Glenn Beck is now targeting the League of Women Voters; compares it to ACORN.

[PA Democrat]

A nationwide conservative outcry about the Pledge of Allegiance at political debates touched down in Peters this week, when a crowd at an 18th District congressional forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters charged ahead with the pledge when it was not on the league's agenda.

U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, and Democrat Dan Connolly were about to give their opening remarks at a debate at Peters Middle School Tuesday when Mr. Murphy asked the moderator if the pledge was being recited. When she hesitated, saying that was "not a usual way" the league started the forums, members of the crowd stood and recited the pledge anyway.

Web video of a similar incident at a League forum in Illinois last week was featured Monday night on Glenn Beck's show on Fox News, in which the conservative host compared the League to liberal groups such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and the Tides Foundation. "The League of Women Voters? Oh really? I'll add them to my list of people I don't trust anymore," Mr. Beck said.

At Tuesday's meeting, two members of the Peters GOP committee, Buzz Rich and Bob Woeber, were discussing the Illinois incident at a GOP event before Tuesday's debate and decided to ask a League representative if the pledge would be recited. They understood it would, Mr. Woeber said. But when Mr. Murphy raised the issue at the forum and was told the pledge was not on the agenda, Mr. Woeber stood up and shouted "That is unacceptable and un-American!"


Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10301/1098683-455.stm#ixzz13eYXLr83

[tigereye]

1. typical rejection of anything reasonable and moderate and non-partisan

sigh. And a lot of grandstanding as well.


I was doing some phone banking for Connolly last week.

[Capitalocracy]

3. Not just rejection

Persecution

[JoePhilly]

2. Why does Glenn Beck hate America?

I mean, HE doesn't start his show with the pledge ... what is he ... a communist?

[Capitalocracy]

4. Least surprising news of the day... We did it before, we'll do it again

It's going to turn into a new McCarthyism. If it works, why change the formula? They're going to keep doing this until they take down every organization that isn't directly under their control. I remember talking about this when they killed Acorn. Why would they ever stop?

[PA Democrat]

6. God forbid voters make a decision based upon an actual debate

on the issues. They are supposed to take Beck and FOX's fabricated talking points as the truth. The reality is that FOX abhors ANYTHING that actually is "fair and balanced."

[WinkyDink]

28. Don't forget: They killed Exit Polling in 2000.

[Cosmocat]

5. playing with fire on this one ...

ACORN was african americans and urban - safe territory for demonizing, like the brown skinned illegals ...

LOWVs ... messing with women ...

Beck steps in it from time to time, and while the LOWVs is not a particularly aggressive organization, it might not be a land mine, but this isn't something he is going to have many people follow him into the hole with ....

[Javaman]

15. My thinking as well....

go for it glenn, see how that works out for you.

[beac]

7. In elementary school, I had a classmate who had recently moved to the States from the UK.

She once asked me "Why do you all stand up every morning and talk to your flag? That's crazy." And it is.


The pledge has become just another faux-patriot exercise that makes hateful people feel good about themselves while they do nothing to actually help the country they claim to so love.

[DCKit]

27. Nationalist Indoctrination Exercise. n/t

[Dappleganger]

8. It's like thinking that singing the Sunday hymn the loudest

makes you the better christian.

This shit is laughable.

[PA Democrat]

9. Francis Bellamy, author of the original pledge was a socialist.

He was a Baptist minister and was pushed out of the church because of his sermons espousing socialism. Do you think Beck's mindless zombie viewers could handle that tidbit of information? They have a childish need to see everything clearly in terms of black and white. Shades of grey are not acceptable.

[polmaven]

38. Actually,

I think they have a need to see everything clearly in terms of male and white.

[OneGrassRoot]

10. Is there a list of all the people and groups he's targeted over the years?

He certainly is frightened of many people and groups.

;)

[LWolf]

11. If we allow each group to be picked off one at a time, who will

be left to stand for sanity?

Teachers. Unions. Public radio. The League of Women Voters????

My stock answer for when someone asks me why I didn't recite the pledge:

"I've already recited the pledge countless times in my life. I really only need to do so once. If I'm sincere, my word is good and once is enough. If I'm not, it doesn't matter how many times I repeat it, it won't mean anything."

[rbixby]

14. The thing is

these folks are about to go off the deep end, and when they do, it will become apparent to all but their most sycophantic fans that they've totally lost it. Ratings will drop, they'll end back up on AM radio, and it will be business as usual again. That's my hope anyway.

[bobbolink]

30. Yup, that's exactly the way it happened with Mussoline, Hitler, etc.

?

It can't happen here.....

[LWolf]

37. I hope you're right.

I'm worried, though, when I hear DEMOCRATS and supposed "liberals" using what would have been right-wing talking points just a few years ago. In another few years, at the rate we're going, the centrists will be tea-baggers and the tea-baggers will be...what?

