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Glenn Beck

Romney Bows Out of Race; McCain Tries to Woo Conservatives; al Qaeda Trains Children to Kill

Aired February 07, 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, rumor becomes reality, as Mitt Romney suspends his bid for the White House.

MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I simply cannot let my campaign be apart of aiding a surrender to terror.

BECK: Dark day for America, at least where I stand.

Also, McCain`s moment of truth in front of conservatives. Believe it or not, I think he`ll end up thanking conservative radio hosts like yours truly.

Plus, another report says more Americans are being kidnapped along the border. This time, near San Diego. The crisis along our border, getting worse.

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

You know, the story of Mitt Romney`s life really is the story of the American dream in many ways, and having it all kind of go off the tracks there at the end.

Romney is a smart guy. He worked hard. He built up a business. He became a millionaire. He married his college sweetheart. They had a family. They stayed together. They worshipped the God of their understanding every single Sunday, a decent human being. He decided to give something back, to become a public servant. After success in that, he decided to serve his country in even a bigger way by running for president of the United States.

That`s where it got ugly. That`s where that dream become a little more like a nightmare. Facing religious discrimination and destructive party politics. The man I believe was best qualified to turn this country around has dropped out of the race today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: If this were only about me, I`d go on. But it`s never been only about me. I entered this race -- I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: This guy looks like the winner tonight.

Here`s the point. It is a sad day, not just for the Romneys and supporters like me, but I believe, for America as a whole. And here`s how I got there.

Americans are feeling disenfranchised like never before. Everywhere I look, families are falling apart. The economy is on the ropes, people are losing their houses. The extremist element that attacked us on 9/11 isn`t weaker but stronger today. They`re using their children. Wait until I show you this story in about 20 minutes.

My top two candidates are now out of the race. And those two that are left are, well, less than impressive, at least for me. The thought of President Clinton or a President Obama is absolutely unthinkable. Mike Huckabee doesn`t stand a chance in the general election. He seems to be running for vice president, anyway.

Me and my conservative friends have felt that John McCain is a Republican in name only, and even "The New York times" agrees with us. So, tonight, here`s what you need to know, America.

Considering the options, come November, I`m going to have a really tough time making a choice, other than "none of the above." Senator Orrin Hatch is a Republican from Utah.

Senator, an honest, decent man, a God-fearing man, somebody who seems to have all the values and the tools that we need to be able to get this country back on track. What happened? How did this guy not get the nomination?

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: Well, I have to admit, had -- had Mike Huckabee not been in the race, and you have to compliment him, he`s run a good race. But had he not been in the race, Mitt Romney would a won a number of the states last week.

BECK: Do you believe -- do you believe -- how much do you believe religious discrimination played a role, not in a real sort of way, because you`re a Mormon, and Harry Reid is a Mormon, and you`re on opposite ends of the aisle. Everybody knows that it doesn`t matter. But the media made this into an issue when it`s not an issue. How much did that play a role?

HATCH: Well, when I ran for president back in 1999, I know I got in too late and couldn`t make it. But I wanted to get across how important the judges were, and I did. But I found a lot of discrimination back then. And there was a considerable amount in this race.

But you know, one of the good things about this race by Mitt Romney is that he was able to get around that. He was able to get people to wake up and realize that we should not be judging people wrongly on their denominational beliefs.

BECK: Yes.

HATCH: What we should be doing is judging them on their values, how they live them, what they do. Romney shares the values of virtually all the good people in any denomination.

And I think people -- one of the good things about this race, and one of the greatest things about Mitt Romney is I think he was able to cut through that maze and get people to realize, hey, let`s quit judging people...

BECK: Yes.

HATCH: ... because we don`t believe exactly the same way they do denominationally. Let`s judge them by what -- how they live their lives, what they do. You can`t find anything wrong with Mitt Romney`s life or his wife`s or his five -- five boys.

BECK: No. Senator, you and I have spoken about the economy in the past, I mean, the economy is in -- is in real trouble, and Mitt Romney is the guy who has that kind of that Lee Iacocca "I can put the hood up on this thing and fix this economy."

Is there anybody left in the race that you think has a real handle on this economy and what to do in the future?

HATCH: Well, Mitt is still in the race, because he just suspended his campaign. That doesn`t mean that he gave up his almost 300 delegates. So he`ll still have an influence on this race, no matter what happens.

