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Glenn Beck

Both Parties Need Change; Rick Santorum: A Modern Churchill?

Aired October 30, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

GLENN BECK, HOST: You know, I`ve been saying for a while this is World War III, and where is our Winston Churchill? I believe I have found him. We`ll share him with you in just a second.
Also, Charles Barkley, cutting through the B.S., next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode is brought to you by new political candidate Halloween masks. While you`re trick-or-treating, tell people what they want to hear and take their candy. For a truly scary costume, buy political candidate Halloween masks, available in Democrat or Republican, but you can`t tell them apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. On tonight`s program, we`re going to expose the media spin on politics in "The Real Story". The war and the Republicans versus the Democrats. We`re also going to have a frank conversation with a politician I believe is the bravest among us.

But first, tonight`s point. Everybody is saying that this election is a referendum on George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. Maybe, maybe not. While the Democrats and Republicans are battling it out over that, there are two other, larger battles going on right now. They`re the battles for each of the souls of each party. I predict there is going to be a seismic change in both the Democratic and Republican parties. It`s going to happen in the next few years, and here`s how I got there.

First, let`s look at the Republicans. A recent poll I saw today from the Pew Research Center stated that conservative Christians` support for Republicans has dropped from 74 percent to 54 percent in the last two years. James Dobson from Focus on the Family said that Republicans have made no progress on issues important to Christians. I don`t know if that`s entirely true. He said whether Republicans deserve the power they were given, the alternatives are downright frightening.

The battle going on right now in the Republican Party is this. Is it still the party of family values, of fiscal responsibility, or is it not? I don`t think they know themselves any more. And that`s why their support is weakening. They don`t know.

The bad news for Republicans is that, unlike the African-American community, which gets taken for granted by the Democrats over and over and over again, yet they still support them, conservative Christians I don`t think going to let themselves be ignored by Republicans. They`ll find something else. Christians will abandon them if this continues, and that will leave the party in disarray.

Now, there is even a bigger battle going on within the Democratic Party, and it has been raging since Michael Moore sat next to Jimmy Carter at the `04 convention for the Democratic Party. Is this the party of my grandparents? Is this the party of Franklin Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy? Or is it the party of Michael Moore and Howard Dean? Right now, even though they`re trying to kick a lot of dirt on it, I think the latter has control.

But I know a lot of Democrats who are saying, "Wait a minute. Hang on a sec. I don`t have anything in common with Cindy Sheehan. She doesn`t represent me. I don`t even like her." For those Democrats, you know, there might be a glimmer of hope for you.

A story in today`s "New York Times" details how some Democrats are pushing to be more moderate and less, you know, whacked out of their minds. The article says that, in certain districts, Democrats have turned to a more conservative candidate, like former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler. He`s pro-life. He comes from an evangelical Christian background, and is in the mold of a JFK Democrat.

The question is, is this an aberration, or is it a trend? If the Democrats can purge themselves of the Nancy Pelosis of the world, the Cindy Sheehans, they`ll be stronger and more powerful for it. They will be much more in touch with their heritage, one that stands for family, for God, for the working man and for America.

However, I think -- and remember, I`m a conservative -- I think they`re about a million miles away from that right now. Why else would someone like Joe Lieberman be forced out of the party and run as an independent?

So tonight, here`s what I know. Our political parties on both sides no longer reflect us. We are -- we`re not people who live and breathe politics. You know, I could care less about the beltway. We live and breathe family and life. We -- we just care about having a decent job, coming home at the end of the day, hanging out with our kids. We are not people of destruction. In fact, Americans are just the opposite.

But that`s what our politicians have become. They have lost touch with who they are; more importantly, with who we are. And they are only interested in destroying each other for power.

I also know that both parties need to change soon or else. The Republicans better find their soul and their roots, and Ronald Reagan or Barry Goldwater conservativism -- conservativism, or they will lose any advantage -- that was easy for me to say -- any advantage they have gained over the years. The Democrats will either shed their label as the party of Hollywood elitists and people who stand next to Hugo Chavez in Venezuela for a photo op -- hello, Cindy Sheehan -- or they will destroy themselves, as well.

Here`s what I don`t know. Which faction has the advantage in both parties? My guess is the extreme liberals have control of the Democrats, and the greedy, corrupt spenders have control of the Republicans. But what do I know? I`m a guy who can`t say conservativism.

Mark Halperin is the political director of ABC News and the co-author of "The Way to Win".

Mark, besides the pronunciation, do I have it right?

MARK HALPERIN, CO-AUTHOR, "THE WAY TO WIN": Well, Glenn, you`re going to turn me into a political scientist today, unfortunately. And I know you don`t want me to get all wonky.

