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Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn’s interview with David Barton

October 04, 2012
Wilson

Writer

Today on radio Glenn talked a little about the debate with David but also about what David calls his ‘most important’ project yet: The Founders Bible. David calls it the Bible that built America - check out the conversation in the clip above.

Full Transcript of story below:

GLENN: Let's go to David Barton. David, where were you? Where were you? Really, it was a night we'll all remember where we were when we saw Obama questioned and taken down for the first time. Where are you last night?

DAVID BARTON: Well, actually excuse me. Last night I was actually flying in from Columbus, Ohio at the time. So I got the replays. I didn't get the live.

GLENN: It was it was amazing. Romney was such a man of honor and clarity.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: There was just no I mean, it was remarkable, I thought.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah. And everything I saw after I landed was exactly that. It was the calmness and it was the competency and the proficiency and, you know, I'm sorry. What you just did with Gore in Denver is great. I've got to say if that were true from a scientific standpoint, the Broncos would be undefeated, the Rockies would be undefeated, and the Nuggets would be undefeated because every team comes into town to play those guys and that would mean none of them could win. So that may be the most ridiculous story I've ever heard, ever.

GLENN: You're a historian, I'm not, but I think you should check on that before you make that bold claim.

DAVID BARTON: I'm sure Patrick Henry had something to say on that because he talked about a lot of stuff but I tell you that's one of the best concessions of defeat I've heard in a long time. That's amazing.

GLENN: David, what do you think, for somebody because there's a lot of Americans that are not on the Romney bandwagon.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: And I think a lot of Americans were like, we've got to lose a candidate or we have this and we have that and, you know, he's not going to be able to fight in the debate. This is the debate that everyone was afraid of.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: This was the RomneyCare debate and I mean, look. He just stomped.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: What do you think is going to happen now with people on our side? Do you think this energizes them and all of a sudden they find themselves going, "I am I am anxious to vote for this guy?"

DAVID BARTON: I think that there's going to be some energy added to the fire, but I think a whole lot of energy is created by Obama himself and by really the crisis in which he's placed on the nation. I don't think there's anyone that doesn't know all the different areas that he is so screwed up, religious liberties are at stake and, you know, that was one of the things that was hit last night was life and religious liberties. I don't think there's many people don't understand that and don't understand the economic side. I think this is going to give some people some more comfort in going forward and say, "Hey, this may be a whole lot better option than what I thought." But the energy level is still high.

GLENN: Anything, anything that you saw that stuck out at you?

DAVID BARTON: Yeah. You know, what I saw was the calmness and the not being shook. The competency. He really acted like a chief executive. He handled all the stuff. He really made a contrast. And there was times when you could see the president visibly shaken.

GLENN: Yeah.

DAVID BARTON: Just, his confidence was gone. And I think that that's the image you want. I mean, I go back to what Ann Romney did. I think one of the most significant parts of what she did at the convention actually was giggling. And I say that because we've always thought of the Romneys as ivory tower, way up there hifalutin New England people and she suddenly became just like a cheerleader, just like the girl next door and it was a really cool effect. I think that's the same kind of psychological effect that it had last night. People are really comfortable with his confidence and, wow, you know, he didn't struggle. He really made the president struggle. And I think that that's part of the takeaway is that they get a confidence, a feel of confidence in what he did last night.

GLENN: I don't know if any I don't know if they've posted it yet up on TheBlaze but I tweeted a picture out today of the Romneys making peanut butter/jelly sandwiches backstage.

DAVID BARTON: I love it. Yeah.

GLENN: I mean, they're real people.

DAVID BARTON: They are. And see, that's not the image that's come through.

GLENN: Oh, I know.

DAVID BARTON: And so all the benevolence he's done and all the stories we're finding out about him, that just changes the whole image of what we've all thought about him for the last four years.

GLENN: So David, let me switch gears. I tweeted last night after it was all said and done to remember to fall down on your knees in thanksgiving.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: I mean, I prayed yesterday like never before that the scales would fall from people's eyes, that you'd be able to see who he was.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: And who Obama was. And I mean, I you know, I think this was just, you know I believe in divine providence and divine protection.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: And I think we saw that last night, and we have to give thanks.

