Keith Olbermann Issues “Fox-twa” on Glenn Beck, Roger Ailes UPDATED
Countdown host Keith Olbermann has issued a call to the millions of readers at Daily Kos to dig up some dirt (real dirt, not this kind) on Fox News personality Glenn Beck, his producer, and Roger Ailes. The “Fox-twa” comes on the heels of the resignation of Obama adviser Van Jones, whose abrupt departure has been attributed to a weeks-long campaign by Beck. The Scrabble-averse pundit has already set his sights on new quarry, and Keith is pushing back.
In a blog post at Daily Kos, Olbermann makes this straightforward plea:
I don’t know why I’ve got this phrasing in my head, but: Find everything you can about Glenn Beck, Stu Burguiere, and Roger Ailes.
Predictably, Olbermann’s decree has been met with apoplexy from the right, casting Beck as the future victim of a “smear campaign.” I’m not sure what the logic here is, unless the right is now conceding that Van Jones was also the victim of a smear campaign.
So far, the lion’s share of the 1,350 Kos commenters have ignored Olbermann’s request, however, leaving some poor intern to sift through suggestions to stop watching The Simpsons and NFL Football. Good luck with that.
Others have posted links detailing some Beck that has already slipped through the cracks:
- agreed that America’s only hope is for Bin Laden to blow us up.
- fantasized about choking Michael Moore to death.
- advocated beating Rep. Charles Rangel with a shovel.
- declared that he hated the families of 9/11 survivors.
- declared that he hated Katrina victims, whom he called scumbags.
- incited people to commit tax evasion.
- accused Obama of having a deep seated hatred of white people (but isn’t a racist?).
Olbermann also announced plans to issue his plea on Tuesday’s broadcast, and to set up a dedicated tipster’s email. In future news, Keith Olbermann’s Tipster Email Spammed By Conservatives.
Also noteworthy: Olbermann again denies that he ever agreed to a truce with Bill O’Reilly, and in the comments, observes unironically that “This guy does not take criticism well.”
It’s tough to say whether a TV and blog audience will be able to outdo some googling and a Lexis-Nexis search, but Beck is unlikely to gain any traction playing the victim here. Much of that depends on the zeal and methodology of Keith’s million deputies.
45 comments
TfT says: Van Jones was a government official. Van Jones supposedly filled out the lengthy questionnaire that Obama claimed would ensure a highly ethical and open Government. The media is livid that FNC, talk radio, and the blogosphere exposed Van Jones — IN HIS OWN WORDS.
So, now you support Olbermann going after a competitor and equate the two? Strange, but not surprising.
Jelperman says: Glenn Beck is going to discover that payback, like Lynne Cheney, is a bitch.
so that’s a great double standard TfT – searching for BECK’s OWN WORDS… what are you afraid of? that perhaps once or twice (or more then the 7 items mentioned above) he may have said something stupid that makes all the people following him look even worse? really?
or are you a real patriot who will not stand for such craziness but will stand for the 1st amendment as much as you do for the 2nd?
how about the video, Beck From the Dead, where he talks about how poor the healthcare system is in this country? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX1rLv_hNeI – should be included in list
JimW says: All one really has to do is look at Keith Olbermann’s tactics and compare them to the methods Joseph Goebbels used to demonize and discredit his opponents and you will see striking similarities. The beautiful thing is that Keith Olbermann is a miniscule blip in the continuum, one so totally ineffectual that the good people of America have nothing to fear.
Jelperman says: Obviously you know nothing about Olbermann or Goebbels. Olbermann ridicules right-wingers. Goebbels used the airwaves to incite murder by slandering minorities and political opponents -just like Glenn Beck and the Teabaggers.
Chris Heuer says:
September 7, 2009 at 11:00 am
i don’t think anyone is afraid of anyone digging up dirt on Beck. Beck is a TV pundit, and isn’t paid by the government to implement or influence policy. Don’t like Beck, change the channel. It’s hard to change the channel on an unvetted government Czar.
Beck researched, vetted and exposed Van Jones. Jones is now gone. Why? Because Beck was right.
What does Olbermann decide to do? Ignore the facts on Jones, and in turn decides to attack a paid tv pundit who is killing him in the ratings….
No wonder msnbc is in the toilet.
(and news flash – it’s not like it is a secret what Beck has been saying….he is on TV and radio, daily.)
JimW says: Dearest Jelperman, The principle that a lie, if audacious enough and repeated enough, will be believed by the masses is the basis for everything Olbermann and a tactic made famous by Goebbels. I see Olbermann has succeeded in your case. How sad. The reason for Olbermann’s failure is that he is a rather transparent idiot.
