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The federal government later prevailed on appeal, reinstating the Barr Amendment just in time to thwart MPP's initiative 63 -- "The Medical Marijuana Initiative of 2002" -- which had already qualified for the November 2002 ballot. In 2009, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives voted to lift the ban against a medical marijuana initiative, effectively overturning the Barr Amendment.
Barr would later reverse his position on medical marijuana, joining MPP as a lobbyist five years later. In a June 4, 2008, interview with Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report, Barr confirmed that he now supports ending marijuana prohibition, as well as the War on Drugs for which he once vehemently fought. In 2009, he was hired by the MPP to lobby to successfully overturn the amendment that he authored.
He now opposes the Federal Marriage Amendment, contending it is a violation of states' rights, and supports the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
He also favors drastic reductions in government spending and the elimination of corporate welfare. Barr has written: "The hearing, was a farce: a virtual lovefest, during which members of the Clinton Administration responded to softball questions from their colleagues in the House with superficial answers, and Republican queries were ignored or glossed over with disdain, if not outright contempt." Barr called for Congress to reopen investigations, but senior House Republicans refused. In 2003 testimony submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Barr wrote: "[T]here remains time to turn back the constitutional clock and roll back excessive post-9/11 powers before we turn the corner into another Japanese internment or, closer to our own experiences, before we witness a legally sanctioned Ruby Ridge or Waco scenario."
After the Lewinsky scandal broke, Barr was the first lawmaker in either chamber to call for Clinton's resignation. During debate on the impeachment resolution on the House floor, Barr argued that Clinton's attempt to interfere with Lewinsky's testimony in the Paula Jones case endangered the Constitution. In doing so, Barr said, Clinton violated what Barr called a "fundamental right" of any American citizen — "the unshakable right each one of us has to walk into a courtroom and demand the righting of a wrong."
In the early 1990s, Barr was photographed at a fundraising event licking whipped cream off a woman. According to the Washington Post "Two people who observed the act say it wasn't exactly a bosom lick but more like a neckline lick, at the sort of event where business and civic leaders perform dares to raise money. 'Not exactly Mr. Effusive', says Matt Towery, the former chairman of Newt Gingrich's political organization, who observed the brief and awkward licking. 'You can hardly get the guy to smile'".
Barr has been a vocal opponent of President George W. Bush's claim of authorization to wiretap transnational phone calls without individual judicial license. He has said, "What's wrong with it is several-fold. One, it's bad policy for our government to be spying on American citizens through the National Security Agency. Secondly, it's bad to be spying on Americans without court oversight. And thirdly, it's bad to be spying on Americans apparently in violation of federal laws against doing it without court order."
In 2006, he debated the architect of the Patriot Act, Viet Dinh, on terrorism and privacy issues.
In 2006, he joined the Libertarian Party as a regional representative, then serving on the Libertarian National Committee.
More recently, Barr has become a prominent member of the American Civil Liberties Union, sometimes doing paid consulting on privacy issues.
Barr is a commentator on political and social issues and is chairman of the American Conservative Union Foundation's '21st Century Center for Privacy and Freedom'.
In January 2006, to emphasize the bipartisan nature of the event, Barr planned on introducing Al Gore at a speech co-sponsored by the Liberty Coalition and the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy to address what they called the "NSA Spying Scandal", in which Gore compared warrantless wiretapping to the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Barr has been careful to note that he isn't pro-drug, but rather against government intrusion.
Barr's reversal on drug policy surprised many, particularly MPP. He is also a member of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee.
Barr appeared in the mock documentary . He met with "Borat" (portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen) in the United States Capitol where he was given cheese that Borat described as being made from his wife's breast milk.
Barr endorsed the Free State Project on July 22, 2008 saying, "I think it's tremendous!"
He briefly wrote a regular column for Creative Loafing Atlanta, an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. In 2008, in his column "The Barr Code", he lambasted the new policy of Boston police of allowing warrantless search for firearms in teenagers' homes.
Barr hosted a political talk radio show on Radio America called Bob Barr's Laws of the Universe. He has stated that he plans to write a book with that title.
In August 2008, Barr criticized the United States' response to the conflict between Russia and Georgia as being too emotional and not based on legitimate American national security concerns. He wrote: "The most important American interest is defending America; and intervening on behalf of Georgia against Russia has nothing to do with defending America."
