The Alt-Right's Claim to the Right Is As Legitimate As Dwight Schrute's Claim to Assistant Regional Manager

August 15, 2017

WRITER

In the wake of the weekend’s violent events in Charlottesville, conservatives have been distancing themselves more than ever from the extreme rhetoric of the alt-right.

The movement, which has been slowly trying to take over the political right, focuses on nationalism and has drawn Nazi support and praise from white supremacist figures like Richard Spencer and former KKK leader David Duke.

On radio Tuesday, Glenn and the guys analyzed the term “alt-right” and talked about the rise of the movement.

Stu Burguiere used a humorous example to show the world of difference between the alt-right and the conservative movement. In NBC’s comedy “The Office,” the self-important character Dwight Schrute likes to call himself “assistant regional manager” – even though he is simply the “assistant to the regional manager.” Similarly, the alt-right pretends to be the right, even though they are a smaller, usurping movement.

The analogy doesn’t work so well later in the series when Dwight does become assistant regional manager for a time, Glenn Beck pointed out.

“Temporarily having Dwight Schrute in charge of the Constitution and the movement to protect it might not be the best of ideas,” Glenn said.

GLENN: So can someone tell me alt-right, "alt" is the shorthand for what word?

STU: Alternative.

PAT: Altimeter?

GLENN: No.

PAT: Alternator?

GLENN: No.

STU: Alternator.

GLENN: Seriously, it is?

STU: Alternate.

GLENN: Alternate. Somebody define "alternate" for me.

PAT: Something used instead of something else.

GLENN: Something used instead of something else.

PAT: Uh-huh.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: So if it's the alternate right, what it's saying is, we are something to be used instead of the conservative constitutional movement.

STU: Uh-huh. The literal definition of alternate is taking the place of.

GLENN: Hmm.

PAT: Hmm.

GLENN: So the alt-right, which the right opened its doors and said, "Come on in," announced, "We are the group that will take the place of you."

STU: Uh-huh. And I made this point kind of yesterday, when we were talking about the office where, you know, Dwight Schrute was assistant -- he wasn't assistant regional manager as he always tried to say. He was assistant to the regional manager.

And, look, there's various things around the right. There's a Libertarian right. There's a social conservative right. There's different movements among the right. But the alt-right is not an alternative right. It is an alternative to the right. You know, it is a -- it's a completely different movement completely.

PAT: Much as the left is.

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: An alternate to the right.

GLENN: It is a -- it's an alt-left.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: When you -- for Democrats, when they took in the left, it was the new left. You can read all about the new left.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: When you read about what the new left really is, it was to supplant, subvert the Constitution and by using the vehicle of the Democratic Party or destroying it. So they'll either get into the car and then grab the steering wheel and take that car and drive it into a car of people, or they'll destroy that vehicle and then replace it.

So it's the same thing. And it's already happened with the Democrats. They're already gone, guys.

And it's what Joe Lieberman said. Remember, Joe Lieberman was really one of the last of the good guys on the -- on the Democratic Party, that had a spine. Up until he stood with Al Gore.

But he had a spine. He was a good, decent, honorable man, who I disagreed with. But Joe Lieberman is not the kind of guy you're going to get into a brawl with. He's not the kind of guy who is going to say, "Yeah, and, you know what," -- like Elizabeth Warren did -- "we're not left enough. We're not tough enough. We're not loud enough." That's not Joe Lieberman.

And what did Joe Lieberman do? He left.

Here is a vice presidential candidate who said, "I cannot be a part of this party anymore. Because there's no home for me here." He didn't run to the Republicans because he doesn't believe in that. He said there's no home for me here at all. When a good, decent man like Joe Lieberman had to leave, we all should have known, that is the end.

Who is the alternate that has now supplanted everything you knew? Who -- who is in charge now?

It's the uber left. And they welcome them in. And you're seeing them get more and more and more extreme.

STU: To the point where Democrats had a controversy earlier this year in whether they were going to give any money to anyone who was pro-life. Even if you're a Democrat on every other issue, if you weren't pro-life, you weren't going to get any money or support from the party. And that's how far they've gone.

I mean, their biggest successes, you know, in governorships and things like that over the years, a lot of them have been pro-life. Pro-life Democrat is a tough thing to be. Because if you have kind of that social thing with the pro, you know -- the pro-life side, you can get enough Republicans in the boat, and it's hard -- it's hard to beat those guys.

You know, that happened in Pennsylvania. It's happened all over the country, really. That has slowly been phased out, to the Democrat's disadvantage. I mean, the fact that they've been so harsh on that particular issue has turned so many potential voters off over the years. I mean, thankfully, honestly, in many ways. Because Republicans might not win any elections.

GLENN: And so what is the alternate to the right? The alternate is to go fully to a European system. That the left is communist and the right is nationalist, populist Nazis. Socialists on both sides.

