BECK: And I issued a challenge to Tea Party members. … [Gingrich] is a progressive. … If you have a big government progressive, or a big government progressive in Obama, one in Newt Gingrich, one in Obama, ask yourself this, Tea Party: is it about Obama’s race? Because that’s what it appears to be to me. If you’re against him but you’re for this guy, it must be about race.

Watch it:

The comment is striking coming from Beck, who organized major Tea Party events and strongly defended the movement against charges of racism. “The NAACP adopted a resolution condemning the racist elements of the Tea Party. Well, I’d do that, too, if I knew where they were,” Beck said in July 2010. Now, it seems he finally knows there are. And he’s being disowned by conservative blogs for expressing this. Conservative provocateur Andrew Breitbart responded by calling Beck a “coward,” a liar, and a “huckster,” saying the race comments “jumped the gun, and in essence jumped the shark.”

Indeed, just this weekend, a Tea Party group in Kansas drew condemnations from the local NAACP for depicting President Obama as a skunk. “It is half black, half white, and almost everything it does, stinks,” reads the website of the Patriot Freedom Alliance, a Tea Party of Hutchinson, under a picture suggesting “the skunk has replaced the eagle as the symbol for the president.” Darrell Pope, president of the Hutchinson NAACP, called it “a blatant statement of racism.”

GLENN: All right. Well, and I think this is where we fundamentally differ is it seems to me ‑‑ and let me just play the audio here ‑‑ that you are for the individual mandate for healthcare and you have been for quite some time. Let’s play the audio.

GINGRICH: I am for people, individuals, exactly like automobile insurance, individuals having health insurance and being required to have health insurance, and I am prepared to vote for a voucher system which will give individuals on a sliding scale a government subsidy so it will ensure that everyone as individuals have health insurance.

GLENN: Okay. That’s 1993. Here is May 2011.

GINGRICH: All of a sudden responsibility to help pay for healthcare. And I think that there are ways to do it that make most libertarians relatively happy. I’ve said consistently we ought to have some requirement to either have health insurance or you post a bond or in some way you indicate you are going to be held accountable.

VOICE: That is the individual mandate, is it not?

GINGRICH: It’s a variation on it.

Fellow GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the conservative Heritage Foundation have also advocated the idea that individuals who did not purchase coverage should be required to spend some pre-determined amount — $10,000 in Romney’s case — in the form of a bond that could be used to pay for hospital care down the road. Before Obama embraced the mandate, conservatives argued that this policy would ensure that funds are directed back into health care rather to government revenue. But charging a flat fee regardless of income means different things to different economic demographics and would significantly disadvantaged middle class families — who would have to set aside a huge amount of money for a rainy day. The mandate penalty in the Affordable Care Act takes some of these affordability concerns into account and requires those without coverage to pay a tax penalty of the greater of $695 per year or 2.5 percent of household income.

But these policy specifics aside, Gingrich has previously advocated for many of the provisions that are now part of Obama’s health care law and even praised the president for increasing Medicaid funding and investing in health information technology.

Netanyahu delivered taped comments to the crowd at the Zionist Organization of America’s (ZOA) gala after Beck received the Miriam & Sheldon Adelson Defender of Israel Award from right-wing billionaire (and Netanyahu supporter) Sheldon Adelson. Netanyahu said:

I also want to congratulate Glenn Beck for winning the Miriam and Sheldon Adelson award, the Defender of Israel award. Glenn, you can be sure that if Sheldon and Miri Adelson put their name to something, it must stand for a lot. You stand for a lot. You’ve been fearless in defending Israel against the slanders that are hurled against it. You’ve done that with considerable personal cost but you’ve never backed off, you’ve never flinched, you’ve walked away. And I want to tell you how deeply we appreciate this stand of courage and integrity.

Watch the video:

All Israelis might not view Beck the way Netanyahu does. This summer, when Israel saw its largest protests ever in the name of social justice, Beck denounced the gathering. Despite 88 percent approval for the protests among Israelis, Beck, in a typically conspiracy-laced tirade, derided the prostesters a leftist-Islamist-Nazi plot to bring Israel down.