In October 2008, Barr gave a one-hour talk with answers to audience questions in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Carnegie Mellon University.
On March 7, 2009, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced that Barr would be a weekly columnist for the paper.
Barr publishes a regular blog known as the Barr code.
Following his announcement, Rasmussen Reports had Barr polling at 6% nationwide against Barack Obama (42%), John McCain (38%), and Ralph Nader (4%). The study identified Barr as the Libertarian candidate, but most voters said they didn't know enough about him to have an opinion of him personally. Barr had received the endorsement of Wayne Allyn Root, one of his rivals for the nomination, after Root was eliminated following the fifth round of balloting. Barr, in turn, endorsed Root for the party's vice presidential nomination, which he received. Reason magazine senior editor Radley Balko called Barr "the first serious candidate the LP has run since I've been eligible to vote."
On June 4, 2008, Barr invited the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain, and the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to weekly presidential debates through an official press release.
Many opinion leaders predicted that Barr could siphon off conservative votes that would have otherwise gone to McCain. John Linder, who defeated Barr for the Republican nomination in a 2002 congressional race, said that Barr could cause serious problems for McCain in some states. Barr repeatedly rejected this assertion as scapegoating, responding that small-government Republicans would not vote for McCain anyway, nor would civil libertarians vote for Obama.
Barr appeared on the ballot in 45 states. In July, he filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma for its unusually restrictive ballot access laws, which he contends are contrary to the First Amendment right to petition one's government for a redress of grievances. In July, a Zogby poll had Barr receiving 6% of the vote nationwide, as well as double digits in several states.
A Zogby poll released on August 15, 2008, indicated that most Republican and Democratic voters wanted Barr to be included in the presidential debates. The poll also indicated that almost 70% of independent voters would have liked to see him included.
On September 17, 2008, Barr filed suit in Texas to remove both McCain and Obama from the ballot. Both political parties failed to file their nominees by the deadline. On September 23, 2008, the Texas Supreme Court rejected the request without giving a reason for its decision.
Among his campaign positions, Barr distinguished himself strongly from Obama and McCain by opposing the financial bailout bill.
On November 4, 2008, Barr received 523,686 votes, 0.4% of the national vote This was the second highest number of votes nationwide that a Libertarian Party presidential candidate has received.
;Presidential campaign
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;Congress
;Writings
Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American Methodists Category:American columnists Category:American libertarians Category:American political writers Category:American prosecutors Category:American talk radio hosts Category:Former United States Democrats Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Georgetown University alumni Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Libertarians Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Category:Lewinsky scandal figures Category:Libertarian Party (United States) presidential nominees Category:People from Iowa City, Iowa Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency Category:United States Attorneys for the Northern District of Georgia Category:United States presidential candidates, 2008 Category:University of Southern California alumni
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| Name | Karl Rove |
|---|---|
| Caption | An official portrait of Karl Rove |
| Office | White House Deputy Chief of Staff |
| Term start | February 8, 2005 |
| Term end | August 31, 2007Served with Joe Hagin and Joel Kaplan |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Predecessor | Harriet Miers |
| Successor | Joel Kaplan |
| Office2 | Senior Advisor to the President |
| President2 | George W. Bush |
| Deputy2 | Barry Jackson |
| Successor2 | Barry Jackson |
| Term start2 | January 20, 2001 |
| Term end2 | August 31, 2007 |
| Birth date | December 25, 1950 |
| Birth place | Denver, Colorado |
| Occupation | Political Consultant |
| Spouse | (divorced) (divorced) |
| Children | Andrew Madison Rove |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Party | Republican |
| Website | http://www.rove.com|rove.com |
| Alma mater | University of UtahUniversity of Texas-AustinGeorge Mason University |
Prior to his White House appointments, Rove was a Republican political consultant and strategist. He is credited with the successful 1994 and 1998 Texas gubernatorial victories of George W. Bush, as well as Bush's 2000 and 2004 successful presidential campaigns. In his 2004 victory speech Bush referred to Rove as "the Architect." Rove has also been credited for the successful campaigns of John Ashcroft (1994 U.S. Senate election), Bill Clements (1986 Texas gubernatorial election), Senator John Cornyn (2002 U.S. Senate election), Governor Rick Perry (1990 Texas Agriculture Commission election), and Phil Gramm (1982 U.S. House and 1984 U.S. Senate elections).