The right and the left of Europe, they're both socialists. They both believe in giant government. It's just, are we going to be communists, or are we going to be national socialists?

Those are your ends. And that's what's happening. You are seeing the sealing of the fate of the United States Constitution, and Democrats and Republicans alike should be able to come together and say, "I don't want to stand with the Antifa people because I know who they are. They are communists and anarchists. That's who they are." They are not defenders of free speech. They're not defenders of the republic. They're not defenders of freedom. They are communists and anarchists. I don't want to stand with them.

You look to the alt-right. They are national -- nationalist, populist, socialists. And they have no problem marching with a Nazi flag.

How are we so divided? How are we so divided? We had a 50-year war against communism. And we had the biggest war the world has ever seen against Nazis. Wait. What?

How is America confused? There are enemies on the left and enemies on the right. They are very small fractions of this country. They are not the center of this country. And when I say center, I don't mean the mushy middle. I mean the people who still have strong principles and values that we disagree with and will argue until the day we die, most likely.

But the middle of this country says, "I'm not a communist, and I'm not a Nazi. I'm not a black nationalist, and I'm not a white nationalist. I'm sick of all of this." That's who we are. That's the center of this country.

No, you can't be in the center.

I proudly stand in the center of that group. Because the center is the furthest place from the communists on the left and the Nazis on the right. I'm proudly as far away as I can be from either side.

And yet, the media on both sides, because they win -- we lose. But they win, they are trying to make you feel like the other side is nothing but communists, or the other side is nothing but Nazis. It's not true. And you know what, guys, if it is, then we need a civil war. But it's not true.

Don't you see what we have? There are people that are stealing it, and they are using us to help them open all of the doors and the windows so they can get the stuff and then get our house. And we're living out on the street. We're helping the robbers burgle our own home.

Trump's education secretary has BIG plans for the DoE

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Our education system is broken, and the Department of Education is a massive failure. But that all ends now.

It's no secret that America's school system is seriously lacking in many ways. President Trump pointed out that despite our massive spending per pupil, we are behind most of the developed world in most metrics. Our scores continue to plummet while our student debt and spending skyrocket—it's utterly unacceptable performance and America's students deserve better.

That's where Linda McMahon, Trump's pick for Secretary of Education comes in.

The former WWE CEO and leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term, McMahon laid out her harsh criticisms of the DoE during a confirmation hearing on the 13th and revealed her promising plans to turn things around. McMahon described the public education system as "in decline" and promised that under her authority, the DoE would be reoriented towards student success.

Here are the top three changes to the Department of Education:

1. Dismantling the Department of Education

SAUL LOEB / Contributor | Getty Images

From the beginning Trump's orders for McMahon were clear: oversee the end of the Department of Education.

During her Thursday hearing, McMahon clarified what dismantling the DoE would entail. As Democrats have repeatedly pointed out, Trump does not have the authority to destroy the DoE without Congressional consent, as an act of Congress created it. That is why Trump and McMahon's plan is to start by shutting down programs that can be stopped by executive action, then approach Congress with a plan to dismantle the Department for good. The executive orders have already begun to take effect, and once McMahon is confirmed she will author a plan for Congress to close the Department.

McMahon also promised that the end of the Department of Education does not mean an end to all the programs currently undertaken by the doomed department. Programs that are deemed beneficial will be transferred (along with their funding) to departments that are more suited to the task. The example given by McMahon was IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding, which instead of being cut would be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services.

2. School Choice

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc / Contributor | Getty Images

In a huge win for parents across the country, McMahon pledged her support for School Choice. School Choice is the idea of allowing parents to enroll their student in any school of their choice, including religious schools and private schools. It would also mean that part or all of the funding that would have gone to a relocated child would follow them and continue to pay for their education.

This gives parents the ability to remove their children from failing schools and seek a better education for them elsewhere. A growing body of evidence suggests that the way we run our schools isn't working, and it is time to try something new. School Choice opens up education to the free market and will allow for competition.

Our children deserve better than what we can currently offer them.

3. COVID and DEI

SAVO PRELEVIC / Contributor | Getty Images

Trump's government-wide crackdown on DEI will ironically serve to increase inclusion in many American schools.

McMahon said as much during her Senate hearing: “It was put in place ostensibly for more diversity, for equity and inclusion. And I think what we’re seeing is, it is having an opposite effect. We are getting back to more segregating of our schools instead of having more inclusion in our schools.” She also spoke in support of Title IX, and the push to remove biological males from women's and girl's sports. In the same vein, McMahon pledged to push back against the rise of antisemitism on college campuses, which many Universities have failed to adequately address.

On Friday, February 14th, President Trump signed an executive order barring any school or university with COVID-19 vaccine mandates from receiving federal money. This only applies to the COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccine mandates are still standing.

