Van Jones Aftermath: O'Reilly tells Beck that communism is dead

Published September 10, 2009 @ 11:06AM PT

$Glenn Beck (left) and Bill O\'Reilly on \$

Newsflash: Van Jones was a small fish. And communism no longer threatens the United States.

Source: Bill O'Reilly of Fox News

Check out this segment (below) from the Sept. 8 broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News. Bill O'Reilly quizzes colleague Glenn Beck on l'affaire Van Jones. And then tell me in the comments what you think is going on here.

Segment highlights:

O'Reilly asks Beck to explain why Van Jones was an important target.

Beck: This guy, by just being in the White House, think of this, what message does it send to the youth of America that a Marxist, anarchist, self-avowed communist can work in the White House?

O'Reilly: You know what it says to me? Equal opportunity employment!

The two laugh (EEO being anathema to many conservatives), but Beck seems startled to be getting even jocular pushback from O'Reilly.

O'Reilly then starts to slide in the knife, by questioning the merits of the story:

Look I haven't been covering this Van Jones thing - and you have been covering it intensively - because he's a little guy; it doesn't really matter.

Beck, apparently at sea on the details of his vast left-wing green jobs conspiracy without his teleprompter, asks to come back on the show to explain "how it all fits together" and "what Van Jones says about this administration."

But O'Reilly keeps Beck on the hot seat:

Well, you have three minutes to do it now. You don't have to come back, give me the big picture: Why is Van Jones important?

After a bit of wry joshing to the effect that Beck needs a bit of foreplay to warm up to the whole story:

Beck: The big picture here is, Barack Obama continues to surround himself with not just, we're not talking Democrats here, we're talking about radicals.

O'Reilly: Do you think Obama even knew the guy worked in the White House?

Beck does, strongly. But when O'Reilly presses him, it largely boils down to Beck having read on a "lefty blog" or "in the paper" that "Michelle Obama loved him."

Then O'Reilly drives home the knife, breaking it to Beck (and perhaps as well to their joint viewership) that the Cold War is over. Beck resists with some of his classic push-poll questions (of the "When will President Obama prove to the American people that he's never drowned a kitten?" variety), but it's O'Reilly Victricius all the way:

O'Reilly: Your hypothesis is that ... the president is a closet Marxist? How far are you taking this?

Beck: I don't know, Bill.

O'Reilly: But you're on the trail.

Beck: I think Americans need to ask themselves the question. Bill, you're president of the United States. Would you have a man who's a self-avowed communist --

O'Reilly: No, I wouldn't.

Beck: -- who said I'd rather lose the radical pose for the radical ends?

O'Reilly: Here's what did it for me. I don't even care about the dopey far-left politics. When he signs that petition about 9/11, that eliminates him from public service.

Beck: I don't understand this. [To the camera:] America, when did we stop caring about communism?

O'Reilly: Because communism is not a threat to us anymore.

Beck: [Face dropping as if someone's stolen his Christmas candy] Are you kidding me?

Whoa.

(Hat tip to Melody and The Osterley Times)

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Comments (6)

Ok there's a difference between something being dead and something being a threat.

Cyprus, Cuba, China are all alive and well.

But none of them pose a threat.

His statement is consistent with outside forces.

However, inside forces communism is only a threat to people like BillO because, once (more and more forms of it are) introduced, he will no longer have a boogeyman.

Posted by Lewis T on 09/10/2009 @ 11:54AM PT
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I take your point, but encourage you to think a bit more metaphorically. For the purposes of being a significant challenge to western democracies, communism is dead.

And China is not truly communist anymore; it's an authoritarian capitalist system. It's not exporting revolution; it's exporting toys, cell phones, electric cars, and sex toys.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 09/10/2009 @ 12:17PM PT
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Emily, I agree, but I think They are an even greater threat. They are or will soon be the one world economic superpower, and Their environmental policies are an abomination. They make the U.S. seem quite green by comparison. We should put in place a total consumer boycott of all chinese products.

Posted by Charlie Reed on 09/10/2009 @ 05:54PM PT
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Be that as it may, they're not a *communist* or a Marxist threat, which are the labels Beck and other reactionary right media personalities have been using to whip up fear about the Obama administration.

Posted by Emily Gertz on 09/10/2009 @ 06:21PM PT
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I did get off topic, Emily. Re: Van Jones, It is too bad. however, It was Van Jones Who said he was a communist. Glenn Beck merely quoted Him. "I went into jail a black nationalist, I came out a communist" I am however glad to hear recently that He actually went nowhere at all, and is still working behind the scenes.

Posted by Charlie Reed on 09/11/2009 @ 03:15AM PT
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I don't say this... often. This will be the first and probably last time... ever.

Props to Papa-Bear for calling out his colleague. The connection from race to political affiliation to EEO was what this sad conversation needed, joke or not. A diversity of perspective is the advantage to EEO, whether rooted in ethnicity, religion, political party, or what have you.

Glenn Beck is an ignorant ass. Does he just google "obama czar" every day and pick the newest cabinet member being mentioned in "some blog"?

Posted by sarah karp on 09/13/2009 @ 06:43PM PT
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