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Glenn Beck

Politicians Playing Games with Energy Policy; Massachusetts Group Calls for End to State Tax

Aired August 05, 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 political game-playing at its worst. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is fighting to keep a ban on offshore drilling, but wait until you hear what she`s telling her colleagues behind the scenes.

Plus, operation waste of money. A new program to get illegal immigrants to voluntarily deport themselves. Think that will work? Yes. I didn`t think so.

And actor Jon Voight takes heat in Hollywood for criticizing Obama. How dare he? Does he know who he`s dealing with? I`ll tell what you he said and what the fallout has been in Tinseltown.

All this and more coming up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Hello, America.

You know, not a lot of TV show hosts will ever say that they were wrong, and I don`t want to bury it in the show. I`m going to lead with it.

Last night I told you something that, I mean, I think is completely insane, but I said last night I had to respect Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for remaining consistent on her energy stance. I disagreed with it, but at least she had the courage of her convictions to say, "I ain`t drilling." Well, I have to tell you, I was wrong and, boy, wow, was I wrong in a stunning fashion.

Today I got up, and I read what was happening behind the scenes. What a surprise: violated yet again. Tonight, here`s "The Point."

What you and I hate most about politicians is they don`t say what they mean. I can`t take it anymore. Their actions are not about the courage of their convictions, but it`s just about maintaining power. And here`s how I got there.

According to the folks over at The Politico, Pelosi has been holding the super-secret strategy sessions, and it`s all been about the energy policy and new drilling. Now she`s been out in the front, in the public saying, "No, we`re not going to do it." For months she`s been saying that. In private she`s been encouraging the rank-and-file Democrats to support offshore drilling if it will help them keep their seat. You`ve got to be kidding me. So she`s saying lie?

I just love it when these politicians talk about strategy and power, when it`s your family`s future that hangs in the balance. Maybe I`m naive, but I would like to think that there`s somebody in Washington who will still vote with their conscience and in the best interests of the people who put them in office. I know, crazy dreamer. Crazy Glenn again.

So tonight, America, here is what you need to know. The Democrats, they`re just banking that Barack Obama is going to win the White House and they`re going to widen their majorities in the House and the Senate. And if that happens they`re going to own Washington. Nobody is going to be able to stop them, and they will set whatever energy agenda they like, no matter what they`ve even told you.

So while you`re working hard all day, while you`re out there doing what`s right, you`re trying to keep your family running, your family together and put a few bucks in the bank, we have people in Washington playing games and strategizing with the future of our country.

This is real life. This is our -- I love this country. I am tired of feeling like I have to fight for it every day, and I think you are, too. Politicians, if you actually believe that drilling isn`t the solution to our energy crisis, God bless you. I think you`re wrong, but have the courage to say what you mean and mean what you say. Damn it, let the chips fall where they may.

To do anything else is a breach of trust with the American people, the American people who have lent you their power to represent their voice. That`s what leads to pitchforks. It is. I`m just saying.

All right. Enough of the puppet-master politicians. Can somebody point to me the real leader that realizes that this is America and not an episode of "The West Wing"? I know. Still a crazy dreamer.

Ramesh Ponnuru, he is a "TIME" columnist and senior editor for "The National Review."

This -- Ramesh, isn`t this exactly why people hate politicians on both sides?

RAMESH PONNURU, COLUMNIST, "TIME": That`s right, you know, and it`s good kudos to The Politico for taking the back-room strategy session and making it public. What`s going on here is the Democrats know they`ve got an unpopular position, so they`re going to try to have it both ways.

BECK: But we`re not even talking -- Ramesh, we`re not even talking -- here`s the woman who promised that we would have a full, open debate on everything. It`s going to be a reformed Congress, she said.

Right. That worked out. And it`s not even that we`re having a debate. She is telling the people behind the scenes, "If it will help you get elected to say you`re going to drill for oil, go ahead. I won`t hold it against you. We`re not going to drill for oil, but if you need to lie to your constituents, go for it."

PONNURU: Yes, that`s right. See if you can fool them through November. As you said, after November they`re hoping they`re going to control the government, and they`re never do any of this drilling stuff. They will do as little drilling as they can get away with doing.

BECK: So how do you -- how do these people expect to be able t rule? TI mean, this is what the Republicans did. You know, the Republicans said one thing and then did another. We`re for small government and then increased the government, you know, by an enormous amount.

Barack Obama is supposed to be a different kind of politician. These people said they were going to reform Congress, and they haven`t. They`ve got a 9 percent approval rating.

PONNURU: Yes.