But look, I think you have it partially right. In -- for "The Way to Win", John Harris and I interviewed Bill Clinton and Karl Rove. They agree with you. The parties are becoming dinosaurs. They maybe already are dinosaurs. But there`s a lot in the American system that keeps the Republicans and the Democrats going. I think those parties are going to be hard to dislodge.

BECK: Yes but -- but wait a minute. Hang on just a second. You know what keeps our parties together? Hatred. Hatred of the other party. That, at some point, is either going to destroy us or it has to destroy the parties.

HALPERIN: That`s part of it, but you`ve got a lot of laws. You`ve got -- look, in most other democracies you`ve got greens, you`ve got right- wing parties, left-wing parties. This country has two main parties. Every member of Congress but a handful are members of those parties. Every governor, except one or two, are members of those parties. A lot of state laws and national laws that reinforce it.

I think that whichever party goes back to being able to capture not just the extreme but the center is going to be the party that dominates. You may find a Cindy Sheehan, but is your party -- is the Republican Party, the part of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

BECK: OK. First of all, I`ve got to tell you, Mark.

HALPERIN: Are you not a Republican?

BECK: I`m not. I`m a conservative.

HALPERIN: You`re a conservative.

BECK: But you say that like you`re dismissing it. There`s a huge difference.

HALPERIN: In this country you`re a conservative and you want to be a player in politics, in your neighborhood at the national level, you`ve got to be a Republican. And in the Republican Party, you`ve got Pat Robertson and you`ve got Senator Sheehy (ph), who didn`t even vote for George Bush in the last election. That`s a big tent. So are the Democrats.

BECK: OK. Here is the -- here is the problem. The tent is so big that it`s involving people who are -- yes, it is totally meaningless. And here`s the problem. If you are a Democrat or Republican, you vote for them and then you don`t really know who you`re getting. You don`t know -- am I getting Jerry Falwell? Am I getting Cindy Sheehan? I am in the middle. People are not these extremes.

HALPERIN: When George Bush and Bill Clinton, the two people we write most about in "The Way to Win", when they were at their best politically, they were uniting their party. Economic and social, those are the two ways. The Democrats tend to be liberal socially. They -- when they succeed they`re centrist on economics.

Republicans tend to be conservative on both. That`s been a strength in a conservative country. But part of the reason the Republicans are having trouble right now is George Bush has lost all his ability to unite the party.

You`re right about the Democrats. Even if they win this election, they have not answered the question. Are they a left-wing party or a centrist party?

BECK: How are they...

HALPERIN: That`s put them in trouble.

BECK: How are they possibly going to be able to rule, when you kick somebody like Joe Lieberman out? First of all, do you think Joe Lieberman`s going to come back?

HALPERIN: He`s going to win, but he`s not going to be kicked out. He`s going to be in the party.

BECK: No -- that is -- I`m a friend of Joe Lieberman. I respect Senator Lieberman. I think that`s a nightmare. Unless he comes back and says, "You know what, guys?" You -- he told me he is -- he feels free now that he has the party off his shoulder, off his back. If he doesn`t come back and at least get a lot of power and say, "You know, we`re going to play ball my way", he`s -- he`s not as smart as I think he is.

HALPERIN: Joe Lieberman, unplugged and unleashed is what you`re predicting. But I`ll tell you something about Joe Lieberman. He`s a liberal. He`s centrist on some foreign policy issues and on a few other issues, but mostly, he`s as liberal as Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy. So I don`t know that he`s going to move to...

BECK: He`s not as liberal as Michael Moore.

HALPERIN: No. Right.

BECK: You know what I mean? Hillary Clinton scares me but not nearly as much as Michael Moore and Alec Baldwin and the nut jobs in Hollywood.

HALPERIN: If you`re comfortable with most members of the Republican Party in Congress, then I would say you`re less comfortable with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, also members of the conservative movement and the Republican Party.

Both parties have this problem. But we say in "The Way to Win" is the way to win in politics in America is to keep your base happy but to be in the center and to capture the center economically, socially and politically. That`s what will win in 2006. It is certainly what will win in 2008.

BECK: Who is -- who is more on the edge of having the whole thing fall apart on them?

HALPERIN: I think the Republicans are more -- if George Bush can win this midterm, they`re in stable. They`ve proven they can do it. Democrats have never proven they can do it in the modern era without Bill Clinton. And their extreme left and their center don`t see eye-to-eye. They`re faking it to get through the midterms.

BECK: You ain`t kidding. Mark, thank you very much.

HALPERIN: All right, man.

BECK: Coming up, we kick off our weeklong election series called "Vote American". Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania joins me, and I`ve got to tell you, he makes an awful lot of sense to me.

