Not to belittle the seriousness of this situation. A Senior Senator on the floor of the US Senate, clearly slurring his words, ranting and under the influence of … well, see for yourself and make the call.

Where is the media on this one? The anger? If Baucus had an ‘R’ after his name, this would be plastered all over the morning news shows. I have yet to see it on the air though.

The San Francisco Chronicle Blog insists that he wasn’t drunk and goes on to praise the substance of his babbling. He was just tired. Poor Max. I wonder if they’d be so quick to give Sen. DeMint a break? Or Sen. McConnell? Or is this a perk reserved for Democrats? Must be nice to be part of the elite untouchable Democrats in Washington who have immunity from the media’s scorn.

Looks like the left’s strategy is producing some results – with Best Buy, CVS and Wal-Mart pulling advertising from Beck’s show. I haven’t come across any information that indicates whether these companies are pulling all advertising from Fox, or are instead following in the footsteps of others who continue to market to Fox’s audience, just not on Beck’s show.

Has Beck addressed this at all yet? I haven’t watched as regularly as usual since this began. I know Beck won’t be speaking at the 9/12 event in Washington, D.C. Despite the fact that he began the 9/12 project ‘for the people” as he put it, it seems uncharacteristic for him to decline to speak at the first large gathering of a project he pioneered.

Beck has become one of the most influential conservative voices this year – right up there with commentators like Rush Limbaugh. The campaign against him could hurt him, but it won’t succeed in getting him off the air – not radio or television. How displeased Fox is with the situation and how much of the decision not to appear at the 9/12 project had to do with demands made by Fox, is unclear.

Beck’s situation is another example of the left’s inability to take on rational dissent. When the Speaker of the House and House Majority Leader call opponents of their pet project un-American, this sets the tone for everyone else as to what is and is not acceptable. When regular Americans showing up to townhalls and engaging civically not only have their patriotism questioned, but are commonly called racists (by commentators and even academics, particularly on cable television), we become jaded at the left’s action when they choose a target to zero in on like Beck.

Unlike others who believe it really doesn’t make a difference whether they have an effect on Beck’s show, I fall into the camp that believes that it’s not only unfair but dangerous to allow the anti-Beck campaign to go unnoticed. If they’re targeting Beck, it’s not because he just spews worthless blabber on television. If that was the case, they’d mock and belittle him, but not engage in serious tactics to bring him down. Beck has struck a chord, by using both logic and humor to get his message across that this administration’s expansionist policies are leading us down a disastrous road. Like other conservatives the left loves to hate, he has a knack for simplifying complex issues and bringing game-changing facts to light. His ability to personalize issues, relate to people and yes, even get emotional, has brought him great success and allowed his voice to reach many people. Thanks in part to his show, books like The Five Thousand Year Leap have made their way to the top of the bestseller lists, and people are actually reading history and figuring out for themselves how the system constructed by our founders led to the greatest innovation and wealth the world has ever seen in one country.

Now, I don’t always agree with Beck completely, but I believe that he works hard to put forth strong arguments and that he does so with passion. And perhaps that is why they chose him specifically. Regardless of their inane reasoning, we should all stand up for Glenn Beck and make sure to continue to follow this story and spread the word. Beck is not an extreme commentator; he is not an offensive commentator. He is a thinker and an analyst who is rooted in the conservative tradition. And, he is an educator, a man who has a great respect for history and shares it with his audience. He has brought people of conservative values together and helped the conservative movement. And if we allow the left to take him down without a fight, who is next? And what does it say about freedom of speech in a country where thugs tied to the President (through one of the many czars no less) are able to shut down opposing voices like that?

When Jeremiah Wright engaged in an indisputably racist rant, conservatives were told that it was either irrelevant or racist to bring him up. I was even told by some here in Chicago that anything that he said should be excused because he has done a lot for the community of the south side of Chicago. Why is it that as a society, we give leftists a free pass? Is it because we’re afraid we’ll be labeled racists? This is the sentiment that Beck tapped into when he drew his own conclusions and wondered aloud on television if our President is indeed racist. No one blinked an eye when liberals painted President George W. Bush as a racist or when Janeane Garofalo accused tea partiers of being racists, but when a white, conservative commentator opines that the President might be racist, liberals begin planning his demise. The hypocrisy and unjustness is astonishing here. People should begin paying more attention to this situation and continue to stand up for Beck.

