CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 3

Sarah Palin Rocks the CPAC House… Holding-Up Her Big Gulp as She Ends Her Speech…

Video: CPAC 2013 - U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN)

Video: CPAC 2013 - President Obama's Prayer Breakfast Club (feat. Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas)

If you haven’t seen it… See Dr. Benjamin Carson's Amazing Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast with

Video: CPAC 2013 - Mia Love, Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah

Video:  CPAC 2013- Brent Bozell, Founder and President Media Research Center

Video: CPAC 2013 - Former U.S. Representative Artur Davis

Video: CPAC 2013 - Phyllis Schlafy, Founder, Eagle Forum (Emcee: Steven Crowder)

Video: CPAC 2013 – Former Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK)

CPAC Star: We are not here to re-brand a party… We are here to rebuild a country!

Palin rouses the faithful at CPAC

Video: CPAC 2013- Ann Coulter

Video: Senator Ted Cruz Gives Keynote Speech at CPAC 2013

Jeb Bush Beats the Drum for Inclusion and Acceptance at CPAC

Rand Paul wins CPAC straw poll

No surprise here, as Paul's supporters worked hard to get out the vote for their man.

Robert Costa:

Rand Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, a victory that cements his status as a tea-party favorite.

Paul, who spoke at CPAC earlier this week, drew the support of many college-age activists and libertarians. Throughout the conference's hallways, the support for Paul was strong, and his backers handed out "Stand with Rand" posters.

Conservative leaders say Paul's victory is a sign of his popularity within Republican ranks. "I'm glad someone who says bold things is rising," says Arthur Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute. "At a time when many conservatives are reflecting on the future, his views are connecting."

Boyden Gray, a former counselor to President George H. W. Bush, agrees. He says Paul may not be cheered in every corner of the party, but he's a formidable figure. "Even within the GOP, people are beginning to question big institutions, from big government to big banks, and Rand Paul is speaking to them," he says.

Senator Paul, a Kentucky Republican and ophthalmologist, follows in the footsteps of his father, Ron Paul, who won the CPAC straw poll in 2010 and 2011.

Paul's supporters were not the only activists pushing a candidate at the Gaylord National Hotel in suburban Maryland. Supporters of Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and supporters of New Jersey governor Chris Christie also had informal get-out-the-vote operations.

But Paul's group was, by far, the most vocal, and its efforts paid off. According to a CPAC official, Paul was expected to win, and he drew heavy, consistent support.

Other Republicans on the ballot included Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Bobby Jindal, and Governor Scott Walker. Rubio, for his part, came in a close second. Paul won 25 percent, and Rubio won 23 percent.

Tea Party favorite, rising Republican star, libertarian heartthrob - but a successful candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016?

It won't be his fiscal conservatism, or his ability to articulate conservative principles. But it may be his foreign policy positions that would make Rand Paul a bridge too far for a majority of Republicans. Is the party ready to accept isolationism as a foundational principle in foreign affairs? This remains to be seen.

Rand Paul is not as stridently anti-interventionist as his father and that has to count for something. But you can bet the major line of attack of Paul's primary opponents will be questions about his commitment to Republican foreign policy principles.

Rand Paul won the CPAC straw poll and was closely followed by Marco Rubio… and many feel that if Ted Cruz had spoken earlier in the event that he would have come in higher in the poll… but again, Sarah Palin rocked the house!!

Related:

CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 2

CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 1

Rand Paul takes a stand for the Facebook generation and tears apart Big Government spending

CPAC Star: We are not here to re-brand a party… We are here to rebuild a country!

American superstar: ‘STUPID people’ running country

Technorati Tags: CPAC,Conservatives,Constitutionalists,Libertarians,Republicans,Conservative Political Action Conference,GOP,Washington D.C.,speeches,CSPAN,CPAC schedule,Sarah Palin,Dr. Ben Carson,Ann Coulter,Mia Love,Ted Cruz,Phyllis Schafley,Rand Paul

CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 2

Video: CPAC 2013 - U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Video: Sen. Rick Santorum Speech at CPAC 2013

Here is video of Sen. Rick Santorum speaking at CPAC 2013 earlier today. Santorum spoke with emotion, explaining that his nephew had just passed away.

