It was an amazing year for Glenn Beck & Co, so much so that this may be the first time Glenn had more memorable moments than chins. We've looked over every classic moment from the year and compiled a Top 10 list.
Frog-Gate
The left is always looking to discredit Glenn in any way, shape, or form possible. So when the media reacted with horror after Glenn boiled a fake (yes, fake) frog on TV, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Glenn was talking about how John McCain would have been ‘worse’ for America as President. Glenn argued that McCain and Obama are both progressives, and would lead us to the same place. Obama has just stomped on the accelerator. To illustrate this point, Glenn used the boiling frog analogy. As the saying goes, if a frog is placed in lukewarm water (McCain), it will stay in as the temperature rises and eventually die. However, if you place a frog in boiling water (Obama), it will immediately jump out. Glenn proceeded to toss a (fake plastic) frog in a pot of boiling water. Glenn clearly explained, on camera, that the frog was a fake. It was plastic. But that didn’t stop the attacks from the left, however. The next day Glenn did a segment showing the lengths the left went to call him a frog killer, and also shows how he pulled the double switch. It was a tremendous segment, and it comes in at #10on our Top 10 Glenn 2009 countdown.
Buckner faints live on TV
Usually it’s the audience that falls into a slumber when the topic shifts into bond market talk. This time it was the guest who passed out – literally. The interview was one of the most bizarre moments of Glenn’s broadcasting career, and it all started with Columbia University Professor David Buckner. He and Glenn were deep into discussing the financial crisis when Buckner gets a little wobbly and whispers ‘I’m going to pass out.’ Glenn is hard at work (using the 7 brain cells that survived his drinking days) trying to understand the intricacies of 4 week treasuries but still manages to pick up that something bad is about to happen. He offered his hand to Buckner and moments later Buckner is out cold. Thankfully, David was just fine and pretty much the only thing bruised was perhaps the ego. To this day he still gets ‘hey, aren’t you that guy who passed out on Glenn Beck’s show?’. The Buckner pass out is #9 on our Top 10 Glenn 2009 countdown.
Glenn’s Mug
It was a rough year for magazines. They were hoping to find a way to continue putting Barack Obama’s mug on every cover issue, but instead they have a major dilemma. The President is steadily tanking in the ratings as he spends the country into oblivion. So they needed an alternative – and unfortunately for them Britney Spears hadn’t relapsed yet. Fresh out of flesh, the magazines decided to go a different route: The villain. Enter Glenn Beck. Time Magazine rolled out their September 28th issue with Glenn’s mug on the cover, along with the title ‘Mad Man: Glenn Beck and the angry style of American politics.’ Apparently Time hadn’t noticed the previous eight years of Bush bashing. Time wasn’t the only one. Glenn’s mug and references to Glenn started popping up all over the place this year – SNL did a parody as well as South Park. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart view Glenn as show prep, shows like Law and Order and Glee all found a place for Glenn. Keep it coming, guys – Glenn has plenty of chins to go around, and his mug seemingly everywhere this year comes in at # 8 on our Top 10 Glenn 2009 countdown.
Lying sack of dog mess
There’s nothing quite like an ambush, and that’s exactly what happened to Glenn when he made an appearance on The View. Within mere moments, Glenn (who was not feeling well) was under full-fledged estrogen attack. Not surprisingly, the attack wasn’t related to anything of substance. It was about Glenn’s telling of a chance encounter he had on the train with Whoopi and Barbara. It’s an understandable angle to take if you are Whoopi Goldberg or Joy Behar because they’d have about the same chance of winning as a 13 year old would of escaping Roman Polanski. Whoopi’s attack culminated with her calling Glenn a ‘lying sack of dog mess’ during the hit job. Of course, Glenn was not lying, and Scott Baker laid out the timeline of events to prove it, making this ridiculous and baseless attack #7 on the Top Ten Glenn 2009 countdown.
Art 100
Glenn finally makes a list he cares about – The Art Review’s Power 100 list. No one is exactly sure how Glenn landed on the list, being that his only contribution to the art community in recent memory was painting something that looked more like a 3rd grader spilling grape juice than an actual painting. It’s either that or the flamboyant wardrobe Glenn sports that is considered ‘art’ by some. Whatever the reason, Glenn (even if he doesn’t really admit it) is most excited about landing on the Power 100 artist list, and it comes in at #6 on the Top Ten Glenn 2009 countdown.