Jelperman says: You will of course post evidence that Olbermann has lied, right? Put up or shut up.
Jelperman says: Who is Chris Heuer?
JimW says: Lovely Jelperman, Have you ever heard of the expression “whistling an aria to a deaf person”? I believe it refers to talking sense to Keith Olbermann’s audience, those who have scant relish for the truth, those like you. Please Google “lies of Keith Olbermann” and you will find more than enough information to substantiate the man is a lier, dolt, failure and fool.
Jelperman says: So in other words, even though you made the claim that Olbermann lies like Goebbels, you can’t provide a single example. Concession accepted: You were lying and you know it.
By the way: What exactly is a “lier”?
JimW says: Oops… I meant “liar.” Whatever, I refuse to be importuned on this subject a minute longer (don’t you just love Jane Austen). Just because I can’t type doesn’t mean that you can think. The very fact that you even watch Keith Olbermann proves you’re intellectually screwed. Good-bye!
m says: I think it’s more intellectually screwed to just hurl insults and make statements without backing it up.
Jelperman says: Just as I thought: Once Jim W gets called out to back up his false claims, he tucks his tail between his legs and runs away.
JimW says: Olbermann’s lies: http://www.antiquiet.com/news/editorials/2008/05/is-keith-olbermann-full-of-shit/
Olbermann acts like the Kos Kids haven’t been trying to dig up dirt on Beck all this time. They don’t need a call to arms to do that — that’s what they do all day! Also, the left has been trying to dig up dirt on Roger Ailes since Fox News came into existence. If they don’t have anything by now, it’s because it doesn’t exist.
Finally, nobody watches Olbermann’s show. Even if he had dirt to present, there wouldn’t be anyone watching it anyway. Olby is the laughing stock of cable news. The only person who takes Keith seriously is Keith.
Cecelia says: “It’s tough to say whether a TV and blog audience will be able to outdo some googling and a Lexis-Nexis search, but Beck is unlikely to gain any traction playing the victim here. Much of that depends on the zeal and methodology of Keith’s million deputies.”
Oh great… I’ll suppose “The Reality-Based Community” will now add an arrest charge for bestiality and jaywalking to the phony charges of rape and murder.
stinger498 says: Excuse me, I’m not sure what the issue is. Van Jones said Republicans are assholes? Well, they are. The evidence is overwhelming. What’s the problem? I’d give the guy a Freedom Medal for telling the truth.
shootfromthehip says: “Finally, nobody watches Olbermann’s show. Even if he had dirt to present, there wouldn’t be anyone watching it anyway. Olby is the laughing stock of cable news.”
Between 300,000 and 500,000 adults 25-54 daily beg to differ. KO is one of the sharpest minds in NY and one of the best broadcasters in cable news. Period.
shootfromthehip says: And don’t come back and say “But Beck has three times his numbers!” So what. That proves nothing. Crappy movies top the box office weekend charts all the time. That doesn’t mean they are better than the more intellectually challenging movies that don’t do the numbers dumb comedies or crappy horror flicks do nationwide, it just means there are more dumb Americans than smart ones.
Puter Boi says: Keith might get more than he bargained for…..people might find out that he likes to dress up in his French maid’s outfit and pronounce “chocolat” for hours on end….
It may seem pretentious…..but after all…it is Keith…
Rain says: Great video Chris, and Jim W, you left them speechless. Here’s the problem with Keith Rachael, and Carlos..they have to defend this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n66xbpUcskU
Obama said to judge him by the people he surrounds himself with. That means Jones, Pelosi, Reid, Franken, Watson. Left leaning media can’t compete in America. That’s not who we are!
Cecelia says: Don’t look now, but Olbermoron has updated his Kos Diary and is casting aspersions on the intellects of certain Media/ite writers who didn’t get that he was merely parodying Beck’s Twitter.
For an awesome Double Secret Bind message, Olbs again requests dirt on Beck in the next paragraph.
Is this guy an evil genius or what!…
Jelperman says: I asked for evidence of Olbermann lying like Joseph Goebbels. What does Jim W come up with? A site that debunks the Olbermann-haters. The best Olbermann Watch could come up with was that KO might not have done 218 consecutive shows about Monica Lewinsky and might have had a night off. Compare this to Glenn Beck’s crude racism, outright lies and not-so-subtle attempts to incite the assassination of President Obama. There’s a cable talking head who emulates Goebbels and his name is Glenn Beck -NOT Keith Olbermann.