Video: CPAC 2013 - Former Governor Mitt Romney (Intro by Gov. Nikki Haley)

Video: Donald Trump CPAC 2013 Speech US Is Run By " Very Stupid People " Trump

Read more at Ask Marion: American superstar: ‘STUPID people’ running country

Video:  CPAC 2013 - Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA)

Video:  Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR): U.S. Fighting Against “Radical Islamic Jihad”

Read more at Jihad Watch…

Video: NRA’s Wayne LaPierre Rocks CPAC: ‘You Keep Your Advice, We’ll Keep Our Guns’

Read more at The Blaze…

Schedule for (Final) Day 3 – Saturday 03.16.13:

Associated Press – Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Conservative Super Star Sarah Palin: Brought the Red Meat to CPAC 2012 and They Loved It… Loved Her!

9:05 a.m.: Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa)
9:45 a.m.: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.)
10 a.m.: Dr. Ben Carson
10 a.m.: Technology panel
Noon: Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska
3:45 p.m.: Reince Preibus, chairman of the Republican National Committee
3:55 p.m.: David Keene, president of the National Rifle Association
5:10 p.m.: Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas)

Associated Press

Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital

Related:

CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 1

Rand Paul takes a stand for the Facebook generation and tears apart Big Government spending

CSPAN will be covering the CPAC Event

Technorati Tags: CPAC,Conservatives,Constitutionalists,Libertarians,Republicans,Conservative Political Action Conference,GOP,Washington D.C.,speeches,CSPAN,CPAC schedule,Sarah Palin,Dr. Ben Carson,Mitt Romeny,Paul Ryan,Wayne LaPierre,Donald Trump,Rick Santorum,Bobby Jindal

CPAC 2013 Highlights – Day 1

Video: Marco Rubio Speaks at CPAC… Brings Auditorium to Its Feet

Read more at The Blaze…

Video: CPAC 2013 - Lt. Col. Allen West

Video: Rand Paul’s CPAC 2013 Speech – 3/14/2013

Read more a Gulag Bound…

Video:  Gov. Rick Perry speaks at CPAC 2013

Video: Sen. Tim Scott speaks at CPAC 2013

CPAC 2013 Schedule

Technorati Tags: CPAC,Conservatives,Constitutionalists,Libertarians,Republicans,Conservative Political Action Conference,GOP,Washington D.C.,speeches,CSPAN,CPAC schedule,CPAC speeches,Senator Tim Scott,Senator Marco Rubio,Senator Rand Paul,Lt. Col. Allen West

Why Are Palin’s Polls on Running So Low?

What Don't Republicans Want Sarah Palin to Run?

Later today, Sarah Palin will be speaking to a large gathering of Tea Party supporters in Iowa, then she will be flying to New Hampshire to speak at a Tea Party Rally sponsored by Tea Party Express. (Judson left this morning to join the same tour.) Her speech in Iowa is greatly anticipated and many of her supporters are driving and flying from all over the country to hear her speak.

She has stated that this speech will not be an announcement that she is running for President and those who have previewed the speech say she will focus on slamming the establishment and Obama, while praising the Tea Party movement itself. While I am of the personal opinion that she will not be running for President, many not only think she will not, they think she should not.

Earlier this month, Tea Party Nation had a poll asking you if you thought Sarah Palin should run for President. Almost 60% of you said no, she should not run. A few days ago, Newsmax released the results of a similar Fox News poll where almost 75% of the Republicans polled stated they did not think she should run. From the article:

Americans overwhelmingly believe that Sarah Palin should remain out of the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, a new Fox News poll of registered voters reveals.
Respondents were asked: “Do you think Sarah Palin should run for president in 2012 or not?” Overall, 74 percent said no, just 20 percent said yes, and 6 percent said they’re not sure.
Among Republicans, 71 percent said the former Alaska governor should stay out of the race, as did 80 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and 66 percent of tea party members.

