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Glenn Beck

Ron Paul Weighs in on the Economy; Seattle to Tax Disposable Bags

Aired July 30, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, America`s facing major problems at home and abroad, but our leaders continue to bicker and pander. Now, a former presidential candidate, Ron Paul, warns a major backlash may be coming. I agree. He`ll be with us.

Plus, meet the maverick from Missouri. Republican Sarah Steelman is running for governor while calling out her own party for self-dealing in earmarks. Will honesty get in the way?

And the devil goes down to Georgia. The drug cartels and the kidnappings we normally see on the Mexican border are now operating in Atlanta. Coincidence? Who didn`t see this one coming?

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

Let me ask you: is this the first moment you have actually had today to sit down and relax? If you`re like most people, you know, you`ve got a job, you`ve got kids. You`re running around, soccer. You`re trying to do your job, get dinner on the table, eat with the family.

If you`re like most people, this is the first moment you`ve had for yourself. And yet, you have to sit down and watch a show like this to see who`s watching your back and the rest of the country. Well, good news. The House of Representatives is working hard to make your life just a little bit better and easier.

I picked up the paper today, and I couldn`t believe what I saw. Here was the headline: that the House passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow. You`ve got to be -- this is what you`re working on? Democrats are thinking of introducing a similar measure in the Senate.

Let me be clear here for a second, before everybody goes, "Oh, what a hatemonger." America`s history with slavery is shameful. It`s wrong. We were washed in blood for that with the Civil War. Thankfully, we`ve come a long way in creating an equitable society for all races. We`re not done yet. We`re not perfect, but good Lord in heaven, man. Our next president could be an African-American. Can we look at the progress we`ve made?

The Congress, let me ask you this. How about an apology to the Americans of all colors who are suffering right now, today, not 140 years ago, today, with gas prices and the failing economy and what you`ve done to the dollar and illegal immigration. How about that? How about the slavery that is being perpetrated on people who are coming across the border in the middle of the night and being enslaved by giant, global corporations?

Do you feel like issuing an apology? Maybe it should be to all of us Americans for letting go of this country and letting it go right to hell in a hand-basket on your watch.

And here`s "The Point" tonight. We need leaders who are more interested in getting stuff done than just getting re-elected. We are in desperate need of leaders with ideas and solutions as big as our problems. And here`s how I got there.

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a man who said he`s more worried than ever about our country. Then I talked to another guy just two days ago, and he said he is getting so frustrated because nobody seems to realize how late it is to start addressing these vitally important issues that are facing America.

Our politicians, if they don`t wake up and finally start doing something, it ain`t going to be good? You know what? I couldn`t agree more with the guy I talked to just two days ago? Now, he`s a bit of a maverick, and he`s on the TV program tonight. He`s going to be here to talk about our national priorities. He`s a Texas congressman and former presidential candidate, Ron Paul.

Congressman, you`re in the House. What -- what did you think when -- apologizing for -- that`s the priority today?

REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: I think you have it right. I think the apology would have to be to the American taxpayers today. It reminded me of a little bumper sticker I have in my office that says, "Don`t steal. The government hates the competition." So we ought to be apologizing for stealing from the American people.

So yes, these are the kind of things. Yesterday, to tell you the truth, I was on an airline when the suspension bills came up, and a lot of this gets passed under suspension. We had 45 bills like that yesterday. I mean, I need a huge staff just to keep them in line and figure out what`s going on.

BECK: You know what? I`m so tired. I am so tired, and I know the average person is. You know, I started the program saying, is this the first time that you sat down today? Most people, it is the first second that they have had for themselves. And then they`ve got to turn on the television and see, we`re dealing with what today? What are you guys doing?

PAUL: And you know, and this is associated with the loss of a standard of living. The standard of living of Americans are going down, especially for the middle-income, low-income, and poor people. It`s going down much more rapidly than those in the high-income bracket.

You know, there is a transfer of wealth with the monetary system we have, and they are suffering. And that is why they`re really hurting. But they usually see this generalize when they go to the gas pump and they say, "Oh, you know, oil prices are too high. We have to do something," without analyzing it and figuring out why is it that our dollar isn`t buying much. Instead of saying prices are high, people should always ask the question, why is our dollar not buying what it used to buy?