Beck also launched an attack last year on liberal billionaire George Soros. Michelle Goldberg of the Daily Beast called the episode of Beck’s now-defunct Fox News Show “a symphony of anti-Semitic dog-whistles.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) chided Beck’s remarks as “horrific.” Later, the ADL also criticized Beck for comparing Reform Judaism to radical Islam, this time eliciting an apology from the radio host.

The Los Angeles Times also rounded up some of Beck’s contrversial statements about Jews:

He has several times had to fend off allegations of anti-Semitism. Last year he appeared to endorse the notion that Jews killed Jesus Christ; his list of the world’s nine most “dangerous” people includes eight Jews…

An official from the liberal Israeli organization Peace Now told the paper: “If this is the only kind of friend Israel’s government can find around the world, that’s a very poor sign.”

After more than a year of investigating, the city attorney in Santa Monica, California, where the company is based, has filed 19 criminal charges of fraud and theft against the company, in addition to charges against top executives and salesmen, ABC News reports:

The complaint alleges that Goldline “runs a bait and switch operation in which customers, seeking to invest in gold bullion, are switched to highly overpriced coins by using false and misleading claims,” according to a statement released by the consumer affairs division of the Santa Monica City Attorney’s office.

The company has been charged in the court filing with misdemeanors that include theft by false pretenses, false advertising, and conspiracy, the City Attorney’s office said. In addition to the charges against the company, the complaint accuses former CEO Mark Albarian, executives Robert Fazio and Luis Beeli, and salespeople Charles Boratgis and Stephanie Howard of defrauding customers. Current CEO Scott Carter is accused of making false or misleading statements.

Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and maximum fines of between $1,000 and $10,000 per offense.

While former Fox News conspiracy-theorist Glenn Beck is most closely associated with Goldline, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Mark Levin, former GOP presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Fred Thompson, and several Fox News hosts, among others, have all endorsed the company.

Indeed, conservative talk radio is central to the company’s success, as Goldline employs a business model based not on mere advertising, but full integration with the content of conservative talk show hosts’ messages. The company’s website prominently features these endorsers, suggesting the talkers’ backing gives Goldline “credibility.” The company has said it will vigorously contest the charges.

Since the video was put on YouTube, it has netted almost 2.5 million views, and has become a rallying cry for those protesting police brutality. Watch it:

On his radio show yesterday, hate radio host Glenn Beck mocked Thomas, implying that there was no police brutality that had taken place for him to be angry about. One of his co-hosts called Thomas just “one panicked man screaming”:

BECK: The guy who was like there’s no honor in this, these people are unarmed, there’s no honor in this and I’m watching this [laughing] and I couldn’t take it anymore, because the video shows this Marine yelling [mocking crying voice] stop brutalizing, we’re unarmed! And the cops have their hands in their pockets. [...] They’re like, “We know, we’re standing here.”

CO-HOST: What, you want us to brutalize you, is that what you want? [...]

OTHER CO-HOST: That video taken from the right angle is just one panicked man screaming. As long as you take that picture from one side, it’s pretty dramatic.

Watch it:

If Beck and the co-host had bothered to actually watch the video to its completion, they could see that Thomas explained that he had witnessed police brutality earlier and that he wanted to tell the police to stop using those same tactics — not that the police who were standing there were directly responsible for the behavior. But it seemed like Beck was all too eager to mock this Iraq veteran to study the facts first. (HT: vinnys025 YouTube account)

“The violent left is coming to our streets, all of our streets, to smash…to bankrupt…to destroy,” he said of Wall Street protesters who have spread across the country. Beck then turned his vitriol towards poor students who can’t afford a college education on their own:

BECK: We also have the responsibility to understand we are accountable for each of those choices. You go to school, you rack up a lot of school loans, that was your choice. We also have to understand that those choices have eternal consequences. And consequences that ripple throughout society…If you can’t afford to go to college, go to the free public library. I did it. It works.