But let me just say this. The reason I am so strongly -- was so strongly for Mitt Romney, still am, as a matter of fact, is that Mitt is a financial genius. If we don`t get control of Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, energy, and interest against the national debt, there won`t be enough money to fight the wars or to take care of our military.

BECK: Senator, I have been saying this for weeks. People say, "I voted for John McCain, because John McCain, he`s going to fight the war."

And I keep saying, you don`t understand how much jeopardy, how much trouble our economy really is. Over the next few years, you don`t have enough money to fight a 20-year war. Look what happened to the Soviet Union.

HATCH: Well, I can confirm that we are in financial difficulty. And Romney was the only one running that I could see who could have resolved these difficulties.

Now, when he came out to Utah and turned the Olympics around, we were $400 million in debt. We couldn`t get sponsors. It looked like it was going to be a fiasco because of alleged mismanagement and so forth.

He turned that all around. We had the best winter Olympics in the history of the movement and, of course, wound up with about a $100 million surplus.

When he took over -- when he took over Massachusetts, they were $3 billion in the hole, going down. And within a year and a half, he turned it into a $2-billion surplus. With state legislature, 85 percent opposed everything he was doing. Can you imagine what he could do...

BECK: Yes.

HATCH: ... if he had the chance in front of him? Now, he`s said he`s not going to do it. And I think -- I think he gave up on the right reasons. And that is that it would be very unlikely that he could win after Super Tuesday.

BECK: Senator, I don`t mean to ask a senior statesman like you to -- I don`t want to pull you into a quagmire. So I apologize for this question. You can feel free not to answer. I`m concerned that John McCain does not have the temperament to be the guy in the Oval Office under this kind of stress and everything that we face. He`s got a reputation of being a -- a hothead.

HATCH: Well, John has a temper; there`s no question about it. But on the other hand, you`ve got to give this man credit. He rose from the ashes and, written off a year ago, to the top, and rose to the top of the mountain. And you`ve got to give him credit for that.

Plus, look, for us conservatives, John is -- he has an 82 percent American Conservative Union rating. That`s not 95 percent, but it`s 82 percent. Where -- where conservatives have a rough time with John, basically, were on the McCain-Feingold bill, one of the worst bills in the history of politics. I can get into that if you want me to.

BECK: No, no.

HATCH: Let me tell you, you can`t find a worse bill. It`s just about destroyed politics in this country. Certainly, the parties in this country.

But the energy situation, you know, if you can`t -- if you can`t support ANWR, it`s not even a pinprick on the map, yet 16 million barrels of oil that would help our country become independent, and so forth. You can right go down the list of things.

But look, we`re going to have to unify, because we just simply cannot have either of the two Democrats. As nice a people as they may be, in most people`s eyes. We cannot have them. I mean, that would be a disastrous for this country.

BECK: Senator, thanks. We`ll have you on again.

Coming up, Mitt Romney may have the headlines today, but John McCain spoke to CPAC today with the daunting task of winning over the conservative base. Did he do it? I`ll talk to some people that were actually there.

Then, al Qaeda has extended their recruitment drive to children. Just a reminder that the war on terror rages on. We`ll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, we all know individual voters are marginalized in our political process from time to time because of something called delegates. But as if that`s not enough, we also have super delegates who aren`t really as super as their name might suggest. I`ll explain in tonight`s "Real Story."

But first, Republican presidential candidate John McCain also spoke to Conservative Political Action Conference this afternoon. Here`s just a taste of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I ask of any American conservative, moderate, independent or enlightened Democrat, is to judge my record as a whole and accept that I`m not in the habit of making promises to my country that I do not intend to keep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. I don`t know if John gets it. It`s your record that we have a problem with.

You`re not saying anything new to woo conservatives. John McCain has got to stop singing the same old song that people like Rush Limbaugh and people like me just don`t like him. If John McCain does win the nomination -- and that looks like it`s a done deal -- he should think about getting down on his knees and kissing conservative talk radio`s big white butt. I know this is counterintuitive, but believe it or not, I say talk radio is actually helping him win the presidency.

I`ve said, all along, the Republican Party has abandoned the core values that was the foundation of their party. But that hasn`t stopped a guy like John McCain from repeating that he`s a conservative foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution like he`s some sort of parrot or puppet.

