A Rough Week for Glenn Beck
by Mike KrumboltzSep 25, 2009
Love him or loathe him, Glenn Beck is undeniably buzzy. This past week, the conservative commentator was mocked like a nerd in junior-high gym class. There were accusations of frog-cooking (untrue), an unwelcome homecoming, and an "SNL" skit that's gone viral. And, as a special bonus, video surfaced of Beck from his early-morning radio DJ days. Below, a roundup of Mr. Beck's wild week.
Did Glenn Beck just boil a live frog?
Glenn Beck isn't above some Copperfield-like slight of hand. On Wednesday, he appeared to throw a live frog into boiling water in an attempt to draw some sort of analogy to President Obama's economic policies. Beck said, "We have been tossed quickly into boiling water, and don't forget what happens when you throw 'em in! When you throw 'em in, frogs into boiling water!" Beck tossed Kermit in and then appeared shocked that it didn't jump out. His reaction led many to believe he had killed the frog on live TV. Turns out, it wasn't true. As Beck himself said, the stunt "was fake." Still, that didn't stem the Web searches. Lookups on "glenn beck frog" and "glenn beck kills frog" both jumped like a, well, you know.
You can't go home again
And that's especially true if you happen to be a right-wing personality who hails from a liberal town. This past week, Mr. Beck paid a visit to his hometown, Mount Vernon, Washington. Instead of receiving a hero's welcome, the commentator was greeted with boos, jeers, and protests. The town's mayor, Bud Norris, presented Beck with a ceremonial key to the city, but the honor was largely drowned out by angry locals. One small-business owner put up a sign reading: "Glenn Beck & hatred not welcome here." The mayor of a neighboring city gave Jon Stewart a key to his city as a kind of diss to Beck. Later, on his show, Beck mocked the people who protested, saying they "don't have a life. They're out hugging salmon and setting them free."
Just call him "No-Gimmicks Glenn"
Here's a factoid you may not have known: Beck got his start as a morning radio DJ. And if you don't believe us, have we got a YouTube video for you! The clip shows a young Beck with his partner, a chap named Tim Hattrick, talking about how their radio show on Y95 in Arizona features "no gimmicks" and just great music. The commercial features a monkey and confetti but little to no dignity. And, not surprisingly, news of clip's existence set off a slew of searches. Lookups on "glenn beck radio dj" and "glenn beck y95" both shot through the roof. No word on whether or not the monkey went on to host a show on CNBC.
SNL spoofs Glenny Penny.
As the week came to an end, Beck faced one more indignity -- a brutal spoof on the Thursday edition of "Saturday Night Live." The clip features Fred Armisen as President Obama watching Jason Sudeikis as Glenn Beck on TV. "Beck" talks about how you can rearrange the letters in "Obama" to spell "aroma." When Beck sees that the letters don't exactly line up, he improvises by saying that, in a Russian (or is it German?) accent, "in mother Russia they do." It makes no sense, and, we suppose, that's kind of the point. Searches on "snl glenn beck" and "glenn beck spoof on snl" both scorched the Search box. Below, you can check out the SNL clip from Hulu...