Watch it:

Obviously, for most students who have to take out loans to pay for college, going into debt is not a choice. But according to Beck, students frustrated by rising tuition, shrinking financial aid and mounting debt should quit whining and just not go to college.

Meanwhile, Beck continues to rake in a fortune through his conspiracy theory-peddling “Glenn Beck university” program. You can learn about the secret history of America hidden by the liberals for just $9.95 per month or $74.95 for the year.

(HT: Washington Independent)

The clothes are basically J. Crew-meets-Ed Hardy-by-way-of-Etsy. There are lots of polo shirts and fleeces (interestingly, no women’s apparel) with radiant hearts, snakes, and skulls-and-crossbones declaring “Death to Tyranny.” As popping-your-collar-and-getting-annoyed-about-government gear goes, it’s fine, though unlikely to ignite a fashion revolution, particularly when the polos start at $65 and the fleeces at $85 (you can get a t-shirt for as little as $25). And I’m not wildly optimistic that 1791′s going to spark a revolution in American-made textiles, though the idea of Glenn Beck in period clothing hectoring Lowell Mill Girls seems strangely apt.

Beck is quite a marketer, and it remains to be seen if, particularly at those recession-unfriendly prices, the 1791 line will generate the kind of revenue that can support a nation-wide self-help movement. What, precisely, Beck wants for this new organization, is not wildly clear from the video announcement, which says it’ll:

Be a constant reminder that our solutions do not reside in Washington, bt they reside within you and me…this will be a grassroots effort that in reality will only be as big as our American imagination and ingenuity will still allow it to become. It will not be funded by taxpayer dollars, and will look for other ways besides charitable donations to survive…Capitalism is only a reflection of the values of those who use it. It’s neither good nor bad. It’s simply what you make of it.

I’m not in principal opposed to the idea that it would be great to simultaneously create jobs and raise funds for good causes. But I think Paul Newman, who Beck (surprisingly, without jabbing at Newman’s Hollywood liberalism) cites as a direct inspiration, was probably closer to a successful model with a product you can buy for $3, that is demonstrably superior to its competitors, and that’s easily available in grocery stores, than Beck is.

As Beck plays defense for billionaires and big banks, he conceals quite a bit to his listeners. Beck in fact works hand in hand with the same corporate lobbyists and plutocrats responsible for corrupting our political system:

– Glenn Beck Secretly Met With Koch Brothers And Right-Wing Corporate Executives In An Election Planning Event In 2010: In June 2010, Glenn Beck was the guest of honor at a major fundraising retreat convened by the billionaires Charles and David Koch. The meeting, which included hedge fund managers Cliff Asness, Steve Schwarzman, and Ken Griffin, as well as executives from Bank of America, JLM Investment, Allied Capital Corp, Amway, Bechtel, and other leading firms. The twice annual secret Koch gatherings discuss efforts to finance Tea Party front groups, like Americans for Prosperity. At the last such gathering, partipants discussed how Americans for Prosperity has been “designed” to elect Republican candidates.

– Glenn Beck Officially Partners With FreedomWorks, A Group Run By Lobbyist Dick Armey: In May 2010, Beck announced an official partnership with the lobbyist-run group FreedomWorks. Beck would help recruit for the organization, and in exchange the organization sponsored his show. In touting the priorities of FreedomWorks, Beck never disclosed that the group has a long history of generating fake support for Wall Street privatization schemes. Over the years, FreedomWorks has promoted the interests of the same Wall Street firms paying Armey as a lobbyist. As ThinkProgress has documented, FreedomWorks takes money from corporations and pushes policies that directly benefit their big business donors.

– Glenn Beck Partners With The Lobbying Association For AIG, JP Morgan, Chevron, Goldman Sachs, Dow Chemical: Beck has quietly developed a relationship with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest big business lobby in the world that counts top firms like Goldman Sachs and Chevron as members. The Chamber pushed for the bank bailouts, demanded corporate tax cuts, successfully stopped Congress from acting on climate change, said taxpayers should pay for BP’s oil spill, and nearly killed both financial reform and health reform. Nevertheless, Beck has appeared as a speaker for Chamber fundraisers, welcomed Chamber lobbyists on his show, and pledged support for the Chamber’s crony capitalist agenda.

