Meltdown: Beck blasts key part of MLK's dream

by Eric Schroeck In the weeks leading up to his 8-28 rally, Glenn Beck repeatedly invoked Martin Luther King Jr., claiming that his rally would "reclaim the civil rights movement" and "pick up Martin Luther King's dream that has been distorted and lost."

But as we have noted, if anyone has been distorting King's message, it's Beck himself. Beck has portrayed the civil rights marches of the 1960s as a movement solely for equal rights that did not seek to promote social justice or economic rights. But that portrayal doesn't square with the reality of the civil rights movement. For example, the full name of the rally at which King delivered his "I have a dream" speech was the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," and the leaders of the rally included labor leaders along with civil rights leaders.

On Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace confronted Beck with this reality, noting that King's march on Washington was "for Jobs and Freedom" and that the "civil rights movement was always about an economic agenda."

And guess what? After weeks of repeatedly invoking King while promoting the 8-28 rally, and all of his talk about "reclaiming the civil rights movement," Beck now says he doesn't agree with a key portion of King's vision for civil rights -- going so far as to suggest that the civil rights movement's economic agenda was "racial politics."

Here's that exchange between Wallace and Beck:

WALLACE: The civil rights movement always had an agenda beyond just equality - beyond just, quote, "justice." The full name of the march 47 years ago was the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." One of the speakers at the event was a labor leader, A. Philip Randolph, who talked about the injustice of people who live in poverty. John Lewis, then a student, now a congressman, said this at the event: "We need a bill that will ensure the equality of a maid who earns $5 a week in the home of a family whose total income is $100,000 a year." The civil rights movement was always about an economic agenda.

BECK: Well, you know what, Chris? I think that is part of it, but that's a part of it that I don't agree with. I think the bigger part - the thing that we fail to recognize is that is the racial politics, that the real agenda should be equal justice, an equal shot. The dream was judge a man by the content of his character, not the color of his skin.

Later, Wallace again pressed Beck on the economic dimension to the civil rights movement, noting that King was assassinated while leading the Poor People's Campaign and that King "advocated what he called an economic bill of rights, guaranteeing everyone a job." Wallace then said to Beck: "I mean, you may say, well, that's not your civil rights movement, but it was Martin Luther King's."

Beck's response? "Well, I'm not Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King would have to stand for Martin Luther King -- let his words stand where they are."

That's quite a backtrack by Beck, who previously claimed he sought to "pick up Martin Luther King's dream that has been distorted and lost" with his 8-28 rally; compared the rally to King's "I have a dream" speech; and called it "divine providence" that the rally would be on the anniversary of that speech.

Beck has said that his 8-28 rally would "reclaim the civil rights movement." But it's clear now that Beck was only interested in reclaiming the parts of the civil rights movement with which he agrees while continuing to demonize the economic elements of the movement.

UPDATE: By acknowledging that economic aspects were "a part" of the civil rights movement, Beck is completely walking back his previous false criticisms of Rev. Al Sharpton and congressional Democrats, who Beck blasted for suggesting that social and economic justice played a role in the civil rights movement.

In July, for instance, Beck claimed that "the movement of the 1960s has been perverted and distorted" by people "like the Reverend Al Sharpton telling people that Martin Luther King's dream was really about redistribution of wealth." In May, Beck attacked congressional Democrats for tying health care, banking reform, and housing to civil rights. Describing the "civil rights marchers," Beck said they "were people with profound belief in God. They were trying to set things right. They weren't crying for social justice, they were crying out for equal justice."

So, previously, Beck attacked Democrats and progressives for tying economic issues to the civil rights movement. But today Beck admitted that an economic agenda was indeed "a part" of the civil rights movement -- a part of the movement with which Beck disagrees. That's a total walk-back by Beck.

An Irksome Arrangement: Glenn Beck Uses Charitable Donations To Pay For Restoring Honor Rally

By Tanya Somanader This Saturday, the polarizing Fox News pundit Glenn Beck is hosting his Restoring Honor Rally in Washington, DC. Even though conservative celebrity and “potential 2012 presidential candidate” Sarah Palin will speak and Tea Party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) will attend, Beck is pitching the rally as a “non-political, non-partisan event” to “honor the troops, unite the American people under the principles of integrity and truth, and make a pledge to restore honor within ourselves and our country.”

