Who's the bigger weasel: The GOP or ESPN?

January 11, 2013

Writer

"You tell me the bigger weasel: GOP or ESPN?" Glenn asked this morning.

While Pat went with the GOP , Stu and Jeff voted ESPN. Here's why:

Monday night, during the BCS National Championship football game between Alabama and Notre Dame, ESPN announcer Brent Musburger made a few comments over the good looks of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's beauty queen girlfriend.

While McCarron's comments were neither vulgar or offensive, ESPN felt the need to apologize on his behalf. Even after McCarron's girlfriend [Katherine Webb] said she was flattered by the statements and an apology was not necessary.

TheBlaze reported on the comments following the football game:

Considering that Monday night’s college national championship game between Alabama and Notre Dame was dominated by Alabama, there weren’t many competitive highlights (‘Bama won 42-14). So easily the talk of the night has become the way ESPN announcers Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit fawned over the stunning girlfriend of Alabama’s quarterback AJ McCarron.
“You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women,” Musburger said, directing the comment at Herbstreit who is a former quarterback himself. “What a beautiful woman.”

That's offensive? Apparently if you're ESPN they are, who made a statement earlier this week that the comments with "too far."

What exactly did ESPN expect to happen during a game that was 28 to 0 at the half with Miss Alabama in the stands? You can only talk about Notre Dame's pathetic attempts to slow Alabama down for so long.

"ESPN is a guy channel," Glenn said. "I mean, has everyone at ESPN been castrated?"

Astonished by ESPN's ability to throw someone under the bus for absolutely nothing, Glenn continued: "I mean, who at ESPN is offended by what Brent Musburger said? I'm not into sports. I'm the biggest girl among men you've ever met. I'm not offended by this. I don't know how ‑‑ I don't know how you could be offended by this."

Obviously, had Katherine Webb been offended and taken issue with the comments, it would be at least understandable. But that's not what happened here. Webb said an apology wasn't necessary. She was flattered by the comments made about her.

"The game was over at halftime," Pat pointed out.

When that happens it's up to the announcers to find something to talk about that keeps people interested in the players and the game.

"You're talking about grade point averages of the athletes involved. You're going into all that kind of stuff. You got nothing at that point because ‑‑ and you've got to keep your viewers. So they find A. J. McCarron, if you're not sure what we're talking about, it's the BCS championship game on Monday night, Alabama/Notre Dame and so they find AJ McCarron, quarterback of Alabama's girlfriend in the stadium."

These are Musbuger's comments:

MUSBERGER: When you're a quarterback at Alabama, you see that lovely lady there? She does go to Auburn, I'll bit that, Miss Alabama and that's A.J. McCarron's girlfriend and right there on the right is D.D. Bonner. That's A.J.'s ‑‑ boy, I tell you, you quarterbacks, you get all the good‑looking women. That's ‑‑ what a beautiful woman.
VOICE: Wow. A. J.'s doing some things right down in Alabama.
MUSBERGER: So if you're a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throwing it around the backyard with pop.

What's offensive about calling a beauty queen, someone in the limelight because of their good looks, beautiful? Much less, saying that A.J. must being doing something right in his life in order to get a girl like that to go out with him.

"Is there anything wrong with saying that you've got to do something right to marry a beautiful woman?" Glenn asked.

Glenn also pointed out the Musburger encouraged kids to out throw the football with their dad's so they can be a star quarterback like A.J. is one day, and have a shot with a beautiful girl.

"Boy, so I guess what you learn here, if you're watching and you're from Alabama, if you'd like to marry or date a beautiful woman, I guess what the lesson to learn here is go out and throw the football with your dad," Glenn said.

"What a horrible thing to promote! Father‑and‑son relationships in the backyard, that is horrifying!" Pat joked.

Is ESPN ever going to really cross the line with their fans? It's hard to imagine that they will given they hold the rights to Monday Night Football and the BCS bowl games. But this attitude the have of rolling over every time one far out organization doesn't like something on their network it getting ridiculous.

Glenn, who has run into issues with another company under Disney, ABC, explained that the real issue is with 'the mouse'. He noted how even when Walt was still alive, they were constantly apologizing for his politics — everybody just wanted to be "neutral".