Update:
It looks like the media got it wrong. Ed Morrissey of Hot Air dug deeper and contacted the big three companies reported to have pulled advertising from Beck’s show. Best Buy said that they only advertise on Fox in the morning hours, never during Beck’s show or any of the other commentators’ shows. CVS did ask that their ads not be aired during Beck’s show but will continue to advertise on Fox during other time slots. Sounds like they have a grudge against Beck to me. Wal-Mart also conceded that they have asked for all ads to be pulled from the show. A reader forwarded an email he received from Wal-Mart to Morrissey, indicating that Wal-Mart has decided to pull their ads from all news shows that provide commentary. It’ll be interesting to see if they keep their word.

Thanks to Ed Morrissey for following up on this story.

I’ve heard rumors this last week of sponsors pulling their advertising from Glenn Beck’s show. I haven’t been able to watch his show every day this week, so I’m not sure if he’s addressed this explicitly. But, redstate.com just posted that Obama’s green jobs czar, “convicted felon and self-declared communist Van Jones” has direct ties to a group that is trying to shut down Beck, which has hired a big Hollywood PR firm to *influence* (read: bully) others to follow their lead.

Erick Erickson posted the information for the organizations that are boycotting Beck. I’ll repost it here for convenience.

Here’s the list of the groups that have boycotted Glenn Beck. Let them know you disagree. Let them know you will boycott them for kowtowing to Barack Obama’s worshippers, brownshirts, goons, and thugs.

SC Johnson:
Fisk Johnson Chairman & CEO
Phone: (262)260-2000

Steve Peckham, Senior Global Public Affairs Manager
262.260.4402
swpeckha@scj.com

Progressive Insurance:
Glenn Renwick, President & CEO- (440)461-5000

Linda Harris, Advertising & Sponsorships
Linda_J._Harris@progressive.com

Geico:
Tony Nicely
Chairman, President & CEO, Insurance Operations
E-mail: tnicely@geico.com
(301) 986-2462

Chris Tasher, GEICO Media Relations
301-986-3271
ctasher@geico.com

Erickson says this was prompted by Beck’s calling Obama a racist. I believe that there are ample facts out there to support this claim. Whether you agree with Beck or not, he has every right to lay out the facts as he sees them, make his conclusions and share them with the public.

For me personally, I think Beck’s opinion has merit. I lost all respect for our President as a person when he said that despite sitting in Jeremiah Wright’s church for 20 years, he had no idea that he used his pulpit to preach offensive, racist and anti-American ideas. Either the President lied about going to church (which is the lesser of the two evils here), or he lied about the types of ideas and sermons he listened to as he sat in that pew for twenty years.

If you don’t like Beck, start your own blog, radio show, whatever the case may be and make the counter-arguments. But, to use Beck’s own word, it seems to me that those in power, including Van Jones and his group, are forming nothing less than a thug-ocracy when they go to such lengths to shut down one man’s voice.

I already sent an email to each of the people on Erickson’s list, and I encourage everyone to do the same. My email is reprinted below.

Dear Sirs and Madams,

I write to address the fact that you are boycotting Glenn Beck. While some of you may have come to this decision individually, as I understand it, others are being pressured by a PR firm tied to the current administration that is trying to shut down Mr. Beck for his opposing political views.

It is shocking that this is happening in a country that was built upon freedom of speech. Mr. Beck’s contentions all have a factual basis – regardless of whether or not you agree with his analysis. It is shameful what you and others are doing to shut him down, and I am hopeful as ever that the truth will prevail and that you will not succeed in your goals. In the meantime, please know that at least for my group of friends and family, so long as you are making efforts to shut down Glenn Beck, we will choose to take our business elsewhere and boycott you in turn.

Despina D. Karras
Chicago, IL