Though no allegations have been proven or sustained, Rove's name has come up in political scandals, including the Valerie Plame affair, the Bush White House e-mail controversy and the related dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy.
In 1965, his family moved to Salt Lake City, where Rove entered high school, becoming a skilled debater. Rove described his high school years as "I was the complete nerd. I had the briefcase. I had the pocket protector. I wore Hush Puppies when they were not cool. I was the thin, scrawny little guy. I was definitely uncool." Encouraged by a teacher to run for class senate, Rove won the election. As part of his campaign strategy he rode in the back of a convertible inside the school gymnasium sitting between two attractive girls before his election speech. While at Olympus High School, he was elected student council president his junior and senior years.
In December 1969, the man Rove had known as his father left the family, and divorced Rove's mother soon afterwards. After his parents' divorce, Rove learned from his aunt and uncle that the man who had raised him was not his biological father; both he and his older brother Eric were the children of another man. Rove has expressed great love and admiration for his adoptive father and for "how selfless" his love had been. On September 11, 1981, Rove's mother committed suicide in Reno, Nevada.
In the fall of 1970, Rove used a false identity to enter the campaign office of Democrat Alan J. Dixon, who was running for Treasurer of Illinois. He stole 1000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead, printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing", and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally. (Dixon eventually won the election). Rove's role would not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it." In his memoir, Rove wrote that when he was later nominated to the Board for International Broadcasting by President George H.W. Bush, Senator Dixon did not kill his nomination. In Rove's account, "Dixon displayed more grace than I had shown and kindly excused this youthful prank."
On September 6, 1973, three weeks after announcing his intent to investigate the allegations against Rove, George H.W. Bush chose Rove to be chairman of the College Republicans. Bush then wrote Edgeworth a letter saying that he had concluded that Rove had fairly won the vote at the convention. Edgeworth wrote back, asking about the basis of that conclusion. Not long after that, Edgeworth stated "Bush sent me back the angriest letter I have ever received in my life. I had leaked to the Washington Post, and now I was out of the Party forever."
As National Chairman, Rove introduced Bush to Atwater, who had taken Rove's job as the College Republican's executive director, and who would become Bush's main campaign strategist in future years. Bush hired Rove as a special assistant in the Republican National Committee, a job Rove left in 1974 to become executive assistant to the co-chair of the RNC, Richard D. Obenshain.
As special assistant, Rove also performed small personal tasks for Bush. In November 1973, Bush asked Rove to take a set of car keys to his son George W. Bush, who was visiting home during a break from Harvard Business School. It was the first time the two met. "Huge amounts of charisma, swagger, cowboy boots, flight jacket, wonderful smile, just charisma - you know, wow", Rove recalled years later.
His work for Bill Clements during the Texas gubernatorial election of 1978 helped Clements become the first Republican Governor of Texas in over 100 years. Clements was elected to a four-year term, succeeding Democrat Dolph Briscoe. Rove was deputy director of the Governor William P. Clements Junior Committee in 1979 and 1980, and deputy executive assistant to the governor of Texas (roughly, Deputy Chief of Staff) in 1980 and 1981.
In 1981, Rove founded a direct mail consulting firm, Karl Rove & Co., in Austin. The firm's first clients included Texas Governor Bill Clements and Democratic congressman Phil Gramm, who later became a Republican congressman and United States Senator. Rove operated his consulting business until 1999, when he sold the firm to take a full-time position in George W. Bush's presidential campaign.
Between 1981 and 1999, Rove worked on hundreds of races. Most were in a supporting role, doing direct mail fundraising. A November 2004 Atlantic Monthly article estimated that he was the primary strategist for 41 statewide, congressional, and national races, and Rove's candidates won 34 races.
Rove also did work during those years for non-political clients. From 1991 to 1996, Rove advised tobacco giant Philip Morris, and ultimately earned $3,000 a month via a consulting contract. In a deposition, Rove testified that he severed the tie in 1996 because he felt awkward "about balancing that responsibility with his role as Bush's top political advisor" while Bush was governor of Texas and Texas was suing the tobacco industry.
In 1986, just before a crucial debate in campaign, Rove claimed that his office had been bugged by Democrats. The police and FBI investigated and discovered that the bug's battery was so small that it needed to be changed every few hours, and the investigation was dropped. Critics, including other Republican operatives, suspected Rove had bugged his own office to garner sympathy votes in the close governor's race.