A new home
Things kicked into high gear when Glenn started his new show on The Fox News Channel, January 19, 2009 at 5pm. There were the usual ups and downs that go along with starting something new. The ups included having Sarah Palin as the featured guest on the very first show, a tremendous way to start things off. The downs included Glenn’s eyes doing an entire segment, which caused the comedy show to have a field day. Everyone had high expectations for Glenn, but no one could have predicted that this little 5pm cable news show would obliterate the competition and rise to the #2 show in all of cable news. There was even talk of ‘Palin/Beck 2012’ floating around, but Palin was once again on the mark and simply called this possibility ‘a hoot.’ Glenn’s Fox News debut – and eyes – are #5 on the Top 10 Glenn countdown.
Glenn rips Blago
Governor Rod Blagojevich, of Illinois, was in deep trouble after facing multiple corruption charges including trying to sell President Obama’s vacant Senate seat for … This guy was so shameless and brazen in his corrupt dealings that prosecutors could ‘barely contain’ their ‘revulsion’ as Blago could be heard on tape complaining that Obama and staff are ‘not willing to give me anything but appreciate… (expletive) them.” The PR campaign that followed was nothing short of miraculous, instead of going into hiding, Blago tried the contrarian approach. He went on a media blitz where he coined gems, for example when he dubbed himself the ‘anti-Nixon’ because he wanted people to hear the tape recordings. Needless to say, this was not a good strategy. Making matters worse, he agreed to do an interview with Glenn. What took place after that lands at #4 on the Top 10 Glenn countdown.
Common Sense
Earlier this year, Glenn wondered if common sense was dead. Passing TARP and the Stimulus were bad enough, but add government healthcare, Cap and Tax and even more stimulus spending bills to the mix and it was enough to send Glenn over the edge. Politicians didn’t seem to mind that America was broke, so they just kept racking up debt. Especially frustrating was the feeling that no one cared – as no conservatives in Washington DC were willing to say ‘stop the spending!’ When would someone speak up? Since the spineless weasel politicians weren’t going to do it, Glenn did. And the #1 New York Times bestseller Common Sense was born. When it was released, it skyrocketed to #1 and stayed in the top ten for 26 straight weeks, clearly sending the message common sense was alive and well in America. Common Sense: The Case Against an Out of Control Government is #3 on our Top 10 Glenn 2009 countdown.
The Red Phone
When videos of White House’s Green jobs Czar Van Jones started surfacing in the blogosphere, no one in the media bothered to report on it. Glenn seemed to be the only one who cared that a communist was working to ‘restructure’ our system. As Glenn uncovered more and more outrageous video clips of Jones spouting his commie rhetoric, the White House would only say ‘his official title is not Czar.’ Not exactly a spirited defense. News that Jones was a 9/11 truther broke, and that was the end of Van Jones at the White House. But that wasn’t the last of the radicals as Glenn again uncovered more disturbing video. Fed up that they were dealing with Glenn, the White House decided to act - that’s when Communications Director Anita Dunn declared war on Fox News. As if that attack on the first amendment wasn’t disturbing enough, shortly into the war a tape surfaced showing Dunn proclaiming Chairman Mao was the philosopher she ‘turned to most’ for guidance. Chairman Mao killed 60 million people. Dunn resigned shortly after the controversy erupted. A couple of bad apples are gone – but the pattern of radicals is clear, leaving many unanswered questions. That’s why Glenn has the red phone – a direct line to the show that only the White House has. They still haven’t called. Will 2010 be the year it finally rings? The quest to get answers on the pattern of radicals in the White House, the clashes with Glenn and the White House, and the patiently waiting Red Phone are #2 on the Top Ten Glenn 2009 list.
The 9/12 Project
When ‘Ed’ called the radio program early on in 2009, he could not have predicted the chain of events that would be triggered from his decision to pick up the phone. Frustrated and feeling like throwing in the towel, Glenn pleaded with Ed not to do that, saying it would only serve those who seek power. Ed’s call inspired what Glenn would unveil a few weeks later – the 9/12 Project. Based on 9 Principles and 12 Values, the 9/12 Project was a place where people who, although they may disagree on some issues, could unite at the end of the day as Americans, just like we united on 9.12.01 after the 9.11.01 terrorist attacks. The idea took off and took on a life of its own. Small 9/12 groups all around the country mobilized to let their voices be heard. They rallied on tax day – of course the media largely ignored the rallies. It all culminated in September with a giant rally in Washington D.C. as hundreds of thousands of people showed up. The media might not be too impressed – but Washington is hearing and responding to what Glenn hopes will become America’s #1 D.C. special interest group: The American People.
The movement that will really bring ‘change’ to the country – The 9/12 Project – is #1 on the Top Ten Glenn 2009 list.
Morningstar via Investopedia