Commentary By Ron Beasley
While P.T. Barnum may be dead the fact remains that a sucker is born every minute. Last week Forbes reported that Glen Beck made over over 32 million dollars last year. And what did he say about his politics?
With a deadpan, Beck insists that he is not political: "I could give a
flying crap about the political process." Making money, on the other
hand, is to be taken very seriously, and controversy is its own coinage.
"We're an entertainment company," Beck says. He has managed to monetize
virtually everything that comes out of his mouth. He gets $13 million a
year from print (books plus the ten-issue-a-year magazine Fusion).
Radio brings in $10 million. Digital (including a newsletter, the
ad-supported Glennbeck.com and merchandise) pulls in $4 million.
So rather than a social pioneer Beck admits he is little more than a snake oil salesman. And that brings us to Sarah Palin, snake oil salesman extraordinaire.
Sarah Palin Has Earned an Estimated $12 Million Since July
Pundits can debate the political costs and benefits of Sarah Palin's decision to step down as Alaska governor, but the monetary advantages of leaving her $125,000-a-year public service post are beyond dispute.
Since leaving office at the end of July 2009, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee has brought in at least 100 times her old salary � a haul now estimated at more than $12 million -- through television and book deals and a heavy schedule of speaking appearances worth five and six figures.
Palin never had any interest in political office - she was in it for the fame and fortune. She may sound dumb but she's not. Ignorant, perhaps, but dumb - no. She set out to be a rich and famous snake oil salesman and played the suckers perfectly.
"Palin never had any interest in political office - she was in it for the fame and fortune."
ReplyDeleteYou might be right but you can't know this. She might be interested in the power too. And since Obama is OK with 10% unemployment, she has a decent chance of getting it all.
Reality is reality - Obama is probably at a low point and this is what we see:
ReplyDeleteThe poll shows Obama topping Romney 53 percent to 45 percent, beating Huckabee 54 percent to 45 percent, defeating Gingrich 55 percent to 43 percent and topping Palin 55 percent to 42..
You can add Limbaugh to this list, among others. As I have said all along, these people don't bother me whatever the nonsense they are purveying at any given time. Its the clowns who actually believe that crap who are scary.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Rush, did you catch his latest bit of naked ignorance?
ReplyDeleteFile under "D'oh..."
Last Friday, Rush Limbaugh asked why a coal miner union didn�t protect the 29 miners who were killed when Massey Energy�s Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, WV, exploded under unsafe conditions:
"Was there no union responsibility for improving mine safety? Where was the union here? Where was the union? The union is generally holding these companies up demanding all kinds of safety. Why were these miners continuing to work in what apparently was an unsafe atmosphere?"
There�s a simple reason the union didn�t protect the miners: the Upper Big Branch Mine, like nearly all of the mines under Massey CEO Don Blankenship�s control, is non-union. In fact, the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) �tried three times to organize the Upper Big Branch mine, but even with getting nearly 70 percent of workers to sign cards saying they wanted to vote for a union, Blankenship personally met with workers to threaten them with closing down the mine and losing their jobs if they voted for a union.