Also, "The Real Story" on Nancy Pelosi. God help me; she could be the next speaker of the House. So why is her radical record being glossed over?

And NB all -- NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, he`s not going to talk to me about basketball, because I can`t even keep up with him. But he may run for office, believe it or not. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: In a few minutes, we`re going to do a segment on Nancy Pelosi, the woman who is probably going to become the speaker of the House, if the Democrats win a majority in the elections next week. But the interesting thing about her isn`t that she is a woman; it`s that she`s a politician and a pretty partisan one, at that. In fact, her motto is to always vote the party line, no matter what. Something I personally couldn`t disagree more with.

This week, our series called "Vote American" begins. It`s a daily segment, dedicated to talking about the people and the issues but not the parties. I am honored to kick it off with a guy who, like me, has decided that our national security, in fact our entire way of life, is in jeopardy, if we don`t wake up soon.

Senator Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania may just be the Winston Churchill of our day, a guy who is willing to stand up for what he believes, because he knows it`s just too darn important to ignore. The only question is whether voters will stand up with him.

Welcome, Senator Santorum. How are you?

SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: I`m doing great, Glenn. Thanks for having me on.

BECK: You bet. We have talked several times on the radio show. I think I`ve spent more time with you as a politician than any politician in a long time. You and Joe Lieberman are the stars, in my eyes, because you both -- you both have recognized that we are just -- our back is up against the wall. And there is a massive storm coming our way.

For people who maybe have listened to me but are, like, "OK, the little clown on TV keeps saying it. Could you please say it with some credibility? What are we facing?"

SANTORUM: Well, we`re facing a threat that is -- that is broadening, and as you mentioned, the gathering storm, I gave a speech last week, a series of speeches called the "Gathering Storm of the 21st Century", playing off of Churchill`s volumes on the war, leading up to the war that the English speaking people who unwisely and carelessly allowed evil to grow stronger until evil felt they could defeat us.

And that`s where we are today. We have evil growing in power and strength around the world, and we are not aggressively going after or as aggressively as we should

BECK: All right.

SANTORUM: Yes, we are going after...

BECK: Let us take this one by one. Iran, how big of a threat is -- how big is Iran as a threat?

SANTORUM: You know, it`s interesting. People ask me about Iraq. My answer is Iran, because the problem, as you`re seeing now, in Iraq is the fact that Iran is funding the Badr brigade and the Mehdi brigade and all of the radical Shiites.

You`re now seeing that the rest of the Islamic world recognizing how Iran, with now the announcement that they have a second centrifuge to develop a nuclear weapon is gaining in strength and gaining in power, gaining influence over Iraq. And it is determined to develop -- develop weapons so they can dominate the region, control oil throughout the rest of the world, and use that as a weapon, in addition to their nuclear weapons, to get people -- I hate to say it -- but to submit or die so the radical brand of fascism, of Islamic fascism that they practice in that country.

BECK: Did you see yesterday in the "New York Times", or maybe it was Saturday. The "New York Times" magazine on Islam and the bomb? Did you get a chance to read that?

SANTORUM: I read a little bit. I haven`t read the whole thing yet.

BECK: You read the -- look, it`s -- I read that, and I could have written that. You could have written it. I was surprised that the "New York Times" wrote it.

SANTORUM: Absolutely, and it shows that the Sunni world is beginning to recognize, hey wait a minute. Maybe we -- you know, Saudi Arabia and Egypt and others. Because you know, these Shiites, I mean, they`re on a -- they`re on a vision to unite Islam under Shia rule. And they believe it`s their time to do it.

And of course, if you`re a Sunni thinking wait a minute. If they`re going to do this, we better do this. And we`re going to lead to an arms race in the Middle East. You`ve got North Korea, which is topic No. 2 that I know you want to bring out. You have North Korea that now says they have a nuclear weapon. They set off an explosion. They are the No. 1 proliferator of weapons throughout the world. They are working with a guy named A.Q. Khan who is working with Iran and developing new nuclear programs.

You heard -- this is suspect No. 3, Venezuela. Venezuela, under the leadership of Hugo Chavez, the man who called the president of the United States at the U.N. a devil, to the applause of a hundred or so countries, all of whom are dictators and want to see the United States and democracy fail so they can go on and live the lives they want to, and their despot countries.

But Chavez has announced that he wants to go to North Korea and -- and work on a deal, potentially, for oil for other weapons, including nuclear weapons, and there`s no one buying more weapons around the world from foreign sources than Venezuela.

