NEWS JUNKIE POST
Feb 17, 2010 at 3:03 pmCable Clash: Beck vs. Maddow
Blame it on Bill Nye. The “Science Guy” appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show last week to explain global warming in the wake of last week’s snow storm that crippled Washington and pummeled a large swath of the eastern seaboard. Nye’s stint was, at least in part, a response to Republican pols and conservative commentators who used the blizzard as ammo against Al Gore and a substantial scientific community’s assertions about climate change and its planetary perils.
Glenn Beck gleefully taunted those who subscribe to scientific evidence, saying he was going to let his SUV run until it stopped snowing, offering to put out an Amber Alert for Al Gore and, invoking a voice from a high school production of Guys and Dolls, playing God as street hustler, “I’ve got your global warming right here.”
On the Tuesday editions of both his syndicated radio and Fox News TV shows, the Beckster took aim at Rachel Maddow for hosting Nye. He called her an “alarmist” and “purveyor of propaganda.” Whoa. Back up, pal. This puts a deranged spin on the old pot-kettle routine, doesn’t it? I mean for reasons that should be obvious to both the fright winger’s fans and critics, hurling such labels at any commentator should bring the dictionary industry to its knees. Websters, Oxford, et al should recall all editions and immediately add a new definition for the word “audacity.”
But to single out Maddow in particular ( though in true Fox News fashion, he did so without ever uttering her name) takes his chutzpah to a new twisted dimension. Go ahead, call out Keith Olbermann if you must, sir, as the Countdown host can be bombastic, even irrational at times. But Maddow? Whether you agree with her unabashed liberal point of view or not, she is the most even-tempered cable host ( okay, maybe CNN’s Larry King, who rarely offers an opinion or Candy Crowley, who maintains a reporter’s neutrality are more moderate).
And Maddow doesn’t nurture public grudges with other talkers; you won’t find her bestowing “Worst Person in the World” awards. She rarely even mentions other commentators. Except for last week, when she showed a montage of climate change deniers making political sport out of the storm. Among them were clips of Beck. In retaliation, Beck showed the clip ( with his nonsensical diatribes conveniently edited out), and laughable black and red bars across Maddow’s face, making the segment look even more like a Saturday Night Live skit than his show normally looks. And Tuesday night Maddow showed his edited clips and called out the the maestro of media manipulation.
“It’s between you and God or you and your conscience as to how much you’re willing to stir up Americans’ fears and prejudice for profit. But it’s between you and me when you accuse me of lying. I didn’t lie. back off,” Maddow said. You can watch the entire segment here:
Beck seems to have no capacity for embarrassment. He plays fast and loose with both facts and fears. And like his Fox colleague Bill O’Reilly seems to have a major problem with MSNBC.Busy chewing their cake from both sides of their quick-trigger mouths, the firebrands will never mention the network or hosts by name, but always boast Fox’s ratings’ prowess. “More people will see this video blog, than watch that network,” Beck said.
It’s true, libs, no matter how we try to fudge the numbers, there’s no refuting Fox News has higher ratings than MSNBC and CNN, sometimes even combined. So if Fox commands such media power, why do these guys flinch every time the lowly “commie” commentators on MSNBC make a credible argument against their fantasies. I know, I know, they’d say Olbermann and Maddow are too insignificant to merit a mention. Okay, so why not ignore them altogether? Otherwise, you just look like a pair of hypocritical cranks.
Oh, wait. That conveniently fits in with Maddow’s current theme. She’s been on a tear the last few days, highlighting Republican hypocrisy by calling out Repubs in congress who voted against the stimulus package and are now taking credit in their home districts for the programs and projects that package has funded.
Watch out, Rachel. I see Beck heading to his blackboard. He just can’t resist. There he goes, dissecting your name:
“Rachel… sounds like red and sickle… it’s a Nazi-communist, fascist, socialist, Maoist name. And Mad Dow… look, people she’s mad and the Dow is dropping. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, America. This woman and her network that no one watches are waging a socialist attack on our economic survival.”
Well, at least she got him to say her name. Too, bad for Beck, though. Now Bill O may be so miffed he’ll cancel what’s left of their “Fresh and Bold” tour. Don’t worry, Beck, if you get lonely, you can always call Lou Dobbs. He’s got all kinds of time on his hands.
Editor’s Note: Please follow Amy Beth Arkawy on Twitter. You can read her other News Junkie Post articles here and check out her blog at Radio Graffiti.
Glenn Beck is an ignoramus, and doesn’t have a chance in a battle of wits against the intellectual giant Maddow. I would pay to see a debate between the two, she would mop the floor with him.
if you think madcow is an intellectual giant, then you have proven your intellectual inferiority. by the way, if they did debate, beck would hand her her ass.
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First, Maddow should stop stringing together big words during her long run-on diatribes that she goes on without taking a breath. Slow down, stop trying to act smarter than the viewer and you may actually get someone to watch.
Second, Maddow employs the “heads I win, tails you lose” strategy when it comes to global warming. Her father, being a lawyer, probably taught her this. Anyway, she cites the unusual amount of snowfall in the mid-Atlantic and northeast as reasons for global warming: i.e. erratic weather patterns. But if it was a mild winter, she would use that as evidence to back the global warming theory. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle between what crazy conservatives and whiny libs have to say. But right now, nothing is settled.
Clever take, Amy. @Hammer: I wouldn’t brag about not being able to follow Rachel Maddow’s vocabulary. She’s smart, sure, but she doesn’t talk above the viewer. But you may be on to something regarding climate change… we don’t know everything. So maybe Maddow’s “heads I win, tails you lose,” strategy, as you call it, is the most reasonable approach.
The entire article was a critique of HOW Beck what he said, his STYLE of saying it, and your displeasure with it. You purport to have contrary facts to those presented by Beck. What are they? Cite them. Sources and links please. Make a reasoned argument based on facts and leave the bluster to high school debate clubs…