ChrisNH says: Hmmm…this ’scorched-earth’ policy from Olbermann is worrisome. I mean, no one is going to try digging up dirt on Olbermann in return (roll eyes). If someone were to tell me that Olbermann has three or four restraining orders against him, I wouldn’t be surprised.
arlenearmy says: Problem w/Olberman is that he’s consistently petty. I 1st started watching him during the elections when he kept bashing OReilly 5 days a week. His sick fixation got old after watching him for 3 months. This is why I don’t watch Keith Olberman anymore. He needs to learn how to harness his obsession.
CaptainAmerica says: Poor Keith. He is just upset that his big “boycott” of Glen Beck has been a total failure. The only thing the Boycott has done is sent FNC’s ratings through the roof (all the shows) and has only cost Glen Beck a handful of advertisers (ones who actually had bought time on his show in the past). The rest of them are advertisers who were never buying time on his show in the first place. Of course you wouldn’t know that from the press releases Color Of Change throws out there.
Olbermann Watch has not only exposed numerous lies from Keith (Keith is great at doctoring quotes and video) and then lying about what was said. . . not to mention Keith being exposed for not having paid his taxes several times. Keith also probably didn’t like it when they talked about him and the porn star he met on the Tonight Show that he kept calling. Wasn’t she the same one that said he was lousy in bed?
Keith should really keep his mouth shut. All his attacks on FNC against Bill and Glen have backfired. But Bill’s attacks on GE has had an impact on their stock. When will GE realize that Keith isn’t worth the little bit of ratings he brings in to MSNBC?
Jelperman says: If the boycott was a “total failure” why have so many of Beck’s advertisers bailed on his show?
CaptainAmerica says: Because the majority of those were never advertisers on his show in the first place. Only a handful of companies that actually bought time during his show have stopped advertising. The ones who stopped advertising weren’t big accounts in the first place. The list is made up of companies who never bought time specifically on his show. Some of them bought ROS ad time on FNC. Some of those ads ran on his show and they called them “Becks advertisers”. Some others had bought time via ROS but his show and some others were on the “do not run” list in the first place. Some of their ads were inadvertently aired during his show. Color of Change counts those as well.
Color of Change puts out this long list of advertisers who weren’t buying time on his show in the first place. As AdAge pointed out, 9 of his 10 ten advertisers before the “boycott” were direct buy advertisers.
It’s all a smokescreen on Color Of Change’s part. They haven’t hurt FNC at all. But they have increased Beck’s ratings and those ratings have spilled over to other shows garnering higher ratings.
Also, some of those advertises have pulled their advertising from Countdown and other controversial programs. With the slim viewership and the anemic money MSNBC pulls in they are being hurt more by this.
arlenearmy says: Capt. America;
I hear what you are saying & agree. I saw the list of Beck’s advertisers on defendglenn.com site. Color of Change is just spinning the facts to distort. Most folks never heard of that group.
Jelperman:
What is a “total failure” is that Color of Change actually costed Van Jones his job. Van Jones was already vulnerable to begin with & Obama knew this when he hired him. The stupidity of that group was they knee jerked reacted & charged aimless like bulls in the middle of Obama struggling to regain footing on healthcare debate. The more noise created by COC & Beck & his followers, the bigger the threat to Obama’s polls. Admittedly, Beck came out smelling good on this deal & Van Jones wind up as road kill on a public street.
arlenearmy says: “Color of Change” intention was to hurt Foxnews & Beck. But there were unintended consequences. Not only did Beck’s rating skyrocketed & Van Jones got fired; but it caused all eyes to focus on Obama’s other czars.
They say hindsight is 20/20. I bet Jones, Obama, WH & Democrat party wished that Color of Change had not created any noise. The timing was BAD & was done in midst of heated town hall meetings. Beck has a job to do & he did his job well. So the more noise COC & Olberman cause, the more likely it would create unintended consequences such as: rallying support for senate hearings on those Czars.
So if Olberman & COC are wise, they would lay low on this matter. They should think before they act & realize every possible ramification of their actions.
People like Keith Olbermann are helping the right tremendously by engaging people like Glenn Beck. He’d rather wallow in the muck and engage in a silly punditry war with than actually attempt to say something.
What the left doesn’t seem to understand is that attempting to silence the hard-right is not only impossible, but it’s politically deplorable, and indefensible in terms of the bad publicity that follows as a result. The question is, why is the left wasting its time attempting to defend the ludicrous claims of the far-right? Shouldn’t they instead be focusing their energies convincing the middle? It might prove to be a little more constructive.