Beck, who owns a $27 million media company, a fancy Manhattan apartment with his own face adorning the walls, and his own personalized Mercedes Benz, still cultivates an image of being a regular American guy. That’s why, unlike Rush Limbaugh, who is proud of his association with so-called country club Republicans, Beck never discloses or fully explains his relationship with lobbyists and people like the Koch brothers.

Beck’s smears against the 99 Percent Movement benefit the 1 Percent: rich media pundits like himself and his billionaire backers.

“I don’t know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians. We’ve had an earthquake; we’ve had a hurricane. He said, ‘Are you going to start listening to me here?’ Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we’ve got to rein in the spending.”

It’s ironic that God would use a hurricane to send a memo about cutting government spending, considering that the damage it causes it likely going to increase government spending. Meanwhile, religious leaders from disparate faith organizations have come out against further spending cuts on services for the poor.

Conservative radio host Glenn Beck also saw a prophetic communiqué in the back-to-back disasters, even calling the hurricane — which has killed at least 25 people and likely caused tens of billions in damage — a “blessing” because it will remind people to store more food:

How many warnings do you think you’re going to get, and how many warnings do you deserve? This hurricane that is coming thorough the East Coast, for anyone who’s in the East Coast and has been listening to me say ‘Food storage!’ ‘Be prepared!’ […] If you’ve waited, this hurricane is a blessing. It is a blessing. It is God reminding you — as was the earthquake last week — it’s God reminding you you’re not in control.

The Washington Post’s Elizabeth Tenety points out that Beck’s fascination with storing canned goods may stem from his religion. “Beck, one of Mormonism’s most famous converts, is actually touting one of the unique aspects of the Latter-day Saint faith: food storage,” she notes, citing Section 78 of the Doctrine and Covenants revelation which includes the commandment to “organize and establish a storehouse.”

It’s ironic that Beck is now accommodating Muslims given his long history of spouting fiery Islamophobic rhetoric. Previously, Beck even has suggested that Obama may be Muslim because he hosted Iftar dinners or spoke kind words about Muslim Americans.

As Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Courage” rally in Jerusalem prepares for its unveiling this week, his team is starting to set up near the Western Wall. This afternoon in Jerusalem, ThinkProgress and other journalists visited the event site and found a surprisingly small venue. The down-sized event indicates that perhaps Beck’s event might not have garnered wide interest among Israelis or fans from other countries willing to pay to attend the event. Here’s some photos ThinkProgress took of the staging area:

A small group of elderly American tourists overheard this conversation and confronted us, claiming that thousands attended Beck’s event days earlier in Caesaria and we were wrong to suggest the small size of the venue site in Jerusalem in any way indicates a lack of support for Beck. A few minutes into our discussion with the group of tourists — a man joined the group and asked us to identify ourselves and the media outlet we are writing for. The individual later told CAP’s Matt Duss that he is a media consultant for Glenn Beck and that the radio host has “asked that journalists not bother tourists” attending the event (ThinkProgress verified that this individual is indeed a paid consultant working for Beck’s event).

Beck previously moved the location of the event away form the base of the Temple Mount because he feared “40,000 Muslims” were going to be there. Speaker John Boehner urged House members not to attend the event (to avoid the appearance of joining a political event while on a policy-related trip to Israel). Rep. Eric Cantor and Sen. Joe Lieberman then backed out of attending the event.

David Barton and Glenn Beck in Israel

But political and religious leaders from “around the world” will be enjoying U.S. taxpayer subsidized — through non-taxable charitable contributions — travel to the rally. The travel will be paid for by WallBuilders, an organization founded by David Barton, a pseudo-historian and frequent Glenn Beck guest. Barton has a history of anti-gay and anti-Muslim rhetoric, has spoken at events sponsored by anti-Semitic organizations, and promotes a revisionist history of the U.S. claiming that the “Church-state separation is a liberal myth.”