BECK: They`re trying to be everything to everybody. When -- when the chips are down and they have to make these decisions, how are they going to rule? They will have disenfranchised almost everybody.

PONNURU: Yes, well, I mean, I think we`re seeing in practice over the last few weeks here what a Democratic government would look like, and it is one that would be as liberal as it could get away with being.

Look at Senator Obama. He`s against drilling, but he`s now inching towards maybe allowing some drilling because that`s where the public is and doesn`t want to be on the unpopular side of it. And you can bet that if he`s got the presidency and he`s got a Democratic Congress, he will do as - - the very minimum that he has to do in terms of expanding energy production.

BECK: You know, I`ll tell you the Democrats who -- and the Republicans, if they`re in the same situation ever, they would actually come forward and say, "You know what, this is what`s happening with Nancy Pelosi. She is saying this behind closed doors, and it`s wrong. You`re either for it or against it, and you should let the American people know which way it is."

Those Democrats, and I know there are good Democrats out there that would actually step to the plate and say -- and rat her out for this kind of stuff, would do a service to the long term of the party.

PONNURU: Well, you know, I think that the Democrats in these districts who are telling their people that they want to vote on drilling and they`re for drilling, they ought to publicly say and Speaker Pelosi, we don`t want any gains, we want an actual vote.

BECK: Ramesh, thank you very much. I appreciate your time. I appreciate your time, sir.

I`m looking at both of these energy plans, and I don`t know which one of them to even believe. I mean, one`s crazy and one`s almost crazy.

Kevin Kerr is the analyst and editor for "Resource Trader Alert."

Kevin, how do you -- I mean, how do you know which one of these is backed by a candidate that actually would do anything?

KEVIN KERR, ANALYST/EDITOR, "RESOURCE TRADER ALERT": Well, as you`ve shown, Glenn, we don`t know. You know, here we have Nancy Pelosi running around behind-the-scenes here telling people to go ahead and do whatever you need to do. Who knows? Who knows if Mr. McCain, Senator McCain, or Senator Obama, anything that they`re saying, isn`t just to get elected. I look at both these plans, and it changes weekly.

BECK: Well, here`s one. I mean, let`s just look at when they want to be off of foreign oil, which I don`t -- Jimmy Carter said we were going to do that. I don`t think any of these clowns believe that.

John McCain says 2025 we can be free of foreign oil. In the most disingenuous thing I think I`ve ever heard, no oil from the Middle East or Venezuela in ten years, says Barack Obama. How is that even possible? I`d love to hear the explanation on how that`s even possible.

KERR: You know, I don`t know how they`re going to get there, but I know how they`re not going to get there, and that`s if we don`t start drilling today. And with all the fighting that`s going on, we`re not even close to starting yet. So I know one thing for sure. If we don`t start drilling immediately, we`re not going to get there.

BECK: Is either of them talking about the nuclear power plants that we`ve got to build?

KERR: Well, McCain has been a little, you know, on the front, leading edge of that. I think he has talked about nuclear power. He is for it. I don`t know about Senator Obama. We haven`t heard any clear -- at least I have not heard any clear opinion of his on what maybe is an all- encompassing alternative energy approach. But I have not heard specific comments out of Senator Obama.

BECK: I think it`s criminal what these politicians are doing. I mean, it`s energy. We`re never going to be the country we need to be if we don`t have any energy. And what I see coming out of Obama is $1,000 bribe to families that they say they`re going to take it from the oil companies.

Please, do me a favor. Explain to me how you`re going to get production here in the United States, not Middle Eastern and not Venezuela, how you`re going to get these companies to explore more, develop more, develop more alter alternative sources while you`re penalizing them with an obscene tax on top and giving it away to people.

KERR: We are facing some of the highest heating oil costs in this country this fall, double the price it was last year, so, sure, you`re going to dangle this carrot in front of people. They`re going to say, "Great, terrific." That`s -- you know, the average person, they need this money.

But bottom line is, though, longer term this is going to ratchet up prices significantly. And this is really, to me, should enrage consumers. They should be like, "We don`t need this short-term fix. We need a long- term fix, some real answers not this carrot you`re dangling in front of us to fix a problem." It`s an emergency, drilling.

BECK: Kevin, I -- I`ve asked one of my researchers to put together a list of everything that oil has done. I mean, I don`t think people have a true understanding of what petroleum means. It means plastics and Styrofoam and, I mean, you name it -- plastic bags to take our kids to lunch, the cars, the sewing machines.

It has taken us from "Little House on the Prairie" to where we are today, and yet we`re playing Russian roulette with no replacement on the horizon, and we`re committing suicide, are we not?