Let me let me switch gears here a little bit and talk about your Founders Bible. Because you said to me last week when we spoke off air about the Founders Bible. You said this is probably the most important thing you've ever done.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah. No question in my mind. I think the best way I've heard it described is if you go back historically, the Geneva Bible is the Bible that built America, shaped a generation because it took the Bible but it made it very practical through commentaries.

GLENN: Explain. Explain what the Geneva Bible is. That's the Bible that our founders used. It wasn't the King James Version. They used the Geneva Bible. What was the difference?

DAVID BARTON: The Geneva Bible is what came out of the reformation and it was people saying, wait a minute, I know we've done it this way for 1400 years but look what the scripture says. This is wrong. We're not supposed to be electing kings. We're supposed to be electing leaders ourselves. So that's where we get Republican government. That's why we found out that we should be buying land from the Indians rather than taking it from the Indians.

GLENN: And it was it was the commentary on the side.

DAVID BARTON: It was the commentaries that did it and that's what drove King James crazy. That's why he came out with the King James Bible. It was essentially the same language but he would not allow commentaries in the Bible. And so the commentaries is what was used to build our judicial system, our legal system, our government system, our education system, our economic system. And so the same commentaries the founders made 250 years ago, that's what we've taken to the Founders Bible.

GLENN: Okay. Now, explain this a bit when you say you've taken it from the commentaries. Because you and I have had this conversation that the language of our founders is so riddled with biblical verse that most people don't even know. If you don't know the Bible inside and out, you don't know that that's a quote from the Bible.

DAVID BARTON: That's exactly right.

GLENN: And so you took their writings.

DAVID BARTON: We took the writings. For 25 years we've been collecting their documents and writings. We have 100,000 of their writings. And what we found is they are loaded up with Bible references and Bible verses. And we've been collecting that. And then last year a Bible publisher came and said, "Hey, let's do a commentary on the Bible." And I thought, hey, this is a great time to let the Founders comment on the Bible. And for example, three times John Adams cites Jeremiah 17:9 as why they did separation of powers in the Constitution. Now, I don't think anybody today would choose that verse that they were doing separation of powers, but there's a reason they did that. The same with economic system.

GLENN: Wait, wait. Let's pretend that John Jeremiah, the one you quoted.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah, Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it." And from that they get, you know, that's the depravity of man. Man's going to do the wrong time every time he gets a chance unless there's some type of divine intervention to change his heart and so if that's the case, we better figure on government doing the wrong thing every time. So we need to divide the powers up so that maybe one branch will be righteous while the other two are wicked and maybe there's a way for one to check the others. And so they go into extensive, extensive presentation of why that verse is what drives their idea of separating the powers. And George Washington jumps on that, as does Alexander Hamilton and James Madison and others. So that becomes a very significant verse in shaping their thinking on why do separation of powers.

GLENN: What is the what is the thing as you were putting this together? What is the one place or one area or topic that you think, "Oh, my gosh, if people just knew this today"?

DAVID BARTON: You know, I don't know that there was one. The one area that got me was how applicable all the stuff is to today. When they started talking about types of taxes that are good and types of taxes that are bad, man, I saw our tax code and said we've really screwed this thing up. When I saw what they said about how to help the poor and social programs, I looked and said, man, we've really goofed this thing up. And what was profound most to me was how relevant all of that stuff 250 years ago was to exactly the stuff we're facing today. And quite frankly I may have been most shocked over all the things they had to say about abortion. Because I just didn't realize it was an issue back then. And all of the biblical references on why abortion is wrong, and I

GLENN: How did they wait. How was there abortion? I didn't know that, either.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah, I actually have an 1808 book on abortions in America. Jefferson and the other guys, and their legal codes made abortion illegal because they said it's a violation of the laws of nature and of nature's god. There's nothing in nature that kills its young while still in the womb. And as it turns out abortion was a big issue back then. But the difference was they said it's illegal as opposed to Roe V. Wade saying it's legal. So that's the kind of stuff that shocked me

GLENN: I've never

DAVID BARTON: was how applicable it was to what's going on today.