Will you be watching Palin's speech on CSPAN later today? Absolutely!! Why do you think so many Republicans do not want to see her run?  Absolutely!!

Response…

Sarah Palin is exactly what we, mainstream Americans, keep asking for... someone that the average American can relate to; someone like you and me.  She is patriotic, loves America and will fight for 'Her' and us.  She is probably the potential candidate most like Ronald Reagan in her belief system and lights up a room when she walks in. The left hates her, which is always a good sign; she can speak with a word or two jotted in her hand (without a teleprompter) and is smart, spunky and pretty to boot!

Sarah was thrown to the liberal media wolves and remained standing!  We let them demonize her and now don't want to take a chance on her because we are afraid she isn't electable. She isn't electable only if we don't stand behind her and up for her.

Palin is pro-Constitution, pro-family, pro-fiscal responsibility, pro-second amendment, pro-capitalism, pro-U.S. energy self-sufficiency, pro-Israel, pro-strong military, pro-life, anti-ObamaCare, and has just enough of a Libertarian streak in her to make her more flexible when needed than Bachmann and if you read the emails released about time as governor you know she is a hard worker and can do the job we need.  And if you watch film Undefeated (which will air on most cable groups this month) you will see she someone who can relate to like.  She is a wife, a mom... including of a handicapped child, she can hunt, fish and then cook-up what she brought home... and then jump into a pair of heals and wow us with an extemporaneousness speech to a crowd of thousands or millions on Fox News.

So... why would we/the tea party, Republicans and Independents want to support her?  Because she makes sense, is what we need and is someone we can relate to with our values.

Sarah is a winner and a fighter... the question is will we fight for her and help her win or will we settle for the lesser of two evils again?!?

Sarah Palin's Speech on Saturday Will Be a Full-Throated Defense of the Tea Party

Ask Marion~

Sarah on the Cover of Newsweek… I Can Win!!

Yes you can!

“Of course she is running. She just is refusing to play by the “rules” the establishment and the media have set. There isn’t the slightest reason to announce yet, all that would do is give the enemy a fixed target. It would force every aspect of every thing she does to fit into campaign law.

The bus tour would have been impossible.

If this was the 1980 election, Reagan’s announcement would still be several months away.  November 13th.

She is Sun Tsu, refusing to march onto a battlefield that her enemy is standing on, fully prepared, in a location they chose. And she is attacking elsewhere.

It is driving them bats*^t insane. They are running this cover to goad her. They exclude her from every poll to goad her (“see, we excluded her until she announces”… Guliani is in some polls but not Sarah)

Meanwhile, she is touring the primary states in the NE, Touring Iowa… etc

Oh yes, she is running. But she is employing asymmetrical warfare.”

By: Andrea Shea King  - The Radio Patriot

The Extraordinary Sarah Palin

by Dan Riehl  -  Big Government

When it comes to former GOP Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, if any ordinary Republican politician could generate as much contemporary free media coverage, including a new high profile cover story from Newsweek, while a positive full length documentary on their legitimate political career, The Undefeated, was opening nationally on July 15, the Republican establishment and most all of the base would be clamouring for him or her to enter the race for President in 2012. But Sarah Palin is no ordinary Republican politician.

Based upon my own observations, along with some recent conversations with friends, including Andrew Breitbart, who recently spent some time talking with Palin, my image of Palin has been becoming more well-defined of late. Take, for instance, the only real criticism I could find in the Newsweek piece. It jibes with another criticism I’ve observed, that she too often engages her critics directly, as opposed to allowing surrogates to do it for her. Are these valid criticisms of Palin? Along with providing some insight into her - she’s a fighter, it might also tell you much about how you view Palin. If you’re looking for an ordinary politician, Sarah Palin ain’t it.

