The Anti-Defamation League has put together a history of the conservative populist anger since President Obama took office, a report called "Rage Grows In America: Anti-Government Conspiracies." It takes a look at the "growing animosity" present in the Tea Party movement, and the anti-Obama movement more broadly, with a heavy focus on the accusations that Obama is a Nazi or a socialist, racism, and tinges of violent impulse.
When it comes to the mainstream media, the ADL singles out Glenn Beck exclusively as a purveyor of anger and conspiracy theories (as opposed to other commentators, who, they say, don't usually give a platform to the more outlandish claims of pitchfork wielders). Here's the section on "The Influence of the Mainstream Media"--aka the influence of Beck. See what you think of their summation:
The Influence of the Mainstream Media
Although much of the recent anti-government anger has been generated by a combination of partisan politics, grass-roots activists, and extreme groups and movements, the mainstream media has also played a role in promoting anti-government anger and pandering to people who believe that the Obama administration is illegitimate or even fascistic.
The most important mainstream media figure who has repeatedly helped to stoke the fires of anti-government anger is right-wing media host Glenn Beck, who has a TV show on FOX News and a popular syndicated radio show. While other conservative media hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, routinely attack Obama and his administration, typically on partisan grounds, they have usually dismissed or refused to give a platform to the conspiracy theorists and anti-government extremists. This has not been the case with Glenn Beck. Beck and his guests have made a habit of demonizing President Obama and promoting conspiracy theories about his administration.
On a number of his TV and radio programs, Beck has even gone so far as to make comparisons between Hitler and Obama and to promote the idea that the president is dangerous.
• On an August 2009 radio program, after claiming that President Obama was lying about his health-care plan, Beck told his audience to read Hitler's Mein Kampf. Beck said that Hitler told Germans what he was going to do but no one listened. Beck then urged his audience not to make the same mistake with Obama: "Please America...take this man for what he says."
• That same month, David Bellavia, a former army staff sergeant who wrote a book about his experiences as a soldier in Iraq, appeared as a guest on Beck's TV show. Bellavia discussed the claim that President Obama was trying to create a "civilian national security force" and compared this to the efforts of Hitler and Saddam Hussein to create sinister military forces composed of political loyalists that answered only to them.
• On a July 2009 TV show, Beck has said that President Obama is a "dangerous" man.
• In March 2009, as a guest on another FOX News show, Beck also promoted an anti-government conspiracy theory popular among right-wing extremists--that FEMA is building concentration camps to house "dissidents." Beck declared that he could not debunk the theory. Before introducing the topic of FEMA camps on that show, Beck claimed that the United States was "headed towards socialism, totalitarianism beyond your wildest imagination." Later, he also promoted the FEMA camps conspiracy theory on his own show. After much controversy, Beck later backed away from the FEMA camps theory. The FEMA episode, however, is a good example of Beck's key role as a "fearmonger-in-chief," using constant laments such as "I fear for my country" to create a sense of anxiety about and hostility towards the government in his audience.
These kinds of claims from Beck create an intersection between the mainstream and the extreme. They play an important role in drawing people further out of the mainstream, making them more receptive to the more extreme notions and conspiracy theories.
Seems pretty much spot on to me. Though I think they give Limbaugh and Hannity rather too much of a pass.
What bad could come of Beck's rabble-rousing? He's just askin' questions, right? He's just sayin'!
1. You might want to see my coverage of the Anti-Defamation League before deciding whether to trust their opinion. See especially the "their definition" link, where they make false claims and then they try to red scare over an illegal immigration opponent who referred to gangs engaging in "ethnic cleansing". Apparently they thought his use of that phrase was a sign of extremism. Except, the SPLC and news sources have also used that same phrase in the same context. Despite that, the ADL has not yet called the SPLC an extremist group.
2. The FEMA camps bit was a bit strange; whether it was a setup or not isn't known, but the person who helped Beck do the "debunking" doesn't exactly have a great history, and the fact remains that there is or was legislation relating to FEMA camps. What Beck should have done is offered a more balanced approach, but in the case of the ADL they want to silence any discussion of anything related to that issue.
How is that, "slag"? I've always been open-minded about claims people make, willing to weigh the evidence. Others, of course, require authority figures to do their thinking for them, looking to others to determine what is and what isn't acceptable to think about. Just because you're in the latter category doesn't mean you have to broadcast it to the world (or this slice of it).
Plus, a glance at the link (you did read the link, right?) will show that I was aware of discussion about the camps while Beck was still a nobody local host. And, a glance at my site (hint: there's a tag search on every page) will show that I'm not much of a Beck follower.
Since I posted the comments above, I took a look at one of the ADL sections and - no surprise - I caught the ADL in a lie.