KERR: We are and, you know, besides all those things that it actually creates, it transports everything we have. That means medical supplies, food to the supermarket. You know, the average fruit from the grove to the supermarket travels 1,500 miles before we eat it.

So we have to realize that everything we touch -- the lights, the cameras that are running this show right now -- everything runs on energy. We have got to get this right or we are in deep, deep trouble.

BECK: Thank you very much, Kevin. I appreciate it.

Now just because the politicians in Washington are full of crap doesn`t mean that you have to be. You`re going to be around some idiotic friends like, "Oh, you know what I really hate about Barack Obama or John McCain" and they`re going to go with some stupid thing is going to come out of their mouth.

Make sure you`re prepared with actual facts. Be the smart one in the room. All the way through November in our newsletter we`ve started a new free series. It`s "Arguments Against Idiots." Every day we`re going to give you the winning arguments to all the most annoying complaints about John McCain and Barack Obama. You`ll be covered on everything from taxes - - "Oh, the rich don`t pay their fair share" -- to drilling in ANWR. "Oh, it`s going to hurt the polar bear." Yes. Well, you can get it by signing up for my free e-mail newsletter. You can do it now at GlennBeck.com.

All right. Coming up we`re going to go to Massachusetts here for a second. They`re actually trying to eliminate the state income tax. What?

Plus, Oscar-winning actor and fellow conservative Jon Voight not really making any friends in Tinseltown these days. Is he facing a modern- day blacklisting? McCarthy is back. Tonight`s "Real Story."

And doesn`t President Bush look just like that man? OK, no, he doesn`t, but I`m going to show you some striking similarities between his administration and the new "Dark Knight" movie that I watched this weekend with my mouth open. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Do you remember right after September 11, the people in Hollywood, they were complaining. They said, "This is McCarthyism. We can`t even say anything at all about the president without McCarthyism happening to us." All because we wouldn`t buy a ticket to their movie, because we didn`t really want to hear their mouths yapping the whole time, giving us anti-terrorist kind of thoughts.

Well, now, even though nobody lost their jobs back then, now if you speak out against somebody who might be the next president, you may very well lose your actual job. Hollywood McCarthyism will blow your mind, coming up in "The Real Story" tonight.

First, let me -- let me put this in a way that Frankenstein and politicians can both understand. Low taxes good. High taxes bad. The people in Massachusetts just seem to get that, and I never thought I would say that, but they have figured it out in Massachusetts. I swear, it slipped through a worm hole earlier today.

Citizens have now gathered in Massachusetts 125,000 signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot that would eliminate the state income tax. It would repeal 5.3 income and wage tax. It would also cut the state capital-gains tax that can get as high as 12 percent.

So how do they plan on replacing the 12.5 billion dollars in lost tax? They don`t. This is a crazy notion. This is Massachusetts. They have this crazy notion that they can cut their government`s allowance, and the political geniuses will then have to think a little harder and a lot smarter before they go spending anybody`s money. Wait a minute, hang on. Oh, yes, Frankenstein. Remember, low spending good. Overspending bad.

Carla Howell is the president for the Center for Small Government and chair of the Committee for Small Government, a group behind the initiative. What the hell are you doing? It`s Massachusetts. I mean, this makes sense to me but not in Massachusetts. This doesn`t -- does this have a chance of succeeding?

CARLA HOWELL, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR SMALL GOVERNMENT: It makes a lot of sense to -- hi there.

BECK: Hi.

HOWELL: It made a lot of sense to 885,000 voters when we ran this ballot initiative to end the state income tax back in 2002. This year there could be a lot more who say they`re fed up, they`re going to the polls and voting yes on Question One in Massachusetts to end the state income tax.

BECK: OK. I mean, you should be canonized if you can pull this off in Massachusetts. But let me just -- let me just say this. You -- you`ve tried this before. It didn`t succeed. But since that time, people have been leaving the state -- it`s like New Jersey. People are leaving the state in droves. Who`s left there? All the people who are like, "Oh, the income tax is insane here." Who`s left? It`s like you and the Kennedys.

HOWELL: We lost some good people. That`s for sure. But really there are still quite a few people here. There`s 3 million, 400 thousand workers and taxpayers in Massachusetts who stand to benefit tremendously if we end the income tax. They`ll each get back an average of $3,700 every year when we end the income tax.

BECK: OK. So how are you seriously going to sell this to one of the most socialist states in the union? I mean, you know, next to California. You just put in universal health care, that Romney-care, which is just a nightmare mess now. How are you going to convince people to take less from the government and give less to the government?

