The Glenn Beck Crazy Train

Image from source, Media Matters

Much of the focus on the GOP right now has to do with their bizarre push for party purity. Apparently, they think that in order to win in 2010 and 2012, they have to be so far right, so out on the fringe, that nobody could mistake them for a Democrat. Fair enough, I suppose. After a party has control for a period of time, there is often a push to give the other side a shot. But how many Democrats and independents really think that the problem with politics is that it isn't extreme enough?

But it's even weirder than that. Given a vacuum in actual GOP leadership, the splashiest "stars" have been given control of the message. In addition to bizarro leaders like Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin, TV/radio pundits like Glenn Beck have taken center stage. With a cult-like following, this modern day Howard Beale just keeps getting crazier. And like Palin, there isn't anything too kooky he can do to dissuade his followers from falling in line.

[Excerpt]

Glenn Beck throws a (political) party

. . .Beck wasted little time before displaying his narcissism, declaring himself and all those present as the nation's "Constitution czar" just a few minutes into his appearance. He then tried to stir up the crowd with what appeared to be a reference to climate change, declaring: "The science is not settled. We will not sit down. We will not shut up. We will stand!". . .

Read more at: Media Matters