This formula—bucking Republicans and counting on the situational cooperation of Democrats—made for a fragile governing model, one further attenuated by the fact that political insiders found Palin too sensitive to criticism and too eager to deal in payback. But to the public she was a heroine, with an approval rating above 80 percent two years into her term, making her by far the most popular governor in the country.

Once I put aside any notion of a mostly plastic, glad-handing politician and contemplated how I myself might actually react in this, or that, situation Palin has faced, a clearer image of her as an every man politician began to take shape. There’s a good chance I’d have handled a good deal of the criticism precisely as has she in this, a new media age. And she is far more in touch with the concept of new media, than is almost any other American politician – hence the reliance on Facebook and Twitter to get her message out.

“The mainstream press is becoming less and less relevant,” she said, adding that she would have no hesitation in shunning media outlets she does not trust.

As The Undefeated makes clear (my earlier review here), she’s not in politics because her daddy held office, or won, or was denied a Presidential nomination, or election. She entered politics as an individual because she cared about the relationship between government and the people and wanted to make a difference. Sarah Palin was not schooled by some mostly Eastern U.S. Preparatory and Secondary school system one might think is the only acceptable schooling for serious American political leadership today. In fact, in many ways, that monopoly has all but driven America off a cliff - including under the current administration.

Of course, Ronald Reagan wasn’t a product of it, either, as a matter of fact.

Still, even some of her biggest fans may have a mistaken notion of the kind of politician Sarah Palin actually is. True, she’s a Conservative … but she’s also a common sense pragmatist, not an uncompromising ideologue, as portions of the media would have one believe. As wonderful as conservative ideals are, rigid thinking can not always solve every problem. As her tenure in Alaska demonstrated, first and foremost, Sarah Palin is a problem solver.

The centerpiece achievement was a significant tax hike on the profits derived from Alaskan oil, which pro-industry Republicans opposed, and which passed only because Palin allied herself with the legislature’s Democrats (who insisted, to Palin’s acquiescence, on raising the tax even higher).

So, why are there not more establishment voices calling for such a visible and pragmatic Palin to toss her hat in the ring? My guess is, because she is more one of us, than any political establishment. If you begin to understand – and accept that – you may be beginning to understand Palin and what she represents to so many. Unfortunately, as shocking as it may seem, the fact is, more than fearing the political opposition in the form of Democrats, or Republicans, what America’s political establishment fears most of all is “we the people.” That, in large part, is what Ronald Reagan represented leading to such strong opposition to him from the GOP establishment, as well.

“You know, I rarely use the term ‘bipartisanship,’” she said. “I use the term ‘independent.’ Piper’s middle name is ‘Indie.’ That’s the Alaskan way of life. Seventy-three percent of Alaskans aren’t registered Republican or Democrat, they’re independent. Todd’s not a registered Republican. Most of the people I know, they’re independent people saying, ‘Just use common sense.’”

If there’s a conclusion to be inferred from the Newsweek item, it would seem to be that she is running. Her family seems on board with it and that is the only real obstacle she mentions, after all. However, that’s merely an inference and, as with some other potential late entries, the question remains open. What’s also true of Palin is that, until she says it, assuming otherwise is no guarantee of accuracy.

What is clear is that her road to any presumed GOP nomination would not be easy, or typical. It would likely require a far greater number of people to actually understand Sarah Palin apart from the many characters and caricatures the media has made her out to be. That said, if it did, or does happen, I do believe that, not only could she win the GOP nomination, but she could win the Presidency, as well.

At this point thirty-years ago, Reagan was thought to be both unelectable and unacceptable, even as a nominee. Not only did he go on to win the nomination and Presidency in 1980, his landslide re-election in 1984 remains as a testament to the success of common sense, mostly conservative-based politics capable of reaching across, if not erasing, party lines in America.