I guess I’m naively working from the assumption that Olbermann has principled convictions outside of cashing his paycheck. How silly of me.
m says: Nah, the reason why the left is trying to fight back against the hard-right is because it’s poisoning the political discourse. If you’re a right-winger you can pretty much say anything (thinking of Palin) and it instantly enters mainstream media, part due to the of widespread talk radio and Fox News. The past weeks have been occupied with false rumors originating from the right such as death panels and that Obama plans to indoctrinate your children. There hasn’t been any talk about actual policy at all.
Jelperman says: What’s really funny about all these right-wing concern trolls whining about how Olbermann and Color of Change are helping Glenn Beck is their dishonesty. You should be happy that Jones was fired and Beck’s ratings have increased!
The question is, why is the left wasting its time attempting to defend the ludicrous claims of the far-right?
Because allowing a series of deranged lies told by diseased liars to fester and spread worked so well for John Kerry when the Shit Boaters lied about his record. It also worked like a charm for Clinton when the howl-at-the-moon crowd began circulating Clinton Death Lists and accusing Hillary of killing Vince Foster. BS needs to be confronted immediately.
Bill Maher [2:32] explains it rather well.
Shouldn’t they instead be focusing their energies convincing the middle?
There is no middle. For example, the overwhelming majority of people want reform of the health care industry. Obama’s drop in popularity is due to liberals’ being stabbed in the back as Obama tries to appease crooks, lunatics and morons -none of whom are going to support him no matter what he does.
It might prove to be a little more constructive.
For Republicans who prefer supine Democrats, maybe.
JimW says: Jelperman has become Joseph Goebbels incarnate. In tone and rhetoric (and like Keith Olberman) it’s just one nasty demeaning lie after another. Over and over again, like the Nazi Propaganda Machine, we get nothing but disparaging remarks about normal people who happen to disagree with him. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when I asked readers here to examine a site that actually tries to ferret out the truth behind Keith Olbermann, but Jelperman continues his blind rage at those who hold people responsible for their very own words (like Van Jones). Joseph Goebbels’ incessant characterization of Jews as crooks, lunatics, and morons is well-reflected in Jelperman’s opinions of people with opposing views. Thank God that crap like that is simply not acceptable in America.
Agreed. Beck should be dismissed from his job as a government official.
Oh, wait….
Jelperman says: No JimW, I caught you lying. Neither Olbermann nor myself have lied about anything, let alone tried to incite violence. You, on the other hand, have been caught in lie after lie. The stunt you pulled where you linked to a website, claiming it supported your assertions when it proved the exact opposite is the most glaring example of your dishonesty. Obviously you thought people would take your word for the contents of the site and wouldn’t check for themselves.
I’d like you to post an example of where I express a desire to kill someone I disagree with. Feel free to do the same with Keith Olbermann. You’ll come up empty in both cases. Olbermann in fact denounced Mike Stark for ambushing Bill O’Reilly at his driveway (the way Falafel Boy’s stalkers do to those who displease him) with a camera and microphone.
However, Glenn Beck is very clear when he tells about his fantasies of murder. Joseph Goebbels lied to incite murder and so does Glenn Beck. You lie because you’re a troll with no morals.
JimW says: You know what, Jelperman, you don’t even exist.
Jelperman says: Concession accepted. You lose.
Keith Olbermann is a born loser!!! Beck gets more viewers at 5pm then Olbermann gets at 8pm!!!!!! O’Reilly triples Olbermann’s audience!!! O’Reilly’s reruns at 11pm get more viewers than Olbermann’s live show at 8pm!!! What can be more sad than a hack like Olbermann trying to put down guys like Beck and O’Reilly. Olbermann’s audience has diminished 60% since the election!!! Only a few left wing nuts watch that idiot’s show!!!! He failed as a sports broadcaster and he has failed as a political pundit!!!! He is literally obsessed with O’Reilly and so jealous of the man. He can’t go one show without mentioning his name. This guy is a sad, immature liberal with zero accomplishments to his name. O’Reilly and Beck have best selling books and the highest ratings for their shows. Olbermann is so jealous of them that anyone with half a brain like him can clearly see that. I can’t believe that dope gets paid to go on the air and run his mouth about things he has no clue about. O’Reilly = #1 for 8 years straight and counting!!! Olbermann = a laughing stock with ratings in the toilet!!! Everyone on Fox News beats Olbermann from 5pm through 11pm. How sad!!!
shootfromthehip says:
September 7, 2009 at 5:07 pm
And don’t come back and say “But Beck has three times his numbers!” So what. That proves nothing. Crappy movies top the box office weekend charts all the time. That doesn’t mean they are better than the more intellectually challenging movies that don’t do the numbers dumb comedies or crappy horror flicks do nationwide, it just means there are more dumb Americans than smart ones.