GLENN: Wow, had absolutely no idea.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: David, the you came under an awful lot attack, huge attack like I've never seen before. I talked to a preacher the other day and I said, have you read David's Bible yet? And he said, I just got a copy of it. And I said, you know, I just thumbed through it and just, you know, start reading some of the stuff in it. It's remarkable.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: He said, I think this Bible is the reason David came under attack. He said, I think that you know, I think this is so important that that's why people tried to discredit you. Not saying that they knew that. But that's why you are you've been just ravaged in the last year.

DAVID BARTON: Well, I really think that this is a new Geneva Bible. This is what will shape this generation or can shape this generation's thinking, and this will last for generations to come because it's timeless truth, of guys that did it 250 years ago. And I do think that that's probably why all of the attacks came is to try to minimize this and discredit this and bring this down before it even happened. And I didn't realize that at the time and I don't think the guys making the attacks realized that at the time, but I think, you know, in a way that both God and Satan had debates back over Job, I think that's probably what was going on at the time was, hey, this is coming out; I've got to do something to knock this down before people start reading it. And I really, I think he's right. I think

GLENN: You and I have been you and I have been ridiculed in the last couple of days because we've talked about divine providence and that, you know, the Lord's will will be done.

DAVID BARTON: Yeah.

GLENN: If we stand, if we stand at guard.

DAVID BARTON: Yep.

GLENN: I thank you for standing guard for so long and thank you for your work. If you want to get this, you can get it at WallBuilders.com. It's the Founders Bible, the original dream of freedom, the Founders Bible. Get it at WallBuilders.com. Do it now. Every American should own a copy of this. David, we'll talk again. Thanks so much.

DAVID BARTON: Thanks, Glenn. Bless you, bro.

Civics isn’t optional—America's survival depends on it

JEFF KOWALSKY / Contributor | Getty Images

Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

I slept through high school civics class. I memorized the three branches of government, promptly forgot them, and never thought of that word again. Civics seemed abstract, disconnected from real life. And yet, it is critical to maintaining our republic.

Civics is not a class. It is a responsibility. A set of habits, disciplines, and values that make a country possible. Without it, no country survives.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Civics happens every time you speak freely, worship openly, question your government, serve on a jury, or cast a ballot. It’s not a theory or just another entry in a textbook. It’s action — the acts we perform every day to be a positive force in society.

Many of us recoil at “civic responsibility.” “I pay my taxes. I follow the law. I do my civic duty.” That’s not civics. That’s a scam, in my opinion.

Taking up the torch

The founders knew a republic could never run on autopilot. And yet, that’s exactly what we do now. We assume it will work, then complain when it doesn’t. Meanwhile, the people steering the country are driving it straight into a mountain — and they know it.

Our founders gave us tools: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, elections. But they also warned us: It won’t work unless we are educated, engaged, and moral.

Are we educated, engaged, and moral? Most Americans cannot even define a republic, never mind “keep one,” as Benjamin Franklin urged us to do after the Constitutional Convention.

We fought and died for the republic. Gaining it was the easy part. Keeping it is hard. And keeping it is done through civics.

Start small and local

In our homes, civics means teaching our children the Constitution, our history, and that liberty is not license — it is the space to do what is right. In our communities, civics means volunteering, showing up, knowing your sheriff, attending school board meetings, and understanding the laws you live under. When necessary, it means challenging them.

How involved are you in your local community? Most people would admit: not really.

Civics is learned in practice. And it starts small. Be honest in your business dealings. Speak respectfully in disagreement. Vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Model citizenship for your children. Liberty is passed down by teaching and example.

Samuel Corum / Stringer | Getty Images

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Start with yourself. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state laws. Study, act, serve, question, and teach. Only then can we hope to save the republic. The next election will not fix us. The nation will rise or fall based on how each of us lives civics every day.

Civics isn’t a class. It’s the way we protect freedom, empower our communities, and pass down liberty to the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.