Those Standing on Principle Are in Good Company

September 26, 2016

Writer

And then there was a baker's dozen, give or take.

Only a handful of conservative media voices remain firm in their opposition to a Donald Trump presidency. While the others have caved, a core group continues to stand for principles.

RELATED: The Gift Ted Cruz Gave Us

"I am to the point of, 'bring it on!' We are in good company," Glenn said on his radio program Monday. "We are in good company."

Glenn made a list --- albeit small --- of those still fighting the good fight, along with himself and his co-hosts:

• Steve Deace

• Erick Erickson

• Mary Matalin

• Michael Medved

• Ben Shapiro

• Charles Sykes

• George Will

• Leon Wolf

• John Ziegler

"I know there are more," Glenn said. "And a good portion of this audience."

Under enormous scrutiny and pressure, these voices have held fast to the principles and ideals that founded the United States. They are, indeed, in good company:

Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood. – John Adams, 1765

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. – James Madison, 1788

And in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own. Whoever would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech. – Benjamin Franklin, 1722

The natural cure for an ill-administration, in a popular or representative constitution, is a change of men. – Alexander Hamilton, 1787

They who have turned their attention to the affairs of men, must have perceived that there are tides in them; tides very irregular in their duration, strength, and direction, and seldom found to run twice exactly in the same manner or measure. – John Jay, 1788

Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. – George Washington, 1779

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: It is a government of the worst possible people.

PAT: Oh, that -- I mean, that's exactly what we are.

(chuckling)

PAT: Dumb name. But it's exactly what we are.

GLENN: You get there because you vote for the lesser of two evils. And by the end, you have compromised yourself down so far, that you're just dealing with people.

You know, "Hmm, should I have Pol Pot or Mao? I don't know. I don't know." And so you get the worst possible people that rise to the top. Because the good people stay at home and they're like, "I don't have anything to do with it." I think that's where we are now. That's where we are. And good people get into it, and they compromise themselves because they say, "I have to be in here, and I have to be a part of it." And I don't think you do.

PAT: And the guys who they didn't like when they were on the outside are those same ones who were schmoozing them and saying, "Hey, look, you support my bill, and I'm going to get you the chairman of this committee." And they start to like this person. And, you know, we saw it happen with Orrin Hatch, with Ted Kennedy. I mean, Ted Kennedy groomed Orrin Hatch from the very beginning in the Senate, and look what happened there. I mean, the guy is not conservative. Started out that way, but they don't end up that way. Nobody does. How is it that we're always co-opted and we co-opt no one?

GLENN: We co-opt no one, ever. Ever. Because we have convinced ourselves that the only way to win is to play the game. We haven't -- maybe we should all go back and watch WarGames. What was the lesson of WarGames? The only way to win is to not play the game.

PAT: Not play the game.

STU: I mean, every Matthew Broaddrick movie has a lesson like that we can take through life.

GLENN: I think so. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, yeah.

I don't understand -- does anybody understand the calculus here?

STU: No. I mean, it -- certainly I don't understand it now.

PAT: To win.

STU: I mean, what the hell was the point of the convention speech? What the hell was the point of that?

PAT: Right. Why didn't you just do it then?

STU: Just do it then. And I think everyone at that point would have been like, "All right. Well, he said he was going to support the nominee."

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: Well, may I give you a hypothesis?

PAT: That should maybe be our first question to him, "Why didn't you do it then, if you were going to do it."

JEFFY: Yeah. Why'd you wait?

GLENN: Here's my hypothesis: Reince Priebus was on the warpath and said, "I will destroy -- I'll destroy anybody." There's enough of your big tent, gang. Don't talk to me about a big tent.

PAT: Oh, they don't want a big tent.

GLENN: They don't want a big tent. They are just as bad as GLAAD and PETA. I mean, I'm only -- I'm waiting for the buckets of blood to be splashed on me or anybody like me because you won't get in bed with the party. That is exactly -- this is the way the left does it. And we're doing the same thing. And Reince Priebus is the head of that march. And you will all march in line like little soldiers, or we'll destroy you.

And so here's what I think, I think that they were playing the game and playing the calculus as everybody was. And his numbers were starting to go down. Roger Ailes joins the Trump team. You saw another Roger Ailes move this weekend when Donald Trump said, "I'm going to put Gennifer Flowers in the front, for the debate tonight." What happens? The campaign retracts that and says, "Oh, I'm sorry. And we're not going to do that." That's Roger Ailes.