Beck’s partnership with WallBuilders is listed on the rally’s front page by clicking the “Donate” button which takes visitors to WallBuilders website. The site accepts contributions to the “Restoring Courage — Israel” fund:

If you want to help and show your solidarity with Israel, you can participate by helping to underwrite the cost of the Restoring Courage event in Jerusalem. All of the funds will go directly towards the production and expenses of the events associated with the Restoring Courage Tour in Israel.

Or donors can contibute to the “Leader & Clergy Scholarship Fund — Israel”:

If you would like to help sponsor these leaders so that they can attend the event and thus help send a powerful message to Israel’s enemies in the world, you can make a contribution for their travel and accommodations.

But David Barton’s record of intolerance and historical revisionism should offer some insights into who is funding Beck’s Jerusalem rally and which individuals have Beck’s ear. Back in 1994, the Anti-Defamation League had harsh words for Barton’s decision to appear at events hosted by the Christian Identity movement, a group the ADL said:

Asserts that Jews are ‘the synagogue of Satan’; that Blacks and other people of color are subhuman; and that northern European whites and their American descendants are the ‘chosen people’ of scriptural prophesy.

Barton denied knowing anything about the Christian Identity movement before his decision to speak at the group’s events

Barton’s “scholarship” — although referred to as “Professor Barton” at Glenn Beck University, Barton holds no advanced degrees — hinges on characterizing the founding fathers as evangelical Christians. The ADL also directly criticized Barton’s work:

[Barton's] ostensible scholarship functions in fact as an assault on scholarship: in the manner of other recent phony revisionisms, the history it supports is little more than a compendium of anecdotes divorced from their original context, linked harum-scarum and laced with factual errors and distorted innuendo. Barton’s “scholarship,” like that of Holocaust denial and Atlantic slave trade conspiracy-mongering is rigged to arrive at predetermined conclusions, not history.

While Barton’s long association with Glenn Beck is well established, Beck’s decision to let a widely discredited “historian” with a history of speaking at events hosted by the anti-Semitic far-right is an interesting choice of fundraising allies for his rally in Jerusalem.

However, Beck said on his radio show yesterday that House Speaker John Boehner will not allow House members to attend. “The Glenn Beck event’ — this is a quote — ‘is not something that congressmen should attend in office capacity based on the conflict of interest for him as a member,’” Beck said. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) also told Beck that he was told that Beck’s rally “had the appearance of a political event” and that the House ethics committee rejected his request to travel to Israel for the event at the expense of the International Israel Allied Caucus Foundation. Media Matters has the audio:

Adam Kredo reports today that Cantor and Lieberman said they are no longer attending Beck’s rally. Lieberman said he supports “Restoring Courage” but can’t attend because of a “family commitment.” Cantor’s office told Kredo that the Majority Leader will be traveling back to the United States on the day Beck will hold the rally.

Beck isn’t pleased. “Speaker Boehner, you should be ashamed of yourself,” he said yesterday, adding, “The Republican Party should be ashamed of themselves. They don’t have to attend my event. Let them come to our biggest ally and only friend we still have in the Middle East in their hour of need.”

Israeli Embassy Spokesperson Jonathan Peled

The liberal American Jewish group J Street came down hard in a statement:

J Street condemns the Knesset’s passage yesterday of a law making the call for boycotts of Israel or the West Bank settlements illegal, as a clear and unabashed violation of the fundamental democratic precept of freedom of speech.

This bill is part of a disturbing anti-democratic trend that undermines its purported purpose by giving fodder to Israel’s critics and alienating many of its friends.

The statement served as the latest salvo of the ongoing tensions between the right-wing government in Israel and J Street, which has drawn the ire of the right-wing pro-Israel lobby for criticizing Israeli policies such as settlement expansion. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. rejected an invitation from J Street to attend its first ever policy conference in 2009, and this summer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who usually welcomes Diaspora pro-Israel groups, refused to meet with a J Street delegation.

