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Glenn Beck

Michael Moore Under Federal Investigation, Al Sharpton in the Hot Seat, O.J. Simpson Denied Service, Blair Resigns, Bush Meets with Republicans, Paris Hilton Pardon Petition

Aired May 11, 2007 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GLENN BECK, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, Michael Moore under federal investigation. Why an unauthorized trip to Cuba could land the filmmaker into big trouble.
Also, Al Sharpton in my hot seat.

AL SHARPTON (voice-over): I did not call anybody a name. I did not denigrate anybody.

BECK: I`ll take him to task over his controversial marks remarks about Mormons.

Plus, no justice, no steak.

RESTAURANT MANAGER (voice-over): I don`t want him in there so I`m not serving him.

BECK: O.J. Simpson, tonight, service in a steakhouse. Couldn`t have anything to do with all those steak knives lying around, could it, Juice? All this and more tonight.

(on-camera) Hello, welcome to Friday.

Details are still coming in about an apparent Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist plot against U.S. targets in Germany. U.S. officials uncovered a plan that was in the advanced stages and involved bombing or small arms attacks against U.S. citizens or interests. The Department of Homeland Security is saying there`s no imminent threat to Americans soil. I`ll have the full report on Monday as this story develops through the weekend.

But today, it`s Friday. So instead of giving you a full meal of politics, immigration and terrorism, I thought we`d start up the show off with a little dessert today and there`s somebody out there who knows a little something about dessert. It`s Michael Moore, a wildly fat man with an anti-American streak even wider than his waistline. So here`s the point tonight.

"Captain I Hate America" is back, and with a vengeance. His new film is called "Sicko", and while he claims it`s an exploration of the American health care system, it`s really nothing more than a calculated attack on our country, and here`s how I got there.

Each one of Michael Moore`s films has been a variation on that theme, that America sucks and everyplace is better than this place. But let`s put aside for a moment that his past works have been found to be not so much documentaries as they are works of Socialist fantasy. Moore, fiction and fat -- fact, sorry.

His new film, "Sicko", aims to uncover the failings of the U.S. health care system by showing how some in need are not getting the medical attention they deserve. To prove his point, he takes a group of 9/11 rescue workers to Cuba -- yes, Cuba -- to get some alternative treatments, because they`re being neglected here at home.

There is a lot of flaws with this plan, so much so that the feds are looking into his Cuban getaway. But let me start with the obvious here.

Cuba, really, Mikey? I`m guessing the last big medical breakthrough they had in Cuba was the leech. Even common drugstore items like Band-Aids and Q-Tips, I`m not kidding you, are in short supply in Cuba. Maybe that`s why people are jumping on anything that floats and trying to paddle 90 miles to America.

So, Michael, if you want to slip on a quadruple extra-large Che Guevara T-shirt and sip caffe con leche while you listen to the "Buena Vista Social Club", be my husky guest. But don`t try to make us believe that Cuba is anything more than a terminally ill nation, an example of exactly how not to run a country, not vice versa.

How dare you use 9/11 workers to further your own agenda? Weren`t you the guy who vilified President Bush for posing with 9/11 victims for his own gain? Do you remember that one, fat man? Moore hadn`t received the government permission necessary to even travel to Cuba. The only way he can get out of the hefty fines for breaking the trade embargo is to be considered a professional journalist.

Professional journalist? Michael Moore is a parasite. What judge is actually going to say that 9/11 workers seeking medical treatment should be punished? You know what this is? It`s exactly like the end of "Miracle on 34th Street", where the judge is forced to actually rule against Santa Claus. But that was make-believe. Our bearded fat man is for real, very real. And Moore`s shameful scheme is aimed at getting him the journalistic credibility he so desires while compounding the suffering of the 9/11 rescue workers that they have already endured.

So tonight, here`s what I know. Democrats, when are you going to wake up, man? Your party has been hijacked by a wide load in a baseball cap who`s hell-bent on Castro-inspired socialism. He didn`t care about you. He didn`t care about this country. He`s a self-centered egomaniac. He`s the fat kid who`s still dying for a heaping helping of approval no matter what malicious lies it takes to get it.

