David Sirota

David Sirota
Location
Denver, Colorado,
Birthday
November 02
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Columnist
Bio
David Sirota is a political journalist, best-selling author and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist living in Denver, Colorado. He is a senior fellow at the Campaign for America's Future , the founder of the Progressive States Network and a Senior Editor at In These Times magazine, which in 2006 received the Utne Independent Press Award for political coverage. He also blogs for Credo Action. and the Denver Post's PoliticsWest website. His two books, Hostile Takeover (2006) and The Uprising (2008) were both New York Times bestsellers. In the years before becoming a full-time writer, Sirota worked as the press secretary for Vermont Independent Congressman Bernard Sanders, the chief spokesman for Democrats on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, the Director of Strategic Communications for the Center for American Progress, a campaign consultant for Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and a media strategist for Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont. He also previously contributed writing to the website of the California Democratic Party. For more on Sirota, see these profiles of him in Newsweek or the Rocky Mountain News. Feel free to email him at lists [at] davidsirota.com

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SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 3:58PM

The Beck Bank Bailout

Rate: 16 Flag

I wrote a newspaper column this week noting the rank hypocrisy in political and media circles when it comes to their supposed concerns about the deficit. I noted that Tea Party protesters are among the biggest hypocrites - and chief among them is political terrorist Glenn Beck, because, as you'll see, the truth is the bailout is the Beck Bailout.

As Frank Rich notes, Beck has been promoting himself not only as a racist culture warrior, but as an economic populist who rails on government giveaways to Wall Street. In that sense, he's sort of trying to be a neo-Buchananite...except, there's just one problem with his economic argument: Glenn Beck championed the Wall Street bailout he claims to be leading the fight against. In fact, when progressives were fighting tooth and nail against the bailout (and taking significant criticism for doing so) Beck was promoting it, offering criticism only for it not being bigger:

"I think the bailout is the right thing do. The “REAL STORY” is the $700 billion that you’re hearing about now is not only, I believe, necessary, it is also not nearly enough, and all of the weasels in Washington know it." - Glenn Beck, CNN, 9/22/08

That's right - this is the Beck Bank Bailout. So the next time you hear Glenn Beck railing on government spending and corporate giveaways and the failure to crack down on Wall Street largesse, remember - Glenn Beck is railing on the very largesse that Glenn Beck intensely promoted and supported on the national Glenn Beck television show.

(huge h/t to Jenkins Ear and ThinkProgress)

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good thing that nobody who watches his program has a memory (or a brain).
doloresflores_d
September 21, 2009 04:25 PM
I heard a hysterical comment on Fox yesterday by a faithful follower at one of the tea parties. She said thank god for Fox, the only station that presents both sides of the story and Beck has now stopped using the words "mainstream media" because there is no such thing in his estimation. Luckily, there are people like you and great resources like Media Matters, that go back and fact check and remember things.
Beth Ingalls
September 21, 2009 04:57 PM
shame on him. but he does it for a living, so who can blame him? instead of complaining about the media parasites, why not just ignore them? they live on publicity, die on neglect.

of cours, if beck and sirota each castigate the other, they both get publicity...
al loomis
September 21, 2009 06:05 PM
I've about had a gutfull of the guy.
Major Mojo
September 21, 2009 06:43 PM
The key here is that his comment was made during the Bush administration. Things were different then. Deficits didn't matter.
Rich Banks
September 21, 2009 06:49 PM
What ever gets ratings. His schtick is so lame. How he gets a platform to preach his brand of hypocrisy is beyond me. One should never let the facts get in the way of bloviating nonsense.
Michael Rodgers
September 21, 2009 07:11 PM
Wow. You'd think after seeing Beck's 360 on health care on the Daily Show (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-13-2009/glenn-beck-s-operation) I wouldn't be surprised by anything from this guy, but, well, he continues to amaze.
shaggylocks
September 21, 2009 08:20 PM
My theory is Beck's viewers relate so much to his high anxiety shtick--I mean, who isn't feeling a little on edge these days?--they don't question whether anything he says is actually rational or consistent.
Megan Stewart
September 21, 2009 08:43 PM
beck is quite the clown, but a tiny )( positive thing can be said of him-- he defies the standard left right paradigm/dichotomy.. and I think thats a good thing....
on the other hand, he does seem to be intentionally trying to split the ron paul libertarian surge.... successfully....
vzn
September 21, 2009 09:16 PM
did you know van jones was behind organizing an advertiser boycott of beck? its defn his achilles heel and Im sure he's feeling some pain over that.
vzn
September 21, 2009 09:25 PM
Beck is a celebrity or celebritard if you prefer. The only convictions his clan have is ratings, getting PR and camera time. He would come out in support of Obama tomorrow if it would result in more popularity. It is the nature of the media.

My only question is where were the Tea Party faithfuls and FOX when Bush was spending trillions of dollars for a war we did not have to wage? But, now that Obama is president deficit spending is bad. I agree deficit spending is bad, but it was bad when Bush did it to.
M Todd
September 22, 2009 11:05 AM