Venezuela`s developed 100 -- a million person army. Venezuela is investing $30 billion in 20 military installations, not in Venezuela or Cuba but in Bolivia, in the heart of South America. He`s building those military camps on the border of Bolivia, which border Peru and Brazil and Argentina and Chile and Paraguay. Why? Because he wants to use oil as a weapon, which he has, and he wants to use his military might to try to sway governments to go in line with his communist dictatorship (ph).

BECK: OK. All right. Senator, I have...

SANTORUM: That`s the quick and dirty.

BECK: I know I -- you haven`t even hit the -- the immigration. You haven`t even hit the Muslims -- the way things are. In "The Real Story" in a minute, I`ve got some stats on Islam over in Europe and the way it reflects here. It is bad news.

Let me go here. I am so frustrated, and I know you feel it. I feel this to the core of my being. I cannot tell people loudly enough. I -- I feel as though there are few watchmen in America that are screaming this from the top of the towers, "Wake up," and nobody will.

Why is this message -- you`re being ripped apart in the press. You`re called a, you know, fear monger and everything else. Why...

SANTORUM: Fear monger.

BECK: ... are we going down the same path we did in World War II, where nobody`s listening to you?

SANTORUM: Well, I will tell you, it`s because not a lot of other people out there saying it, and I believe it`s because we have a State Department that fundamentally doesn`t understand and is mis-serving the president of the United States by saying we shouldn`t call this a war on Islamic fascism. It`s mis-serving the president of the United States, because he`s not going out there, as he did, articulating his heart.

I know he wants to -- he wants to go after this axis of evil and describe it for what it is, lay out the threat to the American people. We have folks -- I think he`s just listening to the wrong voice. I know he`s not -- and if he`s not leading, then folks like you and me, Glenn, who are out there trying to lead, they say, "Well, wait a minute. The president, he`s out -- why isn`t he saying this?" And that`s the big question.

BECK: Is it -- is it possible that he can`t say what he really truly -- because I talked to Chertoff last week.

SANTORUM: In terms of the State Department, the answer is yes.

BECK: OK. We want to come back...

SANTORUM: And that`s where it`s coming from. We want to come back here in just a second and I`m going to take a quick break. But I want to talk to you a little bit about the voting machines and the connection to Venezuela that was on the front page of the paper this weekend. More with Rick Santorum here in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Back with Senator Rick Santorum. Senator, tomorrow you`re going to be ripped apart for being on this program. I`m going to be ripped apart for calling you Churchill. But...

SANTORUM: It will be a pleasure.

BECK: ... you said -- you said to me off the air, you know, why are you doing this? Because it is not politically expedient to say the things that you`re saying right now. In fact, it`s insane. It is. As a politician.

SANTORUM: Well, it`s not insane. It`s not insane because it`s the truth. And you know, one of the things that I believe in is you don`t know how long you`re going to have the opportunity to provide leadership in this country. And I don`t know what`s going to happen in the next week or so,.

But what I do know now is that I have an opportunity and the privilege of being a United States senator from Pennsylvania in a big race where people are paying attention to the things I`m saying. And I`m going to be honest with the people of Pennsylvania. I`m going to be honest with the people of America. And I`m going to lay out what I see as the problem. I have a responsibility to them. I have a responsibility to my children. And I`m going to be truthful. I`m going to lay it out and let the chips walk where they may.

BECK: OK. Let`s -- let`s talk about something that is part of the perfect storm or gathering storm, as you call it. And that is Venezuela. I read a story that, it made my eyes bleed this weekend, about Venezuela and these fricking voting machines.

SANTORUM: Yes.

BECK: How is it that we have a Venezuelan company, developing software for our voting machines?

SANTORUM: Well, I mean, it happened because Mr. Chavez was able to -- to work a deal with his company, this Venezuelan company, to do this voting machines in the state of -- the country of Venezuela. As you remember, that was a highly suspect election. But they paid this company a boatload of money, and they used that boatload of money to go then and buy a legitimate voting machine company out in California.

And now that -- this American sounding company is owned by a Venezuelan parent, and there are substantial questions out there about whether these Venezuelan software writers are, in fact, doing things with the American company that could potentially taint the American election.

BECK: OK. Now they already -- we had these voting machines used in Chicago, and they were all screwed up back in March. They sent software engineers -- I mean, software Mecca is Salt Lake City. We`re going to Venezuela. They have these guys coming out to repair the software from Venezuela. When did the warning signals go up?

SANTORUM: Well, again, I think -- I -- what`s happened with Venezuela is that Hugo Chavez has been able to sort of run under the radar screen up until just a few weeks ago. Up until he came to the United Nations and he had his sort of coming out party. He had his coming out party by condemning the United States and by criticizing the president, calling him the devil.