What I don`t know is how anybody can dispute that America has the highest quality of health care this planet has ever known. Maybe you noticed at any time a world leader gets the sniffles, let alone needs some serious medical attention, they come here. Sure, we`re not perfect. But much like Winston Churchill said about democracy, it`s the worst system out there -- except for all the other ones.

Joining me now is Michael Medved, film critic and syndicated talk-show host with Salem Radio Network, and filmmakers Debbie Melnick and Rick Cane, who made a documentary uncovering Moore`s tactics.

Debbie, let me start with you. You guys started off as liberals, and you were fans of Michael Moore`s work, and you wanted to cover that, and you found just the opposite.

DEBBIE MELNICK, FILMMAKER: Yes. We were fans of Moore`s work, and that`s exactly what we wanted to do. We wanted to cover who Michael Moore was, you know, do a biography about him, because we thought he was a really great guy. And then somewhere along the way, as we were discovering some things, we realized that he does some cheats in his films.

BECK: And, Rick, what is the -- what is the, what`s wrong with his filmmaking from what you saw when you started to make your documentary?

RICK CANE, FILMMAKER: Well, I guess maybe one of the things I could say is we live in Toronto, for instance. And when Michael made "Bowling for Columbine", he randomly went around and checked to see if people`s doors were unlocked, because we live in such a safe city.

Now, we lock our door, and the last time I checked, so do our friends and neighbors. That`s not to say people don`t leave their doors unlocked, even in a large city like Toronto, which is the largest city in Canada. But what Michael`s Canadian producers told us was that Michael found that 40 percent of the doors were unlocked.

That`s an astounding number. If you were looking at apartments in New York and you found 40 percent of the doors unlocked, you`d be like, "Wow, that`s incredible." But by the same token, and then take that figure and turn this to nearly 100 percent in "Bowling for Columbine," that is kind of the essence of the problem right there.

Oh, and by the way, I`ll quickly put one beef with you, Glenn. When you say that the United States has the best medical system in the world, some people would dispute that, including many of us Canadians.

BECK: Yes, well. You said that you -- I`ll tell you how many people come across the border so they can actually get the surgery done. But, you know, let`s not go there.

CANE: OK, well, your point`s valid in that regard, you guys do come to border to buy our medicine.

BECK: You know what, you can look at socialized medicine has many things that are good for it, but I`m not going to stand in line for it when I actually need it.

Michael Medved, let me go to you. You are actually really upset about this. Why?

MICHAEL MEDVED, FILM CRITIC: Well, I`m upset about it, not just because it`s anti-American, but because it`s pro-Cuban. As you rightly said, Glenn, the Cuban regime is one of the most brutal, awful, disgusting dictatorships in human history. It has driven one-third of the island`s population to desperately seek refuge in enlightened countries in like the one in which we`re blessed to live.

And the idea that Michael Moore would use these 9/11 rescue workers as pawns of his pro-Communist, pro-Castro, pro-Che Guevara propaganda -- because that`s what people say, remember when they kidnapped Elian Gonzalez and dragged him back to Castro`s prison island?

The whole line on that, Glenn, was always, "Well, at least Elian will get first-class medical care." This notion that Cuban medical care is superior to America`s is so laughable and so disgusting that only a full- out lying propagandist shyster like Michael Moore could believe it.

BECK: So, Michael, why is it that we see these people on -- Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore -- and yet, the United States, the regular citizen, listens to them. Here you have these brutal dictators who are propping up not socialized medicine, Communism. Nobody stands up against it anymore. It`s a joke.

MEDVED: You`re right. Part of it is glamor, because Che Guevara and Castro project this glamorous image. But the thing that struck me about this, Glenn? Steven Spielberg, who`s a filmmaker and public figure I greatly admire, he went and had dinner with Castro and he ended up spending six hours speaking to Castro.

He said afterward, "The six hours I spent with Fidel were the most important six hours of my life." Not when he met his wife, his beautiful wife, Kate, not when his children were born, but the hours he spent with Castro.

They`re coming out with a new movie about Che Guevara starring Benicio del Toro and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Hollywood`s infatuation with this brutal Communist thug who killed personally some 14,000 Cubans, it is an outrage and it needs to be exposed.

BECK: Real quick, Debbie and Rick, is he a journalist? Because you can go and get a -- you can get the paperwork to go to Cuba if you`re a legitimate journalist. You think he is?

