Glenn Beck is not satisfied with the adulation of his racist, aging TV audience. He is moving further and further into
political activism with predictable results. The
Palin effect, if you will - the cult of personality as the new politics.
Blame Obama. He really set this magnetism as policy deal into action. The GOP, not recognizing the possibilities, have laid down and died. The television-friendly among their followers, however, are smarter in media matters than the corn-fed southerners of the party itself.
Armed with vague pronouncements and a questionable grasp of policy, celebrities like Palin and Beck are stepping out into activism, with an eye on 2010 and/or 2012. What they don't know is that they are not the GOP; they only represent the fringe of the right-most loonies.
Progressives in the States should step aside from criticism and let these voices squeal as loudly as they want. Just let them dig their own Elmer Gantry graves. They may have a couple of million fans at the most, but that's it. A couple million. Fans. You can't win elections by playing only to your
base, especially when that base is a tiny minority.