On radio this morning, Glenn shared an article that his friend and prominent libertarian, John Stossel, emailed him entitled, “Glenn Beck Begs/Harangues Libertarians to Accept Him & Others Who Are ‘trying to honestly learn.’” The story first appeared on Reason.com yesterday, and writer Matt Welch, a self-identified libertarian, criticized Glenn for openly supporting and identifying with libertarian principles.
“I am not begging anyone. I don’t care if you accept me or not,” Glenn said in response to the article’s headline. “I really don’t care, however, I do care about the country. I do think [libertarians] have an opportunity that is historic. I think you can put your chair back at the table, which hasn't been at the table for 100 years.”
In the article, Welch writes:
Ann Coulter’s libertarians-are-“pussies” remark provoked a lengthy, rambling, and very interesting response recently from broadcasting provocateur/entrepreneur Glenn Beck.
“Look, the only reason why I am a provocateur – you have to present things in an entertaining way to get people to understand it. I mean I could sit down with the best of them and have an intellectual talk. I am not doing it for the money or anything else. I just want to get it to be consumed,” Glenn said.
The article continues:
I recommend you listen to the whole 18 minutes, in which Beck, who has been identifying more and more with the “libertarian” label, complains bitterly about being subject to withering philosophical "litmus tests" by skeptical libertarians and Ron Paul supporters (some of whom he calls "more fascist than anyone in the Republican Party"), declares his full-throated support for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) as a presidential candidate ("Rand Paul is your best shot right now"), apologizes for originally being in favor of the PATRIOT Act and warrantless wiretapping ("Boy, what a fool I was"), mentions that he's been having plenty of off-air conversations about libertarianism with Penn Jillette, and above all beseeches libertarians to take advantage of their historic opportunity to change the direction of the country.
Criticism aside, Glenn made it clear that his primary goal is to ensure there are credible libertarian voices bearing heard and taken seriously. These next 12 to 18 moths present a remarkable opportunity for libertarians to come to the table and offer an attractive alternative to the same old, tired ideas the Republicans and Democrats currently offer.
“The world is changing. It is changing. It's sand underneath your ground,” Glenn concluded. “What you think you know you don't. Who you think your allies and enemies are, you're wrong. The world has changed overnight. Change with it.”
