Here’s the video of Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Fox News colleague Glenn Beck:
O’REILLY: But let’s take the gay marriage deal. Big ruling in California. You really didn’t cover that much, right?
BECK: Nope.
O’REILLY: Why?
BECK: Because honestly I think we have bigger fish to fry. You can argue about abortion or gay marriage or whatever –
O’REILLY: Yeah.
BECK: — all you want.
O’REILLY: Yeah.
BECK: The country is burning down. I personally think these–
O’REILLY: But isn’t that one of the reasons because we are getting away from the traditional way we used to live into this progressive–
BECK: So let’s get back to — instead of arguing about these divisive things, let’s get back into our churches and our synagogues and–
O’REILLY: You’re not going to get people going back unless there is a reason to go back.
BECK: But here is the reason, America. Your country is burning down. I don’t think marriage, that the government actually has anything to do with -
O’REILLY: Do you believe — do you believe that gay marriage is a threat to the country in any way?
BECK: A threat to the country?
O’REILLY: Yeah, it going to harm the country?
BECK: No, I don’t. Will the gays come and get us?
O’REILLY: OK. Is it going to harm the country in any way?
BECK: I believe — I believe what Thomas Jefferson said. If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me?
O’REILLY: OK, so you don’t. That’s interesting.
Interesting comments from Beck!
Earlier this summer, Beck delivered the commencement address at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. That decision caused a bit of fuss among Southern Baptists.
Over at the First Thoughts blog, Joe Carter – a Baptist and web editor of the catholic journal First Things founded by the late Richard John Neuhaus, is worried about the influence that Beck has on conservative evangelicals and conservative Catholics. He writes:
To be fair, Beck isn’t a conservative so I can’t expect him to support the conservative position on gay marriage. He’s also not the kind of guy who is able to understand why abortion and traditional marriage are the “bigger fish” and more important than shouting about whatever closet-socialist was hired to work as an Assistant Secretary for Farm Subsidies at the USDA. He’s a libertarian entertainer acting like a libertarian entertainer.
But he is a very influential libertarian entertainer, and that worries me. Either Beck is someone to be taken seriously because he can sway the opinions of multitudes or he is someone that we can safely ignore.
It’s interesting that Carter acknowledges that Beck is a libertarian entertainer yet the fundamentalist Falwell Family has promoted Beck, a Mormon, as a leading conservative voice who others should listen to…
a Baptist and web editor of the catholic journal First Things
Although the Catholics dominate, FT is actually “intereligious.”
yet the fundamentalist Falwell Family has promoted Beck,
It will be interesting to see if they continue to support him. I think this might open the eyes of some social conservatives and make them think twice about excusing his antics.
What would Papa Falwell think about Jr. being so flimsy on his invites and compliments? Definitely interesting to see how this plays out and if LU is going to take a hit at the expense of Jr.’s political love for Beck and assuredly others over time.
[...] This is an interesting tid-bit of The Reilly Factor that caught my attention via the website, The Big Daddy Weave. I don’t have comment or a commentary; just thought it was interesting and wanted to [...]
I actually think this shows the continued decline of the influence of the Religious Right. The political rightwing is resurgent, but religious/cultural issues are playing a surprisingly small part: Few huge fights about abortion. Same-sex marriage makes gains, but few politicians make hay out of it (unlike ’04). Prayer in schools is a non-issue.
The only major exception is anti-Islamic feeling, but that is being argued more in secular terms by the politicians, whatever the preachers are saying.