BECK: They don`t understand. The average person doesn`t understand that, because nobody in government is going down this road, really, honestly, with an exception of you. Nobody is going down the road of, it`s not that things are going up. It`s that the dollar is going down because of the policies of this stupid Congress and administration.

PAUL: Yes. You know, in spite of all of the pessimism in this recent speech I did that you have referred to -- it`s rather pessimistic and we`re in for trouble -- but I really conclude with some optimism. And I like to, you know, seek out some optimism.

And in the last year that I`ve been out on the road, young people, the college kids have listened to this message. Obviously, it`s probably not the majority.

BECK: Yes.

PAUL: But a lot of them have joined in. They`re interested in monetary policy. It`s been very encouraging to me.

BECK: I have to tell you, I have to say, when I go out and speak to people on the street, I have the same optimism. And I also feel an ever bigger sense of urgency to express to the people in Washington, your time is running out here. You are constantly reinflicting and reopening wounds, and the American people are waking up.

But, you know, today with this slavery thing, I have been covering for two days immigration, again, and 13-year-olds that have been busted in meat-packing plants. Thirteen years old, working 17 hours a day for a meat-packing company. The meat packers didn`t go to jail. The illegal immigrants went to jail. This is slavery.

And it all ties in, I believe, to, again, the global corporations. Making money on the backs of the poor, the backs on the people who can -- have the least and smallest voice among us. Right or wrong?

PAUL: You know, I think you`re absolutely right, that the people who are causing the trouble today should be apologizing. We should be correcting our mistakes. A lot of people do it inadvertently, because they have a lack of understanding on how economics work.

But when it comes to these apologies, you know, why should you and I make the apologies? Why should I apologize for you through a vote in the Congress?

At the same time, you know, we personally weren`t responsible, you know, for that. I don`t think in a moral sense that we`re capable of doing this. And you indicated we should move on. I mean, here, we have the opportunity. It looks like there`s a possibility of a minority candidate winning the presidency. I mean, even though we might not agree with the politics, we should look at it as great progress.

BECK: Yes, I think it -- honestly, it is an affront -- I`m a Christian. It`s a front to the principles of Christianity. Forgiveness. Forgiveness.

This country, half of this country fought the other half and died to free and to say, enough. This is wrong. We were washed in blood. I know -- I mean, good heavens. There`s nothing worse than slavery. Why are we doing this and concentrating on this now?

PAUL: When I think of so much of what goes on, even in the presidential campaign currently, there`s a lot of distraction on purpose in order to avoid it.

BECK: Yes.

PAUL: You hear this campaign every night, every program. You know, I don`t know whether -- why the people keep listening, but they do. Every station. It`s on.

BECK: But they`re not talking about anything. When is the last time you heard any of these politicians really talk about the border? When did they really talk about something that made any sense on the economy? They`ll talk about more giveaways. They haven`t talked about $486 -- what is it -- billion deficit now. Four hundred and eighty-six billion dollars is what Bush will leave in this year alone, along with this Congress. Nobody will talk about it, except to blame each other for it.

PAUL: Yes, there`s a lot of that. And I have to give your station some credit that you have made an effort to do this. But for the most part, it is a distraction, because they don`t want to talk about the dollar. You`re willing to talk about the dollar, but others don`t understand. They don`t care. They don`t want to challenge the Federal Reserve. How can you do this?

And they think that it`s, you know, contradicts everything I`ve learned in college. So they`re not interested in it. It`s philosophic as well as political.

BECK: I don`t believe that anymore. I really don`t. I don`t believe -- I don`t believe that there -- I believe there are irresponsible people in Washington, and they`re focused on other things.

But you have a responsibility, if you`re in Congress, or you`re in the White House, you`re in the Senate. I don`t care where you are. If you are serving the American people, you have a responsibility to figure out how the dollar works. You have a responsibility. And how hard is it?

We all learned in Germany, you print more money and all of a sudden, you`re buying bread with a wheelbarrow. I mean, look at what`s his name, Mugabe, and his economy right now. It only -- you don`t need to go to college. I didn`t. I get it.

PAUL: You know, I won`t say the person`s name. One time, this subject came up at a hearing, and I mentioned about the backing of the dollar and the gold, and this individual afterwards came up and said to me, "Is the dollar not backed by gold?" And that person was on the banking committee. So that`s something...