HOWELL: Most people don`t need to be sold. It`s a matter of just letting people know that it`s on the ballot, to make sure they go to the polls and vote. I have absolutely no doubt that a majority of people, even in Massachusetts, will -- are in favor of this. There`s no question in my mind about that. It`s a question of whether they`re going to go to the polls and vote on November 4. I hope they do.

BECK: So what is the -- what is the opposition like for this? I mean, seriously, in Massachusetts you`ve got to be a pariah in the power centers. You know what I mean? You`re in the state with the Kennedys.

HOWELL: Well, the opposition is going to be substantial. They`re going to spend millions of dollars trying to defeat our initiative. But the good news is that, first of all, most people want to end the income tax. You don`t even have to sell them on it. But also there`s been a lot of publicity in Massachusetts about government waste. Unbelievable story after story of government waste.

BECK: Give me some -- give me some of the waste.

HOWELL: And people are fed up.

Well, the Big Dig they said was going to cost $2.3 billion. It ended up being ten times the amount. It`s now over $22 billion.

The government employee pensions are absolutely out of hand -- out of control. A lot of people in the private sector aren`t even getting pensions anymore except for what piddling annuities they can expect, maybe, from Social Security some day, whereas the government employee pensions are guaranteed. They`re retiring in their 40s and 50s. Some of them are double dipping, getting a pension and then working for another government agency and collecting two salaries.

BECK: Oh, my gosh.

HOWELL: And people are disgusted with this. They just signed off another $3 billion in spending for more government employee pensions. That`s just one example. There`s been a long list of them, and people are getting fed up. And they should.

BECK: Carla, I have to tell you, I think while our government is still ready to go off the deep end with bigger government, socialized programs, everything else, I have a sense that more and more states are starting to say, "You know what? I don`t think so."

I think the cure, as it always does, the cure is going to come from the local and state as the people just try to fix their own state and say, "This is insane. I`ve seen this enough." And then the government`s in real trouble if they don`t follow what`s happening in these states.

Best of luck to you, Carla. We`ll follow up.

Coming up, they`ve finally done it. The government has finally stepped in and solved illegal immigration. Yes. Wait until you hear what our government is spending money on. You -- I mean, there`s no way you would ever believe this, but it`s on a news program, kind of, so I`ll show it to you.

Plus, you`ve heard the comparisons between the "Dark Knight" and the Bush administration. No? Haven`t? I`ll explain in tonight`s "Real Story." It`s coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: I swear to you I don`t think Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert could write stuff that would make the federal government look more stupid than it really is.

There`s a -- there`s a new test program with a super official sounding name, Operation Schedule Departure. Ooh, that sounds impressive. Beginning today non-criminal illegal immigrants now have the opportunity to self-deport. Yes, government`s actually spending your money on this trial program.

This is for the people who sneak in this country, by the hundreds of thousand thousands. They cram themselves into a one-bedroom apartment. They work 12 hours a day, six, seven days a week for below minimum wage, absolutely no benefits, and now we`re asking them to deport themselves.

I`ve got an idea. Why don`t we try this with murders and pedophiles, as well? Just have them self-imprison themselves. What is wrong with our government?

Michael Cutler is here. He might have a few ideas. Senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a former special agent for the INS.

This started today, Michael.

MICHAEL CUTLER, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: Right.

BECK: Tell me -- I know we don`t have any pictures of this. but you have to tell me: what is the line like today of all the people that are turning themselves in?

CUTLER: They`ve always given illegal aliens an opportunity, at least the first time they`re arrested, to leave the United States voluntarily and so forth, so I don`t think that`s necessarily a bad idea. I just wonder how many takers they`re going to have.

BECK: Yes. Well, they`re doing this in test cities, too. It`s not just a test program. They also have this in test cities. Do we know what cities because maybe -- maybe the people just don`t know the address?

CUTLER: Well, they`re going to be doing -- my understanding is they`re going to do an advertisement campaign all over the country to get the illegals to understand that if they go home this way it doesn`t count as a deportation so that, if they do at some point want to come back, they haven`t been previously deported. They simply left voluntarily, which is a different situation.

But, again, we keep coming back to one basic problem, Glenn, and the problem is that we don`t have the resources to really enforce the immigration laws within the interior of the United States. And you know, I`ve done congressional hearings on this.

They gave the president enough money to hire a couple thousand Border Patrol agents a few years ago. He cut it to 200. They gave him enough money to hire 800 new special agents for ICE. He cut it to 143.

BECK: Wow. You wouldn`t want to -- you know, you`ve got things to spend, like you want to be able to take those advertisements out to ask people to self-deport. They`re also spending money and actually asking these immigrant amnesty groups to help out. How`s that working out? Are they behind this to help?