"The mouse does not care about news. The mouse is a global institution," Glenn explained. "And if the mouse is hurt, then everything else crumbles and so they fold and bow to the mouse every single time."

Hunter pleads GUILTY, but did he get a pass on these 3 GLARING crimes?

Anna Moneymaker / Staff | Getty Images

Last week, Hunter Biden made the shocking decision to suddenly plead guilty to all nine charges of tax-related crimes after claiming innocence since 2018.

Hunter first tried an "Alford plead" in which a defendant maintains their innocence while accepting the sentencing, typically due to the overwhelming evidence against them. Hunter's Alford plead was not accepted after the prosecutors objected to the suggestion, and Hunter quickly pleaded guilty.

Glenn could not believe just how disrespectful this situation was to the justice system and the American people. After years of lying about his innocence, which only served to deepen the divide in our country, Hunter decided to change his tune at the last minute and admit his guilt. Moreover, many expect Joe Biden will swoop in after the election and bail his son out with a presidential pardon.

This isn't the first time Hunter's crimes have turned out to be more than just a "right-wing conspiracy theory," and, odds are, it won't be the last. Here are three crimes Hunter may or may not be guilty of:

Gun charges: Found guilty

This June, Hunter Biden was found guilty of three federal gun charges, which could possibly land him up to 25 years in prison. Hunter purchased a revolver in 2018 while addicted to crack, and lied to the gun dealer about his addiction. While Hunter could face up to 25 years in prison, it's unlikely to be the case as first-time offenders rarely receive the maximum sentence. That's assuming Joe even lets it go that far.

Tax evasion: Plead guilty

Last week, Hunter changed his plea to "guilty" after years of pleading innocent to federal tax evasion charges. Since 2018, Delaware attorneys have been working on Hunter's case, and just before the trial was set to begin, Hunter changed his plea. According to the investigation, Hunter owed upwards of $1.4 million in federal taxes that he avoided by writing them off as fraudulent business deductions. Instead, Hunter spent this money on strippers, escorts, luxury cars, hotels, and, undoubtedly, crack.

Joe's involvement with Hunter's foreign dealings: Yet to be proven

Despite repeated claims against it, there is ample evidence supporting the theory Joe Biden was aware of Hunter's business dealings and even had a hand in them. This includes testimony from Devon Archer, one of Hunter's business partners, confirming Joe joined several business calls. Despite the mounting evidence Joe Biden was involved in Hunter's overseas business dealings and was using his influence to Hunter's benefit, the Bidens still maintain their innocence.

Why do we know so much about the Georgia shooter but NOTHING about Trump's shooter?

Jessica McGowan / Stringer | Getty Images

It's only been a few days since the horrific shooting at the Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, and the shooter, Colt Gray, and his father, Colin Gray, have already made their first court appearance. Over the last few days, more and more information has come out about the shooter and his family, including details of Colt's troubled childhood and history of mental health issues. The FBI said Colton had been on their radar.

This situation has Glenn fired up, asking, "Why do we have an FBI?" It seems like every time there is a mass shooting, the FBI unhelpfully admits the shooter was "on the radar," but what good does that do? While it is great we know everything about the Georgia shooter, including what he got for Christmas, why do we still know next to NOTHING about Trump's would-be assassin? Here are three things we know about the Georgia shooter that we stilldon't know about the Trump shooter:

Digital footprint

Just a few days after the shooting, authorities have already released many details of the Georgia shooter, Colt Gray's, digital footprint. This includes extensive conversations and photographs revolving around school shootings that were pulled from Gray's Discord account, a digital messaging platform.

Compared to this, the FBI claims Thomas Crooks, the shooter who almost assassinated Donald Trump, had little to no digital footprint, and outside of an ominous message sent by Crooks on Steam (an online video game platform), we know nothing about his online activities. Doesn't it seem strange that Crooks, a young adult in 2024 who owned a cell phone and a laptop left behind no digital trail of any relevance to his crime?