And the response was, "Maybe we'll put one of the bed -- the mothers of one of the dead soldiers from Benghazi in the front." That's Roger Ailes.

STU: So the first one is --

GLENN: Donald Trump is, "I'm going to go after Gennifer Flowers." Roger Ailes is, "Benghazi, dude. Benghazi." And so what happened?

Roger Ailes comes in, and the numbers start going up. And I think if the numbers were going down at this point, Reince Priebus would probably start to torpedo -- or probably just unplug and start worrying about the House and the Senate. But the pressure started to mount. Pure speculation: Pressure started to mount, and the G.O.P. saw, "This is within striking distance now. All hands on deck. And we'll destroy you if you don't play --

PAT: Wasn't that the same message though they gave before the convention?

GLENN: Yes, but I think the convention numbers -- I think they were doing that, and then the convention numbers started to slide, and they kind of backed off. And now the numbers are coming back up. They start putting the pressure back on.

STU: And this is the issue. This tells me nothing new about Reince Priebus. It tells me a lot new about Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz folding to that is not the guy I thought it was.

PAT: That's the problem.

GLENN: And here's the problem.

STU: Glenn, honestly, you think if Donald Trump was down 15 points right now, Ted Cruz would be endorsing him? No, absolutely not.

GLENN: No, no.

STU: Let's ask him that question. I mean, he'll say probably yes. But, I mean, if he was down 15 points right now and this was a complete disaster, there's no way he would be out there endorsing him.

GLENN: Correct.

STU: And that tells me way too much. Much more than I wanted to know. I wanted to live in the dark, and now unfortunately I live in the light.

GLENN: No. I'm actually glad I know.

STU: Of course I am. You know, I want to be the only one. I want all these guys out of here. I want to be the last man standing. I want Sasse on the phone. Get him on the phone! I want him folding too! I want Sasse! I want Lee! I want all of them to fold. I want all of you to fold. I want to be the only one. That's it.

GLENN: I do too. That's where I got last night. First -- my first reaction was, no one you can believe in. No one you can actually believe in. That was my first reaction. It would have been mass suicide for anyone who thought like I did on Friday when I hung up the phone.

I almost just -- and it wasn't out of anger. It wasn't out of anger. It was just --

PAT: Disappointment.

GLENN: It was so just disappointment and disconnect of like, "Nothing even matters anymore."

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: As I was talking to him, I almost just -- I found myself actually taking the phone and looking at it like, "Where is the off button," while he was talking. "Where do I just -- okay. End call, right there." I mean -- and it wasn't like, "I'm going to hang up in disgust." It was like, "Okay. I don't have time for anymore of this."

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: I mean, it was just complete disconnect. Nothing mattered. And so it wouldn't have been good. It wouldn't have been good for me to have been on the radio.

PAT: No.

GLENN: Because it was that -- but now, I am to the point of, bring it on.

We are in good company. We are in good company.

PAT: Who? With the four of us? It's very bad company.

GLENN: I made a list, and it's a very small list. It's a very small list. Ben Shapiro. Michael Medved. Charles Sykes. Erick Erickson. Steve Deace. George Will. Mary Matalin. Leon Wolf. John Ziegler. I know there are more.

PAT: Yes. Yes. Uh-huh. Yeah.

GLENN: I know there are, but I couldn't think of them.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: And a good portion of this audience.

PAT: That's eight. Plus us, that's 12.

GLENN: A Gang of Eight.

JEFFY: So?

GLENN: Those are good people.

PAT: Yeah, they -- yeah.

GLENN: Those are good people.

PAT: Yeah. And that article that Erick Erickson wrote last week was one of the best I've seen --

GLENN: Oh, yeah. You should read -- I read Steve Deace's book. What is it?

JEFFY: Nefarious.

GLENN: Nefarious. Oh, my gosh, I wrote to him last night --

PAT: He's good. Really good.

GLENN: That is C.S. Lewis. That is C.S. Lewis. That is brilliant. Why -- why I'm not an up-and-coming struggling talk show host and he's not the guy with the titan title, I don't know. He is so much smarter than I am and really brilliant. That is a brilliantly written book.

PAT: Billions of people can say that.

GLENN: I know that. I know that. I know that.