CUTLER: Well, I`d be curious to see what happens. Look, I`m...

BECK: You know what`s going to happen as well as I do. Nothing.

CUTLER: The likelihood is that it won`t work. Look -- but I`ve got to tell you, at least they`re trying to do something, because up until now they`ve been trying to do nothing.

BECK: You know what? Everybody is saying, "Oh, the scientists settled our global warming." No, it`s not, but on this it is. I haven`t done just one bit of research on it. The science is settled. This is a waste of money and it ain`t going to work.

CUTLER: Well, you know what? Maybe the one solution to this, though, to make it work is to say, "Look, if you are willing to go home voluntarily, instead of having to wait ten years in order to legally re- enter, we`ll cut it to five years." You know, do something.

But we`ve got to whittle down those numbers. We have millions of illegals in our country.

BECK: That`s what we need to do. We need...

CUTLER: We have to do something.

BECK: We need to put the people who are hiring these people in jail.

CUTLER: Absolutely.

BECK: And then tell everybody, "Get the hell out."

Don`t forget: exclusive jailhouse interview with wrongfully imprisoned border guards Ramos and Compean can only be found in my "Fusion" magazine. You can order right now by calling 888-GLENN-BECK or go to GlennBeck.com.

"Real Story" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Welcome to "The Real Story."

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the career of academy- award actor, Jon Voight, died suddenly this morning. I know, it`s very sad. Lab results are not available yet but most experts believe that his career`s death was caused by a column he wrote last week in which he argued that Barack Obama and the Democrats are using Marxist propaganda to usher in a new socialist era.

Just a note here, I believe that`s the first time I ever agreed with anyone in Hollywood. But I digress.

Voight`s career quickly went on the life support but ended soon after when later in the column he called General Wesley Clark a, quote, "lying fool." Side note, I believe that`s the second time I`ve ever agreed with someone in Hollywood. God speed Jon Voight`s career, you will be missed. Again, Jon Voight`s career dead at 63.

Unfortunately, "The Real Story" is not that a famous award-winning Hollywood actor is actually a conservative although it does kind of feel good, doesn`t it? The real story is that the rest of the Hollywood crowd can`t stand it. The reaction to Voight`s column was swift and merciless.

Jeffrey wells, who has been a Hollywood writer since the 1980s, I love his work, he publicly said what most of Hollywood is probably talking about, you know, while they snort cocaine and sleep with each other`s wives, he said, quote, "if I were a producer and I had to make a casting decision about hiring Voight or some other old actor who hadn`t pissed me off, I might very well say to myself, `Voight? Let him eat cake.`"

Who even says that? I mean, "Eat cake." You`re a professional writer, man. Can you at least bring your snide remarks into the 20th or 21st century? Others in Hollywood like the editor-in-chief of "Variety" Peter Bart didn`t even bother with the implied McCarthyism. They just went straight to, you know, personally insulting Voight`s intellectual equipment, is the exact quote, or making fun of his relationship with his daughter.

Hey, that`s cool, huh? The insults are really just a distraction, though, from what this story is really all about and that is political censorship.

Here is the line from the entertainment writer Jeffrey Wells. Quote, "You`d think that an arch conservative working in an overwhelmingly liberal town would think about restraining himself for expediency`s sake, if nothing else." Well, America, there it is; spelled out in black and white by a Hollywood progressive, open-minded insider.

If you`re not a liberal, why would you dare offer an opinion? Well, gee, I don`t know, Jeff. Maybe it`s because you and your progressive friends haven`t ripped the freedom of the speech clause completely out of the Bill of Rights yet.

Maybe because in America you shouldn`t have to worry about losing your job every time you speak out politically. Not on the job and maybe because the only people who should decide whether an actor is successful or not are the ones paying for the actual movie tickets.

Call me crazy. I know you can shut me down at any time.

Andrew Breitbart is the co-author of "Hollywood Interrupted," editor of "The Drudge Report" and publisher of breitbart.com and one smart, smart man, but you`d never speak out in Hollywood against Hollywood or against liberal ideas, would you, Andrew? That`s crazy.

ANDREW BREITBART, CO-AUTHOR "HOLLYWOOD INTERRUPTED": It`s a newfound thing. I think you`re going to see a lot more of that in the coming election cycle.

I think that John McCain for all of his faults as a candidate provides Hollywood conservatives even conservatives who are far more conservative than John McCain, a cover that they otherwise would never have had before. And I also think that the Hollywood left has pushed too far, acted like bullies, treated people like Jeffrey Wells and Peter Bart.