I wouldn’t want to have to assign odds as to the likelihood that Sarah Palin could repeat such a hallmark record of achievement in American politics. However, if one thinks it impossible at this point, then one may not know, or understand, Sarah Palin and her appeal, or the American people, at all. After all, both are extraordinary and have proven themselves capable of accomplishing rather exceptional things before.

Why Sarah Can Win

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Fear Factor: Palin Derangement Syndrome

Why Palin Can Win

One of the most talked about subjects in politics is whether or not Sarah Palin will run for the presidency.  It's frankly anyone's guess which direction she will go with her decision and when she will make the decision.

However, if Palin doesn't run it will be a disaster for the Republican Party and quite possibly the country.

Aside from the fact that there isn't another libertarian-conservative in the race, at least not another one who isn't an international isolationist, if Palin doesn't run, it will represent an enormous victory for the Republican beltway establishment and the big players in the left-wing-dominated media.  Furthermore, the leftist media will learn a fool-proof means to destroy any political opponent in a manner that will likely result in another four years of Obama.

In watching the coverage of the announced candidates, the alarm bells should be clanging violently.  The fact that the leftist media hasn't really gone after the other Republican politicians in the race should be a violent warning to all conservatives and libertarians out there.  It's totally out of character for the leftist media to not bring up Newt Gingrich's infidelity every ten minutes, or to have squads of reporters interviewing every foster child of Michele Bachmann that can be found to try to dig up some dirt.  The rigorous inspection that has been visited upon Sarah Palin hasn't even started on the remainder of the Republican field.  However, that doesn't mean the media has tacked suddenly to the center; far from it.

Throughout the last two years the media has embarked on a vitriolic, obsessed campaign to destroy Sarah Palin, not just as a politician but also as a person.  They manipulated the legal system to try to bankrupt her while in office; they hacked her personal email and forced the release of her official email.  When all of that produced nothing consequential, they simply made up the stories they wished and put them out to be in every headline for two weeks until they have the majority believing their deceits.  As an example, ask any ten people you know who said, "I can see Russia from my house," and probably most of them will incorrectly name Sarah Palin rather than the comedian Tina Fey who actually said it.  To the media, facts are unimportant so long as the story forwards the agenda.

If Sarah Palin doesn't run for president, the operatives in the media and Beltway establishment will have learned a fool-proof method of destroying any political opponent.  If they are allowed to successfully paint a politician as stupid without any facts, merely because they disagree with the "aristocracy," America will be left with a choice of RINOs or progressive socialists.  If that happens then the transformation of America from a libertarian culture to one of socialism and government dependence may very well be irreparable.

Assuming that Sarah Palin doesn't run the campaign will go sort of like this: the media will talk up the largest RINO they can find in an attempt to split the Republican Party from within.  However, the real dirt will be kept securely under wraps.  As the Republican primary nears its close, the research effort will go into full force.  They will send squads of lawyers to go into every tiny detail of the candidate's personal and professional life.  They will examine every detail of the life of the nominee from the day of their birth.  The researchers will talk to every ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, every business partner, and any employees they can find.

After the primary is over, they will start to dump the juiciest tidbits in carefully edited and scripted special stories.  National interviews will be granted to jilted lovers and business acquaintances that felt wronged by the candidate, or perhaps could be persuaded to feel wronged with a little interview stipend.  The candidate will be mocked for their lack of intelligence and any microscopic mispronunciation or slip of the tongue will result in a weeklong national news cycle about why that candidate is too stupid to be president.  The candidate will not have time to counter the perception and, combined with the media adoration of Obama, likely Obama would get another four years.

By contrast, if Sarah Palin runs, the media has already shot all of their ammo.  They have done everything they can possibly do to destroy her but she has learned how to counter them via Facebook, Twitter, and streaming video.  The accusations against Palin and her children have been flying in for two years and have failed to destroy her.  All they have left is to repeat the old tired line of "Palin is an idiot."  Of course it wouldn't take more than a debate or two, nationally televised with live video, to dispel that myth with everyone that can possibly be persuaded.  The problem with the media is that all they have left to shoot are lies which can't stand in the light of day, and even all the plausible lies have been spent by Palin's opponents.  If Palin wins the primary, the leftist media will be left to incoherent rage watched by fewer and fewer Americans. 

