--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it was really the then-popular…" description: "\"“But it was really the then-popular right-wing demagogue Glenn Beck who gave Republicans a taste of what was to come as the recession deepened. Beck wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/mark-lilla-13300_american-liberty_but-it-was-really-the-then-popular-right_1701947.png" --- # But it was really the then-popular right-wing demagogue… ![“But it was really the then-popular right-wing demagogue Glenn Beck who gave Republicans a taste of what was to come as the recession deepened. Beck was an apocalyptic yet strangely ebullient conspiracy theorist who on his daily Fox News broadcasts filled blackboard after blackboard with crazy Venn…” quote by Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/mark-lilla-13300_american-liberty_but-it-was-really-the-then-popular-right_1701947.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/mark-lilla-13300_american-liberty_but-it-was-really-the-then-popular-right_1701947.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/mark-lilla-13300_american-liberty_but-it-was-really-the-then-popular-right_1701947.png) > ““But it was really the then-popular right-wing demagogue Glenn Beck who gave Republicans a taste of what was to come as the recession deepened. Beck was an apocalyptic yet strangely ebullient conspiracy theorist who on his daily Fox News broadcasts filled blackboard after blackboard with crazy Venn diagrams exposing the hidden links between 1960s radicals and Barack Obama. But he also broke with many Republican dogmas, particularly on economics and foreign policy, writing in one of his books, “Under President Bush, politics and global corporations dictated much of our economic and border policy. Nation building and internationalism also played a huge role in our move away from the founding principles.” Beck’s economic nationalism and isolationism struck a chord with the public, and many flocked to his sold-out rallies to hear him denounce phantom leftists but also Wall Street and the big banks. He even wrote a bestselling thriller in which all these evil forces join hands to squelch American liberty. For all his bombast, Beck was among the first on the right to report the truth that the American middle class was being hollowed out and that its children faced drastically reduced prospects. That a small class of highly educated people was benefiting from the new global economy and becoming fantastically wealthy. And that vast sections of the country had become deserted, heartbroken . . . and angry. Mainstream Republicans never got the message. Donald Trump did.”” [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beck blended apocalyptic rhetoric with economic nationalism, highlighting middle‑class decline and elite gains in globalization, but his sensationalism limited mainstream impact. **In simple terms:** Beck warned about economic inequality and global elite benefits. Key Takeaway Recognize and address middle‑class erosion. Themes politics media economics populism inequality Mood critical skeptical analytical Type political media sociological When to use this quote - political commentary - media analysis - public discourse - campaign strategy Key Concepts nationalism globalization media influence class analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can serious economic critique be communicated without sensationalism? - What alternative narratives could have reached mainstream Republicans? A Different Perspective Beck’s style alienated many potential allies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-liberty/) [Educated people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated-people/) [Fox news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fox-news/) [Global economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-economy/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Nation building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation-building/) [Wall St](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-st/) [Wall street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-street/) ## Related quotes > [Read things you're sure will disagree with your current thinking. If you're a die-hard anti-animal person, read Meat. If you're a die-hard global warming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/read-things-you-re-sure-will-disagree-with-your-current-thinking-if/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [The arrangement was simply FreedomWorks paid Glenn Beck money and Glenn Beck said nice things about FreedomWorks on the air. I saw that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/the-arrangement-was-simply-freedomworks-paid-glenn-beck-money-and/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [ I think if we give Glenn Beck the numbers, he can solve this \[the national debt\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-think-if-we-give-glenn-beck-the-numbers-he-can-solve-this-the/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [ Wacko Glenn Beck is a sad answer to the Sarah Palin endorsement that \[Ted\] Cruz so desperately wanted. Glenn is a failing, crying, lost… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/wacko-glenn-beck-is-a-sad-answer-to-the-sarah-palin-endorsement-that/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Our system doesn't work, and it doesn't work, ultimately, not because of Sarah Palin, or the christian right, or Glenn Beck. It doesn't work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/our-system-doesn-t-work-and-it-doesn-t-work-ultimately-not-because-of/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Any time you can get Glenn Beck crying it's a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-hager/any-time-you-can-get-glenn-beck-crying-it-s-a-good-thing/) [Jake Hager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-hager/) > [“I considered him and felt the now familiar crush of emotions weighing on me, begging me to cave in and fall into his strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/i-considered-him-and-felt-the-now-familiar-crush-of-emotions-weighing/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [Politicians