FOX Attacks Glenn Beck's 'Racist' Smear of Obama

On July 28, Glenn Beck declared:

"The President has exposed himself as a guy ... over and over and over again ... who has a deep-seated hatred for white people ... or the white culture... This guy is, I believe, a racist."

That false and vile charge of "racism" led ColorOfChange.org, Democrats.com, and other progressives to launch an advertiser boycott against Beck. That boycott has been a huge success, costing Beck over 60 advertisers - and cutting the show's revenues in half.

Incredibly, FOX commentators joined our attack Tuesday with emphatic denunciations of false accusations of racism. CrooksAndLiars has the full video.

Brit Hume on Special Report (6:06 pm)

One of the great achievements of the American civil rights movement is a broad and deep consensus that racism, which has a long history in this country, is unacceptable, indeed even intolerable.

Civil rights activists led by Dr. King appealed to the conscience and good will of this nation on the issue and won the nation over.

Today in America one of the worst things that can be said of anyone is that he or she is racist. The charge is so potent that some (Jesse Jackson and AL Sharpton come to mind) have hurled it about with abandon, knowing how far people will go to avoid the label.

But the accusation should be wielded with the most extreme care supported by abundant evidence.

Brett Baier (6:44)

Don't you have to be careful when you level the charge?  It's such a blunt object, when you say "racism" it's a big charge.

Charles Krauthammer: I find it awful, I think you have to be very careful with it.

Stephen Hayes (6:44) 

There is absolutely zero evidence that saying "You Lied" to the President of the United States had anything to do with race whatsoever and it is a disgusting smear for anybody to suggest that.

It is a sad day when a columnist in the NY Times can just imagine that somebody is saying something, literally putting words in her mouth. She prefaced the statement by saying "fair or not I heard him say 'You Lied Boy.'"

That's not fair. As a journalist, you can't imagine people saying things, you have to criticize them based on what they actually say and he didn't say this.

Charles Krauthammer (6:45) 

The accusation of racism is a sign of desperation by people who know they are losing the national debate and they want to hurl the ultimate charge in American politics.

This is dealing from the bottom of the deck and I agree that it is a disgusting tactic. It's done as a way to end debate. The minute you call someone a racist the debate is over, you don't continue.

Accusations of racism are the last refuge of the (liberal) scoundrel.

As for Maureen Dowd imagining a word that wasn't said, in my previous profession I saw a lot of people who heard words that weren't said. They were called patients and many of them were helped with medication. The reason she won't be and others who are hurling the accusation is because it's a deliberate attempt to change the subject and discredit the opposition with unprovable and unproved ad hominen.

Wow - I wonder if these FOX commentators will help us contact some of Beck's advertisers!