Phillips' election in 1988 was part of an aggressive grassroots campaign called "Clean Slate '88", a conservative effort that was successful in getting five of its six candidates elected. (Ordinarily there were three justices on the ballot each year, on a nine-justice court, but, because of resignations, there were six races for the Supreme Court on the ballot in November 1988.) By 1998, Republicans held all nine seats on the Court.
1994 Alabama Supreme Court races In 1994, a group called the Business Council of Alabama hired Rove to help run a slate of Republican candidates for the state supreme court. No Republican had been elected to that court in more than a century. The campaign by the Republicans was unprecedented in the state, which had previously only seen low-key contests. After the election, a court battle over absentee and other ballots followed that lasted more than 11 months. It ended when a federal appeals court judge ruled that disputed absentee ballots could not be counted, and ordered the Alabama Secretary of State to certify the Republican candidate for Chief Justice, Perry Hooper, as the winner. An appeal to the Supreme Court by the Democratic candidate was turned down within a few days, making the ruling final. Hooper won by 262 votes.
Another candidate, Harold See, ran against Mark Kennedy, an incumbent Democratic justice and the son-in-law of George Wallace. The race included charges that Kennedy was mingling campaign funds with those of a non-profit children's foundation he was involved with. A former Rove staffer reported that some within the See camp initiated a whisper campaign that Kennedy was a pedophile. although many critics nonetheless identify this technique, particularly as utilized in this instance against Richards, as a hallmark of his career.
1996 Harold See's campaign for Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court A former campaign worker charged that, at Rove's behest, he distributed flyers that anonymously attacked Harold See, their own client. This put the opponent's campaign in an awkward position; public denials of responsibility for the scurrilous flyers would be implausible. Rove's client was elected.
1998 George W. Bush gubernatorial campaign Rove was an adviser for Bush's 1998 reelection campaign. From July through December 1998, Bush's reelection committee paid Rove & Co. nearly $2.5 million, and also paid the Rove-owned Praxis List Company $267,000 for use of mailing lists. Rove says his work for the Bush campaign included direct mail, voter contact, phone banks, computer services, and travel expenses. Of the $2.5 million, Rove said, "[a]bout 30 percent of that is postage". In all, Bush (primarily through Rove's efforts) raised $17.7 million, with $3.4 million unspent as of March 1999.
2000 Harold See campaign for Chief Justice For the race to succeed Perry Hooper, who was retiring as Alabama's chief justice, Rove lined up support for See from a majority of the state's important Republicans.
In April 2006, Rove was reassigned from his policy development role to one focusing on strategic and tactical planning in anticipation of the November 2006 congressional elections.
Rove resigned from his position effective August 31, 2007. Bush hugged his old friend saying, "Karl Rove is moving on down the road... I'll be on the road behind you here in a little bit."
Rove has also spent significant time on the road giving speeches to schools and other groups. Rove was scheduled to give the commencement address at Choate Rosemary Hall, a New England boarding school, but canceled after protests from students and faculty. He instead made a private appearance at the school on February 11, 2008.
On March 9, 2008, Rove appeared at the University of Iowa as a paid speaker to a crowd of approximately 1,000. He was met with hostility and two students were removed by police after attempting a citizen's arrest for alleged crimes committed during his time with the Bush administration. Near the end of the speech, a member of the audience asked, "Can we have our $40,000 back?" Rove replied, "No, you can't."
On May 22, 2008, Rove was subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to testify on the politicization of the Department of Justice. However, on July 10, Rove refused to acknowledge his congressional subpoena citing executive privilege as his reason.
On June 24, 2008, Rove said of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, "Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone."
Rove agreed to debate one-time presidential candidate and former Senator John Edwards on September 26, 2008 at the University at Buffalo. However Edwards later dropped out and was replaced with General Wesley Clark.
Rove, who was hired by Fox News to provide analysis for the network's election coverage, defended his role on the news team to the Television Critics Association.
On November 3, 2008, Rove spoke on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis on the eve of Election Day.
On February 23, 2009 Karl Rove was again required by Congressional subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee concerning his knowledge of the US Attorney firings and the alleged political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman but did not appear on this date. He and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers have since agreed to testify under oath before Congress about these matters.