Beck’s newfound commitment to “absolutely no politics” is not just rhetoric, but a contractual matter for the non-profit foundation co-sponsoring the event, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). Founded in 1980, SOWF is a successful charity that provides college scholarships for children of special operations personnel killed in action or in training. Any fundraiser, including the Restoring Honor Rally, cannot be political and SOWF has required that speakers at the rally, including Palin, sign an agreement to that effect. SOWF guidelines also insist that “money needed for expenses (space rental, deposits, etc) must be supplied by the party” sponsoring the event. While the costs of such the rally, slated to approximate $2 million, were initially daunting, Beck found an easy answer: pay for it with the donations.

According to Beck’s rally website, “all contributions made” to SOWF “will first be applied to the costs of the Restoring Honor Rally taking place on August 28, 2010. All contributions in excess of these costs will then be retained by the SOWF.” As Mother Jones first reported, this arrangement was enough to irk ABC’s George Stephanopoulos to pull his donation to Beck’s rally earlier this month:

Cathie Levine, vice president for media relations at ABC News explained, “We get hundreds of these solicitations from charities every year and try as much as possible to fulfill them as long as they are meet our standards including that the proceeds go to charity.” A few days later, she reported back that, “We sought assurance that the auction money would go directly to charity and while we were told the rally costs were covered and that funds raised from our specific item would go to Special Operations Warrior Foundation, it didn’t sufficiently meet our standards. So we withdrew our auction item and George will make a personal donation directly to the SOWF.”

As SOWF spokeswoman Edie Rosenthal told Time’s Kate Pickeret, they have “never had an event that cost this much.” While Beck’s promotion brought in more than enough to pay for the “non-political” rally, he raised the money by auctioning off distinctly political prizes last month, including an autographed copy of tea party leader Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) book “Saving Freedom,” a lunch with Karl Rove for $7,500, or a Capitol tour with Bachmann for up to $13,000. When asked whether SOWF is concerned that associating with such right-wing politicos like the “divisive Beck” will tarnish their non-political reputation, Rosenthal said Beck is doing “something for the fallen” despite “whatever else he does” and “as crazy as he gets.”

Beck’s efforts have certainly raised an unprecedented amount for SOWF. But the financing arrangement behind the event colors it less as a charitable endeavor and more as a “symbiotic relationship.” As Pickeret notes, while SOWF “gets the largest influx of donations in its history,” Beck “gets to headline a donor-funded $1 million rally in Washington, DC.”

Glenn Beck’s ‘Non-Political’ Rally — Sponsored By The Right Wing

By George Zornick This weekend, Glenn Beck will hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that is being billed as a “non-political event that pays tribute to America’s service personnel and other upstanding citizens who embody our nation’s founding principles of integrity, truth and honor.” The “Restoring Honor” rally will feature speeches from Beck and Sarah Palin, but Beck has repeatedly stressed that it’s “not a political event.” Last Thursday, Beck told Bill O’Reilly — who openly questioned how an event featuring Sarah Palin couldn’t be political — that “[t]his isn’t political. This is about restoring honor in our own selves. We will never fix our country unless we stand in the shadows of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.”

Despite Beck’s claims, however, it is clear that right-wing groups and politicians are helping organize, promote and subsidize the event. Adele Stan at Alternet reported last week that the Koch-funded front group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which advocates for a number of conservative causes, is subsidizing bus and hotel packages for attendees of Beck’s rally, though not specifically advertising the rates as being for Beck’s event.

A search of the Restoring Honor website, however, shows that AFP is organizing buses for the event. A section on the website allows potential attendees to see if a bus is leaving from their area, and displays contact information for the bus organizer. In Georgia, there are three different buses with the contact Joel Foster, who is the grassroots organizer for AFP’s Georgia chapter. (He even lists his AFP e-mail address). A bus leaving from Raleigh, NC, and another in Baltimore County, Maryland, both appear to be organized by local AFP chapters.

In addition, several other right-wing groups are promoting the event and organizing travel. Among them:

– Grassfire.org, a conservative “grassroots” group with ties to the powerful Republican public relations firm Shirley & Banister, is an approved travel coordinator for the event, and has agreements with 30 area hotels.

– The American Family Association, Kentucky Chapter is running a bus to the event.

– Americans Against Immigration Amnesty advertises a bus, hotel, and event transportation package.

