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Backlash Against Boycott of Glenn Beck

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Newsmax.com

Backlash Against Boycott of Glenn Beck
Sunday, August 23, 2009 5:32 PM

By: David A. Patten

A leftwing group’s effort to intimidate corporate advertisers on Fox News’ Glenn Beck show appears to be backfiring as it triggers a wave of support from grassroots fans rushing to defend the popular TV personality from the attacks.

Even before the liberal boycott of Glenn Beck began this summer, the bestselling author and TV host had became a ratings superstar, with his 5 p.m. cable news program pulling mega prime time viewership numbers. Beck had also become a lightning rod for liberal groups who didn’t like his anti-Obama message and his staggeringly large audience.

But now Beck’s fame seems to be growing even more as a spontaneous, nationwide effort has sprung up among fans to defend their hero, including Web sites, Facebook groups, homegrown e-mail blasts, and individual telephone campaigns.

The reaction in support of Beck comes in the wake of the advertiser-boycott campaign launched by Color of Change, an African-American advocacy organization with close ties to the Obama White House.

While garnering some initial success, it appears the group is making claims that don’t match with reality, with several major companies claiming they never joined any boycott of Beck’s show.

According to Color of Change, major advertisers such as Wal-Mart, CVS, ConAgra, and Sargento have directed Fox News not to air their ads during the Glenn Beck Program.

The group would likely have been dismissed as a gadfly were it not for its high level connections to the Obama White House. Color of Change co-founder, Van Jones, now works in the Obama administration as the president's "green jobs czar."

Beck has been a fearless critic of both President Obama and Jones, whose association with Color of Change was said to have ended in December 2007.

Color of Change Executive Director James Rucker tells Newsmax that his organization wants Beck silenced for his July remark on Fox & Friends that Obama was "racist" – an opinion Beck voiced in the context of the president’s chastising of the Cambridge Police Department and Sgt. James Crowley for acting "stupidly" in arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates.

"It's preposterous and absurd," Rucker tells Newsmax of Beck's utterance. "It's insulting to black Americans; and it corrupts honest debate. Anyone who uses such a platform to spew such vitriol, whether Glenn Beck or anyone else, has no place on the air, and we at Color Of Change would use every resource available to us to remove corporate sponsorship from their platform."

Conservative Backlash

Beck's enemies on the left, however, in their campaign to destroy Beck, have awakened a sleeping giant.

Like the town hall protesters, Beck's supporters are now rising up to declare they're fed up and not going to take it anymore. And joining in their counterattack are some of the most respected voices in conservative media.

"Glenn Beck is to be congratulated," New York Times best-selling author Peter Schweizer tells Newsmax. "They only go after you when you are being effective -- he must really be causing them problems."

"I think it tells us a lot about the style of politics coming from the organized left and this White House," says Rich Noyes, research director for the conservative Media Research Council watchdog organization. "They want to be so strenuous in going after their adversaries, they have a take-no-prisoners approach. I think it would be unthinkable if conservatives, particularly those affiliated with the Bush White House, had gone after a media figure associated with one of the other networks."


"That's Chicago politics," conservative icon and direct-marketing expert Richard Viguerie tells Newsmax. "We're seeing the Chicago-ization of politics. We hear how dangerous it is for some of these people to come in the vicinity of the president with a weapon. Then we see the chairman of a powerful committee, Henry Waxman, issuing subpoenas to 5o insurance executives for their corporate records. That's how they play the game. They will use any method they can to attain power and then hold onto that power. They tried to do the same with Rush Limbaugh, but Rush Limbaugh is too big for them to handle. This is how Democrats operate."

On Thursday, DC Examiner editorial page editor Mark Tapscott wrote: "Funny, I don't recall that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of expression to everybody except those whose opinions the four members of ColorofChange.org find ‘repulsive and divisive.’"