BECK: No, no. I don`t want to -- I don`t want to hear that. We`ll be back with Congressman Ron Paul in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Coming up in just a little while, at a time when most elected officials are clinging to their party like -- like I cling to McGriddles, one woman has made it her business now to call out federal Republicans whenever political games are played.

She is Missouri state treasurer, Sarah Steelman. She is running for governor of Missouri. She`s not making a lot of friends with the Republicans, but I believe she`s making progress, and she`s on the right track. I want you to meet her in tonight`s "Real Story."

First, let`s go back to Ron Paul, congressman from Texas, former presidential candidate.

Congressman, let me give you the quote that you said on the floor of the House July 9. You said, "I have days, growing more frequently all the time, when I`m convinced the time is now upon us that some big events are about to occur. These fast-approaching events will not go unnoticed. They will affect all of us. They will not be limited to just some areas of our country. The world economy and political system will share in the chaos about to be unleashed."

What do you think those big events are?

PAUL: I think you alluded to what I`m thinking about earlier on. And that has to do with a crisis. And you brought up the inflation in Germany. The dollar -- everything is done on the backs of the dollar. If we need money here, you know, and we tax to a degree, then we borrow, then we print the money we need. And the value of the dollar must go down over a period of time.

But the dollar has held up relatively well in the last 35 years. Since 1971, there`s been no backing of the dollar. And we`ve been able to get away with inflating the dollar and exporting it by literally spending it overseas. And that`s one of the reason our jobs go overseas, because it`s cheaper to print paper and spend it overseas.

But the event that I anticipate is that people will get tired of this. And they`re starting to. That`s why the dollar has been slipping.

BECK: You don`t mean -- you don`t mean like you and me. You mean foreign countries?

PAUL: They`re involved, but of course, it`s important to us because when they start buying these -- buying our dollars and our treasury bills, less so, and our housing securities -- I mean, China owns a huge amount of housing securities. When they start selling those, which they have, our dollar has to go down. When our dollar goes down, prices have to go up. When prices go up, the standard of living goes down.

And prices never go up uniformly. And one thing that you talk about a lot is why -- why are we putting this on the backs of the poor? It`s because their income never keeps up with the prices. If all prices went up evenly and salaries went up evenly, it wouldn`t be a big deal, but that`s not the way inflation works.

Some people get richer. Wall Street could get richer. The poor could get poorer. There is an elimination, ultimately, of the middle class with runaway inflation, and the rich could benefit, certainly, in the early stages. When a political crisis comes, then of course, everybody is threatened.

And that`s what I fear is coming, because this dollar bubble has essentially been building for 35 years. It`s world-wide. It`s never happened before. We`ve had fiat money and inflation before, but it`s usually more localized. But this time, because the dollar was the reserve currency of the world, it`s a much, much bigger bubble, and we`re seeing it coming apart.

And that`s why I think we`re on the verge, if not in the very early stages, of a gigantic financial crisis.

BECK: What does that mean to you? Because people say that and then, gigantic: we`re talking `70s stagflation. To me, that`s not a gigantic. Gigantic to me is the Great Depression.

PAUL: Right. I think it -- if we do the wrong things, it will be a Great Depression, and it will last a long time.

BECK: OK. Wait a minute. What are the wrong things? Because it seems to me we`re doing all the wrong things.

PAUL: Yes.

BECK: We have entitlements now the size of the GDP of Canada. That`s Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security equal the GDP of Canada, and we`re talking about stacking more on top.

PAUL: Now, we are doing the wrong things, and that means the cleansing of the system, the corrections, the liquidation of debt and the liquidation of the mal-investment is not going to come, because we prop everything up. And for that reason, it`s going to last a long, long time.

If you allowed the liquidation, you`d have a short depression like we had in 1921. By the 1930s, we didn`t believe that that was proper, so both Hoover and Roosevelt prolonged it by propping everything up.

This one, the bubble really has lasted, although we`ve had some ups and downs in the last 35 years. On a big downturn, as long as we make this effort to prop everything up and all the bad debt, it could go on for decades.