MELNICK: Well, I think it depends on what day it is that you`re talking to Michael Moore. Some days he says he`s a journalist, some days he says he`s a propagandist.

BECK: No, I`m asking you. If he`s making a documentary, do you believe his documentaries qualify him as a legitimate journalist?

MELNICK: I think they do qualify him as a legitimate journalist. I just wish he would stop using the cheats in his films. But, yes, I do.

BECK: Wouldn`t that -- hang on just a second. Michael, wouldn`t it be part of journalism to tell the truth?

MEDVED: It should be. I mean, I think he`s a journalist in the sense that the late Leni Riefenstahl, the maker of Nazi propaganda films, was a journalist. All the Soviets who worked for Pravda and Izvestia and the old propaganda organs, the people in Cuba who worked for Granma, which is the state paper, are, quote, also journalists.

But in terms of any real American term, he`s an entertainer. He`s an entertainer. And the idea that he`s a journalist trying on discover the truth or expose the truth is laughable.

BECK: Great. Debbie, Rick, Michael, thank you very much.

Coming up, the casualties of politics first. Prime Minister Blair announces his resignation and then the president has a very frank discussion with members of his own party about the war strategy -- what it means for you.

Plus, an online petition has been started to get Paris Hilton out of jail. You`ve got to be kidding me. I wish I was.

And Al Sharpton, tough questions, tough interview. Don`t miss it. but first, this message from the Cuban Department of Tourism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tired of the same old vacation? Then why not take a trip to exotic Cuba? Just a short boat ride from Miami through dangerous, shark-infested waters. Cuba has something for everyone. Curious about what life was like before air bags and power windows? Well, you`re in luck! In Cuba, every day is like a vintage car show. Mmmm,.mmmm! Love that leaded gasoline smell! Or why not have your terminal disease treated at one of Cuba`s famous health care facilities where you never know who you might run into. Cuba -- Viva la revolucion fuara! Viva!-- where every day`s a parade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK (voice-over): I `ve got no time for people who are about money, power, politics, fame, because all those things are worthless. I`m on the edge of fame. Believe me. it ain`t about fame. You got your life wrapped up in fame, you got serious issues, Jack. Because it sucks in many ways. Although, I can get a good table at my favorite dessert restaurant here in New York. So, when we`re talking hot brownies with lava baked inside, fame doesn`t suck so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(on-camera) As the war in Iraq continues with a job far from over, two key events have taken place in the last two days that could mark not only significant change in the war strategy, but also who will be articulating that plan for the future. Since day one, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been our ally in Iraq and a friend to the Bush administration but today, he had some pretty big news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Today, I announced my decision to stand down from the leadership of the Labour Party. The party will now select a new leader on the 27th of June. I will tender my resignation of the office of Prime Minister to the Queen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Oh, boy. Closer to home, 11 top GOP congressmen had a private meeting with President Bush and his advisers. Yesterday, they basically told him to zip it about the war because he`s losing the 2008 election for the Republicans. So what happens now?

Jonathan Martin, he is the senior writer for Politico, he joins me now. Jonathan, do the Republicans actually think the cut-and-run strategy touted by Pelosi is the winning strategy?

JONATHAN MARTIN, SENIOR WRITER, POLITICO: Thanks for having me, Glenn. Well, the fact is that many in the Republican Party, and especially in Congress, are very, very nervous about the impact that this war, and frankly, this president are having on their party. And even though it`s only May of 2007, they are very, very concerned that you combine an unpopular war, an unpopular president, and that is a very, very toxic recipe going into next year.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Jonathan, I`ve got to tell you that I`m more disgusted with the Republicans than I think I`ve ever been. Are they this stupid, that they don`t understand Rudy Guiliani`s numbers in the polls are because he would be tougher on the war, not cutting and run?

MARTIN: Well, I think that you see many Republicans, certainly, in the base of the party, are hanging with the president and want to give his war plan a chance. But when you see, especially the moderate members of Congress from swing districts, from more competitive districts, they look at back home, Glenn, and their numbers , the president`s numbers are just really in bad shape.

And they are concerned about their own skin and also, about the fact that, hey, it`s tough enough to elect the same president, a president from the same party for three straight terms. It`s even tougher when the incumbent is as unpopular as he is and he`s handling a war that has lost the favor of the American public.