And all of a sudden, I think why the story came out is all of a sudden, people are saying, "Wait a minute. This guy really wants to harm America. Let`s take a look and see what sort of things Venezuela is doing in this country." And all of a sudden, aha, look, this is what`s going on.

My guess is this won`t be the only thing you`ll see.

BECK: OK. I have to ask you an honest question. You may not be able to answer this in this political time. Are the people in Washington that stupid? I am a recovering alcoholic, former DJ, and I figured out Venezuela months ago.

How is it our leaders are this clueless?

SANTORUM: Again, all I can tell you is that, you know, you have -- you have situations in our government where people aren`t paying attention without keeping their eye on the ball. And you know, we tend to do one thing -- we do one thing at a time, and right now we`re fighting a war in Iraq. And if you look at the other side of the aisle, all they want to talk about is Iraq, Iraq, Iraq.

And the bottom line is, it`s a much broader threat, and we need to start talking about that threat.

BECK: Senator Santorum, we`ll talk to you again. Thank you very much for joining us tonight.

SANTORUM: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: Best of luck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, welcome to "The Real Story." This is where we try to cut through the media spin to figure out why a story is actually important to you.

Last Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the Muslim riots in France. And aside from a horrific act of violence in which a group of nondescript youths set fire to a commuter bus with people in it, things seem to be a little quieter than most people expected. But why?

Well, I started doing some research over the weekend and found an amazing survey. Since last year`s riots, more French citizens -- now 58 percent -- believe that Muslims immigrating into the country is a good thing. That`s up 5 points from the last time the survey was taken before the riots. That didn`t seem to make sense to me at all, until you hear the real story.

The same survey also interviewed French Muslims and found that 46 percent of them consider themselves to be Muslim first and French second. The real story is that, even though things may appear to be calm on the surface, tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims are slowly reaching a breaking point. Unfortunately, I`m not just talking about France.

A recent survey of American Muslims -- and I have to stress unscientific poll -- found that 73 percent of American Muslims say they are Muslim first and American second. Remember, in France it was 46 percent. "Well, that`s not really a big deal, Glenn. I`m Catholic, and I identify with that." Well, right, OK. Do you think that the government, the U.S. government, is at war with Catholics? No. Sixty-eight percent of American Muslims believe that our government is at war with Islam.

I`ve got more: 65 percent of American Muslims think the U.S. government had advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Hello, Mr. Lutheran, do you believe that? Thirty-five percent say the government actually organized the attacks. Hello, Mr. Presbyterian? Seventy-four percent believe their local mosque is being monitored by the government. How about your synagogue? Sixty-seven percent believe their phone calls are being listened to, and 32 percent believe their home is bugged.

You combine that all together and you just might start to understand why 13 percent of American Muslims say they will not call the police if they learn about a plot by fellow Muslims to attack the U.S. Another 11 percent can`t decide if they would call or not. That means a full quarter of American Muslims cannot be relied on to disrupt a terrorist plot.

If you think that`s what`s happened in France and England and that is just Europe`s problem, you`re kidding yourself. American Muslims feel even more isolated and more angry than those in Europe. The only question is we`ll have the same kinds of violence and riots here or if what we will experience will be much, much worse.

Unless you`ve been living under a rock, you probably couldn`t help but notice that Nancy Pelosi is finally the new speaker of the House. Yes, what? What? She`s not the speaker yet? Oh, that`s a technicality. We need the elections first. Honestly, isn`t that the way it feels?

Somehow or another she`s already been appointed to the role, but have you asked yourself, "Why does it feel that way?" Well, it`s because the real story is the media has such a political agenda when it comes to the elections, they`re just not able to hide it at this point. Nancy Pelosi has publicly said that President Bush is not a leader, has no judgment, is incompetent, that the Republicans are immoral and corrupt, and they are, quote, "running a criminal enterprise."

She`s someone who`s supposed to unite us? Of course not. She doesn`t care about unity, and she fully admits that she is 100 percent partisan. And she forces members to vote with the party if they want to stay in her good graces. And you know what? It`s worked.

She has gotten Democrats to vote together 88 percent of the time. That is the most since Eisenhower was president. But given all of that, you`d think that the media would describe her like they did Newt Gingrich, as "ruthless," "authoritarian," "casually reckless." No, no, no. According to the media, Nancy Pelosi is simply tough-minded tactician who has brought order to the Democrats.

Now, I know this is going to sound a little off-topic, but hear me out. Last month, according to "Media Week," all five cable news networks had falling ratings, some as much as 68 percent. In fact, only three cable news shows on all five networks actually had ratings growth. This was the highest. We`re up 41 percent. And you know why? It doesn`t have anything to do with me. Believe me. Well, you watch; you know.