People don`t understand how important Bart is in this industry. He`s the editor in chief of "Variety." It`s the daily bible. I`ve told celebrities who are conservative to beware when they come out as conservatives.

Jon Voight just is a courageous man. He`ll continue to be in movies. He`s in Jerry Bruckheimer movies. Jerry Bruckheimer is an open Republican, so he`ll survive.

Most conservatives in Hollywood have couched their conservatism and I support the troops or going over to Iraq to support the troops. This is the most bold statement I`ve ever seen of a Hollywood conservative, but they do exist and I believe that Jon Voight is a hero to many conservatives who now realize he`s standing tall, that there are people out there to defend him when the likes of Peter Bart and Jeffrey Wells try to act like the school bullies and to try to take him out.

He`s still standing. He stands strong. He stands behind what he said and Peter Bart looks shameful today for what he said this weekend.

BECK: Yes. I have to tell you I like Jon Voight. I think he is a courageous man. However, he`s got an Oscar sitting in front of his mom`s door where a lot of people don`t that are much lower on the food chain that are probably thinking the same thing.

This just to me goes to show that this whole bull crap about oh, speaking out at George Bush, why don`t we just have the McCarthy hearings. That was a total red herring when this is a red scare. This is, except in this case it`s the reds doing it trying to come in and silence any kind of dissent.

It is shameful especially coming from these open-minded people who have always been telling us that, oh, you`ve got to let people just dream and be free. This is an arts community. It`s been bull crap from the beginning, hasn`t it?

BREITBART: They`ve been -- their best argument is that there isn`t a black list. It`s technically not a black list. There`s no red channels newsletter outing communists or outing conservatives in this case, but it does exist.

Sharon Lawrence, back in 2000 had a picture of herself, and she`s a liberal Democrat, next to George Bush in "People" magazine. She said just the proximity of that photo next to George Bush before the Iraq war, before anything -- before 9/11 -- caused her to have producers and directors say, are you a Republican, because I would feel uncomfortable working with you?

So yes, if you are below Jon Voight, do not come out of the closet. But I think that over the next year or so Jon Voight and people who are like him are going to start stepping up and standing up against these goons, and I think that you`re going to see a change in Hollywood especially when America finds out that it`s that bad out here.

BECK: Ok. Andrew thanks a lot.

I don`t know if you`ve seen the movie "Batman" yet. I just saw it this weekend and I can`t wait. Seriously, I was confused. I couldn`t find the anti-conservative message. I looked and I looked and there`s no Bush bashing here or oh, the terrorists are just misunderstood. None of that, I couldn`t find it.

I sat there -- I really did this -- I sat in the chair and I`m like, maybe they`re using reverse psychology on me. They`re trying to check me. Still, I couldn`t find the typical liberal indoctrination anywhere and beyond that it was a conservative message. It blew me away.

Andrew Klavan, author of the great new thriller "Empire of Lies." He`s writer of a popular "Wall Street Journal" op-ed that made this point.

And Andrew, I had you on before I saw "Batman." I saw it this weekend. When you first saw it were you confused?

ANDREW KLAVAN, AUTHOR, "EMPIRE OF LIES": I was startled. I was startled but I wasn`t confused at all. It seemed to me the message was very clear.

BECK: No, no. That`s all right. But weren`t you, wait a minute, this has to be a trick. There`s got to be another shoe that falls here.

KLAVAN: Well the only thing is, is that Hollywood continually when they do come out with a conservative message when they show good versus evil, when they show that we in the west are the good guys, they do it in a mask.

They wear a Batman mask or they do it as the trolls in "Lord of the Rings" or "Spider-Man 3" had a conservative message, too. It`s only when they speak about reality that suddenly that`s when the left comes forward.

BECK: But there`s no way to -- there had to be people sitting in this -- in a conference room when they were going over this and go, wait a minute, you can`t do this.

They tackled rendition, and Batman did it. They tackled eavesdropping. And Batman did it. And you see these things, they`re like, wait a minute. There had to be somebody to say we can`t make this movie.

KLAVAN: It`s pretty surprising because if you look at "Iron Man" he starts out fighting the Islamofascists but then suddenly there`s a whole other plot in which western businessmen are just as guilty in this moral equivalent.

Batman never does that. The one place where it does chicken out a little bit is the Joker is a needless villain. He has no -- he just wants to see the city burn. He doesn`t have the kind of religious motivation that makes Hollywood so uncomfortable standing up to the Islamofascists because they don`t want to seem like they`re not multi-cultural or that they`re intolerant somehow.

BECK: You know, I have to tell you, first of all, go see this movie because you don`t even have to pay attention to any of this stuff and you`ll love it. It`s one of the best superhero movies I have ever seen because it wasn`t over the top, I didn`t think.