[spinbaby]

12. Do they recite the Pledge at GOP fundraisers?

I'm betting not.

[Doctor_J]

13. How long until one of his mental patients goes at them with an assault weapon?

And of course, nothing will be done about the root of the problem

[RamboLiberal]

16. I was screaming at local radio this morning over this

Marty Griffin of KDKA radio in Pittsburgh was beating on the League of Women Voters unmercifully & calling this Pledge moment by Repuke Tim Murphy & the audience a great American moment & bringing us together.

I hate to trot out this chesnut but I never understood how a civilized nation descended into Nazism, until the last 10 years. The words going through my mind this morning were beer hall putsch!

I bet we're going to see this happen in a 2012 presidential debate.

[PA Democrat]

19. The Post Gazette covered the phony pledge "outrage" front page, top of fold.

Coverage of the actual debate and the candidates' stance on issues was nowhere to be found. I scoured both today's and yesterday's paper (debate was Tuesday night), and also googled it and found nothing.

Nice to see the PG resort to FOX News style reporting. Inflate a phony outrage, while failing to talk about the real issues that affect voters' lives. A lot of people are hurting in the area, but no one is suffering because people aren't saying the pledge often enough.

Of course the PG already endorsed Bush's rubber stamp, Tim Murphy, so I guess they feel their readers have no need of additional information. :mad:

[RamboLiberal]

21. At least Robert Mangino(sp) on KDKA radio this evening

is calling out Tim Murphy and this Pledge "false patriotism" for the crap it is. And connecting it to Faux News.

[Curmudgeoness]

35. Mangino is surprisingly fair. We lost him to Pittsburgh and it was a loss.

Just don't get into god/evolution/religion with him.

[struggle4progress]

17. Eeek! Women voters! They're scary! Scary scary scary!

If we let women vote, they'll want equal rights! And then other people will want equal rights too! People will knock on doors for rent control! People will spend money to promote social justice and democracy! People will marry furniture!

[Zephie]

20. And then, god forbid, they'll be pissed when we stomp on their heads

Where will it end?!

[blondeatlast]

18. My mom, who helped found the Pueblo, Colorado LWV, is thinking (in her eternal peace),

"just who is this Glenn Beck person, again? and why should I care?"

[Quantess]

22. Awesome timing!

Right after a woman gets beaten up by Rand Paul thugs. Right as those RW assholes say that she deserved it.

[Kurovski]

23. His shit just isn't funny anymore.

[felix_numinous]

24. I wish I could ignore these people

but we ignore them at our own peril, their influence endangers us all.

Their rhetoric is incrementally becoming more and more threatening, it does not look good.

[arbusto_baboso]

25. And this is where he overreaches....

Thus is the start of Mr. Beck's downfall. It may be slow, but it starts here.

LOWV is a trusted, respected organization in this country, and has supporters on all ends of the spectrum.

Glenn, when you're in a hole, first thing to do is to put down...


Uh, never mind.

[BootinUp]

29. +1

[Doctor_J]

34. Yeah, sure

I wish I had a buck for every time one of you residents of the great state of Denial said that about Limpballs over the last 20 years.

more likely than this beginning King Glenn's demise is that one of his unbalanced minions goes after the LWV with some guns.

[Curmudgeoness]

26. As a League member and officer in my local chapter,

I am highly offended. I do all that I can to be completely non-partisan at any League function (like the debate we just hosted), even though I feel very strongly about the candidates. This is just another scheme to shame others by making them look less patriotic than your are. I'm disgusted.

If they think that we are such a horrible organization, they can stop showing up at our debates. These forums give them a platform to show their stuff to the voters, and most of them truly appreciate that we host them. Where else do people get to see candidates unless it is at a partisan gathering?

[bobbolink]

31. Its a great way to piss of some very proper ladies, eh?

Thanks for all you do.. it is a commendable organization.

Like ACORN was, but more like the Mayflower ladies. ^_^

[Curmudgeoness]

32. All of us are not all the proper ladies. It is much more diverse these days.

It has a reputation of being full of little old ladies who have standing in their communities, today, many members are just ordinary people (of both sexes) who believe that the voters need to have FACTS to make decisions. Debates and forums are such an important part of seeing how the candidates stand on issues. You will not hear the same thing in the mailings and ads.

[nolabear]

33. Many, many thanks for your service and example.

These hypocrites have one hand over their hearts while the other tries to strangle every freedom that flag stands for out of this country.

[blue neen]

36. I'm really disappointed in the Post Gazette lately.

I still can't believe they endorsed Tom Corbett. I was thinking about getting a daily subscription from them, but not now. They're becoming the "Trib Lite".