Featured Image: Founding Fathers via Flickr

Legal warfare strikes France's conservative hope

Sam Tarling / Stringer | Getty Images

An all-too-familiar story unfolded in France this week: the is law being weaponized against a "far-right" candidate. Does that ring a bell?

Glenn was taken aback earlier this week when he learned that Marine Le Pen, a popular French conservative, had been banned from the 2027 election following a controversial conviction. The ruling shocked French conservatives and foreign politicians alike, many of whom saw Le Pen as France’s best conservative hope. President Trump called it a "very big deal," a view shared by French commentators who fear this marks the end of Le Pen’s political career.

But this isn’t just about France—it’s a symptom of a larger threat looming over the West.

A double standard?

Fmr. President Sarkozy (left) and Fmr. Prime Minister Fillon (right)

BERTRAND GUAY / Contributor, Chesnot / Contributor | Getty Images

As of Sunday, March 30, 2025, Marine Le Pen led the polls with a commanding edge over her rivals, offering French conservatives their strongest shot at the presidency in years. Hours later, that hope crumbled. Found guilty of embezzling EU funds, Le Pen was sentenced to two years of house arrest, fined €100,000 ($108,200), and banned from public office for five years, effective immediately.

Glenn quickly highlighted an apparent double standard. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy and former Prime Minister François Fillon faced similar—or worse—corruption charges, yet neither was barred from office during their political runs. So why Le Pen, and why now? Similar to Trump’s "hush money" trial, legal troubles this late in the election cycle reek of interference. The decision should belong to voters—France’s largest jury—not a courtroom. This appears to be a grave injustice to the French electorate and another crack in democracy’s foundation.

This is NOT about France

Andrei Pungovschi / Stringer | Getty Images

This pattern stretches far beyond France; it’s a tactic we’ve seen before.

In early 2025, Bucharest’s streets erupted in protest after Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first round of its presidential election. Călin Georgescu, a rising conservative, had clinched an unexpected victory, only to have it stripped away amid baseless claims of Russian interference. His supporters raged against the decision, seeing it as a theft of their voice.

Both Georgescu and Le Pen echo the legal barrage President Trump endured before his 2024 win. The Left hurled every weapon imaginable at him, unleashing unprecedented lawfare. In America, the Constitution held, and the people’s will prevailed.

Now, with Tesla vandalism targeting Elon Musk’s free-speech stance, a coordinated pushback against freedom is clear—spanning France, Romania, the U.S., and beyond.

The war on free will

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

Trump’s 2024 victory doesn’t mean lawfare is dead; Europe shows it’s thriving.

France and Romania prove its effectiveness, sidelining candidates through courts rather than ballots. Glenn warned us about this years ago—when the powerful can’t win at the polls, they turn to the gavel. It’s a chilling trend of stripping voters of their choice and silencing dissent, all the while pawning it off as justice. The playbook is polished and ready, and America’s turn could come sooner than we think.

Melania Trump's fashion influence inspires the next generation

Aaron P. Bernstein / Stringer | Getty Images

First Lady Melania Trump’s impeccable style has long captivated admirers across the globe, but for one young woman, it sparked a creative revolution.

Lorelai, a young Glenn Beck fan who requested a degree of anonymity, first met Glenn while attending America Fest 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona with her grandmother. An aspiring fashion designer and illustrator, Lorelai shared with Glenn some of her sketches of characters from Glenn’s latest book, Chasing Embers. She also explained how Melania Trump became the cornerstone of her artistic journey, inspiring her to craft modest yet beautiful clothing that redefines modern fashion.

Melania Trump’s elegance—stunning, powerful, and undeniably feminine—first captured Lorelai’s attention during the First Lady’s time in the White House. Unlike the casual, often immodest trends dominating her peers’ wardrobes, Melania’s wardrobe exuded grace and sophistication. From tailored coats to flowing gowns, her choices were a masterclass in balancing boldness with dignity, a philosophy that resonated deeply with Lorelai. This admiration grew into inspiration as Lorelai began designing apparel specifically with Melania in mind, aspiring to design pieces that could match the First Lady’s grace. She strove to reflect Melania’s breathtaking style in her sketches in an effort to demonstrate how modesty can be beautiful.