Here`s the deal, Senator McCain. First of all, "New York Times" endorsed you. You knew that that had to sway some moderates in your direction. Then, with guys like me or Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh saying how awful you are on taxes, how -- what a nightmare you are on the border, or freedom of speech and global warming, you have got to think that some liberals must be thinking to themselves, "Gee, if Rush and Glenn and Sean hate him this much, I should love him. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

And here`s the thing. Because terrorism isn`t on the front page doesn`t mean we`re off the front lines of Islamic extremism. God forbid if there was a security emergency in this country, do you really think that any sane person, even liberal, is going to want Obama running the show?

The one thing that all Americans are conservative about is life and national security. And that gives John McCain and edge over both Democratic candidates.

Plus, talk radio hating him, they think he must be OK.

So, John, quit whining and try to honestly remember the man whose name you so often invoke, Ronald Reagan. He stood for something. Why not give it a whirl from time to time?

Let`s go now to Dan Patrick, from KSTV in Houston.

Hello, Dan.

DAN PATRICK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hi, Glenn. How are you?

BECK: What do you think of the -- it`s a new theory of mine, that if there is, God forbid, something that happens in security, right before the election and Obama is on the other side, liberals will say, "We need John McCain, and if Rush hates him, he must be OK." I think John McCain should French kiss Rush Limbaugh.

PATRICK: I`m not going to comment on that, Glenn.

BECK: I`m not saying that it would be something I would want to watch, but I mean...

PATRICK: That might get him votes from a certain sector, but that would definitely cost him the election.

BECK: I think -- I think because of the people that he`s trying to attract right now, look. You always go after the base first. Do you not? And then you swing moderate. Well, he`s been liberal. Now where is he going to swing? Conservative? No.

PATRICK: Well, Glenn, I think that -- and I`m someone in Texas, and I`m a Texas senator who`s conservative senator. I`m supporting Mike Huckabee in Texas.

However, it looks likely that Senator McCain will get the nomination, unless there`s a miracle at the end or divine intervention. And then I am going to support John McCain.

And I know that you and Rush and Sean and Laura and all these folks, who are all my friends, may disagree, but I don`t believe in this theory of burning down the house. Because what we really have to face is who is best prepared at the end of the day to take care of our children and grandchildren`s safety? And who is best at the end of the day to nominate -- nominate Supreme Court judges who will represent us?

And so -- and so talk radio, I think, is going to help John with the independents and the moderates.

BECK: Yes.

PATRICK: But Glenn, if talk radio actually comes out by November and says that we are going to support Hillary or Barack, I think it`s going to hurt talk radio more than it hurts John McCain.

BECK: All right. Here`s the deal, Dan. I look at -- nobody really understands this, but I look at presidential politics like I look at any -- I try to view almost everything as a dad, OK? With my kids, sometimes they got to -- they got to crash, and I can`t save them. I`m not going to run in and save them.

I`m an alcoholic. I needed the crash to be able to rise up again. What we keep doing is, Republicans or conservatives, is like, no, no, no, don`t let it crash. Don`t let it crash. No, no.

Just, go ahead and accept this. Stop it.

PATRICK: I understand that.

BECK: Or you`ll never heal.

PATRICK: But Glenn, but this is a crash that would impact everyone. This is not a city council race or a congressional race or even a U.S. Senate race. This is the president of United States.

BECK: I know.

PATRICK: And while I agree with you and many of the talk show hosts around the nation, who are conservative like I am, that John McCain does not represent us on many issues, at the end of the day, there is no way I want the future of our nation in the hands of Barack, the most liberal Senator in the Senate or in the hands of Hillary Clinton. I -- I can`t even imagine that she and Bill would be back in the White House.

BECK: I get it.

PATRICK: I`m not going to let it burn down.

BECK: I know, I know. I get it, I get it. But you know what? It was a bad four years for my family. I almost lost my family. But in the end, my family is now closer than ever before, and my family is stronger because I crashed.

Dan, I thank you very much.

PATRICK: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: I got to go now -- I got to go now to somebody who actually heard John McCain speak at CPAC today. His name is Alfred Regnery. He is the publisher of "The American Spectator," former Reagan administration official, and author of "Upstream: The Ascendance of the American Conservatives."

And Al, you saw this thing. How was it today?

ALFRED REGNERY, PUBLISHER, "THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR": Well, it was interesting. I think McCain recognized that he had a potentially hostile audience. He`d certainly heard what conservatives had to say. And he was trying very, very hard to woo them.

There were a lot of people in the audience that were incredibly enthusiastic. And Romney had been there a couple of hours earlier and had an enthusiastic audience, as well.

