I Read Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea-Bagging of America

For a lot of people, there's not many TV personalities more entertaining that Fox New's Glenn Beck. Entertaining however is a rather vague word. He entertains conservatives by over-exaggerating and making up random accusations out of thin air. For Liberals, he is nothing more than a joke, and as author Dana Milbank puts it; a clown. You almost have to laugh at this clown's performance every night on Fox News, and try to comprehend the millions of people that take his words seriously.

For those who don't know, Glenn Beck is a conservative champion of the Tea Party and ultra-extremist Republicans. The book covers many different topics about Mr. Beck himself. From his early life, fledging career as a radio host, his Mormon faith, and his deep rooted hatred for Barack Obama, and former President Woodrow Wilson. He believes that all progressives are nothing more than communists and fascists, and somehow believes Wilson is the most evil man to have ever lived.

One of the most notable tales within the book is about Glenn Beck's assault on Van Jones. Beck has been desperately searching for any links whatsoever between Barack Obama and Marxism before the man was even elected. Despite not much to work with besides a conspiracy theory here and there, he did find one man in the Obama administration who at one time had been a communist. Jones had nothing more than a little-known role promoting Green jobs. That didn't matter to Beck, and after that Beck made Jones a constant subject on his show. Eventually Van Jones resigned after having his name signed on a “9/11 Truth” conspiracy movement. As luck would have it his next job was a teacher at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

I think the best part of the book is the author's use of poking fun at Beck using his own tactics and logic. Though Milbank actually looks up the facts before reporting them. Something Beck admits he never does, as he often calls himself a commentator instead of a journalist.