It`s because I think you sense some honesty coming from this program. I`ll tell you everyday, look, I`m a conservative. This is the way I see the world, through that prism, and you can use that to judge how I may intentionally or accidentally slant a story. But that`s not the case with the rest of the media, and people are tired of it.

And if you want to treat people like Nancy Pelosi differently? That`s cool. Just be prepared for your ratings to continue plummeting, because people are sick of the spin, they`re sick of the lies, they`re sick of the personal agenda, and, more importantly, the denial. We`re on to you.

Joel Mowbray, he is a nationally syndicated columnist who has been covering many of the House races. Joel, the way the media is treating Nancy Pelosi, quintessential media bias?

JOEL MOWBRAY, COLUMNIST: Yes, I`d say so. Look, they want to have a female speaker of the House. They love the description that her staff gives of her, as a grandmother who loves to bake, not the ruthless tactician who will punish anyone and cut off certain parts of their body if they don`t do as she says.

BECK: You know, I was reading this weekend an op-ed piece in the "New York Post," and it had the quotes about what they used to say about Newt Gingrich, nothing anywhere close to Nancy Pelosi. And what`s interesting is, if she were in just a regular corporate world, she`d be ripped to shreds, because she`s a woman. Every woman who`s in business will tell you, if you`re tough, you`re immediately the b-word. Not her. She`s a grandma! How`s that possible, without bias?

MOWBRAY: Well, she actually she is, I think, inside the Democratic caucus on the Hill -- I mean, I used to work on the Hill. I remember that word was tossed around to describe her from time to time.

BECK: Oh, this is not necessary.

MOWBRAY: Well, no, no, I`m just saying, but that`s what you hear from other Democrats. And I actually just mean that as a serious comment.

And the Democrats don`t particularly like her, but they do respect her. She is a very skillful leader, and she`s done a heck of a job in holding the Democrats together. I`d actually compare her not to Newt Gingrich but rather to Tom DeLay, the Hammer. This kind of ruthless efficiency, you haven`t seen in a long -- you know, since he left the Hill.

I think that she is someone who`s done a great job. And, you know, look, she`s held the Democrats together. But she`s also a very scary face.

BECK: OK, it is really amazing to me that you -- I mean, look who we brought up. Newt Gingrich, who was the scary face of the Republicans. Tom DeLay, scary face. She is absolutely not the scary face, and it seems to me that there are these labels -- for instance, Democrats are kind, lovable, smart, well-read, yet Michael J. Fox admits this weekend he didn`t even read the bill that he was on TV saying, "You should vote for this person because this is a great bill." He didn`t even read it.

How is it they can have the label of being well-read and smart and yet Republicans are dumb, and stupid, and they don`t read a single word?

MOWBRAY: You know, one of the things I`ve learned, Glenn, by actually being around a lot of these media types -- you go to these parties, these functions, as I`m sure you have -- and you realize that a lot of it is not intentional bias but rather they have certain storylines already planned out in their head. And they take facts to fit the existing storylines that they believe to be true.

So Ronald Reagan fit the existing storyline of a dumb Republican. By the way, if you ever have read the book "Reagan In His Own Hand," it`s all these radio addresses he gave during the Carter years.

BECK: Amazing.

MOWBRAY: It`s unbelievable. This guy was such a fluid, gifted writer, and I even bought into the myth that, you know, it was his speechwriters who made his rhetoric so beautiful. No. It was him. The guy was brilliant.

BECK: It is a great book. Everything the man wrote -- I don`t know if you`ve read -- what was, "Dear Ronnie" or "Dear Nancy"?

MOWBRAY: No, "From Ronnie with Love."

BECK: Yes, "Ronnie with Love."

MOWBRAY: An amazing book.

BECK: What a great -- if you want to talk about somebody who is truly in love with his wife, it was Ronald Reagan.

So let me take you to the future. If she becomes the speaker, doesn`t this actually work to the advantage, if the Republicans could actually cash in on this, doesn`t she become -- isn`t she the face that everybody really is frightened of, on the conservative side?

MOWBRAY: Well, I think it`s kind of appropriate we`re discussing this on the eve of Halloween. I think, actually, the best mask to have out there would be a Nancy Pelosi mask. And you wouldn`t have to do anything that is like a character with it. You would just do a lifelike re-creation of her face. It`s very scary! She always looks surprised. I think that`s actually the result of years and years of plastic surgery.

BECK: This is not what I`m looking for.

(LAUGHTER)

MOWBRAY: No, I...

BECK: This is not what I`m looking for.

MOWBRAY: Oh, I can`t give you that, Glenn?

BECK: No, I want to know, honestly, yes or no, will they be able to capitalize this and use her the way the Democrats painted Newt Gingrich?