But McCain went through a number of specific points, and I am not familiar enough with what he said to whether he actually changed anything, but for example, on judges, he said specifically that he was going to appoint strict constructionist -- well, I guess it wasn`t the term he used. But he didn`t use the word originalism. I wish he would have. But he said that judges in the mold of Roberts and Alito, and that`s certainly what...

BECK: Didn`t he lead the Gang of 80 or 14 or whatever it was...

REGNERY: Yes, he did.

BECK: What makes the -- this is my problem with John McCain. He can make any kind of promise he wants. Why should I believe him?

REGNERY: Well, that`s -- that`s true about any politician. And I guess you do have to look at his record on some things. And that`s where McCain is really quirky. On some things he has done exactly what he was going to say, and he`s been good, from a conservative perspective.

On other things, he`s been awful. One of the problems that conservatives have is that, on the things where he`s exerted leadership, things like McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy -- that`s the immigration bill -- and bankruptcy bill, he`s been totally wrong.

So, you`re right. There certainly is a problem of, I guess, credibility from a conservative standpoint.

BECK: Have you ever seen him reach across the aisle and do something really great...

REGNERY: No, he doesn`t...

BECK: ... and grab Ted Kennedy, say, "Ted, I want you to help me on this program," and bring Ted Kennedy over the aisle for a conservative cause?

REGNERY: I`m not sure if he`s done that. Where -- as I say, where he`s been in the leadership has usually been on the other side.

BECK: What does that -- Al, can you believe we`re in this position as America? Can you believe...

REGNERY: Glenn, as conservatives, we`ve been here again and again and again. And that`s -- that`s, I think, what a lot of our problem is. I mean, with George Bush the first, with Bush the second, go back to Bob Dole, to Nixon, Gerry Ford. I mean, all the way back, you know, the conservatives were told, well, he`s going to be pretty conservative, and when he gets in there, he isn`t.

BECK: Exactly right.

REGNERY: Now how many times do you get burned? The other side of the coin, Glenn, is the fact that there`s so much at stake.

BECK: Yes, I know. I know. But there always is. Thanks, Al. Appreciate it.

Coming up, Islamic extremists stop at nothing short of complete destruction in the United States. You know it and I know it. Now they`re turning their children into fighting machines. We have the story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Why am I on the air? I`ll tell you why. I`m on the air because advertising works. People watch a show like this; they want the advertising, go out and buy products. It works with toys, soft drinks. And if al Qaeda has their way, murderous cults hell-bent on jihad.

There is a new al Qaeda propaganda tape that you may have seen. It`s surfaced recently. Expressly tries to sign up kids as Allah`s newest martyrs. And it is as disturbing as it sounds. The video shows children as young as 10 armed with AK-47s, practicing child friendly activities like kidnapping.

Joining me now for some perspective is Jared Cohen. He`s the author of "Children of Jihad," which is a fantastic book.

Jared, nice to you have back on the program here.

JARED COHEN, AUTHOR, "CHILDREN OF JIHAD": Thanks for having me, Glenn.

BECK: Tell me about these videos. Is this -- are these kids really jihadists, or is this, you know, like, we used to play, you know, cowboys and Indians when we were kids?

COHEN: Glenn, that`s an important question. If you look -- if you actually watch this entire video, you should think of these kids as child actors who get a chance to play something that`s a combination of paintball and cops and robbers. They don`t know what they`re doing. They just know that it`s something fun.

But more importantly, if you watch this video, and you think about what`s al Qaeda`s objective. You know, what about the kids out there all around Iraq that are humiliated, have no opportunities and are completely bored out of their minds? They watch this, and they say, "Wait a minute. These kids are half my age. These kids have something to do. They`re hanging out in a group, and they get to be on TV. I want to do that, too."

And in this case, al Qaeda uses, you know, these young kids in this video to inspire those lost souls that are -- that are scattered throughout the country looking for inspiration.

BECK: So, in a ray, this is kind of -- I mean, I hate to make this comparison, but it`s kind of a really sick, twisted version of what happens with us with "Jackass" and YouTube.

COHEN: I think that`s, you know, similar, except "Jackass" and YouTube are designed to be spoofs and satires. This is designed to actually inspire people to kill.

BECK: Right. But -- but "Jackass," while it`s meant to be entertainment, it does inspire kids to go out, just to be famous, and they just start pummeling each other, and all kinds of bad things come out. I mean, kids are kids, and they`re seeing it. And they`re -- they`re internalizing it differently than adults would.