But it also is a smart movie. You really think all the way through this. This is the biggest victory for conservatives and people who want a change in Hollywood that I can imagine.

Here`s one of the biggest grossing films now of all time; only going to probably be rivaled by "Titanic." It has good versus evil. It is absolutely unashamed in, hey, you have to do what you have to do.

I couldn`t believe it. Congratulations, Hollywood.

KLAVAN: It was amazing that it`s great.

BECK: Yes. I guess kind of feel like I`m a little warm inside. Thank you, Andrew. Either that or I just wet myself. I`m not sure.

That`s "The Real Story" tonight.

Coming up a small consortium of business leaders think the war on terror is failing so they approach the president about funding a private war. That is the plot of "The Assassin," it`s the latest thriller by best selling author Stephen Coonts. He stops by to tell you all about it. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. We were just talking about Batman and Hollywood here a second ago.

Let me take you to the world of fiction. I`ve been reading a book all summer. We`ve been telling you about some of the best books to read while you`re on the beach or relaxing around the pool.

This one, the plot really centers around the one question: if your son was killed in Iraq and you had the means and the resources to do something about it, would you go out and take the dirtbags out yourself? At what point is it good and at what point is it bad to become a vigilante?

The name of the book is "The Assassin." Its author is Stephen Coonts.

Steve, welcome to the program. Glad you`re here.

STEPHEN COONTS, AUTHOR, "THE ASSASSIN": Glad to be here, Glenn.

BECK: By the way Steve brought in a pitchfork to shovel -- what was it -- I`m not sure what is to shovel but thank you very much.

And the book I`ve been reading, it`s -- I know we talked earlier today, it is Batman in the same way that the characters in the book are frustrated by being bogged down by all the meaningless rules that stopped you from doing what needs to be done.

COONTS: Right. And I think that`s one of the great themes of fiction, you know, is that we could somehow be a hero and help solve some of the problems we see in our society and without having to obey all the rules.

BECK: Do you think -- first of all, do you think -- because the book starts out with a guy whose son has been killed in Iraq. He goes to the White House, he asks the president to come to his hotel room across the street from the White House and he says I really want to have an off-the- record conversation with you. Give me a name because I want to start an army and get these guys.

Do you think it`s possible that something like that is happening? Are there people like that?

COONTS: Well, you know, Ross Perot`s name immediately comes to mind, you know, as a person with the means and the will to actually do what he thought had to be done. And he rescued his people -- his employees out of Iran whenever they were -- the great embassy crisis way back when.

And so, yes, I think it could happen and I think there are people that are probably helping our government and don`t want their participation in that help to be public knowledge.

BECK: We were just talking a minute ago there`s this big, huge Hollywood blacklist thing going on now with Jon Voight and what he talked about and there is an unwillingness in America to call bad guys, bad guys.

COONTS: Indeed. Everybody wants to be politically correct. They don`t want to label the janitor, he becomes a custodian a building maintenance engineer.

BECK: When did that happen to us? Because Clancy used to be able to write about the evil Soviet empire and the evil Nazis and now we`re still going back to the evil Nazis.

When did that happen when we -- is it -- is it just the war on terror? Is it just radicalized Islam?

COONTS: I think whenever we, as a people, decide that all cultures have equal value and equal weight then we begin to worry about insulting somebody when the truth of the matter all cultures don`t have equal weight.

Western civilization was built by the Judo-Christian ethic, you know, work and then the secular society we live in today that allows live and let live and so we see the Islamic fundamentalists who don`t believe in that.

BECK: I`m trying to recall what you called the Islamic fundamentalists, the radicals, you called them --

COONTS: Well, Islamic Nazis and that`s certainly been used before by people who are not politically correct.

BECK: And I think on the radio today you called them the something of civilization, the scourge of civilization or something. You don`t hear it very often.

COONTS: I think they are. They`re enemies. They`re enemies of the western civilization that we hold so dear that allow people to find their own way through life.

BECK: Right.

COONTS: And the real question is, are we going to let these people dictate the shape of civilization of the future or are we going to fight back?

BECK: I have to tell, you`re going to read this book and you`re absolutely going to love it because you will see the question of, do I stand around and be a part of the solution or am I part of the problem and the way it`s solved in "The Assassin" by Stephen Coonts.

Thanks, Steve.

COONTS: Thank you.

BECK: Appreciate it.

Time now for "The Real America" brought to you by CSX.