MOWBRAY: I think so. And I think they`ll be able to do it in spite of the media. You know, Bill Clinton started taking a drubbing from the media as the years wore on, especially during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He got burned pretty badly. As long as the tie is going against the Democrat, the media, I think, will go with it.

BECK: Thanks, Joel.

That is "The Real Story" tonight. And if you`d like to read more about this or if you`ve found a real story of your own that you`d like to tell us about, please visit glennbeck.com and click on "The Real Story" button.

Coming up in a second, the one, the only Charles Barkley going to be joining us, a guy who hates politics and politicians as much as I do.

Now, "Straight to the Hill" with Erica Hill, the anchor of "PRIME NEWS" on Headline News.

Hi, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi, Glenn. Glad I don`t have to follow him.

BECK: Yes. Well, unfortunately, I do, though, so...

HILL: Well, you know, but it`s your show. You just remember it`s your show.

BECK: News from St. Louis?

HILL: St. Louis adding a new title to its roster. It doesn`t have the same ring to it, though, as World Series champs. St. Louis is now America`s most dangerous city.

BECK: Oh, that`s nice.

HILL: Yes, and get this. It`s lovely, isn`t it? Put that on the tourist info. After it beat out Detroit for the baseball title, St. Louis also edging out the Motor City for that less-glamorous claim to fame.

Get this: FBI figures show violent crime there is up nearly 20 percent between 2004 and 2005. You can see rounding out the list there for the top five most dangerous cities: Flint, Michigan; Compton, California; and Camden, New Jersey.

BECK: Wow, when you are beating Compton, you are in real trouble.

HILL: You`ve really made a name for yourself.

BECK: Yes, you have. Erica, thanks.

HILL: See you later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Tomorrow on the radio program, when did Halloween costumes get so skanky? I mean, they`re dressing people up like prostitutes. Don`t miss it.

Now, as you may or may not know, when I was a kid, I wasn`t what you would call athletic. When they would pick sides, you know, for any kind of gym class, I was usually picked after the kid with the iron lung. But that doesn`t mean I don`t appreciate people like basketball legend Charles Barkley, who I hear played basketball.

One of the few athletes to speak his mind and make some sense, he`s retired now, broadcaster for TNT`s "Inside the NBA," which begins its season tomorrow night, also indicated that he`s just nuts enough to run for political office. Welcome to the program, sir.

CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER BASKETBALL PLAYER: Hey, thank you for having me.

BECK: How are you?

BARKLEY: I am doing really well.

BECK: So basketball. You played for a while, I hear?

BARKLEY: A long time ago. A long time ago. But I owe basketball a lot. It`s given me everything in my life. I`ve been very fortunate.

BECK: And the one thing that we do have in common: You hate politics as much as I do.

BARKLEY: I`m disgusted with politics, Republicans and Democrats. This country is obviously divided, but I don`t see any light at the end of the tunnel.

BECK: Do you think -- I personally believe it`s intentionally divided. I think everybody`s got their little share and they think, "If I can pit these people against these people, they`ll need a leader."

BARKLEY: There you go. What politics are -- and I say -- is really rich against poor. And the rich people, they do a really good job of dividing the poor people.

BECK: So that would be like you against me?

BARKLEY: Well, you loaded. You got...

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: No, please.

BARKLEY: Listen, this is your show. This is your show.

BECK: Yes, all right.

BARKLEY: But, seriously, the rich people do a great job of having poor people argue over things that are not important...

BECK: Right.

BARKLEY: ... and they stay divided. They don`t realize they`re in the same boat.

BECK: But, you know, I think it`s beyond just rich. I`m coming to an understanding now that it is the corporate rich. It is these giant global companies that don`t give a crap about the country, don`t give a crap about communities, nothing. It`s just gobbling everything up.

BARKLEY: Well, you are 100 percent correct, but, you know, they divide the whites, the blacks, the Hispanics. You know, like the big thing going on now is immigration. They want you to argue about the war; they want you to argue about gay marriage. And, like, we can all disagree, but there should always be a common ground where we just want to do good. And politicians, they keep us divided and angry.

BECK: So what is the -- if you were running for president, what would your -- what would be the thing that you would say, "People, listen. This is the biggest problem"?

BARKLEY: Number one, public education, first and foremost. That would be my number-one thing. And safety. People need to be safe. And if people get their education, they will become more successful. And we`ve got to address crime. Crime is more rampant than it`s ever been. I don`t care if gay people get married. That`s their own business.

Illegal immigration, these Hispanics are great people. They`re working their behind off. We`re not going to deport them. To me, they do the jobs that blacks and whites don`t want to do. But if we really wanted to address immigration, all we got to do is fine the rich people they work for. They`re not working for poor people.