BECK: Are you worried as all, Congressman? I mean, I`ve been to your state. I think -- I think Texas is a bubbling cauldron, quite honestly, with everything that`s going on, and Texans understand the republic. They`re not going to take it much longer.

We seem to be following -- the world seems to be OK with this new system of government that Russia is doing, which is a very strong government, a very strong leader. And then in bed with their big corporations. And screw the little person. It`s working out for Russia right now. But it`s not going to for long.

It seems to me like we`re going down that road, which is frightening. And at the same time, you`ve got, for instance, the anarchists that said today to the DNC, "You pay us $50 million or we`re going to -- we`re going to destroy your convention." We`ve got crazies all around us.

PAUL: And I think we are going in the wrong direction, because after the end of the Cold War, we had an opportunity to enlighten the world and teach them about free markets.

But even with the rhetoric, there`s no evidence that the free market has been solidified. What we have is a corporatism. Corporatism is another word for fascism. Where, if you look at the military industrial complex, that we have a medical industrial complex, too. The medical profession thrives. You know, the drug companies, the HMO, drive the medical profession, as well as the banking industrial complex. The bankers are in bed with the Federal Reserve. And the politicians are involved with all of those.

BECK: Yes.

PAUL: So we`re moving -- at this rate, we`re more likely to have a fascist system rather than a communist system. But that`s why we have to emphasize personal liberty. What our traditions have been about: sound money and limited government. We have at least a record that we should look to.

BECK: Congressman, thank you very much. Thanks for speaking out, and keep fighting the good fight down there in Washington. I don`t know how you do it every day.

PAUL: Thank you.

BECK: Coming up, the nanny state lives on. But this time, not California. No, no, no. Fascism. It`s Seattle. The Seattle city council has voted to impose fees on disposable paper and plastic bags, and by the way, the plastic forks and spoons are gone, as well, all in the name of saving the planet. But, you know, forget the price of liberty.

And the chaos and violence normally limited to border towns is spreading into major U.S. cities. Who would have seen this coming? Now the Mexican drug cartels have infiltrated as far as Atlanta, Georgia.

And don`t forget: on Friday, a quick program reminder. Country music star Toby Keith joins me for a full hour of honest questions. We`ll talk about his new album, his new movie, the current state of our union. This guy I love, and I think you`re going to live him, too. Don`t miss it. Friday night at 7 and 9, right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, congratulations to Seattle, my home town. You are officially now the crazy San Francisco of the north in Washington state.

Starting next year, Seattle shoppers are now going to have to bring their own bags to carry their purchases home or face 20 cents per bag fee. So, not only is food getting more expensive, but now you`ve got to pay for the bags to carry them home in, as well.

Also taking effect in January is a ban now on Styrofoam containers and plastic forks and spoons. Perfect.

As crazy as all of this sounds, there was only one person who stood up against the bag tax and even bigger government. Wait until you hear why. Seattle city council member, Jan Drago.

Hello, Jan, how are you?

JAN DRAGO, SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: Hi, Glenn. I`m fine.

BECK: Good. Wow. So you stood up to the -- you`re the lone voice of the Seattle city council that stood up against the bag tax. Why?

DRAGO: Well, first of all, Seattle is a very environmentally conscious city, and people try to do the right thing. So I think we should have given them a chance through incentives versus through disincentives. And if that didn`t work, then I would have preferred a ban versus the program that the council had.

BECK: I mean, here is the thing, Jan. And as I understand your position on this, you realize that there`s a lot of people ready to sharpen their pitchforks and torches and come after the government that just keeps baby-sitting them. I mean, I`m from Seattle. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. I understand the people of Seattle.

And the people in Seattle are responsible, if they`re so darned environmentally conscious, they would do it on their own. It`s not as environmentally conscious as you think it is. It`s the -- it`s the few that say, now I want to get rid of these bags, too. If everybody thought it was a good idea to get rid of bags, they wouldn`t use the bags.

DRAGO: Well, I agree with you. And what we`re doing is we`re angering a lot of people that would probably have been cooperative if we had done a public education campaign. Model good behavior. Use positive (ph) first.

BECK: I mean, who doesn`t know about the plastic bag thing?

