Jack & Jill Politics

Fox News has always obsessed about the Netroots Nation conference. That’s because they are genuinely freaked out by the power of blogs and twitter to counter their sick racist memes and to provide an alternative vision for our nation built on real American values truth, justice, equality and opportunity.

This year, Glenn Beck covered the NN10 conference Monday with a vengeance literally. He was clearly aroused by just how many people — particularly, especially black people — mentioned his name at the conference. I’m not only on the Board of Directors of Netroots Nation the organization, but I also sat on the Agenda committee this year and helped recruit some of the panelists seen in Glenn Beck’s video. A lot of people mentioned Beck’s name as an example of the worst messaging the right has to offer. Yet, you’d think from his telling of it, that only mainly black people wanna take him down at Netroots Nation. And for the first time I can remember as a regular viewer of his very strange show, he actually referenced James Rucker of Color of Change directly and talked about the campaign that you’ve helped with here at JJP — asking advertisers to stop supporting a racist TV program. But don’t believe me — see if you see the pattern yourself:

Know that your efforts to hold Beck accountable for his racist and distorted diatribes are having an effect on the man. Otherwise, he wouldn’t go to so much trouble to listen to everything every black person had to say at Netroots Nation. The only reason I’m not included: I never actually said his name at NN10 — not even once! Sorry Glenn — maybe next time…

Here’s what Beck had to say about James Rucker, btw:

JAMES RUCKER, COLOR OF CHANGE CO-FOUNDER: Unfortunately, Glenn Beck is in my brain all the time. It’s bad for your health — psychological health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Gee, that’s too bad, James. I haven’t spent a single moment thinking about you and my business has never been more successful. We’re having our best year of all time. But Rucker knows that we’re exposing the progressive agenda to the light of day and he doesn’t like it:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUCKER: No one knew what Tides was until Glenn Beck started — I mean people outside of our political world knew what Tides was until they were on Glenn Beck’s blackboard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Why would you want the American people to know about Tides? Aren’t they helping people? Aren’t they working for “social justice?” Isn’t that what all of your progressive friends are working towards?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUCKER: One of the campaigns we ran last year, Color of Change, was basically going after Glenn Beck’s advertisers where we thankfully stripped him of normal brands, companies you’d recognize. But the reality is — and we knew this — we weren’t trying to — well, we were trying to, actually, we were trying to marginalize Beck. We didn’t expect we would get him off the air. We wanted to make him untouchable to a certain degree.

Being on the other side of Beck it can be kind of a stressful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Gosh James, I’m sorry. I’m sure that barely being mentioned on my show is much more stressful than four advisers to the president of the United States running smear and boycott campaigns against you. I can’t imagine how hard one or two mentions on my show has been for you.

Somehow, Beck thinks that the fact that a black man was rightfully elected in America (just: not by the majority of white people) means that we’re about to “crown a new earthly king”? How is it exactly that black and brown and red and yellow people plus the white people who love them voting successfully for their champion using the same ballot boxes as everybody else equals communism or socialism? Can someone please explain that me? Because I’m pretty sure Beck can’t. Apparently democracy is different when you and I apply it – now ain’t that strange?