The First Lady’s poised and graceful presence has redefined modesty for the modern era. To Lorelai, the First Lady’s style proves that more fabric offers boundless room for imagination, allowing personality to shine without sacrificing dignity. Melania embodies this perfectly—her fashion commands attention with stunning, memorable elegance. Inspired by this, Lorelai’s mission is to craft clothing for her generation that mirrors Melania’s influence, blending contemporary flair with classic beauty.

After her meeting with Glenn at America Fest, Lorelai’s passion and resolve have only deepened. Through fashion and art, Lorelai hopes to inspire others with the same grace that Melania Trump exemplifies. Below are some of Lorelai's sketches she was eager to share with Glenn.

Melania Trump: First Lady

I really adore First Lady Melania Trump’s grace and timeless beauty. She is extremely intelligent and brave but also strong and poised. Her fashion style displays these traits. I was inspired to create these outfits for our First Lady in hopes that she would see these drawings. -Lorelai

Melania Trump: Lady Liberty

We, as a country, will be celebrating next year our 250th anniversary of independence. The designs that inspired this patriotic gown came from Lady Liberty and Lady Columbia art. I also love our American flag, and this design is a combination of all three. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Ember)

I chose to draw the characters Sky, Azaz and Ember from Glenn Beck and Mikayla G. Hedrick’s Chasing Embers series. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Ember)

I was inspired to draw a younger and teen version for Sky and Ember. -Lorelai

Chasing Embers Character Art (Sky)

Chasing Embers Concept Art (Azaz)

I also gave multiple outfits designs for Sky and Azaz. I loved that their personalities and character development meant in my mind a wardrobe development too. -Lorelai

Glenn: Government workers bought luxury cars with YOUR tax dollars

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

The deep state isn’t a conspiracy theory — it’s a reality. And the corrupt, free-spending Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is just one example of how Washington insiders enrich themselves.

A little-known agency in Washington perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with our bloated, corrupt government: the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. It should be the poster child of everything that Elon Musk is exposing.

The agency was established in 1947 under the Labor Management Relations Act to serve as an independent agency mediating disputes between unions and businesses — a noble mission, perhaps. But like so many government institutions, it has rotted into something far removed from its original purpose.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft.

What was once a mechanism for labor stability has morphed into an unchecked slush fund — an exclusive playground for bureaucrats living high on taxpayer dollars.

The FMCS is a textbook case of government waste, an agency that no one was watching, where employees didn’t even bother showing up for work — some hadn’t for years. And yet they still collected paychecks and spent government money — our money — on their personal luxuries.

Luxury cars and cell phone bills

The Department of Government Efficiency discovered how FMCS employees used government credit cards — intended for official business — to lease luxury cars, cover personal cell phone bills, and even subscribe to USA Today. The agency’s information technology director, James Donnan, apparently billed taxpayers his wife’s cell phone bill, cable TV subscriptions in multiple homes, and personal subscriptions.

FMCS officials commissioned portraits of themselves and hung them in their offices, and you footed the bill. They took exotic vacations and hired their friends and relatives to keep the gravy train rolling.

The FMCS goes beyond mismanagement into blatant corruption and theft — and it went on for decades, unnoticed and unchallenged.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the FMCS — a necessary and long-overdue move. But the FMCS is just one of many agencies within the federal government burning through billions of taxpayer dollars. How many more slush funds exist in the shadows, funneling money into the pockets of bureaucrats who produce nothing? How many government-funded NGOs operate in direct opposition to American interests?

Perhaps the most disturbing question is why Americans tolerate such corruption. Why do so many Americans tolerate this? Why is the left — supposedly the party of the people — defending the very institutions that rob working-class Americans blind?

Corruption beyond bureaucracy

The recent rallies led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), and their socialist acolytes claim to be a grassroots uprising against corruption and greed. But GPS data from these rallies tells a different story. The majority of attendees aren’t ordinary citizens fed up with the status quo. They’re professional activists — serial agitators who bounce from protest to protest.

Roughly 84% of devices tracked at these rallies were present at multiple Kamala Harris events. A staggering 31% appeared at over 20 separate demonstrations, tied to Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and pro-Palestinian causes.

Many of these organizations receive federal grant money — our tax dollars — and they’re using those funds to protest the very policies that threaten to cut off their financial lifeline.

This isn’t democracy in action. This is political theater — astroturfing perfected. And the American taxpayer is funding it.