The map of bus organizers also belies Beck’s claim that “[t]he Restoring Honor Rally is neither a 9/12 nor a Tea Party rally.” A vast majority of the buses heading to DC appear to have been organized by local Tea Party chapters; for example, of the 51 bus pickups in Pennsylvania, over 30 are organized by either a Tea Party or 9/12 group. In Georgia, every bus stop but one is organized by either AFP or a local tea party group.

Beck’s insistence that “Restoring Honor” isn’t political is not simply a public relations effort. Funding for the event is provided by an organization called the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt, federally registered charity. In order for that charity to preserve its tax-exempt status, the “Restoring Honor” rally must be non-political. Perhaps Beck’s message this weekend will not be political — but the right-wing is clearly coordinating the rally.

Danger: Bus Parking For Beck’s 8/28 Rally Is Outside The Recommended ‘Safe Zone’

By Alex Seitz-Wald

Yesterday, a Maine tea party blog posted some handy advice for activists coming to Washington Saturday to attend Fox News host Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally. Among warnings about how to deal with “African immigrants” — do not “assume they are African Americans” and “especially do not…guess they are from a neighboring country” — the guide advised rally-goers to stay out of the vast majority of the city, and cautioned which portions of Metrorail system are safe. While the entire Green and Yellow lines are off limits, the guide allowed for travel on the Blue and Orange lines, as long as attendees do not stray West of the Eastern Market stop. As for areas outside this tiny safety zone: “you should not explore them.”

Unfortunately, the only official parking location for group buses is two stops beyond the last safe stop on the Blue and Orange line at RFK stadium, deep in the forbidden zone:

Buses will not be permitted to drop anywhere near the Lincoln Memorial.[...]

Bus parking is available at RFK Stadium for groups. RFK Stadium is adjacent to the Stadium Armory Metro Rail station on the Orange & Blue Rail lines. Walking distance from the bus parking area to this Metro is approximately 0.7 miles. The RFK Stadium Armory station connects to the Smithsonian Metro Rail Station, approximately 1 mile from the Lincoln Memorial event site.

DCist created a map illustrating the guide’s recommendations, which ThinkProgress has modified to demonstrate the danger facing the rally’s attendees when they unload from their buses to find themselves far in the unsafe zone:

Tea Party Leaders Criticize Beck’s 8/28 Rally: ‘All He’s Doing Is Trying To Use Us To Promote Himself’

By Ben Armbruster This Saturday in Washington, DC, Fox News host Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally will take place at the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. Beck has claimed that the rally — meant “to recognize our First Amendment rights and honor the service members who fight to protect those freedoms” — is “going to be one for the history books” and will be “a turning point in America.”

Beck has been a fervent supporter of the Tea Party, having previously promoted its events and rallies and even provided a forum for various Tea Party factions to work out their differences. While many local Tea Party chapters are helping to turn out attendees for the rally, some Tea Party leaders aren’t interested in helping Beck:

At least one tea party group rejected Beck’s entreaties to assist with the march, concluding he was offering little in return for its organizational know-how and credibility, while giving preferential treatment to FreedomWorks, which is paying to sponsor Beck’s radio show. The group’s leader, who requested anonymity to avoid antagonizing Beck, said, “All he’s doing is trying to use us to promote himself.” [...]

“I call it ‘Beckaplooza,’ because it seems to be all about Beck,” said Andrew Ian Dodge, the Maine state coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, a coalition of local groups that has helped stage several big rallies. … [W]hen the Patriots were deciding whether to help with Saturday’s rally, Dodge said there was internal queasiness over the M.L.K. link and Beck’s inflammatory rhetoric, including his blasting of Obama as a racist. … “Beck takes it outside of the realm of fiscal conservatism into issues that are more emotional and make you wonder if we really want to be associated with this guy,” [Dodge said].

RedState.com’s Erick Erickson said Beck is going to have to “be careful” or his gimmicks are “going to start becoming a punchline.”

Fox executive Bill Shine told Politico that “there is no organized promotion planned for the rally on Fox News and the network has nothing to do with it.” But as Media Matters notes, Fox has in fact been the “unofficial corporate sponsor” of Beck’s event. Perhaps that’s why Beck is expecting such a high turnout, recently suggesting that it will be similar in size to President Obama’s inauguration. “This will be a thing that your children will remember,” he has said. “I expect a miracle on 8/28.” Organizers are anticipating 300,000 participants. The country anxiously awaits.