Here`s another thing that drives me crazy. When I grew up in Seattle, when I was a kid, I remember when paper bags were bad because we`re cutting too many trees down. Then they forced us to use plastic bags. Now we`re using plastic bags, now plastic bags are bad. I mean, now hemp bags pretty soon are going to be out.

Tell me the thing with the plastic forks and spoons.

DRAGO: Well, that doesn`t go into effect for 18 months. And...

BECK: What are they going to replace it with?

DRAGO: NO, they are going to take some time -- well, I guess it`s the meat containers. They`re going to take some time to make sure that there are suitable alternatives for that.

BECK: OK. Can I ask you, when an airplane lands and they have the plastic fork and knife on the plane, will it be legal to land the plane in Seattle?

DRAGO: I`m sure it will.

BECK: OK. Jan, thanks a lot. I`ve got to tell you. There`s two kinds of people in Seattle, that live in Seattle. There`s, you know, the people with their hemp bags and the polar bear stickers and the "save the salmon" stickers, and then those with plaid shirts and guns. When things go to hell in a hand-basket, my money is on the plaid shirts. They`ll be eating the hemp bag people within a week.

Changing the face of politics in Missouri, tonight`s "Real Story." That`s coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Do you remember the days when Georgia was best known for its peaches, the braves, and "another sweet tea?" Unfortunately, things have changed a bit. The chaos that plagues our southern borders made a new home now in Georgia.

Mexican drug cartels have moved in and the violence and the kidnappings have spiked in direct result. I`ll have more on this amazing story coming up in a second.

First, welcome to "The Real Story."

There`s a big difference -- I don`t know if you`ve noticed this -- between what people say and what they do. People say, "Oh, I want to be thin. I want to lose some -- is that pizza over there?" Then they take four slices of stuffed crust pizza and a diet coke.

They say, I need to save the cuddly polar bear and the seal, and then they get in their Escalade and park it right next to their private jet and fly to their sprawling vacation home.

They say they can`t stand how our politicians are ripping this country apart, but then they just keep voting for the same politicians every chance they get. "Oh, I don`t have a choice." I think you do.

I have actually come to a conclusion here, and I don`t know if this is the way you feel. I have never cared more about an election than this one. Yet, at the same time, I have never cared less. I mean, really.

I can`t seem to find a candidate who actually believes in what I believe in. I can`t even find a candidate who actually believes in what they say they believe in.

You know, and as I`m going down this road, I realize, just like anything else, that if you don`t like the options you`re given, you have to be willing to work for new ones. I say on this program an awful lot, it`s we the people who have the power in this country, but I think I need to clarify that.

"The Real Story" is we, the people, do have the power. But if we the people don`t use it, we will lose it. It is rare that you find a politician at any level -- I don`t care if it is a dogcatcher -- who is actually willing to put their principles above the party just so they could keep getting re-elected.

If you find somebody that is actually like that, you think, "Oh my gosh, these people believe in it," I don`t care what party it`s from you can not sit back and let others do the work. You have got to stand behind them. You have to lend them your power.

America was not built by a bunch of weasels who sat around on the sidelines, and she`s not going to heal herself that way, either. The question is how do you know when you find a politician who might actually be worth getting off of the couch for, and there aren`t many of those.

One way, I think, is to look at the attack machine that gets fired up any time somebody starts to break the status quo, which is exactly what is happening now in Missouri.

I read a story about this woman a couple weeks ago; I find her fascinating. She`s the state treasurer of Missouri. Her name is Sarah Steelman. She`s being devouring by her own Republican party as she runs for the governorship there.

You see, Steelman the nerve to not only say she`s conservative but then actually act like one; the audacity of honesty. She`s against earmarks and pork spending. She wants sunshine laws that would make politicians disclose who they`re actually in bed with, and she`s unabashedly pro-life and pro-second amendment.

Of course, those things conservatives say they also believe in, yet Steelman`s reward for making those things the foundation of her campaign is to be criticized and eaten alive by her own party`s old guard.

That is where you come in; we, the people. I`m going to introduce you to Sarah Steelman here in a second. If you like what you hear, then maybe it`s time to stand up for yourself, stand up for your values, and most importantly, stand up against a Republican Party that has not only lost its own soul but its spine.

Sarah Steelman is the Missouri State Treasurer and candidate for governor. Sarah, good to have you on the program. Really, I know very little about you except what you have said to me and what I have seen your record on, and I just want to go over some of these things.