BECK: Well, he`s handling it poorly, quite frankly, and that`s what the Republicans should be saying. They should be saying, we`re going to get tougher on it, not take the Nancy Pelosi route. From "The New York Times", this is one quote. One of these Republicans told Mr. Bush that voters back home favored a withdrawal even if it meant the war was judged a loss.

Jonathan, answer this if you can. Help me understand how this is any different than what the GOP has been railing against from Harry Reid?

MARTIN: Well, the American people certainly don`t like losing. And there may be a degree of hyperbole from these members of Congress -- who, by the way, it`s no accident that the story was on NBC News, "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times." They want to get their message out, and they that`s the way they`re doing it.

But I think it`s clear that there is concern in the ranks about how this war is impacting their own political fortunes. But you`re right, the fact is is that, you know, talking about the prospect of losing a war, rhetorically, at least, is never going to be helpful to their prospects politically.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Well, you`ve got Harry Reid, and Harry Reid comes out and says "We`ve already lost the war." These guys are saying, and everybody on the other side says, "You can`t say that." They`re also screaming and saying, "You can`t set a timetable."

Here are Republicans -- I think this is worse than what Harry Reid has done and I think what Harry Reid is done is one of the worst things I`ve ever seen in America -- he said that we`ve lost the war. These guys are saying, "We`ll set a timetable and we`ll pull out," telegraphing to our enemies that it`s not even a split government anymore, it`s just Bush alone wanting to fight this war.

MARTIN: The Democrats, now, Democrats now have the opportunity, any time there`s a critique of their own war policy, they can say, "Well hey, guys, even some of your members of Congress have used similar language." So you`re right in the sense, Glenn, that it does sort of lessen the daylight between the two parties, and it does give Democrats an opportunity to say, "Hey, fellows, there are even members in your party in the Congress who are saying the same things we are."

BECK: Jonathan, thank you very much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, Paris Hilton is set to spend 45 days in jail. She`ll serve about 15 for violating her probation. But some of her fans think that`s just not hot. A group of supporters have started a freeParis.org website where can you actually buy T-shirts. They`re merchandising on this already. You can post a message of support, sign a petition addressed to Governor Schwarzenegger and Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sawyer of the City and County of Los Angeles. They want Paris spared her time behind bars, and they hope to get a million dopes to sign it by June 5th. Paris is doing her part by linking the petition from her MySpace page. Now, I`m sure she knows how to do that. Michael Graham is a radio host for 96.9 WTKK in Boston. Michael, what part of this story sickens you the most?

MICHAEL GRAHAM, RADIO HOST, WTKK BOSTON: Well, first of all, I want to point out it`s only 999,999,999 signatures they need, thanks to me. I`m doing my part for Paris.

BECK: Are you really?

GRAHAM: Absolutely. Wouldn`t it be great, Glenn? Because you know, this is a widespread problem in the country. If Paris Hilton went to prison and came out as a convert to Islam, wouldn`t that be a great twist on the story? That`s what I`m waiting for.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Come on, man. I guess, Michael, the only way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at it, because we are in such trouble. We are a country of narcissists.

GRAHAM: I mean, look, first of all, Glenn, I`m going to interrupt you right there. You don`t mean that at all. You and I both want the hot chick in prison story to end the same way. I can`t discuss the plot line here on your show, but I have the DVD set at home. And that`s what we want ...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: No, no, no. This is what it has turned into.

(CROSSTALK)

GRAHAM: I usually take the profound and try to make it laughable. I think there`s something profound in this laughable story, which is, I want Paris Hilton in jail, in all seriousness, because it reinforces that notion that in America, despite all the high-priced lawyers and money and celebrity, that when the day comes, the system works on everybody. Even Paris Hiltons have to go to prison.

And I think Arnold Schwarzenegger would be doing something incredibly stupid politically to let her off. I don`t think it`s a schadenfreude, kind of, we`d like to see the great fall. I think people want to think that hey, even as rich as your family is, if you screw up, you keep driving after the sweetheart DUI deal that I couldn`t get, you`re going to eventually go to jail. There is actually something, a civics lesson, for guilty people who`d pay attention to Nicole Richie.

BECK: I cannot imagine a parent that would vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger, that if he would send that message. Because really, that would be the message that you would say -- as a parent, I`d be like, "What are you doing? Can you help me raise my kids just a little bit? Do not throw them underneath a bus!"

