Clearing His Conscience

After declaring that the President hates white people last week, Glennsanity has realized how much blood would be on his hands should anything happen and came out yesterday with a plea of non-violence.

Beck started by noting that his viewers should watch elected officials "like a hawk," so that policymakers can "feel your burning gaze."

"But here's the thing I'm concerned about," Beck said. "Your interaction with them needs to be respectful, polite, forceful, and peaceful. I've been warning Congress for a couple of years, and the time has come and passed for them to be able to learn from this. I've been telling them, 'You have to listen to the people,' or they'll be in real big trouble. Well, now let me give the warning to you. If anybody thinks it would be a good idea to turn violent, think again. It would be destroy the republic. I feel it with everything in me."

Beck said the electorate is, from his perspective, "starting to wake up," but "one lunatic, like Timothy McVeigh, could ruin everything that everyone has worked so hard for." As Beck put it, a McVeigh-like lunatic would become a p.r. problem, exploited by politicians and the media, making it harder for those who share his worldview.

"There is no excuse for violence," the host said. Only a "crazy person" picks up a gun to register political protest. He concluded, "If you ever hear someone talking about, or thinking about, turning violent, it is your patriotic duty to stop them. The only way to save our republic is to remain peaceful. Forceful, but peaceful."

And while Beck is right here and deserves credit for doing the responsible thing, it doesn't excuse the fever-bright insanity that has shown up on his TV and radio shows.

One right thing doesn't begin to excuse the multitude of wrongs. But whatever helps Glennsanity sleep at night. He's dumped gallon after gallon of gasoline on the bonfire, and now he's letting us know that playing with fire is bad as a public service message to assuage his guilt. It doesn't put the fire out.

But if even Glennsanity can see that this whole thing has gotten out of control and feels the need to apologize for his own hatemongering, and to try to tamp down any violence, then isn't that a tacit admission that Glenn has gone just a bit over the line?

If you're really worried about violence there Glenn, then stop winding up the Pretty Hate Machine every night.