Summer in New York is hot and quite frankly, I mean, I smell dead people. It gets a little -- so summer camp for kids is probably, you know, an escape that the kids here in New York need but the kids at Camp Homeward Bound, it is something different entirely. It`s so much more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: In the woods of Bear Mountain sits a rustic summer camp, a lake, some tents and a makeshift kitchen. It`s just an hour outside of New York City but a whole new world for the kids who come here. Jomar Cerda is one of them.

JOMAR CERDA, CAMPER: I`m honored to be a lifeguard, which is amazing. I love the water. And the good thing is all the kids are from different countries so they come here from Australia and the cultures which I really love because I want to travel when I grow up.

BECK: A far cry from Jomar`s neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. This summer has been Jomar`s best yet and the camp has become his home away from home. But what if there`s no home to go back to?

CERDA: Before I used to live in a shelter for about, I believe, three months, and then I moved which sucked. I hated the shelter but then I moved which is okay and then I came to this camp which I love.

BECK: Jomar is just one of 100 campers at Camp Homeward Bound. Only an hour and a half from home but a complete escape from everything he knows.

BEVERLY MCENTARFER, DIRECTOR, CAMP HOMEWARD BOUND: Our kids are either currently in shelters, formerly in shelters or their families are struggling in the city to get by.

BECK: At one time or another all of these campers were homeless. Camp is free of charge and the kids sleep outside in tents. They get a chance to show off their skills at the camp talent show but more importantly they get a chance to just be kids.

CERDA: My neighborhood, you can`t necessarily just go to the basketball court and shoot hoops because it`s just not going to be the way you expect because arguments break out, fights break out over the silliest things. But here you can just be yourself and not have to worry

BECK: This is Jomar`s final summer as a camper at Homeward Bound. He`s 15 and he hopes to one day return as a counselor helping other kids who are going through what he went through.

Camp only runs a few weeks a summer. Soon these kids will all return home, some back to shelters. But for right now, the only thing on the campers` mind is tonight`s talent show. And that`s just fine with Jomar and his friends.

MCENTARFER: There`s no gunshot. There`s people around. There`s three meals a day; better food than they get at school. There`s -- it`s a caring feeling that it doesn`t take long for them to realize that this is - - this is a good place to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: This camp is paid for by donations to the Coalition of the Homeless. If you want to help check out coalitionforthehomeless.org.

That`s tonight`s "Real America" sponsored by CSX; it is how tomorrow moves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, you probably heard the catch phrase, "news you can use." A lot of times news isn`t really all that usable, you know. But today I find it different. Scanning the news, I`ve solved a lot of the problems in my own life.

For example, a guy in Florida, great thinker by the name of Reginald Peterson. He claimed to have the same experience that I`ve had, I bet you`ve had a million times. You go into a fast food restaurant, get in the car, half a mile away and you go, oh, crap. They screw up your order.

Reginald went into a subway in Jacksonville and ordered an Italian sub. I don`t know if you know this, but an Italian sub includes generous slices of pepperoni, salami and cheese with your choice of fresh veggies and sauces. However, when Reginald Peterson opened up his sandwich, it apparently did have the generous slices of pepperoni, salami and cheese with his choice of fresh veggies but without his choice of sauces.

Now, what would the typical American do? A lot of people would just eat it anyway, you no, just keep going. Some would bring it back and say, hey, can you remake this? Or there are those few who would angrily bang their skull against the concrete until they pass out.

But Reginald had a better idea. He decided he should call 911. And when the police didn`t come fast enough to the subway, he called them again. Well, somehow, for some reason in today`s America, it`s against the law to call 911 over a subway sandwich emergency, so Reginald was arrested. But unless there`s proof that his choice of sausage made it on that sandwich, I say free Reginald Peterson.

By the way, quick ADD moment. The country is clearly prepared for Barack Obama`s presidency because, you know, when we have a sandwich problem, we call the emergency hot lines for our government, have them come in and help.

Also another major problem that I`ve been having at my house is I`m trying to build a fence at my house. Apparently owning the property just isn`t enough anymore. You have to bring in -- and I`m not kidding you -- an architect, an engineer, an environmental attorney, wetlands expert and, I believe, the Pope.

Well, a man in Utah had fence problems of his own. He wanted to build one after some of the disagreements with his new neighbors. He said, I`ll pay for half but his neighbor said, no, no, no, I don`t want you to wreck my view. So he built a new kind of fence. And here it is.

Hey, neighbors, don`t be surprised if you drive by my house next week and you see a couple of Toyota Corollas buried face down in my front yard. Maybe you can bury cars on the border, too.

Get our update on fusion magazine of Compean and Ramos; it`s in next month`s issue.

From New York, good night, America.

END