USA TODAY READER OPINION

Conservatives have reason to pull away from Beck

Curtis Waterbury - Lake Oswego, Ore.

I understand commentary writer Jonah Goldberg's point in his recent column "In defense of Glenn Beck," and it makes sense overall, but there was something about it that irked me (The Forum, Tuesday).


In an effort to defend Beck, Goldberg states that "liberals never see the antics of their more flamboyant celebrities as an indictment of liberalism itself," so why shouldn't outspoken conservatives be held to the same standard? I agree with Goldberg's argument, but I find it extremely difficult to compare Jon Stewart with someone who calls the president a "racist" and views him as "a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture," as Beck declared on Fox and Friends.

And then when confronted with the fact that many members of President Obama's administration are white, Beck replied, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people; I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

This kind of commentary clearly demonstrates why conservatives are distancing themselves from Beck. These aren't flamboyant antics; they're just plain ignorant comments. How can President Obama be a "racist" who hates white people, yet like them at the same time, as Beck stated? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
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The people's agenda

R.H. Appleby - Harrisburg, Pa.

Jonah Goldberg writes a great piece, but fails to grasp what Glenn Beck is truly aiming at.

Beck is neither a Republican or a Democrat. He is a self-proclaimed libertarian.

His "agenda" is getting rid of corruption, incompetence and special-interest groups, and returning government to the people.

If this gets "in the way" of the conservative movement's agenda, then the agenda is not worth supporting.

I, like many others, will continue supporting Beck until our cause is accomplished.
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Money doesn't make right

Mark DeBruyckere - Raymond, N.H.

If it weren't for the serious nature of the hatemongering fueled by Glenn Beck, Jonah Goldberg's "In defense of Glenn Beck" would almost be laughable.

Goldberg used the argument that because Beck is so newsworthy and popular, and is making millions of dollars, that he must be doing something right.

Does Goldberg hold that same view for the illegal drug and pornography industries?

Beck called President Obama a racist on Fox News, a fact that was left out of Goldberg's column.

Right-wing extremists such as Joseph McCarthy, and members of the John Birch Society and the Ku Klux Klan, were dismissed by responsible conservatives decades ago.

Today's conservative movement would benefit by doing the same with Beck.

(Media personality: Glenn Beck, who entered the media world as a DJ when he was 13, now has the third highest rated radio program in the USA./George Lange.)

Posted at 12:10 AM/ET, October 09, 2009 in Letter to the editor, Politics - Letters
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