Glenn Beck goes libertarian on Stossel

[Brett85]

How do you learn about libertarianism? Either you think you have the right to control other people or you don't. There is no "learning" in my opinion. He thinks the war on drugs is a personal issue but prostitution isn't. How can you acccept one and not the other when in the end they're the same thing?

Prostitution is a little bit different in that sometimes women are forced into it. That's probably about the only difference though.

 

[Brett85]

I hope so. I could see it going either way, but I think he is waking up.

I wish Stossel would have pushed him on Ron Paul, however. If he admitted he made a mistake, than I'd let it go, but if he's still defending endorsement of SANTORUM of all people, that's something that needs immediate attention. That's far more important than his views on any single issue.

I think he viewed Ron as sort of an "extreme libertarian," while Beck is more of a libertarian-leaning Republican or moderate libertarian. Beck has said that he'll most likely support Rand in 2016. Still, I don't understand how he could endorse someone as anti libertarian as Santorum. He could've just stayed neutral if he didn't like any of the candidates.

 

[trey4sports]

I am sorry, but I don't understand the hate towards Glenn in this thread. If someone admits he is wrong, and is willing to extend a hand, trust but verify. I think he changed a lot in the past one year, especially after Nov. 2012. I actually enjoy listening to Beck these days.

yeah exactly.

Who cares what he is going to do in the future.

he is a TOOL. We can use his audience for our gain. Let's APPLAUD him when he does something right. Like admit he was wrong.


he made several big concessions there and sounded a LOT like Rand Paul. We NEED Beck and his crowd.

 

[kcchiefs6465]

Prostitution is a little bit different in that sometimes women are forced into it. That's probably about the only difference though.

A lot less women would be forced into it if it were legal. A lot less of them would be kidnapped and raped, or killed and the streets would generally be 'cleaner.'

That is looking past the STD and AIDS tests that would overall reduce over time and the fact that drugs prices are so artificially high because of the 'war on drugs' that they have to resort to prostitution or theft to finance it. These are moral problems that laws cannot solve. They need to be worked on at a local level with church and family support. I doubt Glenn Beck could begin to grasp that.

 

[Origanalist]

Glen Beck!!!!

 

[tttppp]

He only showed to be partial libertarian. He gave himself enough wiggle room to change his mind again as he always does.

 

[dillo]

I have been very critical of Beck in the past, and I still think he is a statist. However at the end of that episode of Stossel, he made a very important point. Beck said something along the lines of "I'm not there on all the issues, and I get a lot of negative reactions from people in the liberty movement saying that Im not a libertarian and should shut up. Isn't it good enough that Im moving in your direction?"


I think its important, 5 years ago Beck would have called Ron Pauls positions crazy and dangerous and while he may not support everything the majority of libertarians support he is at least questioning the status quo. Isn't that a victory for us? Is this not an indication that the message is being herd and starting the resonate?

 

[tttppp]

I have been very critical of Beck in the past, and I still think he is a statist. However at the end of that episode of Stossel, he made a very important point. Beck said something along the lines of "I'm not there on all the issues, and I get a lot of negative reactions from people in the liberty movement saying that Im not a libertarian and should shut up. Isn't it good enough that Im moving in your direction?"


I think its important, 5 years ago Beck would have called Ron Pauls positions crazy and dangerous and while he may not support everything the majority of libertarians support he is at least questioning the status quo. Isn't that a victory for us? Is this not an indication that the message is being herd and starting the resonate?

Not necessarily. Glen Beck is a flip flopper and will say anything for ratings. He has come out in support of Ron Paul in the past only to change his mind and bash him. You can't trust him, that's why people won't get off his back.

 

[roho76]

Prostitution is a little bit different in that sometimes women are forced into it. That's probably about the only difference though.

I said nothing of kidnapping or slavery. Why would you bring it up? It's a totally different subject, one of which I'm morally opposed to as well, which again makes me wonder why you even brought it up. Prostitution is not conscription nor is it kidnapping. Prostitution is an agreement between two consenting adults to do what they please with their persons. Excuse me if I don't follow your logic. Please explain.

 

[Shane Harris]

Just wait until 2015 and we'll see if Beck is still trending up for you.

It makes no sense logically to turn a bunch of people towards us and then switch at the last minute, because that will still result in a lot of people turning towards us and then staying with us. Not everyone is a sheep. A lot of the people here used to really like Glenn Beck. If his evil master plan was to bring us down then he would just ignore us or fight us. What he is presently doing is helping us and especially helping Rand as of lately. My money is that if he runs, Rand will have Beck's support, which regardless of how pure Beck is or becomes, helps us greatly in the electoral sense.