GRAHAM: Bad news, the fix is already in. He`s going to let her out on a pardon, but she has to wash his Hummer in her underwear with a hamburger. So, it`s already done. I`m sorry, Glenn, that`s the way it is.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I`m uncomfortable with that whole sentence for multiple reasons. I`m watching this, Michael, and I`m thinking to myself, if you`re Amish, or if you`re somebody out in the Middle East -- you`re not a whack job, but you`re somebody in the Middle East, and you`re devout in your religion, and you watch our society, you`re not plugged in -- you can see how easy it is for people to take our society and say, "What an evil group of people," don`t you think?

GRAHAM: I mean, you say that in the sense that we make a celebrity out of Paris Hilton, and she lives in the pseudo-porno world, and she`s certainly not worthy of the attention she gets. But she gets most of her attention in the tabloids, on that goofy show she does, and of course, we celebrate her.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Oh, come on, here on THE GLENN BECK SHOW on CNN Headline News, we celebrate her as a society.

(CROSSTALK)

GRAHAM: But, no seriously, you don`t see the civics lesson here? It`s kind of like Enron except for dumb people, that everybody goes to jail. You know what I mean? Everybody.

BECK: We`ll leave it at that. Michael, thanks a lot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: You know, I usually have a pretty good idea of what`s going to happen on the program every night, even though it may not always look that way, but I was ready for anything when I invited Al Sharpton onto this program to address some comments that he made about presidential candidate and Mormon, Mitt Romney, and Romney`s belief in God. Here he is trying to clarify on "PAULA ZAHN."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Prior to that date, when blacks were finally considered as equals within the church, did you find the Mormon Church racist?

THE REVEREND AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I think that that`s by self-definition. If, prior to `65, `78, whenever it was, they did not see blacks as equal, I do not believe that as real worshipers of God, because I do not believe God distinguishing between people. That`s not bigotry; that`s responding to their bigotry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: As a fellow Mormon, that explanation really didn`t sit right with me. I sat down with Reverend Al Sharpton for perhaps the most frank and direct interview I`ve ever done, and it was tough for me to keep my cool and keep quiet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Reverend, are Mormons Christians?

SHARPTON: I believe they are.

BECK: Are Mormons bigots?

SHARPTON: I do not call Mormons bigots, no. I think that there was a doctrine that was, to my understanding, part of the Mormon Church until the `60s that was a doctrine that excluded people based on race. I understand that that was a transition made on that around `65 to `78 -- I`m not certain.

BECK: To `78. Am I a racist?

SHARPTON: I don`t believe you are.

BECK: You said -- let`s start at the beginning. You said -- what you said about Romney was, at the beginning, and this I took...

SHARPTON: You took it from the debate?

BECK: In the debate. What did you say?

SHARPTON: What I said was Mr. Hitchens, who is an atheist -- this is a debate on atheism versus belief. Mr. Hitchens made a long, sweeping indictment on all believers, including saying that atheists had really been the ones behind the civil rights movement, that, in effect, believers had poisoned the world, including right now you have a Mormon running for president. Mr. Romney had said that that church had taught the son of Ham curse in regards of blacks.

BECK: Right.

SHARPTON: In my response, I corrected him on the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was a God-based movement that was in civil rights that -- that people that had believed in God had done a lot of great things. You can use or misuse or not misuse religion. And as for the one Mormon candidate, a lot of good -- a lot of true believing people are going to vote. I don`t think he`ll be president anyway.

BECK: OK. Hitchens said, and if we have the note from Paula Zahn, she said, "I spoke with Christopher Hitchens who happened to be in the hallway upstairs before we went on the air, and he said that what you were saying that those who really believed" -- and he said when you were saying "those who really believed," he thinks you were making the distinction between Mormons and other Christians.

SHARPTON: Well, he didn`t have the responsibility to ask me about that. He never -- that was the beginning of the debate. We went another hour and a half. He never brought it up. I brought Mormons back up. He never brought it back up, one.

Secondly, I think that he also told Paula Zahn that he did not think I said anything in a mean-spirited way. There are some -- let me put this -- let`s get straight to the point, Glenn. There are some in the Christian faith that do not accept Mormons as Christians or as believers. I am not one of them. If I wanted to cop out, I could say, "I have a religious disagreement."