Tapscott called on readers to conduct a reverse boycott against the companies bowing to left-wing pressure, who are pulling their ads from Beck's program. Those companies, Tapscott says, "are aiding and abetting a vicious, political campaign to slander him by an outfit apparently created for just such a purpose."

A reverse boycott is precisely what's taking place.

On Sunday, August 16, Beck supporter John Hill launched a Web site, DefendGlenn.com. Five days later, according to Hill, the site had recorded 1.9 million visits, racked up 1,033 Twitter followers, and garnered 5,800 user comments on its "Support Wall."

"Let your voice be heard! Fight back against the lies and the extremist boycott of Glenn Beck," the site declares.

DefendGlenn.com provides contact information for companies that have pulled their advertising. It also lists and encourages the companies who have stuck with the Beck program.

"We launched DefendGlenn basically just to counter a lot of the distortions and lies that were put out by this group Color of Change, which we saw weren't being countered at all," Hill tells Newsmax.

Among the messages fans left on the DefendGlenn "Support Wall" to show their support for Beck:

# "Freedom of speech applies to all speech, even those from the right," wrote Matt Elmore of Woodbridge, Va.

# "You are not alone, but like Gen. Washington, out in front of the troops," wrote Michael Lyon of Estero, Fla.

# "Never give up,” Leonor Godwin of Stephenville, Texas wrote him. “They are trying to break you. You are our inspiration and our rock."

Hill also tells Newsmax he has received 5,000 e-mails from people who tell him they are cancelling their GEICO insurance policy because the company has joined the boycott against Beck, and about 6,500 e-mails from consumers who say they will never purchase a Sargento product again.

"I don't want to do that," Hill tells Newsmax. "I think boycotts are stupid. But if they're going to join the boycott, boycotts work two ways. Earlier in the week the companies were saying, 'Yeah we're dropping the ads.’ But as soon as people started getting in touch with them, they started denying they were dropping anything.'"

Other Beck supporters are getting into the act as well. They include an upstate New York stay-at-home mom who became alarmed when she saw the orchestrated campaign to make one of the most independent voices in American media a pariah. Already a member of the 912 organization Beck initiated to recapture the non-partisan spirit of unity the nation experienced after the 9/11 terror attacks, she created SupportGlennBeck.com.

The site includes a petition which states: “Through his radio and television show, he promotes God, family, and country -- which resonates with a majority of Americans.

“There are some people who have an ideological problem with Glenn Beck. These people will not be satisfied until voices such as Glenn’s are silenced. For the millions of us who share Glenn’s values, there is nothing more frightening than losing our forum,” the petition states.

The growing pro-Beck movement has also reached social networking sites. One example: Beck supporter Doug Edelman of St. Louis, Mo., has established a new Facebook group, “Defend Glenn Beck Against Thug Inspired Boycott.” In its first week, over 790 members joined the group, which includes a statement of support for Beck and lists contact information for companies that are said to be boycotting his show.

Exaggerated Boycotts

The anti-Beck activists claim over 20 advertisers have dropped the Beck program. Hill and others on the pro-Beck side dispute say Color of Change has greatly exaggerated the effect of its boycott.

Many of the companies the organization lists now deny they have anything to do with the boycott. Newsmax contacted Procter & Gamble, Progressive Insurance, SC Johnson, and Radio Shack, all of which said they have not directed Fox News to pull their ads from the Glenn Beck Program as Color of Change has stated.

In fact, these companies’ representatives tell Newsmax that as a matter of corporate policy they never did advertise on the Glenn Beck Program, and ask how they could boycott a program they never placed an ad on in the first place.

Another company, State Farm, tells Newsmax their ad was never supposed to air on the Glenn Beck program. Their spokesman says State Farm has a longstanding company policy against advertising on any "political or opinion programming."

Having discovered the error, State Farm says, it will not be advertising on any cable talk show. And it is careful to emphasize it is not singling out Beck in this regard.

As State Farm’s response suggests, the net effect of the anti-Beck crusade will probably be fewer advertisers willing to advertise on the talk shows of any cable network.