But J Street’s condemnation of the anti-boycott law brought the war of words to a new level. Speaking to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Jonathan Peled, a spokesperson for Israel’s embassy in Washington, compared J Street to the Klu Klux Klan:

I think our approach to J Street was correct. We disagreed on many issues, but we didn’t boycott them. They are a unique example because they are a Jewish organization that calls itself ‘pro-Israeli.’ To bring some extreme example, if the Ku Klux Klan suddenly proclaim themselves pro-Israel, will it mean they are pro-Israel, or does it contradict our own understanding of what pro-Israel means? They are entitled to their views, but it doesn’t mean we want to invite them to our home.

Reached by ThinkProgress for comment, an official in the embassy’s press office passed along a non-apology “clarification” from Peled:

During my personal conversation with Ha’aretz, I was not intending to compare J Street to an extremist or offensive organization.

I regret any misunderstanding. Such a comparison would be clearly inappropriate and unacceptable.

The comments do not reflect the view of the government.

J Street seemed less than thrilled with the non-apology. Director of media relations Jessica Rosenblum gave a terse statement to ThinkProgress, saying, “We appreciate the clarification and take it at face value.”

The embassy spokesperson’s comparison of J Street to the KKK seems especially out of place because, in the same interview, Peled said that Israel welcomes all points of view. “We are interested in a big tent,” he said.

That was Peled’s dodge of a question about whether or not the government welcomed former Fox News personality Glenn Beck’s rally in Israel. Beck, who recently said Netanyahu had “evidence” to prove his conspiracy theories and addressed the Knesset, just moved his rally — which is to be attended by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) — away from the Temple Mount because it coincides with a holiday when 40,000 Muslims are expected to be worshiping in Jerusalem. Beck intimated that the Muslims might try to kill him and were looking for any excuse to start “World War III.” So it seems that there’s room for Beck in the Netanyahu government’s “big tent,” but according to Peled, J Street doesn’t appear to be welcome.

The threat? Beck was specific — 40,000 Muslims apparently looking for any reason to start “World War III.” Beck said he got word that there would be a Muslim multitude on top of the Temple Mount for a religious holiday and got worried. “When we heard about the 40,000 Muslims that were going to be on the Temple Mount, we knew there was trouble,” Beck said, explaining that even an errant light beam from his stage set up could “start a riot.” “Your back is in their direction, and these people play for keeps,” Beck said his security consultants told him. Watch it:

The former Fox News host said he is still considering other venues for the event, but boasted about its signficance regardless of location in a way only Beck can: It “will be remembered by millions in the world, as a turning point in their own personal life, and in the world.”

And how does the Israeli government feel about hosting an event of such monumental importance? Jonathan Peled, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, offered tacit support: “We are open to any approach as long as it doesn’t cancel another approach, and respects the laws. We are interested in a big tent.”

ANCHOR: The people who criticize you back home are saying that your show was inflammatory. You accused President Obama and his administration with what they label as conspiracy theories about socialists and Stalinists…

BECK: Lemme stop you…

ANCHOR: …communists in America…

BECK: Lemme stop you. Your own prime minister gave that speech. When you wanna call Benjamin Netanyahu a conspiracy theorist, have at it. That there are socialists, there are communists, there are Islamists, there are radicals from the 1960s from America, that all believe in one thing: the destruction of the western way of life. [...]

If you still don’t believe it, go talk to your Prime Minsiter, because he has evidence. Yes, it’s happening!

ANCHOR: What do you mean?

VOICE OFF CAMERA: Thank you. We have to conclude. Sorry.

Watch the video:

The muffled off-mic voice, speaking with an Israeli accent, seems to be a savvy Beck handler who knows exactly when to rein things in — just when Beck is about to launch into the “evidence” to support conspiracy theories that have even been denounced by the likes of neoconservative don Bill Kristol.

But perhaps Beck has gleaned something from Netanyahu on the sidelines of one of their many interviews or meetings over the years.

Beck’s visit to Israel also included his speech to the Israeli Knesset, a visit to the Temple Mount, a meeting with the former head of an Israeli terrorist organization, and a tour of the Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. (HT: Didi Remez)