such as Michelle Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich along with talking heads such as Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Anne Coulter are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/politicians-such-as-michelle-bachmann-rick-santorum-and-newt-gingrich/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [“The things she worried about on a daily basis included but were not limited to: Children starving in Africa. Chemicals in her daughter’s food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-courtney-sullivan/the-things-she-worried-about-on-a-daily-basis-included-but-were-not/) [J. Courtney Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-courtney-sullivan/) > [On August 28, 2010, Fox News messiah Glenn Beck hosted a 'Restoring Honor' revival meeting featuring sexy guest star Sarah Palin, much as Bob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/on-august-28-2010-fox-news-messiah-glenn-beck-hosted-a-restoring/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [It didn't seem fair to me that Jon Stewart's rally didn't get the same kind of attention that Glenn Beck's did. Why was Beck's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-didn-t-seem-fair-to-me-that-jon-stewart-s-rally-didn-t-get-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I do think you can see, throughout American history, this temptation, and it's both a liberal and a conservative temptation, to take a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-do-think-you-can-see-throughout-american-history-this-temptation/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [The next time you see John Stossel or Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, these flat-Earthers, these corporate toadies, lying to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy-jr/the-next-time-you-see-john-stossel-or-glenn-beck-or-rush-limbaugh-or/) [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy-jr/) > [“New Rule: Democrats must get in touch with their inner asshole. I refer to the case of Van Jones, the man the Obama administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/new-rule-democrats-must-get-in-touch-with-their-inner-asshole-i-refer/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Glenn Beck has Nazi Tourettes'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/glenn-beck-has-nazi-tourettes/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) ## More by Mark Lilla > [“Democratic politics is about persuasion, not self-expression. I’m here, I’m queer will never provoke more than a pat on the head or a roll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/democratic-politics-is-about-persuasion-not-self-expression-i-m-here/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The other component was to build cadres through political education. Republicans sought out wealthy donors to set up foundations and think tanks as safe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-other-component-was-to-build-cadres-through-political-education/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The romantic wants to create a world where he or she will possess a fully integrated, unconflicted identity—where the answers to the questions Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-romantic-wants-to-create-a-world-where-he-or-she-will-possess-a/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“How we react to the presidency of Donald Trump will be the first test of our preparedness. His administration in its infancy is already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/how-we-react-to-the-presidency-of-donald-trump-will-be-the-first-test/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The universities of our time instead cultivate students so obsessed with their personal identities and campus pseudo-politics that they have much less interest in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-universities-of-our-time-instead-cultivate-students-so-obsessed/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The Republicans have successfully persuaded much of the public that they are the party of Joe Sixpack and Democrats are the party of Jessica…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-republicans-have-successfully-persuaded-much-of-the-public-that/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Mary McCarthy, though, had it wrong when she wrote that “Madame Bovary is Don Quixote in skirts.” Emma’s suffering is Platonic: she searches, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/mary-mccarthy-though-had-it-wrong-when-she-wrote-that-madame-bovary/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“You might have thought that, faced with a novel anti-political picture of the nation, liberals would have countered with an imaginative, hopeful vision of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/you-might-have-thought-that-faced-with-a-novel-anti-political-picture/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The Stillborn God is not a fairy tale. It is a book about the fragility of our world, the world created by the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-stillborn-god-is-not-a-fairy-tale-it-is-a-book-about-the/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“The forces at work in healthy party politics are centripetal; they encourage factions and interests to come together to work out common goals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/the-forces-at-work-in-healthy-party-politics-are-centripetal-they/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Martin Luther King Jr. was the greatest movement leader in American history. But, as Hillary Clinton once correctly pointed out, his efforts would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/martin-luther-king-jr-was-the-greatest-movement-leader-in-american/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Like any other political doctrine, liberalism makes assumptions about things human and divine, and these assumptions are, and ought to remain, open to disinterested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/like-any-other-political-doctrine-liberalism-makes-assumptions-about/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Better