Consider for example the corporate response from Clorox. On Thursday, company executives wrote Hill stating: “After a comprehensive review of political talk shows across the spectrum, at this time we have made a decision not to advertise on political talk shows.”

Assuming the pro-Beck backlash continues, that probably means the activist campaign intended to hurt Beck will, ironically, damage Beck’s progressive competitors more than it hurts him.

Lost ads will impact smaller networks like MSNBC far more than it will affect ratings juggernaut Fox News, industry sources say.

According to Mediabistro’s TV Newser, nearly 2.5 million viewers tuned in to Beck’s show in its 5 p.m. ET timeslot last week. Beck’s ratings on Fox exceeded those of CNN, MSNBC, and Headline News combined.

All of which calls into question whether advertiser boycotts work anyway. “It’s funny because I think their calculation is that by going after advertisers they are going to affect his bottom line,” Schweizer says. “But this is a common misperception of liberals. Beck isn’t in this for the money. So even if they could succeed, they won’t silence him.”

Michael Harrison has seen plenty of media campaigns come and go as publisher of Talkers Magazine. “My guess,” he says, “is he will weather this storm.”

“Beck expected to get hostile feedback, and a whole bunch of publicity, and he succeeded on both counts,” Harrison says. “People have the right to be offended and businesses have the right to spend their advertising dollars however they choose. Free speech guarantees the right of having an opinion without government censorship. It doesn’t guarantee that people won’t be angry and withhold their support. The free marketplace of ideas is not for the faint hearted!”

And for ratings giant Fox, Beck’s remarkable connection with viewers has made the free market a profitable one indeed. “The advertisers referenced have all moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network,” a Fox spokesman recently told Ad Age, “so there is no revenue lost.”

Below are companies listed on the DefendGlenn site as having joined the Color of Change boycott against Glenn Beck:

Ally Bank

President & CEO Mark B. Hales

(877) 247-2559

6985 Union Park Center

Midvale, Utah 84047

-------------------

Broadview Security (Brinks)

Robert B. Allen

(800) 445-0872

8880 Esters Blvd

Irving, TX 75063

-------------------

CVS Caremark Corporation

Thomas M. Ryan

(401) 765-1500

One CVS Drive

Woonsocket, RI 02895

------------------

GEICO

Chairman & CEO Tony Nicely

(800) 861-8380

5260 Western Ave.

Chevy Chase, Md. 20815

-------------------

Healthy Choice Foods

A subsidiary of

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

President and CEO Gary M. Rodkin

(402) 595-4000

1 ConAgra Dr.

Omaha, NE 68102-5001

-------------------

Lawyers.com

A subsidiary of

LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell

CEO Andrew Prozes

(800) 526-4902

121 Chanlon Road

New Providence, NJ 07974

-------------------

Men's Wearhouse

Chairman and CEO George Zimmer

(281) 776-7200

6380 Rogerdale Rd

Houston, TX 77072

-------------------

Sanofi-Aventis U.S.

President and CEO Gregory Irace

(800) 981-2491

55 Corporate Drive

Bridgewater, NJ 08807

-------------------

Sargento Foods Inc.

Chairman and CEO Louis Gentine

(800) 243-3737

One Persnickety Place

Plymouth, WI 53073

-------------------

State Farm

Chairman and CEO Edward B. Rust Jr.

(877) 734-2265 (Ask for a “Representative”)

1 State Farm Plaza

Bloomington, IL 61710-0001

United States

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
"That's Chicago politics," conservative icon and direct-marketing expert Richard Viguerie tells Newsmax. "We're seeing the Chicago-ization of politics. We hear how dangerous it is for some of these people to come in the vicinity of the president with a weapon. Then we see the chairman of a powerful committee, Henry Waxman, issuing subpoenas to 5o insurance executives for their corporate records. That's how they play the game. They will use any method they can to attain power and then hold onto that power. They tried to do the same with Rush Limbaugh, but Rush Limbaugh is too big for them to handle. This is how Democrats operate."
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
RobertMac said:
It seems the First Amendment is a right of convenience for left wingers and this White House.