***
LOL – More dumb Americans… proof being our currently president elected by whom? More dumb Americans!
Jelperman:
“For example, the overwhelming majority of people want reform of the health care industry.”
With a majority of people, and a majority in the legislature and a Democratic president…what exactly is holding it up? If Bush and his cronies were able to sweep laws through with a sliver of a majority (and it’s arguable they even had THAT,) why do the Democrats seem so impotent right now?
Also–in regard to “right-wing concern trolls,” I’m not sure if you were referring to me, but if so, you’ve got me pigeonholed just a little tiny bit. I was one of the people complaining loudly and unapologetically about the Bush administration for the last eight years (and my distaste for Palin exceeds even my distaste for Dubya).
Just because we don’t agree with you 100% doesn’t mean we’re “right-wing”. I’m pretty sure that’s part of the issue I’ve been trying to explain.
Jelperman says: To the nitwit who claims Olbermann “failed as a sportscaster”:
You must have Olbermann confused with Rush Limp-balls, the white supremacist dope addict who couldn’t last two weeks covering the NFL at ESPN without being fired for spewing paranoid racist garbage about black quarterbacks. Olbermann will be hosting the Titans-Steelers game tomorrow night. Who is the failed sportscaster?
And if KO is a failed pundit, why does the mere mention of his name cause so many Republitards to throw their little hissy fits?
With a majority of people, and a majority in the legislature and a Democratic president…what exactly is holding it up?
The same thing that caused Obama to throw Van Jones under the bus: cowardice. This is the same reason Cheney and Addington won’t face prosecution for torture (not in American courts, anyway), the same reason the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will go on forever. The same reason concern trolls whine when that select handful of liberals who have grown a pair fights back against Republitards.
Oh, and the fact that a number of Dems are bought by the drug and insurance companies.
“The same thing that caused Obama to throw Van Jones under the bus: cowardice. This is the same reason Cheney and Addington won’t face prosecution for torture (not in American courts, anyway), the same reason the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will go on forever.”
I’m with you on ALL of those points, Jelperman.
tellme says: The nation’s political thinking is polarized as is demonstrated by many races so close they are statistically absurd. Sure, Glenn is statistically more popular than Keith, as is Fox versus MSNBC, and so on. However, this situation is more a function of the elements of competition being trumped by ideology. I cannot think of another business where the playing field is so lopsided in how it serves its market. Fox and a few other media outlets benefit largely because they have half of the market to themselves. The other players are forced into this odd circular firing squad for resources such as talent and capital. The results of this are, thus, predictable.
Job hunting?
Use our proprietary jobs tool to access the largest pool of jobs aggregated from around the country.
Stephen Colbert: ‘Sarah Palin is a F***king Retard’
The usually reliable Keith Olbermann's inability to nail Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin on Limbaugh's use of the term "retard" has been pretty frustrating. Sure, he has posited Palin as a hypocrite, but several times he has repeated Rush's and Palin's dueling assertions that he was "quoting" Rahm Emanuel, or that he was being "satirical," without really challenging it. Luckily, Stephen Colbert actually knows what the word "satire" means, and deployed a pile of it on Palin and Rush last night.
Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart Fail to Eviscerate Sarah Palin
Hyperbole must be over. How else does one explain the extremely disappointing bits that Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann did on Sarah Palin last night? Handed (thank you, I'm here all week) 3 days of Palin material that rivaled anything George W. Bush ever gave them, Olbermann could barely manage a molecule of spittle, let alone a lather, and Stewart deployed his seldom-used Nerf™ jokes.
More TV headlines:
»President Obama’s Nobel Prize Money? It’s Still Waiting For Him To Claim »2
»Enraged, Rachel Maddow Explains ‘Racist History’ Tea Party Is Embracing »31
»Superbowl MVP Drew Brees on Letterman (with Baby Brees Backstage!)
»Welcome, @CraigyFerg! Craig Ferguson Joins Twitter »4
»Jay Leno Explains The Letterman Promo: “A Good Joke Is A Good Joke” »6
© 2010 Mediaite, LLC | About Us | Advertise | Newsletter | Privacy | User Agreement | Disclaimer | Power Grid FAQ | Contact | Archives | 
RSS