Tell the American people about the settlement check that you refused to issue as the state treasurer?

SARAH STEELMAN, (R) STATE TREASURER OF MISSOURI: Well, Glenn, let me first say you are a man after my heart when you talk about we, the people.

But here is what happened on that. There was a sexual harassment lawsuit and the governor of our state wanted to settle it. It was against the director of the Department of Agriculture. They made a secret deal using taxpayer money, and I thought it was wrong and I stopped payment on the check.

BECK: They issued the check and you just stopped payment on it?

STEELMAN: Yes.

BECK: Wow. And this was against your own Republican party?

STEELMAN: Unfortunately, it was. It was done in the wrong way. The sexual harassment charges that were made were very serious and very stunning from a director of our own Department of Agriculture.

BECK: And you felt this is the people`s money and --

STEELMAN: Yes, I thought it was the people`s money and that was the wrong way to be spending it. It wasn`t right. It wasn`t done correctly. And it shouldn`t be spent to settle a secret settlement for a sexual harassment case.

BECK: If the people want to settle it, it would be settled out in the open. It`s the people`s money and they should know.

STEELMAN: Exactly.

BECK: All right. Tell me about the corn and ethanol plans. Listen to this. You never heard this from a politician, of course. Go ahead.

STEELMAN: That`s the other thing in my office, a strong conflict of interest policy that prohibited elected officials from participating in a program that we had so, in other words, I don`t think it`s right for elected officials to use taxpayer money for their own personal benefit or investment.

BECK: Hang on, hang on. America, she`s really, really brilliant, but a very, very modest and poor storyteller on this particular issue.

Sarah, if I`m not mistaken, Missouri, the politicians were voting and saying we need even more ethanol than even the federal government says so we need to build all of these ethanol plants. At the same time, the same politicians said, "Oh, and by the way, you should be able to get grant money to build these ethanol plants."

The politicians were then going out and borrowing taxpayer money, the politicians were, to build the ethanol plants that they themselves said had to be built, right?

STEELMAN: You`ve got it; you`ve got it exactly right.

BECK: Yes. And you stopped that. Oh, you evil, evil person, you.

STEELMAN: I stopped it, and I guess I made a lot of people mad because the legislature undid what my conflict of interest policy by passing a law at the end of the session that said it was okay to do that.

BECK: You want to build refineries and this is something that I don`t think I`ve ever heard from a politician. You`re not just wanting to build refineries and think that it`s good to build refineries. You`re actually saying build them in my backyard if we have to.

STEELMAN: I am saying that. As governor, I want to go out use our economic development tools to get an oil refinery in Missouri. We`re right in the heart of the country. We`re strategically located. And as you know, there hasn`t been one built here in the United States for 30 years.

BECK: Okay. You have a Masters in economics. How much trouble do you think the United States and your state are in if we don`t stop with the partisan bull crap and hiding behind all of these arguments and just solve the problems logically?

STEELMAN: Oh, I think we`re in a lot of trouble. Yes, we need to talk to each other about these problems. And solve them logically and quit being so partisan about everything because, you know, if something is right, it`s right for everybody. If something is wrong, it`s wrong for everybody. So quit the partisan bickering and let`s get down to working together and solving problems.

BECK: Is your state -- states all over, New York, they`re now talking about selling the bridges in New York. Because, you know, they`re saying we have such a huge deficit. I keep -- I shout at the newspaper every day. I do. I`m a full-fledged nut.

I look at the newspaper every day. Here in New York, they`re saying we should sell the bridges. We have to raise the taxes. No, you don`t. You have to stop spending money. Could you please explain to the American people that taxes don`t work? It is spending that changes the course.

STEELMAN: Absolutely. And that`s what my campaign has been about, is telling people we need smaller government. Not taxing the people more. Let people do with their money what they want to do with their money. That`s what grows the economy.

BECK: There`s a story, and I think we`re going to do this tomorrow on "The Real Story." I don`t know if you follow this and I`m such a freak for even knowing this, but the Tory Party over in England. It is a conservative party. And they have been passing all these green laws and everything else, and they`re losing power, et cetera, et cetera.

