radicals…these guys are worse than Robespierre from the French Revolution…they’ll kill everybody.”
Last week the US House of Representatives voted to extend the Bush Era tax cuts to poor and middle class but not to richest 2% of Americans. On Saturday, predictably, all Senate Republicans (including our own John McCain and Jon Kyl) + 5 Blue Dog Democrats killed the limited tax cut extension and continued to hold out for full extension of the tax cuts to everyone.
A CBS News poll shows most Americans favor a limited extension of the Bush Era tax cuts. (Source: CBSNews.com)
A recent CBS News poll shows that Republican grandstanding for the rich is out of step with most Americans. According to CBS, 53% of Americans favor extension of the cuts to income under $250,000, and only 26% favor extending the cuts to all Americans, including the wealthiest. You’ll note that only 10% of those “free-spending” Democrats want to extend the cuts to everyone, while 46% of those “fiscally responsible” Republicans want full extension.
Why are Congressional conservatives fiercely fighting for full extension of the Bush Era tax cuts? Their fight has even put national security at risk, according to Newsweek, because they have vowed to not vote on anything– not even the New START Treaty– until the tax cuts have been extended to all. Obviously, the vast majority of the constituents in Kentucky (Mitch McConnell’s state) or rural Southern Ohio (John Boehner’s district) or Arizona (John and Jon’s territory) will not benefit from extension of cuts to the richest 1% of Americans. So, why have these four men been been hawking millionaire welfare for months?
Since its inception, FOX news has been a faithful 24/7 mouthpiece for the right.
Before the midterm election, FOX News’ parent company even donated money to Republican candidates.
Failed right-wing politicians– like Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, and Karl Rove– often land high-paying pundit jobs with FOX after their political careers dwindle.
FOX News regularly promotes Republican ideas and candidates while hammering all things progressive.
Now thanks to Newsweek, Ed Schultz, and Rep. Alan Grayson, we learn of another reason why FOX News has been pushing for full extension of the tax cuts: their millionaire pundits stand to lose millions if tax cuts for wealthiest Americans are not extended. According to Grayson’s speech and his comments on the Ed Schultz Show (below), here is how much more in taxes popular right-wing pundits would have to pay if Congress does not extend tax cuts to all Americans:
Rush Limbaugh – $2,689,135
Glenn Beck – $1,512,352
Sean Hannity – $1,006,352
Bill O’Reilly – $914,352
Sarah Palin – $638,352
Newt Gingrich – $247,352
So, FOX News donates to Republican candidates and peddles their ideas, and Republican Senators and Congressmen return the favor. After all, it’s all “fair and balanced” in the “no-spin zone.”
P. S. Glenn Beck makes $33 million a year on FOX? And he has the nerve to say government workers are overpaid?
CREDIT: MSNBC's Ed Schultz Show
CAPTION: Alan Grayson on tax breaks for FOX News pundits.
Pamela Powers Hannley writes the Tucson Progressive blog on the TucsonCitizen.com and contributes articles to the Huffington Post and Salon.com. She has had more than 30 years of experience in written, visual, and electronic communication—including freelance writing, photography, graphic design, and consulting. In addition to blogging for the Citizen, she is the Managing Editor of an international medical research journal.
Hannley has authored medical research articles, print magazine and newspaper stories, and numerous cancer prevention and self-help publications.
She has been a blogger since 2006, joined the ranks of Tucson Citizen bloggers in October 2010, and started contributing to the Huffington Post in 2011 and to Salon.com in 2012.
Hannley holds a masters’ degree in public health from The University of Arizona and a bachelors’ degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a native of Amherst, Ohio but has lived in Tucson since 1981.
