Quote:
Originally Posted by YaWhateva
I know many people who are conservative who absolutely worship Glenn Beck and spout off stuff he says as absolute truth. Ace, you may not watch him but that doesn't mean other don't as well. So many people use the exact same rhetoric that they hear from the Glenn Beck's and Rush Limbaugh's that it is ridiculous to say people don't take him seriously.
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I will be more clear in connecting the dots, I apologize for occasionally mentally getting ahead of what I write.
A person like Beck (and Rush for that matter), a person who would be a Top 40 DJ, would do that not for the love of music, but they do it because it is their job. It is what they do to make money. A person (at least to me) who loves music makes a commitment to a type of music or different types of music because that is what is really in their heart regardless of popularity.
When a person like Beck (or Rush) makes the decision to be a political talk show host, they have to develop a concept for their act and they have to make sure it is marketable. They are entertainers, they are in show business.
So, a person like Beck decides to be a talk show host - odds are he can be more successful as a conservative talk show host (I am not saying he does not have underlying conservative views, but he has shown a willingness to do what needs to be done in show business to make a buck).
If you are going to be a conservative talk show host realizing how crowed the market is, you have to bring something unique to the table. In Beck's case he positions himself to be the most boisterous, animated, unconventional talk show host in the market. To maintain that he has to be "over the top".
A person like Beck is "over the top" by taking existing core emotional issues and exploits them. He uses "show biz" gimmicks to do it. He creates illusions. but the illusions are based on some core concerns and fears held by conservatives.
The issue is not people following him, but more of him finding an issue and taking it "over the top". So, the question is what came first, "the chicken or the egg" so to speak?
Conservatives, including me, have an underlying concern of big government being too intrusive. So, Beck takes that underlying concern - matches it with the census (even-though there really is no difference between this up coming census and the ones in the past) - he creates his controversy - he gets attention - he gets viewers.
However, at the core he does not change anyone's views. He does not influence anyone's behavior. All he has done was meet his obligation for ratings so that he gets paid. then he moves on to the next issue of the day.
All of you who are saying I know people who take Beck serious, I would bet that you really don't. I mean serious in the way that they would actually act or do something Beck wants them to do. A person who scream, yea!, at the TV while Beck is on as he continues to eat Doritos and has no plans to do anything other than get another cold beer from the fridge is not a person who I would consider taking Beck serious. TH meetings, Tea parties, etc., have had nothing to do with a guy like Beck.