They decided, "Hey you know what? Maybe we should actually be an alternative to the other party and actually be conservative." You know they now lead in the national polls by 22 percentage points.

What is it that the people in your own party don`t understand? They`re getting their butts kicked because they don`t stand for common sense conservative principles.

STEELMAN: I couldn`t agree with you more. That`s what I`m trying to talk about and they keep trying to shut me down because I`m saying that. We need to get back to our conservative principles.

That`s what made this country great. That`s what people believe in, and that`s what works.

That`s why the Tory Party has that kind of approval rating. And that`s also why Congress has only a 9 percent approval rating is because all they know how to do is borrow and spend money. And that money is coming from the taxpayers of this country.

I mean, they have completely forgotten about the fact that that is the hard-earned dollars of the people in this country that get up every day and work hard, and Congress spends their money like they have no appreciation at all for where it comes from.

BECK: Let me just end with this. I want to show a picture. This is your son and a birthday present. That`s just wrong. What are you thinking? You`re giving your son a gun?

STEELMAN: Can you believe I had the audacity to do that?

BECK: And he doesn`t look responsible. He`s pointing it -- you don`t know who`s on the other side of the wall? What are you thinking there, Sarah?

STEELMAN: You know what? I`m a strong believer in our Second Amendment rights, just like every right we have in the Constitution.

BECK: Thanks, Sarah. Appreciate.

That`s "The Real Story" tonight.

Now listen, do me a favor. If you`re watching and you`re like, okay, she`s not the person. I`m a Democrat, or whatever. If you know of a Democrat or Republican that is not in bed with their own party, please let me know.

We`re going to fix this from the ground up, I believe. I will feature them on the show. They have to be different. They have to break away from their own party and say what they mean and mean what they say. We have to shine a light on those politicians who actually still believe there is something called "The Truth."

Coming up, chaos and violence on our southern border is spilling in now into the heart of America. I`m going to tell you how Atlanta has become the latest battleground for Mexican drug cartels. Don`t go anywhere. You won`t believe this story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: For the last days, we have talked about our wide open borders and how they have led to companies exploiting illegal aliens in what I believe is nothing less than modern-day slavery.

But there`s another side of our borders; nothing more than a line on the map and that is drugs. You`re not going to see much about it in the mainstream media. And for some reason, this just isn`t a topic anymore.

The Mexican side of the border is essentially a war zone with the Mexican government fighting, losing, or sometimes in collusion with the heavily-armed drug cartels. And news flash, the river isn`t going to hold that one back.

Gwinnett County, Georgia, this is over 1,000 miles from our U.S.- Mexico border. They have already had nine drug-related kidnappings this year. In one incident it just happened a couple weeks ago, DEA agents raided a home and charged three men, all illegal aliens, with kidnapping and conspiracy to distribute cocaine after finding that they chained this to a wall and beat him for nearly a week in an effort to collect $300,000 in drug debt.

There are no good guys in this story except the people who on the front line, like Rodney Benson. He is the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the DEA.

Rodney, thank you so much for being on the program. It has taken us quite a while to bring you on the air and have you talk about what`s going on in Atlanta.

RODNEY BENSON, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF DEA, ATLANTA: Glad to be here.

BECK: It`s absolutely on fire.

Let`s start, what did I miss about that guy who was chained to the wall? Tell me a little bit about this.

BENSON: He was a distributor of narcotics up the East Coast, and he was lowered down under a ruse to come down and see the Mexican suppliers here in Atlanta.

And when he went to a house just in the metro area, he was pulled into a garage where seven armed men took him, took him out, essentially beat him, brought him down into the basement of this house where he was shackled in this unfinished basement. And his hands were cuffed. Then they took rolls of duct tape and essentially his entire face, his nose, pretty much everything was just covered with tape.

And over the course of a week, we became aware of this. And what we ended up doing, Glenn, through a number of different investigative means, we found the house where this individual was being held. And what we did was we conducted a rescue operation. And this individual, when we found him, was chained in the basement, severely dehydrated and he was beaten as well.

BECK: Okay.

BENSON: And we saved his life.

BECK: All right, is it true that some of these people that are kidnapping in Atlanta are as young as 16 years old? The kidnappers?

BENSON: We`re seeing younger individuals being deployed by Mexican cartel leadership up into the United States to work for these cartels.