Trust me I know what he's done and what he's said about Ron. I despise him but I'm happy that at the very least he is turning a lot of people towards us and making our ideas or even our labels more mainstream. A listener might wikipedia 'libertarian', which might then turn him towards classical liberalism, Friedman, Hayek, Ron Paul, Ayn Rand, austrian economics, Mises, Rothbard, Tom Woods, Lew Rockwell, Stephen Molyneux, agorism, voluntaryism, anarcho-capitalism, etc. Who knows how far that windy rabbit hole will go for each individual person. My own ideological evolution started with Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman and ended with Ron Paul, Murray Rothbard and the LvMI. I used to like Glenn Beck. I used to be a neocon. Then I used to be a moderate libertarian-leaning Republican. Then I became a minarchist. And now I would not shy away from the term anarcho-capitalist. Remember when they used to just ignore us? Or laugh at us? Or fight us? I don't know about anyone else here, but I much prefer this. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If he truly is trying to hijack us then he is beyond stupid because he is only helping us in the long run.

 

[Christian Liberty]

I think he viewed Ron as sort of an "extreme libertarian," while Beck is more of a libertarian-leaning Republican or moderate libertarian. Beck has said that he'll most likely support Rand in 2016. Still, I don't understand how he could endorse someone as anti libertarian as Santorum. He could've just stayed neutral if he didn't like any of the candidates.

Not only that, it also shows political illiteracy.

In America you don't vote for dictator, you vote for President. Ron Paul could only have implemented so much of his own agenda anyway.

Its very likely that we'd have to pass through something Glenn Beck would consider "Sane" before getting to pure libertarianism. I often remind ancaps that any route to anarchy likely leads through minarchy first.

By contrast, Rick Santorum actually wants to move in the OPPOSITE direction that you, I, Glenn Beck, Ron Paul, or anyone else that could to any degree be considered part of the "Liberty movement" would want. I probably don't agree with you on everything, we probably don't agree with Ron Paul on everything, you, I and Ron Paul probably have a LOT of disagreements with Glenn Beck, but we all, along with Rand Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Pat Buchanan, Lew Rockwell, and a whole lot of other people all agree that we need to reduce the size of the government. Rick Santorum wants to increase it. So to support the guy that wants to move the opposite direction as you do rather than the one who wants to go the same direction as you, but maybe a little further in that direction, is silly.

 

[A Son of Liberty]

Beck: "I didn't like like any of them. I ended up supporting Romney"

This would have been the time to interrupt and say "there was an excellent candidate in the race who has consistently supported everything you now say you stand for. Of course, you know I mean Ron Paul. How can you sit there and justify supporting a candidate like Rick Santorum and expect anyone to believe you're serious about libertarianism?"

Beck's response would have been, "But Ron Paul doesn't 'get it' when it comes to radical Islam."

To Beck I say, if you want to piss your pants over the conjurings of your imagination, feel free, but keep your damned hands off of MY MONEY AND MY FAMILY. I'm so sick if this simpleton making "exceptions" to logically derived conclusions...

 

[A Son of Liberty]

IMHO he is trying to coopt Ron's youth movement, which is potent. It makes me despise him more.

Exactly - if he has his way, before long "libertarian" will mean, "limited domestic spending, vigorous national 'defense' (i.e., foreign aid to 'allies', and a continuation of the 'war on terror')".

Every time this puke opens his mouth and uses the word "libertarian", it makes our job harder.

 

[Christian Liberty]

Glenn did say he's against foreign aid...

 

[Christian Liberty]

Exactly - if he has his way, before long "libertarian" will mean, "limited domestic spending, vigorous national 'defense' (i.e., foreign aid to 'allies', and a continuation of the 'war on terror')".

Every time this puke opens his mouth and uses the word "libertarian", it makes our job harder.

You'd be surprised how many people erroneously think foreign policy is completely an in-house question. Its not.

 

[enjerth]

I have to ask, do you really mean it, Mr. Beck? Are you really for full legalization of drugs?

Beck: What my problem is is not the people using drugs, it's the people who then see a drug user in the street and force me to pay for rehabilitation for that person.

Please, stop trying to rehabilitate drug users by threatening prison. That's the most expensive rehab program ever.

Beck: I still don't think we can legalize it overnight. I believe in reverse engineering this. The drug war is a failure.

Wait. I don't get it.

 

[A Son of Liberty]

So we can't end the drug war because we can't end the welfare state? Brilliant.

 

[enjerth]

So we can't end the drug war because we can't end the welfare state? Brilliant.

Ann Coulter is also a libertarian like that.

Welcome, Ann Coulter!/sarc

 

[Working Poor]

I will wait until the rubber hits the road. Who will he endorse when it matters? We will see if he sells out liberty or not.

 

[enjerth]

What my problem is is not the people using drugs, it's the people who then see a drug user in the street and force me to pay for rehabilitation for that person.

Man got 55 years (of criminal "rehab") for dealing $350 of pot to police informant

At $29,349 per inmate, per year (2010 figures), you will be paying $1,614,195 to incarcerate this man for 55 years, Mr. Beck.

Do you think that $1,614,195 is a fair price to taxpayers?
With that, you get:
* $350 worth of pot. (about an ounce?)
* one witness testimony (a paid witness?) that they believed a firearm was involved.
with additional findings of:
* was suspected of gang involvement.
* suspect spent $30,000 (bought a Lexus).
and irrelevant findings of:
* girlfriend's house held a duffel bag with 'cannabis shakings'.
* didn't take a deal for a lesser sentence.

Good buy, Mr. Beck?