On July 7, 2009, and July 30, 2009, Karl Rove testified before the House Judiciary Committee regarding questions about the dismissal of seven U.S. Attorneys under the Bush Administration. Rove was also questioned regarding the federal prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman who was convicted of fraud. The Committee concluded that Rove had played a significant role in the attorney firings. No conclusions were made public regarding Siegleman’s prosecution. Siegleman’s supporters have claimed that Rove was behind Siegleman’s prosecution, although Siegleman’s defense made no such claim either at his original trial, nor at his appeal before the 11th Circuit Court which upheld his conviction on the bribery and fraud counts, but dismissed two counts of mail fraud. The 11th Circuit handed down its decision March 6, 2009.
Also, Rove made appearances at a number of campuses, including UC Merced on October 8th as conservatives students, in the College Republicans at UC Merced, sought to provide an alternative perspective since First Lady Michelle Obama and Former President Jimmy Carter went and spoke at the young campus.
Rove was the guest host of The Rush Limbaugh Show on Monday, August 9, 2010., marking his first time hosting a radio talk show.
In January 1986, Rove married Darby Tara Hickson. She is a breast cancer survivor, a graphic designer, and former employee of Karl Rove & Co. Their son, Andrew Madison Rove (b. 1989), is an undergraduate at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
On December 29, 2009, it was reported that Rove and Hickson had been granted a divorce in Texas after 24 years of marriage. Dana Perino, Rove's spokesperson, said: “Karl Rove and his wife, Darby, were granted a divorce last week. The couple came to the decision mutually and amicably, and they maintain a close relationship and a strong friendship. There will be no further comment and the family requests that its privacy be respected.”
Rove left Texas after Bush was elected President in late 2000. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.
Category:American adoptees Category:American Episcopalians Category:American political consultants Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:College Republican National Committee chairs Category:Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy Category:George W. Bush Administration personnel Category:Leadership Institute alumni and associates Category:People from Denver, Colorado Category:People from Sparks, Nevada Category:People from Salt Lake City, Utah Category:Plame affair figures Category:Senior Advisors to the President Category:United States presidential advisors Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:University of Utah alumni Category:Texas Republicans Category:Nixon CRP alumni Category:1950 births Category:Living people
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| Name | Glenn Beck |
|---|---|
| Caption | Beck at the Time 100 Gala, 2010 |
| Birth name | Glenn Edward Lee Beck |
| Birth date | February 10, 1964 |
| Birth place | Everett, Washington, U.S. |
| Hometown | Mount Vernon, Washington, U.S. |
| Education | Sehome High School |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Political commentator, author, media proprietor, entertainer |
| Spouse | Claire (1983–1994)Tania (m. 1999); 4 children total |
| Website | Glenn Beck's Official Website |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) |
| Residence | New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Home town | Mount Vernon, Washington, U.S. |
Glenn Edward Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative radio and television host, author, entrepreneur, and political commentator. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks; and also Glenn Beck on Fox News Channel. Beck has authored six New York Times-bestselling books. Beck is the founder and CEO of Mercury Radio Arts, a multimedia production company through which he produces content for radio, television, publishing, the stage, and the Internet. It was announced on April 6, 2011, that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year but will team with Fox to "produce a slate of projects for FOX News Channel and FOX News' digital properties."
Beck's supporters praise him as a constitutional stalwart defending what they claim are traditional American values, while his critics contend he promotes conspiracy theories and employs incendiary rhetoric for ratings.
Glenn and his older sister moved with their mother to Sumner, Washington, attending a Jesuit school in Puyallup. On May 15, 1979, while out on a small boat with a male companion, Beck's mother drowned just west of Tacoma, Washington in Puget Sound. The man who had taken her out in the boat also drowned. A Tacoma police report stated that Mary Beck "appeared to be a classic drowning victim", but a Coast Guard investigator speculated that she could have intentionally jumped overboard.
After their mother's death, Beck and his older sister moved to their father's home in Bellingham, Washington, where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in June 1982. In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope. At 18, following his high school graduation, Beck relocated to Provo, Utah, and worked at radio station KAYK. Feeling he "didn't fit in", Beck left Utah after six months, taking a job at Washington D.C.'s WPGC in February 1983. The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. A recovering alcoholic and drug addict, Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
By 1994, Beck was suicidal, and imagined shooting himself to the music of his fellow Washingtonian, Kurt Cobain. Beck later said that he had gotten high every day for the previous 15 years, since the age of 16.