Rooting out corruption

Trump was a battering ram against this corrupt system. Elon Musk is a surgeon, meticulously exposing the infection that has festered for decades — and that’s why the leftists hate him even more than they hate Trump. Musk threatens to dismantle the financial web that sustains their entire operation.

When we allow the government to grow unchecked and our leaders to prioritize their own wealth and power over the good of the nation, figures like Trump and Musk are necessary. Rome didn’t fall because of an external invasion but rather due to internal decay that looked an awful lot like what we see today.

We must demand better. We must refuse to tolerate this corruption any longer. The FMCS may be gone, but the fight to root out this deep-seated corruption is far from over.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Did the CIA hide the real truth behind JFK's assassination?

Bettmann / Contributor, NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Many were disappointed by the recent release of the JFK files, frustrated by the apparent lack of answers to decades-old questions. The problem? They’re asking the wrong question.

Everyone wants a "who"—a smoking gun, someone to blame. It’s understandable; Americans crave justice for a slain president, to hold the culprits of one of the 20th century’s greatest crimes accountable. But the real answer isn’t a "who"—it’s a "what." That "what" is the CIA and proof of their nefarious dealings since the 1960s.

In his most recent TV special, Glenn delves into the JFK files, where he found the crucial information that everyone else seemed to miss. Be sure to watch the TV special here.

The CIA's Dirty Fingerprints

Did Oswald act alone? I tested the Warren Commission's "lone gunman" narrative and discovered something SHOCKING.

Watch the full experiment TONIGHT at 9PM ET only on https://t.co/Ki1CX633fq pic.twitter.com/DwNSUFXJ1r
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) March 26, 2025

While the recent JFK files don’t explicitly pin the assassination on the CIA, the evidence between the lines is compelling.

If you follow Glenn on X, you’ve seen his newest artifact: an exact replica of Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle. Glenn tested it at the range, attempting to replicate the notoriously difficult shot Oswald allegedly made that fateful day in Dallas. While Glenn shares more takeaways in his TV special, one thing stood out immediately: the rifle’s abysmal quality, its shoddy scope, and the odd caliber of ammunition it uses.

Oswald’s rifle, a Mannlicher-Carcano, is chambered in 6.5mm—an unusual caliber. Much like today, the average gun store in the ‘60s didn’t stock 6.5mm rounds. The largest known supply was owned by the CIA, who had shipped the ammo from Greece after World War II. Suspiciously, there’s no record of where Oswald got his ammunition, but the JFK files confirm that the gun store where he bought the Mannlicher-Carcano had CIA connections.

It’s well-known that Oswald defected to the USSR and lived there before returning to the U.S. The JFK files reveal that from the moment he touched down stateside, the CIA tracked him like a hawk. They followed him across the country and even to Mexico City—but, conveniently, seemed to lose him in Dallas just as President Kennedy arrived. What a coincidence.

Whether by design or gross incompetence, the CIA greased Oswald’s path, letting him slip unhindered into that sixth-floor Book Depository window.

The Cover-Up

SAUL LOEB / Staff | Getty Images

If the JFK files aren’t the smoking gun many hoped for, why did the CIA fight so hard to keep them buried?

The answer is trust. Hard as it may be to imagine today, Americans in the ‘60s trusted their government—at least more than they do now. This cover-up preserved that trust longer than it might have lasted, allowing the CIA to pull off more scandals before the public caught on. From Benghaziand 9/11 to COVID-19 and January 6, the same dirty marks found in the JFK files stain these events. It’s about saving face. The files make the CIA look incompetent at best, complicit at worst.

This might feel like common knowledge today—especially to Glenn’s audience—but 40 or 50 years ago, saying such things could land you in the loony bin. It’s taken 60 years of growing suspicion to reach this point. Imagine if the JFK files had been available back then. Could we have stopped six decades of CIA shenanigans in their tracks?

The thought is chilling.

What Now?

Fotosearch / Stringer | Getty Images

The files don’t name a mastermind or explicitly confirm the darkest JFK assassination conspiracies that have swirled for decades—but they’re far from empty. They expose a disturbing truth: the CIA’s unchecked power in the ‘60s echoes into today.

In one of his most exciting TV specials yet, Glenn delves deep into the files, proving why we can’t ignore these revelations. Stop chasing a "who" and start demanding accountability for the "what." Only by confronting this can we hope to rein in the agency that’s dodged scrutiny for too long.

Glenn's Show Prep