With a properly run campaign, Palin will be able to easily counter the media perpetuated perception of stupidity with all except those that are so ideologically or emotionally committed as to be unpersuadable.  Furthermore, on the issues Palin will be able to bring all guns blazing against Obama rather than being handicapped by prior records of endorsing government-mandated healthcare or global warming hysteria.  On the issues, Palin's conservatism combined with her small-government libertarianism will make a stark contrast to Obama who will now be forced to defend his policies rather than run on emotion ad-hominem attacks and catchy phrases.

When the political calculus is done, it is clear that Palin is the only real conservative with libertarian leanings that can possibly be elected in the country.  Although there are other conservatives with promise such as Bachmann, Cain, and West, they have not been subjected to the vetting that Sarah Palin has and there should be no doubt that the media will do everything they possibly can to destroy them should they win the nomination.

By Robert Eugene Simmons Jr. -  American Thinker

Donna Brazile:  Yes, I said Sarah Palin for President

Long Lost Sarah Palin Emerges From Released Emails Victoriously

Palin Movie to Debut in Key Presidential Caucus State

Brazile:  Are You Ready to Hear ‘Sarah Palin’ for President?

Can Any Republican Presidential Candidate Withstand Being Palinized?

Stealing Election 2012

A Steady Whiff of  B.O. Emanating From the White House

Will Ignorance Lead to a Second Obama Term??

Glenn Beck on Glenn Beck

Controversial Fox Host Talks About Kicking Bottle, Turning Mormon and Common Sense

John Stossel explores why some seem to hate the conservative commentator.

Forbes magazine's new list of the 100 richest and most influential celebrities in America includes Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, and only one TV news personality -- Fox News' Glenn Beck.

Video: Preview of Stossel 20/20 Interview With Glenn Beck

A few years ago, not many people had heard of Glenn Beck. Nowadays, the conservative commentator seems to be everywhere. Over the past two weeks, he's performed before sold-out crowds on his comedy tour. He's had several New York Times No. 1 best-selling books (a new book, "Glenn Beck's Common Sense," is due to hit stores next week); 8 million listeners tune in each week to his radio show; and now he's the host of his own television show on Fox News.

Watch John Stossel's interview with Glenn Beck on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. ET.

Glenn Beck: The Drinking Years

"[My mother] was an alcoholic and a drug addict," he said. "When I hit 30, I was going down that same path."

Glenn Beck preps backstage for his Fox News talk show. Despite its weekday-afternoon time slot, normally a ratings wasteland, the show now has a bigger audience than any prime time show on cable.

(ABC News)

He believes the word "jerk" would be the kindest way to describe him at that stage.

"I fired a guy one time for bringing me the wrong kind of pen," he said remorsefully. "I was beyond a jerk.

"I hated myself. Hated myself," he admitted. "I tried for two years to stop drinking. I'd look myself in the mirror and I'd say, 'You're not an alcoholic, you don't have a problem.'"

Beck didn't admit he had a drinking problem until one morning when he was unable to remember a bedtime story he had drunkenly told his children the night before. And so, that evening, he attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

"I don't know what I expected, but you guys don't look like alcoholics," Beck recalled telling the attendees. "This lady, she must've been 70 years old. She was wearing a sweater set and pearls. She was sitting right in front of me, and she just leaned back and she said, 'Oh, honey, we're all drunks in here.'"

n typical Glenn Beck fashion, however, he didn't stop his reformation there. He became a Mormon.

"I apologize, but guys will understand this. My wife is hot and she wouldn't have sex with me until we got married, and she wouldn't marry me unless we had a religion," he said. "I'm like, ah, you've got to be kidding me! I've got to go to church for this?"