They're not real shiny on the Second Amendment, either. They appear to view that as something that has a regional "opt out" provision.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
RobertMac said:
It seems the First Amendment is a right of convenience for left wingers and this White House.

They're not real shiny on the Second Amendment, either. They appear to view that as something that has a regional "opt out" provision.
Communist have a problem with this whole "Constitution" thing...any of those in the White House!?!?!
 

burnt

Well-known member
Kinda like a backhanded way of silencing the competition. Or opposing view, if you like.

Most would consider that tactic gutter politics or actions employed by the repressive regimes found in third-world countries whose elections we are called in to monitor . . .

Now, in the good ole U.S.A. . . . . . :roll:
 

burnt

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
"We support vigorous debate, especially around policy issues that affect millions of Americans, but we expect it to be informed, inclusive and respectful," said spokeswoman Carolyn Castel.

I guess that would fit what most of r2's stripe would think -it's O.K. to say if it fits my way . . .
 

burnt

Well-known member
did oprah win or loose? she only ever wins because she is pc and the negative impact of her badly misguided opinion never received proper redress in the case brought to our attention.

so since when is the goal of capitalism to give politically based benefit over economics that reward supply, demand, service and quality?

so you think BOB on a storefront is the way to do things. should we also go back to blacks to the back?

r2 you are totally out to lunch on this one. well not only this one.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
You mean like politicians have to see which way the wind blows
so they are on the popular side, R2?

to heck with the country, they want to get re-elected.

Let's STAND for something, shall we?
Like what is RIGHT? :shock:
 

burnt

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
burnt said:
No. That is political correctness at work.

What was it when Oprah was sued for $1,000,000 for having people on her show to talk about Mad Cow?

This is what happens when advertisers are pressured by WHICHEVER special interest groups and frankly, it's the way it should be. Advertisers have to listen to their market.

This has got to be one of the STUPIDEST things ever brought to this board.

It puts you right up there in the company of a few of the rightwingnuts as some like to call them.

I think the term for such as make statements like this is "libtards".
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
Money talks in all cases, both when it benefits the rightwing and when it does not.

That's the market and how advertising works.

It's a capitalist society and a free market.

Think about it. The advertisers have a large body of consumers -- those who voted for Obama and all those who oppose racism who did not vote for Obama. If that group is larger than the group who approves of corporately sponsored racism on national television talk shows, then I guess racism would win out.

The things that Beck said about the President very specifically are what led to this. His own network distanced itself. This is not about all the other things he may say, it's about saying that the President of the United States hates white people on national television. He doesn't own the airways or the station so he has to abide by accepted standards of behavior.

That's CAPITALISM at work.

Reader, Beck is right. Look at the facts;

Wright's "church" named Louis Farrakhan as their equivalent of "Man of the Year". Among other dispicable things, Farrakhan is a full-blown racist. Deny that if you possibly can. Would a group that is not racist themselves give somebody of that ilk their highest award? Wright's "church" also preaches "BLACK liberation". Take a look at that, Reader. Obama was a willing part of that culture for 20 years, a racist culture, Reader.

Look at the comments he has made about white folks in his books. Listen to his comments that he has made about white people. Break down his jumping the gun on the Gates deal.

Now reverse the scenario and put Sarah Palin in a "church" that teaches "White anything". Consider that "church" giving a Klansman their highest award. Listen to her say disparging remarks about black people and read her words in the books she wrote putting down white people. You libs would be screeching "RACIST" louder than 100 cats crapping cockleburrs.

Beck is right. Obama is a racist. Sometimes the truth isn't pretty.
 

backhoeboogie

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
burnt said:
No. That is political correctness at work.