I do not think me or anyone else has the right to determine who are believers. I do not have any -- think anyone has the right to, in any way, discriminate against one`s decision how they approach God, which is why I said on my radio show today that, to Mormons, this is not my intention to have said anything against Mormons. And As I explained to you, I was talking about atheists.

BECK: You said, "Is Hitchens right? Is this the history of the Mormons? And were you part of that history? Were you part of the church before they renounced this?"

SHARPTON: Right. When I said that to Romney -- let me finish my statement. I will deal with that. What I have said today is that if I, inadvertently, or my words inadvertently hurt any woman, I apologize to a woman only because that is not my intent, nor my belief. If it was, I think you know me well enough to say that is my belief, "I do not think that they`re believers." That`s not my belief, so I`m not going to say that.

But I think Mr. Romney, who himself has had to apologize for using expressions like "tar baby" in Massachusetts, cannot politicize this and not answer the questions that Barack Obama and others have to ask. I think we must separate...

BECK: Hold it.

SHARPTON: ... the politics of Mitt Romney from my positions on the Mormon Church or the Mormon Church`s position in Christians.

BECK: I have no problem separating you and Mitt Romney. I don`t -- I have no problem sitting here not talking about Mitt Romney at all.

You know me, Reverend. You know me well enough to know I look you in the eye, and I mean what I say. I don`t give a flying crap about politics. I think politics are killing us. I think people who use statements and take them out of context and twist them for their own power and their own building themselves up to get on TV, it is despicable, and it is killing us. And you and I have had a conversation about that over and over and over again.

SHARPTON: That`s true.

BECK: You said last night, "Is Hitchens right? Is this the history of the Mormons? Were you part of that history? Were you part of this church before they renounced this?" What did you mean by that?

SHARPTON: What I meant by that was for Mr. Romney to take a line that clearly was not intended to go against the Mormon Church or Mormons and try and make it a racial or religious issue of bigotry, he called my line bigotry. He did not say this is a disagreement on religion, I would like to talk this out...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Honestly, Reverend, it sounds like religious bigotry.

SHARPTON: No, he didn`t even say religious bigotry. Here is a man himself...

BECK: What is the difference? Bigotry is bigotry.

SHARPTON: Well, OK, let`s say bigotry is bigotry. What I`m saying is that his initial reaction was that we`re going to have to talk about these things all of the way through the campaign. He wakes up the next day, after a political calculus, and makes this political. And my thing is that he ought to be addressing Hitchens` point, not me. I`m not the one that made the charges. Hitchens did.

BECK: So why didn`t you say -- why didn`t you say, is Hitchens right?

SHARPTON: That is what I said.

BECK: Excuse me. You said, "Is Hitchens right? Is this the history of the Mormons? And were you part of that history? Were you part of the church before they renounced this?" This is the point, sir.

SHARPTON: Just...

BECK: Hang on, hold on just a second. The civil rights amendment, you know who is against that, Republicans or Democrats? You`re a Democrat. Were you...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Were you a part of the Democratic Party before they renounced their racism and stood against the civil rights movement?

SHARPTON: I was not old enough to have been.

BECK: OK. But...

(CROSSTALK)

SHARPTON: I have been part of the Democrats that have objected now to some of what the Democrats have done. That has nothing to do with the fact that if Mr. Romney is going to step into a situation, he is going to have to follow the same rules that everybody else does in politics, Glenn.

We have had for the last several months -- Rudolph Giuliani has to defend whether he`s a good Catholic. We`ve had Barack Obama have to talk about his pastor`s sermons. Mr. Romney is going to have to deal with his own situation, independent of a controversy. I called for that...

BECK: Would you feel that it was unfair for Giuliani to have to speak against the Inquisition? Do you think that Anglicans should speak against...

(CROSSTALK)

SHARPTON: I don`t think...

BECK: The past is the past.

SHARPTON: Is Mr. Giuliani going to have to deal with his position, in terms of pro-choice as opposed to the church?

BECK: That is today.

SHARPTON: Yes. But Mr. Romney is talking about bigotry in the sense of Mr. Hitchens` statement. I was responding to Hitchens` statement. If you read the transcript...

BECK: I did.

SHARPTON: And he went back to there.

