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Glenn Beck: Hurting Conservatism?
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Forget Time's cover-story question of whether Glenn Beck is hurting America: Peter Wehner of the conservative magazine Commentary says Beck is hurting the conservative movement, calling him "a roiling mix of fear, resentment, and anger--the antithesis of Ronald Reagan."
"At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on," Wehner writes.
Like Wehner, I don't claim to be an expert on Beck, either. But from what I've seen, it sometimes feels inappropriate to even label him as a conservative: Beck's conspiracy-theory tones aren't conservatism, per se, and nor is calling President Obama a racist. It's just...well...Beckism. He's his own thing, whatever that is. No surprise that at least one conservative has grown uncomfortable with Beck's impact on the movement for which he's become a prominent voice.
"At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on," Wehner writes.
Like Wehner, I don't claim to be an expert on Beck, either. But from what I've seen, it sometimes feels inappropriate to even label him as a conservative: Beck's conspiracy-theory tones aren't conservatism, per se, and nor is calling President Obama a racist. It's just...well...Beckism. He's his own thing, whatever that is. No surprise that at least one conservative has grown uncomfortable with Beck's impact on the movement for which he's become a prominent voice.
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