What was it when Oprah was sued for $1,000,000 for having people on her show to talk about Mad Cow?

This is what happens when advertisers are pressured by WHICHEVER special interest groups and frankly, it's the way it should be. Advertisers have to listen to their market.

Do you ever wonder how many movers and shakers sit around the house in the middle of the day watching Oprah?

Do you ever wonder why she doesn't have a spot on prime time?

Let's see, if I were advertising, would I want to hit the folks who have the least nickels to spend or the folks who have the most nickels to spend? hmmm.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
More proof that Glenn Beck is an idiot
April 10, 2009, 5:24PM


Man, but I do love the Internets.

With a couple of clicks on a mouse, you can find out just about anything about anything. Sometimes more than you really wanted to know.

So I'm listening to Glenn Beck on the radio one morning earlier this month, just because. And he's prattling on about how Progressives aren't trying to steer the country toward Socialism, what they really want to impose is a Fascism.

(And he defined Fascism as the government's stripping the people of rights and liberties. As if we hadn't just come through the last eight years of that. Where were your bleatings then, Glenn? Hypocrite.)

And when did this effort start? When Woodrow Wilson was president, says Beck (who, by the way, is sounding a bit unhinged.) Read the New York Times during the time Mussolini came into power in Italy (before he "threw in" with Hitler) and you'll see that American Progressives loved Il Duce, Beck says. They loved him. Loved him.

Frankly, I haven't had the time to check that out yet, but I will.

To offer more proof of the Progressive's love and desire for American Fascism, Beck offered this nugget: He noted that the symbol of Italian Fascism was a group of rods, bound together with a battle axe. The rods, he said, symbolized the people collectively brought together, while the battle axe signified the government, hacking away at anyone who got in its way.

Uh huh.

And then, Beck says, a techie on his television show staff said he recognized the symbol as being used somewhere else. Beck said he did, too, and they put their heads together.

Then, the light went on for the techie (whose dad was a coin collector), and he ran over to the computer and brought up an image of the so-called "Mercury Dime."

Son of a gun! What's on the back but the Fascist symbol!! And, Beck says, his voice getting all dark and creepy, when was the Mercury Dime put into circulation???

1916! When Woodrow Wilson was president!!!

Proof that American Progressives have been hell-bent on Fascism since the time of Wilson, according to Beck.

Beck then exhorted his listeners to Google the Mercury Dime and the Fascist symbol to find out for themselves that what he says is true.

See, Glenn, you should have done that yourself, because I did.

First, about the design. The rods Beck noted are called "fasces," a symbol of ancient Roman law.

From Wikipedia:

Believed to date from Etruscan times, the symbolism of the fasces at one level suggested strength through unity. The bundle of rods bound together symbolizes the strength which a single rod lacks. The axe symbolized the state's power and authority. The ribbons binding the rods together symbolized the state's obligation to exercise restraint in the exercising of that power. The highest magistrates would have their lictors unbind the fasces they carried as a warning if approaching the limits of restraint.
So much for Beck's initial assertion. Let's move on.

Beck suggests some nefarious plan behind the design of the often-misnamed Mercury Dime. (It's actually a representation of the face of Miss Liberty, wearing a winged hat to symbolize freedom of thought. It's actual name is the Winged Hat Dime. But don't let details get in the way of a great conspiracy theory, Glenn.)

And what about the fasces on the coin's reverse? Well, contrary to what batshit crazy Beck would have us believe (this is from BellaOnline):

With the United States impending entry into World War I, the main device on the reverse of the Winged Cap Dime was a warning to the enemies of Liberty and Freedom. It is an ancient Roman 'fasces' wrapped in what appears to be an olive branch. It has been call a representation of the iron fist in a velvet glove. The olive branch is a universal symbol of peace. Within the branches is the 'fasces.' The 'fasces' is an executioner's axe surrounded by staffs and bound together with leather thongs. According to ancient Roman law, this is the symbol of power meaning one can be dispatched mercifully with the blade, or beaten without mercy by the staff. The symbolism of the freedom of thought, peace and the power to defend them are characteristic of the American mindset. It is no wonder that this dime became an icon to the American public that carried them through World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II.
An icon to the American public. I guess they all wanted to be Fascists back then, huh Glenn? Even though the Mussolini wasn't even in power when the coin was minted.