BECK: I understand.

SHARPTON: I did not. So you cannot just take Hitchens` statement out of it.

BECK: I`m taking you at your word on the first part. But I don`t think that I have made myself clear with you on the second part, on what you did...

(CROSSTALK)

SHARPTON: But the whole discussion...

BECK: If you...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: ... last night.

SHARPTON: ... was around what Hitchens said.

BECK: OK. Hold on. I...

SHARPTON: Hitchens raised it. I didn`t.

BECK: Hold on. We will be back in just a second.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Back with Reverend Al Sharpton, about the statements that he has made on the Mormon faith and how this all plays out.

What I am saying to you, sir, is when you said, "Is this the history and were you part of it," there were a lot of people in my faith that were alive. I was not a part -- a member of this faith when this was happening. And I know it ripped people to the core. It was a powerful, powerful thing, when it happened in the faith.

And to go back and say, "Were you a part of this? Are you still a bigot?" is very offensive, especially -- hold on -- especially since most of America has no real clue as to the history of the Mormons. We`re the first religion -- the only religion -- to have an extermination order against us in the United States of America. Until 1978 or `79, it was legal, in Missouri, to kill a Mormon. It was removed after 19 -- the `70s.

They left -- the reason why they were chased out of Missouri, one of the main reasons, is because they were abolitionists. They were fighting and standing up against slavery. And then to be called bigoted and, "Were you a part of that" is offensive.

SHARPTON: First of all, Glenn, I think -- I think that, first of all, two things to that: When Mr. Hitchens raised this, he did not just raise Mormons arbitrarily.

BECK: Right.

SHARPTON: He`s sitting there, knowing he`s talking to a civil rights leader, talking about how they did not even consider you human until 30 years ago. That was his attack. And I was addressing that.

Now, in the last 48 hours, I`ve heard a lot about Mormons that I didn`t know. I made two calls today. I called the Mormon Church headquarters in Utah, I called Mitt Romney. I`ve not heard from Mitt Romney. I heard from two of the elders of the -- central figures of the church...

BECK: Yes, you did.

SHARPTON: ... who said to me, "You know what, Reverend? We don`t know, one way or another, but we`ve been misquoted. We`d like to sit down and talk." I`m going to Utah and meet with them. I want to know all of this you`re talking about.

You know why I want to know? Because little people in all religious persuasions need to not have this type of things towards anyone`s presidential campaign or someone`s debate.

And that`s why I said, if my words could have been construed in any way that would hurt a regular Mormon, I apologize to them. But the politics with Mitt Romney is a different thing. I am not suggesting for one minute that anyone that was alive during that time is a bigot. They may have been the ones that fought in the church to change it. I don`t know.

But I think that he has to come forward and deal with that, since he`s going to start calling me names. He could very well come and say, "It was me and my father, George Romney, that fought to change that church and that fought to expand the awareness," or "we were part of whatever." That`s his opportunity to say that.

BECK: You are going to be meeting with Russell M. Nelson and Henry Eyring. They are part of the Quorum of the Twelve of the church. And you are going to have a very interesting evening. I think you will...

SHARPTON: And I want to go.

BECK: ... come out with an amazing experience.

SHARPTON: I want to go. And I`m going to tell you something. I think that it is something that we need to do in this country, is talk more -- talk to each other more. I don`t know if three years ago I`d have done that.

BECK: I have to tell you, Reverend, it takes everything in me, it takes everything in me, but I want to be a better person. And I -- it is because of my faith that I hold fast to that. And I try to be more Christ- like.

It would be very easy for me to turn your words against you. Just in the last month or so, you said, we can`t have the precedent where people can say these kinds of things and then walk away without any penalty.

Should there be a penalty for you?

SHARPTON: Oh, yes, I think the penalty should that I am saying very publicly that if my words -- even if they were not meant to be that way, hurt somebody, I apologize for them. And I`m going to go and try and create a dialogue between these -- let me tell you something.

BECK: You said...

SHARPTON: I will be -- wait a minute, Glenn, I don`t think you need to underestimate. There are many in Christianity that take a different view, and you know that, of the Mormon Church.

BECK: Oh, I know that.

SHARPTON: Many that will be...

BECK: You know, you are correct. You are...

SHARPTON: ... very spiteful of my position.