Home life

The FBI has painted a vivid image of what Colt Gray's home life was like, including his troubling relationship with his parents. They released information about his parents' tumultuous divorce, being evicted from his home, several interactions with law enforcement and CPS, and abuse. Investigators also found written documents of Colt's related to other school shootings, suggesting he had been thinking of this for some time before committing the atrocity.

In contrast, we still know next to nothing about Crooks's home life.

How he got the weapon

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Colt Gray was gifted the rifle he used in the shooting from his father for Christmas last year. We also know Colt's father is an avid hunter and would take Colt on hunting trips. In 2023, Colt was the subject of an investigation regarding a threat he made online to shoot up a school. During the interview, Colt stated he did not make the threat. Moreover, his father admitted to owning several firearms, but said Colt was not allowed full access to them. The investigation was later closed after the accusations could not be sustained.

In comparison, all we know is that Crooks stole his father's rifle and did not inform his parents of any part of his plan. We have no clue how Crooks acquired the rest of his equipment, which included nearly a hundred extra rounds of ammunition, a bullet-proof vest, and several homemade bombs. How did Crooks manage to acquire all of his equipment without the FBI taking notice?

It feels like the FBI is either incompetent or hiding important information from the American people. Or both.

Join Glenn TONIGHT for BlazeTV's exclusive debate coverage!

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These ‘conservative’ Glenn Beck critics are now supporting Kamala Harris

Drew Angerer / Staff, NBC NewsWire / Contributor, NBC NewsWire / Contributor | Getty Images

There’s a certain irony in how some of the loudest critics of Glenn Beck within the conservative ranks have now thrown their support behind Kamala Harris, a figure whose politics stand in stark contrast to the values they once claimed to uphold. Let's take a look back at these self-proclaimed guardians of conservatism, who once claimed Glenn Beck was a threat to the conservative movement, but are now backing the most far-left, radical candidate the Democrats have ever produced.

Adam Kinzinger

Adam Kinzinger was elected in 2010 as a Tea Party conservative, riding the wave of anti-establishment sentiment that defined the movement. However, by 2013, he was already distancing himself from the principles that got him elected. Criticizing Glenn Beck for labeling him a RINO, Kinzinger said, "The perception is, if you do one thing out of line with what is considered hard-core conservatism, or what Glenn Beck says or what Mark Levin says, then you are a RINO." Now, he’s taken his political shift to the extreme, endorsing Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention and praising her as a defender of democracy—all while claiming to be a Republican and a conservative.

Bill Kristol

Bill Kristol’s flip-flop is even more astounding. Kristol, who once took it upon himself to attack Beck for his warnings about radical Islam and creeping authoritarianism, now finds himself on the same side as Kamala Harris. Kristol’s past criticisms of Beck, comparing him to fringe elements like the John Birch Society, now ring hollow as Kristol himself becomes an apologist for the far left. His endorsement of Harris shows that his commitment was never to conservatism but to whatever political winds would keep him in the spotlight.

Jennifer Rubin

Jennifer Rubin is a prime example of how establishment figures at outlets like The Washington Post have masqueraded as conservatives while working to undermine genuine conservative voices. Rubin, who once criticized Beck by saying, "Rather than reflexively rising to his defense when questioned about Beck, why don’t conservatives call him out and explain that he doesn’t represent the views of mainstream conservatives?" was never truly aligned with conservative values. Her columns have consistently pushed establishment narratives, and now they read like PR pieces for the Democratic Party, especially when it comes to Kamala Harris. Rubin’s journey from supposed conservative commentator to one of the Biden administration’s staunchest defenders shows that her critiques of Beck were always about protecting her place within the Washington elite, not about upholding any real conservative principles.

Kinzinger, Kristol, and Rubin once posed as guardians of conservatism, warning about the supposed dangers of Glenn Beck. Now, they’ve endorsed Kamala Harris, a candidate whose policies are anathema to conservatism. Their criticisms of Beck were never about protecting conservative values—they were about steering the party back under their control. But the real target wasn’t just Beck; it was the audience he represents—everyday conservatives who challenge the status quo. These insiders have always seen that base as the real threat, and their actions make it clear who they were really trying to sideline.

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