POLL: What DARK government secrets will Trump uncover?

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Will the dark secrets of the Deep State finally see the light of day? Or will they slip back into darkness, as they have many times before?

The Trump administration is gearing up to fulfill one of Trump's most anticipated campaign promises: to make the contents of the JFK files, along with other Deep State secrets, available to the public. Kash Patel, who has promised to publicize the highly anticipated files, is expected to be confirmed next week as Trump's director of the FBI. Moreover, the House Oversight Committee created a new task force headed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called "Task Force on Declassification of Federal Secrets," which is tasked with investigating and declassifying information on the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations, UFOs, the Epstein list, COVID's origins, and 9/11. This all comes after the FBI found 2,400 "new" records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy following Trump's executive order to release the files.

Glenn discussed this topic with the cast of the Patrick Bet David podcast. Glenn expressed his confidence in Trump's radical transparency—on the condition that Kash Patel is confirmed. The cast was not as optimistic, expressing some doubt about whether Trump will actually unveil all that he has promised. But what do you think? What files are likely to see the light of day? And what files will continue to linger in the dark? Let us know in the poll below

Do you think the JFK, RFK, and MLK files will be unveiled?

Do you think the 9/11 files will be unveiled?

Do you think the COVID files will be unveiled?

Do you think the UFO files will be unveiled?

Do you think the Epstein list will be unveiled?

Transgender opera in Colombia? 10 SHOCKING ways USAID spent your tax dollars.

MANDEL NGAN / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has been doing what with our tax money!?

Under the determined eye of Elon Musk, DOGE has rooted out the corruption that permeates USAID, and it turns out that it's worse than we thought. Glenn recently read a list of atrocious causes that were funded by USAID, and the list was as long as it was shocking.

Since the January consumer index report was published today, one thing is clear: eggs are bearing the brunt of inflation. That's why we illustrated the extent of USAID's wasteful spending of YOUR taxpayer dollars by comparing it to the price of eggs. How many eggs could the American people have bought with their tax dollars that were given to a "transgender opera" in Colombia or indoctrinating Sri Lankans with woke gender ideology? The truth will shock you:

1. A “transgender opera” in Colombia

USAID spent $47,000 on a transgender opera in Colombia. That's over 135,000 eggs.

2. Sex changes and "LGBT activism" in Guatemala

$2 million was spent funding sex changes along with whatever "LGBT activism" means. That equates to over 5.7 million eggs!

3. Teaching Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid binary-gendered language

USAID forked over $7.9 million to combat the "gender binary" in Sri Lankan journalism. That could have bought nearly 23 million eggs.

4. Tourism in Egypt

$6 million (or just over 17 million eggs) was spent to fund tourism in Egypt. If only someone had thought to build some impressive landmarks...

5. A new "Sesame Street" show in Iraq

USAID spent $20 million to create a new Sesame Street show in Iraq. That's just short of 58 million eggs...

6. Helping the BBC value the diversity of Libyan society

$2.1 million was sent to the BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) to help them value the diversity of Libyan society (whatever that means). That could have bought over 6 million eggs.

7. Meals for a terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda

$10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group. That comes up to be just shy of 29 million eggs.

8. Promoting inclusion in Vietnam

A combined $19.3 million was sent to two separate inclusion groups in Vietnam inclusion groups in Vietnam (why where they separated? Not very inclusive of them). That's over 55 million eggs.

9. Promoting DEI in Serbia's workplaces

USAID sent $1.5 million (4.3 million eggs) to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.”

10. Funding EcoHealth Alliance, tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology's "bat research"

EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key NGOs that funded the Wuhan lab's bat virus research, received $5 million from USAID, which is equivalent to 14.5 million eggs.

The bottom line...

So, how much damage was done?

In total, approximately $73.8 million was wasted on the items on this list. That comes out to be 213 million eggs. Keep in mind that these are just the items on this list, there are many, many more that DOGE has uncovered and will uncover in the coming days. Case in point: that's a lot of eggs.

POLL: Should Trump stop producing pennies?

SAUL LOEB / Contributor, Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

On Sunday, February 9th, President Trump ordered the U.S. Mint to halt the production of pennies. It costs the mint three cents to produce every penny, which Trump deemed wasteful. However, critics argue that axing the pennies will be compensated by ramping up nickel production, which costs 13 cents per coin.

In other news, President Trump promised on Truth Social that he would be reversing a Biden-era policy that mandated the use of paper straws throughout the federal government. From potentially slashing entire agencies to saying farewell to pennies and paper straws, Trump is hounding after wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

But what do you think? Was Trump right to put an end to pennies? And should plastic straws make a comeback? Let us know in the poll below:

Glenn's Show Prep