BECK: Amen.

BARKLEY: Hey, they`re not -- I don`t understand -- what, you think they`re working for other illegals? And they`re not working for other poor people.

BECK: But, see, here`s the problem. I mean, when you say, you know, these poor Hispanics are coming in, yadda yadda, I agree with you 100 percent. Let`s go after the companies and give them crippling fines. That`s what Reagan wanted to do, and Congress wouldn`t let him do it.

BARKLEY: Because they`re full of it.

BECK: Absolutely.

BARKLEY: And what happens is the poor -- first of all, how many people really want to do the jobs they do? But what that does is, that makes lower class blacks and whites, they jump on one side of the fence. And that keep the poor people -- because only the poor people want those jobs. And the rich people who they work for, they just keep all the poor people angry and mad at each other. That`s all they do.

BECK: But, you know, it also is -- it`s impossible. The average education level is like third grade. There`s no way to break out...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: ... no, no, no, I`m saying for the illegal immigrants. There`s no way to break out of that. It comes back to education, and you can`t break out of that system, with it so top-heavy, like Los Angeles. There`s no middle class left. It`s rich and poor.

BARKLEY: And that`s the biggest problem. You know, people try to divide people up into different groups, but really in America now it`s just rich against the poor. And the rich people, they do -- like I say, they do a fantastic job of making the poor people not like each other.

BECK: Yes, well, it`s -- I don`t think it`s just rich. I think everybody -- I think politicians are doing it because they want their side to win. I think the unions are using immigration for the same reason.

BARKLEY: But, see, politicians are very interesting, because they spend -- and people say why do I think politicians are corrupt? I say it`s very simple. They`re spending $20 million to win a job that only pays like $150 grand a year.

BECK: It`s insane.

(LAUGHTER)

BARKLEY: I`m smart enough to know I`d rather have the $20 million than the job that pays $160 grand. But you know what? Then you can just divvy up all these no-bid contracts, give them to family and friends. That`s why it`s so important.

The first thing I would do is, I`m going to kill both parties and the person who got the most votes won. Because I don`t...

BECK: We`ve got to run. I could spend an hour with you and hope sometime we could. We`ve been talking about this, vote American and not Republican or a Democrat.

BARKLEY: Yes, yes.

BECK: Charles Barkley, NBA season begins tomorrow. Thank you very much.

BARKLEY: Hey, thank you for having me.

BECK: Appreciate it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, big topic of discussion this weekend regarding this show was a segment that we ran on Thursday trying to highlight some of the good news in Iraq. Yes, believe it or not, there actually is some, even though you rarely hear about it. In fact, the video has been posted on YouTube, and at one point this weekend it was the eighth most viewed video on the entire site, I believe right behind the guy that gets kicked in the crotch and kid falls off roof onto cat.

Here`s a little bit of the video, in case you missed it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The real story about Iraq can be found in the eyes of the children, 98 percent of whom have been vaccinated for diseases like polio or who are attending one of the 4,500 schools that have been rebuilt and restocked with over 8 million textbooks by coalition forces. You can also see it in the bravery and patriotism of the 19,000 newly trained members of the elite Iraqi special police force, and the 18,000 border agents who are now protecting Iraq`s border with Syria, or the amazing progress of Iraq`s economy, where over 33,000 new businesses have started up since the end of the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: That is a side of the war that you never see, but, you know, I hear so much about it from the soldiers that come back from Iraq, I wanted to shine a little light on their efforts. But comments poured in, the majority using words honestly that you have to pay a monthly fee for to hear on cable, denouncing the video as evil propaganda. They said I was ignoring death and destruction, which apparently I did a bad job at, since we lead the video talking about how there`s a lot of bad news in Iraq, as well.

The comments weren`t all negative. One said, "Finally, a video that shows the truth: Those bastard Americans handing out polio vaccines, allowing businesses to grow, schools to be built, and allowing women to be part of the parliament. How dare they!"

But the majority of the comments were angry, bitter and, at times, much worse. Listen to this one. "Eight million propaganda books to make a new generation of American slaves. What shameless propaganda. I hope they kill more U.S. soldiers today; that`s the best answer to your evil."

Unbelievable. This is not some sort of blind praise video where we claim that it`s all sunshine and lollypops in Iraq. We all realize it is a war zone, and it is dangerous, but I am sick of hearing only half the story. We need to know the bad news, but not without the entire real story. Please, watch the video and pass it around to all of your friends. It is not politics; it is just the truth, and the facts are not in question. See it and share it right now at glennbeck.com.

See you tomorrow on the radio.

END