Beck's then began a "spiritual quest" in which he "sought out answers in churches and bookstores". Beck was baptized by his old friend, and current-day co-worker Pat Gray.
Beck announced in July 2010 that he had been diagnosed with macular dystrophy, saying "A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes, I can't focus my eyes. He did all kinds of tests and he said, 'you have macular dystrophy ... you could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not. The disorder can make it difficult to read, drive or recognize faces.
In 2002 Beck created Mercury Radio Arts, a media platform he named after Orson Welles' seminal Mercury Theatre, which produced live theatrical broadcasts during the 1930s. Beck's company's president and chief operating officer was Chris Balfe and , employed more than 40 people in the production of Beck's broadcast, publishing and online projects, as well as his live performances.
In June 2009, estimators at Forbes calculated Beck's earnings over the previous 12 months at $23 million, with 2009–2010 revenues on track to be higher. In April 2010, Forbes reported that Glenn Beck Inc., formally known as Mercury Radio Arts, had revenues of $32 million during the previous year (March 2009 - March 2010. Beck had a reputation as a "young up-and-comer". The show was not political and included the usual off-color antics of the genre: juvenile jokes, pranks, and impersonations. When Gray left the show to move to Salt Lake City, Beck continued with co-host Vinnie Penn. At the end of 1998, Beck was informed that his contract would not be renewed at the end of 1999. In January 2002, Premiere Radio Networks launched the show nationwide on 47 stations. The show then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting from new flagship station WPHT. On November 5, 2007, The New York Times reported that Premiere Radio Networks was extending Beck's contract. By May 2008, it had reached over 280 terrestrial stations as well as XM Satellite. It was ranked 4th in the nation with over six and a half million listeners. Glenn Beck is number three in the ratings behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
His show's high ratings have not come without controversy. However, they also announced that he would be teaming with Fox to produce a slate of projects for Fox News and its digital properties.
]] As an author, Beck has reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List in four separate categories : Hardcover Non-Fiction, Paperback Non-Fiction, and Children's Picture Books.
The Real America: Messages from the Heart and Heartland, Simon & Schuster 2003. ISBN 978-0-7434-9696-4
Beck also authorized a comic book: Political Power: Glenn Beck' by Jerome Maida, Mark Sparacio (illus.); Bluewater Productions, 2011; ISN B004VGB4FO ABC special, Beck was selected as one of America’s "Top 10 Most Fascinating People" of 2009. In 2010, Beck was selected for the Times top 100 most influential people under the "Leaders" category.
Beck has referred to himself as an entertainer, and a "rodeo clown".
Time Magazine described Beck as "[t]he new populist superstar of Fox News" saying it is easier to see a set of attitudes rather than a specific ideology, noting his criticism of Wall Street, yet defending bonuses to AIG, as well as denouncing conspiracy theories about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but warning against indoctrination of children by the AmeriCorps program. (Paul Krugman and Mark Potok, on the other hand, have been among those asserting that Beck helps spread "hate" by covering issues that stir up extremists.) What seems to unite Beck's disparate themes, Time argued, is a sense of siege. One of Beck's Fox News Channel colleagues Shepard Smith, has jokingly called Beck's studio the "fear chamber", with Beck countering that he preferred the term "doom room." The progressive watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's (FAIR) Activism Director Peter Hart argues that Beck red-baits political adversaries as well as promotes a paranoid view of progressive politics. Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post has remarked that "Love him or hate him, Beck is a talented, often funny broadcaster, a recovering alcoholic with an unabashedly emotional style."
Laura Miller writes in Salon.com that Beck is a contemporary example of "the paranoid style in American politics" described by historian Richard Hofstader:
"The Paranoid Style in American Politics" reads like a playbook for the career of Glenn Beck, right down to the paranoid's "quality of pedantry" and "heroic strivings for 'evidence,'" embodied in Beck's chalkboard and piles of books. But Beck lacks an archenemy commensurate with his stratospheric ambitions, which makes him appear even more absurd to outsiders.
In September 2010, Philadelphia Daily News reporter Will Bunch released The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama. One of Bunch's theses is that Beck is nothing more than a morning zoo deejay playing a fictional character as a money-making stunt.
In August 2010, Mercury Radio Arts also launched the independent political blog, The Blaze.
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