And it seems Beck isn't the first nutjob to imply a link between the dime and Fascism. This is from a 2007 article in Numismatic News:

Among the many false rumors spread about U.S. coins over the years was that the appearance of the "fasces," an ancient Roman symbol of authority, on the Mercury dime (1916-1945) was linked to a secret support of fascism in this country. Why? Well, even though the Mercury dime went into circulation prior to the rise of fascism in Italy under Benito Mussolini, by the 1920s, some began to notice that the fasces, which was by then being used as a symbol of fascism, also appeared on the back of the U.S. dime. "Anyone who denounces Mussolini for the adoption of a battle-ax as the symbol of the Fascisti, says Representative Sol Bloomsays, better take a look at our dime," wrote the Chicago Evening Post in 1926. In 1936, a letter sent to the chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures (reproduced in the October 1936 issue of The Numismatist, the monthly publication of the American Numismatic Association), warned that: "The fasces, which is the emblem of Fascism, the present form of government in Italy, strangely enough appears on the reverse of our dime. Although it appears on this coinage as early as 1916, and although it was not adopted by Mussolini and his followers until 1919, future world historians delving into the past through numismatics, as is often the custom, are liable to draw the conclusion that the United States and not Italy was the birthplace of fascism." For the artist's part, Adolph Weinman, whose coinage designs reflected the mood of the nation as it faced the possibility of entry into World War I, the fasces on the dime's reverse were "to symbolize the strength which lies in unity, while the battle-ax stands for preparedness to defend the Union. The branch of olive is symbolical of our love of peace."
You're lazy, Glenn. Lazy and batshit crazy. What a way to live.

Keep the faith.
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
like many "symbols" their meaning can change over time, or represent different things through history. Like the Swastika, which has been around for 3000 years. It was mostly a positive symbol before being adopted by the Nazis.

To offer more proof of the Progressive's love and desire for American Fascism, Beck offered this nugget: He noted that the symbol of Italian Fascism was a group of rods, bound together with a battle axe. The rods, he said, symbolized the people collectively brought together, while the battle axe signified the government, hacking away at anyone who got in its way.

The fasces were a symbol of authority, but the precise meaning is unknown. It is often claimed that the rods could be used to lash people, and the ax to execute them. This may have been true in the days of the monarchy, but not during the republic. After the Laws of the twelve tables, no Roman magistrate could summarily execute a Roman citizen.
http://www.livius.org/fa-fn/fasces/fasces.html

The use of fasces by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is quite another story. In 1921, he called his political movement Fasci di combattimento, fascio being the Italian word for peasant organizations and labor unions. When il duce chose the ancient Roman fasces as symbol of the fascist party, he was at the same time playing with the similarity of the words fascio and fasces, chosing an ancient symbol, and drawing a parallel between fascism and progressive movements of the past.
 

RobertMac

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
burnt said:
No. That is political correctness at work.

What was it when Oprah was sued for $1,000,000 for having people on her show to talk about Mad Cow?

This is what happens when advertisers are pressured by WHICHEVER special interest groups and frankly, it's the way it should be. Advertisers have to listen to their market.
Truth doesn't always matter to special interest groups or political correctness.

Does anyone have the link to the full context of Beck's comment...I must have missed it?
 

backhoeboogie

Well-known member
reader (the Second) said:
Good God Almighty, the U.S. is going to the dogs with Glenn Beck and his merry band of imbeciles, of which PB has a few.

And the prison system is full of fluffsters who have nothing but words and their followers who are ignorant enough to believe them. The Manson types.
 
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