BECK: Okay, there are two people who have a little bit of credibility on this. There`s the Gwinnett D.A. that said this is not a blip. This is significant in what`s going on here. U.S. Attorney for the northern part of Georgia said, we are about to see the extreme violence that is happening south of the border happen here in America.

Not a lot of people because nobody is really covering this in the mainstream media, but we`re watching it. The violence south of the border is off the charts. It`s more violent there than it is in Baghdad or Afghanistan. They`re beheading people.

Do you believe this is the kind of stuff that is coming our way if we don`t do something and pay attention to this?

BENSON: What we`re doing, Glenn, is we`re aggressively attacking that problem. Clearly, Mexican drug trafficking organizations are the dominant force that we`re facing here in the metro area. They`re responsible for the lion`s share of cocaine and methamphetamine and marijuana and black tar heroin that`s being distributed here.

It`s coming here; it`s going up the Eastern Seaboard.

We`re facing a very -- it`s a challenge for us. They`re getting more sophisticated. They`re absolutely armed to the teeth; AK-47s and other weapons.

BECK: And they`re targeting this county because this is a large Hispanic community. So these drug gangs are just kind of trying to blend in to the Hispanic community.

What is the reaction for the community? Are they standing up? Or are they afraid?

BENSON: It`s not just that county, Glenn. What you have is multiple counties in metro Atlanta. Now we`re seeing it, too, in a big way in North Carolina.

BECK: Are the communities standing up, or are they being intimidated and afraid, like they are in Mexico now?

BENSON: The community is reporting information to police. And that`s what they should continue to do. There`s a steady stream of tips and leads that come into law enforcement that we`re able to react to and I don`t anticipate that stopping anytime soon.

BECK: Okay. Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate your time and keep fighting the good fight.

BENSON: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: You bet.

We`ll be back in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Our most perceptive viewer may have noticed a trend on this program, and that trend is, I`m not really that happy with our government in general. I know, shocking. Our little symbol of our governmental displeasure here has become the pitchfork.

I love this one, I think it`s handmade. I asked you to send a bunch of them in to me so I could decorate the set, and eventually they started pouring and things like this started happening. This one was with best selling author Daniel Salvo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: A pitchfork?

DANIEL SALVO, AUTHOR: It`s actually a manure pitchfork which is good for Washington.

BECK: That`s fantastic.

SALVO: It`s engraved for your collection. If you bring it to Washington, please don`t try to take it on the shuttle and there are a couple of buildings in Washington that you really don`t want to walk around with a pitchfork.

BECK: Yes, this is bad for the airport.

SALVO: Stay away from the White House and maybe --

BECK: That`s fantastic.

SALVO: Enjoy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Now, on Friday`s show, I`ll spend a full hour with country music superstar Toby Keith.

Here`s a little preview of what he brought.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOBY KEITH, COUNTRY SINGER: Before you read this, I want you on the business end of this right here, son. I brought you this pitchfork because I want to do my part.

BECK: And it`s signed. Oh, my best bud, Toby Keith, there it is, signed. We`ll use this to help shovel the bullcrap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Well, apparently, it`s not just authors and country stars that were inspired to send in pitchforks. The offices started to get barraged with pitchforks, something that really hasn`t happened here in New York City for quite some time.

In some cases, some people sent torches soaked in oil. Sending a torch through the mail, I want to point this out, not exactly the best idea.

Anyway, we`ve been getting lots of e-mails recently, like this one that came in from Brian in San Diego. He said, "Glenn, I ordered a pitchfork and had it sent to you there in New York. These politicians need to know how we feel. The bad news is the Website that I ordered it from said CNN has refused delivery, what do I do now?"

Well, don`t resend it. We have enough pitchforks now to last a lifetime or two and quite honestly I don`t want to be any more unpopular with the mailroom people. But thanks for sending them in.

We do have our torches and pitchforks t-shirt that is available. It says, "Protecting Americans from politicians since 1791." A lot of people are getting that. Not quite as sharp as an actual pitchfork, but it is just as effective.

Remember, you can sign up for my free daily e-mail newsletter at glennbeck.com. Thank you for sending in your pitchforks, not the torches.

We`ll see you tomorrow.

From New York, good night America.

END