But now he says that going to church has given him the faith to ground himself, and so he's grateful to his wife. Glenn and Tania Beck have been married now for nearly 10 years, after first meeting in a parking lot.

"I was a loser at local radio and she came up to me and she said, 'Are you Glenn Beck?'" he recalled of their first meeting. "She said, 'I used to listen to you when I was in high school. Thanks for the laughs,' and then she turned around and walked away."

Beck has been called an "idiot" who engages in a lot of "crazy talk." Does it bother his wife when people have hateful things to say about her husband?

Glenn Beck: A Big Target

"If I let every single thing bother me, you know, I would have jumped off a bridge a long time ago," she said.

Glenn Beck talks with John Stossel about how he got his start in radio.

(Chris Kilmer / ABC News)

Beck has become a big target for comedians and commentators alike. Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert often mocks him, and Jon Stewart of "The Daily Show" once said of Beck, "Finally, a guy who says what people who aren't thinking are thinking."

"You can get rich making fun of me. I know. I've made a lot of money making fun of me," Beck said.

Beck is also criticized for crying on television.

"Somebody get this blubbering buffoon a Kleenex!" said journalist Tina Brown on her March 31 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Others have accused Beck of faking the crying for entertainment purposes.

"I should be paid a lot more money if I were able to cry on will like that," he responded.

The criticism he receives from the media doesn't stop there. Al Franken wondered aloud on CNN whether Beck should be allowed on television. Keith Olbermann frequently names Beck the "Worst Person in the World."

Some even go as far as to charge that Beck's complaints about the government actually encourage violence.

"A man kills his own mother and nine others and turns out to have kept a hit list. And Glenn Beck is rationalizing it and blaming liberals for it," said Keith Olbermann on March 13.

But, does Beck actually encourage the anti-government violence of people like Timothy McVeigh?

"No. Timothy McVeigh was a coward," explained Beck. "Violence is the stupid way out. It'll discredit any real legitimate movement."

Beck added that most people who criticize him don't actually watch his show or listen to what he says.

Many in the media label Beck as a staunch Republican -- a label which he strongly disagrees with.

"Both parties only believe in the power of the party," he said. "Stand up. Throw off the shackles of the two-party system!"

He criticizes both parties for exercising more power than the Constitution intended and for abandoning what he considers to be common-sense ideas.

Glenn Beck: Freedom to...

"Look, the American experiment was about freedom," he explained. "Freedom. Freedom to be stupid. Freedom to fail. Freedom to succeed. Freedom to succeed.

"We just put General Motors in the hands of people who can't even run our own government," he added. "Our debt is -- just the interest -- a trillion dollars a year. You can't pay for that!"

Beck also compares himself to Howard Beale, the fictional anchorman from the 1976 film "Network" who famously exclaimed: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

"I am like Howard Beale," said Beck. "When he came out of the rain and he was like, none of this makes any sense. I am that guy."

And so Beck works constantly, on radio, TV and onstage, saying that a lot of life would be better if government -- Republicans and Democrats -- just left Americans alone.

"I believe that if we get out of people's way, the sky's the limit," he said. "The sky is the limit."

By JOHN STOSSEL and ANDREW KIRELL - June 10, 2009

Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

Related Resources:

• Barbara Walters (and Whoopi) Don't Check Facts, Attack Glenn Beck Anyway…
• Glenn ambushed on 'The View'
• Bit_h_s on the View at Their Nonsense Again...
• Glenn Responds to The View Debacle
• Can Andrew Breitbart Save Hollywood?
• Progressivism – The Progressive Movement Is A Cancer That Has Slowly Infested Both Major U.S. Parties Over the Past 100 Years
• Progressives dream to 'remake' America – Glenn Beck - (Part II)
• The Death of Common Sense
• We Surround Them
• Glenn Beck's Common Sense - New Book
• An Inconvenient Book - Book

WATCH:Whoopi's Blow Up With Glenn Beck