the self-torture of a godless Protestant conscience than the fantasies of a modern Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/better-the-self-torture-of-a-godless-protestant-conscience-than-the/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [“Identity is not the future of the left. It is not a force hostile to neoliberalism. Identity is Reaganism for lefties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/identity-is-not-the-future-of-the-left-it-is-not-a-force-hostile-to/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) > [Whoever takes it upon himself to write an honest intellectual history of twentieth-century Europe will need a strong stomach. But he will need something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lilla/whoever-takes-it-upon-himself-to-write-an-honest-intellectual-history/) [Mark Lilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) [Explore all 51 Mark Lilla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lilla/) ## More American liberty quotes > [Vote for me. I'll use my office to take another American's money and give it to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/vote-for-me-i-ll-use-my-office-to-take-another-american-s-money-and/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The most important fact about American liberty is that it has never been a single idea, but a set of different and even contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hackett-fischer/the-most-important-fact-about-american-liberty-is-that-it-has-never/) [David Hackett Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hackett-fischer/) > [Our American liberty defines our great nation. Let us each learn and do all we can to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/our-american-liberty-defines-our-great-nation-let-us-each-learn-and/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Freedom of speech is one of the greatest American liberties, and I hope this pardon serves as a reminder of the precious freedoms we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pataki/freedom-of-speech-is-one-of-the-greatest-american-liberties-and-i/) [George Pataki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pataki/) > [Bloomberg's money and media access are a serious danger to American liberty and we must take him head on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-lapierre/bloomberg-s-money-and-media-access-are-a-serious-danger-to-american/) [Wayne LaPierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-lapierre/) > [A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/a-general-dissolution-of-principles-and-manners-will-more-surely/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [Some president wishes to be re-elected, and thereupon speaks about the Bible as "the corner-stone of American Liberty." This sentence is a mouth large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/some-president-wishes-to-be-re-elected-and-thereupon-speaks-about-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/these-are-the-times-that-try-men-s-souls-the-summer-soldier-and-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-world-has-never-had-a-good-definition-of-the-word-liberty-and-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The first thing I have at heart is American liberty; the second thing is American union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-henry/the-first-thing-i-have-at-heart-is-american-liberty-the-second-thing/) [Patrick Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-henry/) > [Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/only-a-virtuous-people-are-capable-of-freedom-as-nations-become/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The widespread distribution of private property ownership is the cornerstone of American liberty. Without it neither our free enterprise system nor our republican form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-h-reiman/the-widespread-distribution-of-private-property-ownership-is-the/) Jeffrey H Reiman > [The first step in saving our liberty is to realize how much we have already lost, how we lost it, and how we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/the-first-step-in-saving-our-liberty-is-to-realize-how-much-we-have/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [The people cannot be all, and always well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-people-cannot-be-all-and-always-well-informed-the-part-which-is-2/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) [Browse all 56 American liberty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-liberty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it was really the then-popular right-wing demagogue Glenn Beck who gave Republicans a taste of what was to come as the recession deepened. Beck was an apocalyptic yet strangely ebullient conspiracy theorist who on his daily Fox News broadcasts filled blackboard after blackboard with crazy Venn diagrams exposing the hidden links between 1960s radicals and Barack Obama. But he also broke with many Republican dogmas, particularly on economics and foreign policy, writing in one of his books, “Under President Bush, politics and global corporations dictated much of our economic and border policy. Nation building and internationalism also played a huge role in our move away from the founding principles.” Beck’s economic nationalism and isolationism struck a chord with the public, and many flocked to his sold-out rallies to hear him denounce phantom leftists but also Wall Street and the big banks. He even wrote a bestselling thriller in which all these evil forces join hands to squelch American liberty. For all his bombast, Beck was among the first on the right to report the truth that the American middle class was being hollowed out and that its children faced drastically reduced prospects. That a small class of highly educated people was benefiting from the new global economy and becoming fantastically wealthy. And that vast sections of the country had become deserted, heartbroken . . . and angry. Mainstream Republicans never got the message. 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