BECK: You are very good at moving things away from you. I`m not talking about other people; I`m talking about you. Just like you weren`t talking about other racists with Imus. He apologized...

SHARPTON: Well, Imus...

BECK: ... and he said, isn`t an apology good enough? Why won`t you accept the apology?

SHARPTON: I`m not going to let you do that. Because to equate me responding to an atheist with someone who got up with no interaction at all and denigrated people -- I did not call anybody a name. I did not denigrate anybody. I did not in any way cause (INAUDIBLE) -- he called these women "nappy-headed hos." What did I call Mormons?

That is unfair, Glenn.

BECK: You called -- you said -- we`re bigots.

SHARPTON: I said what? How? When? When?

BECK: Were you part of this?

SHARPTON: Were you part of a doctrine that said that blacks could not join?

BECK: Were you part of the church at that time?

SHARPTON: Wait a minute, did the church...

BECK: Were you a -- have you...

SHARPTON: Glenn, did the church have that edict at that time?

BECK: That you could not -- no, that you could be a part of the church.

SHARPTON: But you could not be a...

BECK: You could not hold the priesthood, yes.

SHARPTON: OK. Was that -- was that a fact?

BECK: That is a fact.

SHARPTON: Now what was the Rutgers team part of? How can you compare the two?

BECK: No, I understand...

SHARPTON: You compared the two.

BECK: No, sir.

SHARPTON: Yes, you did, sir.

BECK: Yes. I compared what...

SHARPTON: That was a blatant racist statement he made. What I said is I want to know what you were part of and what was the church doctrine at that time? That is not a bigoted statement. In fact, that is a question.

BECK: I don`t remember anyone ever saying or even thinking that I would even ask or anyone should ask if any of those girls had lifestyles that were less than stellar. No one would even say that.

SHARPTON: If they did, would that make them "nappy-headed hos"?

BECK: No. But if...

SHARPTON: If you have a policy that would limit what others can do, it is not within the rights of people to ask what that policy was and what their involvement was?

BECK: Reverend Sharpton. No politics.

SHARPTON: All right. I`ll talk to you when I come from Utah.

BECK: You do.

SHARPTON: All right.

BECK: Thank you sir. Back in a minute.

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BECK: I want to introduce you to a man who you may have heard last weekend the owner of a Louisville steakhouse refused to serve. The guy`s attorney says it was probably because of the color of his skin. Somehow or another, this man has persevered. In fact, I think he can serve as an inspiration to all of us.

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BECK: It`s said that a man is best defined by his actions, by moments of extraordinary courage in the face of adversity. And for those brave men whose legacy is to fight for freedom, that legacy is often defined by a single moment. This is a story of one modern-day freedom fighter and that single moment when justice would not be denied.

His name, O.J. Simpson. His dream, that one day all former NFL running backs acquitted of brutally murdering their ex-wives, regardless of the color of their skin, can sit down and enjoy a mouth-watering 22-ounce porterhouse steak, cooked medium rare to perfection, you know, like the kind served at Jeff Ruby`s Louisville Steakhouse, 325 Main Street, open seven days a week. Experience the excitement of a real Las Vegas steakhouse right in the heart of downtown Louisville.

As he walked through the doors of Jeff Ruby`s, O.J. was prepared for the discrimination that he would no doubt face.

JEFF RUBY, RESTAURANT OWNER: I don`t want him in here. I said, "I`m not serving you."

BECK: Yet, it was Jeff Ruby himself. For dramatic effect, Ruby spoke again.

RUBY: I repeat, I said, "I`m not serving you."

BECK: It was at this moment when O.J. realized that there were some principles still worth fighting for. O.J. Simpson rose from his seat and left the restaurant.

RUBY: That`s the first class he has shown, in my opinion, since the murders. He said, "I understand, Jeff. Can I just have a few minutes to find the people that I came with so they know we`ve got to leave?" He was great. He knew my name.

BECK: Wow, he actually knew his name. Perhaps Jeff Ruby had misjudged O.J. Simpson. Maybe, just maybe, the next time O.J. walks through the door, Jeff Ruby will treat him like a customer and not just some guy trying to profit off the murder of the mother of his own children.

RUBY: If he came back again, no, I`d punch him in the mouth.

BECK: Then again, probably not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: From New York, good night.

END