COHEN: I think that`s true. I mean, al Qaeda understands very well as part of its youth strategy that the media is one of the easiest ways to influence those impressionable young people. They see stuff on TV, and they want to copy it.

BECK: I want to show some pictures, because you want over to the Middle East, and this is why your book is so fascinating. You went over to the Middle East -- and this picture, I`m sorry that we had to blur the face out. I don`t know if you can see that. Are we sending that feed to you?

COHEN: Yes, I can see it.

BECK: Explain the face on this. How old is the little boy? And explain the face that we had to blur out here.

COHEN: The little boy was 4 1/2 years old, and the girl, I believe, was 7.

BECK: And do you remember what the face of the little boy looked like?

COHEN: Oh, absolutely. This was in the Ein Halloway (ph) Palestinian camp in southern Lebanon. The little boy was wearing a pacifier and hysterically crying, and the girl was smiling jubilantly.

And what happened is I walked into this house. And this man, much as you would imagine in an American home, somebody, you know, taking their, you know, talented young pianist and making them perform for the guests, the girl was a good singer. And the father asked her to sing to me about Yasser Arafat and insisted on putting all the weapons in front of them.

The two kids reacted very differently. And -- but for both of them, the weapons were just toys. They were just props. They were things to put on display.

BECK: It`s really a sad picture, especially with the binky in the mouth and him crying.

Jared, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: Coming up, the economy needs a jolt of energy. I got the plan, and, you know, doesn`t involve eating cake, although it could if you want it to. But it`s not required. I`ll give it to you, coming up, in "The Real Story."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, a new report says 26 San Diego residents have been kidnapped over the last year, being held for ransom across the border. And unfortunately, not only -- not many of them make it home alive.

We have more on that story coming up.

But first, welcome to the "Real Story."

Super Tuesday has distracted all of us from where all the real political games were being played last week. And that was in the U.S. Senate.

Democrats apparently believe needlessly spending $164 billion just isn`t enough. And they tried to add another $40 billion to the package so that seniors and disabled veterans can get government handout -- I`m sorry, rebate checks as well. The bill came up for a vote yesterday.

I was very curious to see which way Senator John McCain would come down. After all, if he voted for the bill, he would have alienated Republicans and conservatives even more than he already has. But if he voted against it, he could have ticked off seniors and the vets, the two groups that he`s counting on to put him in the White House.

So, how did "Mr. Straight talk, I`ve got a spine, I don`t care if I`m unpopular, I`ll always do the right thing no matter what" -- how did he vote? Yes. He didn`t. He skipped it.

I guess there`s no need to worry about those pesky little things like making decisions or standing on your principles when you have an election to win, which then again, maybe is the principle that John McCain stands on.

But when Senator McCain is playing hooky, it`s just another example of how this whole stimulus debate is really all about politics, not the economy. After all, we`ve been sitting here for weeks, debating which group of people will spend more of the rebate checks, when the real story is, is that nobody knows.

The only economy this package is sure to stimulate is China`s, because we are going to borrow the billions of dollars from them and then we`re going to take that money and we`re going to buy more of their Chinese crap. You want to give the money away? Fine.

Let`s think of it this way. Instead of giving cash to people, why don`t we give them debit cards? Americans love debit and credit cards. You know, like the ones that FEMA handed out after Hurricane Katrina.

Now, of course that program was a disaster. People were, you know, buying all sorts of frivolous things like luxury purses, diamonds, even breast implants and hookers. That`s why that program was canceled.

But in this case, with an exception to the hookers, these are exactly the types of frivolous thing that the government wants people to buy. And debit cards would also have other benefits.

First of all, they`d have an expiration date, which is kind of important since we need people to spend the money yesterday.

Second, it would be use it or lose it. In other words, if you don`t use the card, the money is gone, the government never has to pay a dime.

That means we could stop the debate about who is more likely to spend money because it wouldn`t really matter. It would also mean that politicians from both parties could immediately stop grandstanding for votes and stop playing politics with our economy, which is exactly why an idea like this would never get of the ground.

James Freeman is the assistant editor of The Wall Street Journal`s editorial page.

James...

JAMES FREEMAN, ASSISTANT EDITOR, "WALL STREET JOURNAL" EDITORIAL PAGE: Yes, sir?

BECK: I know I`m a simpleton, I`m not a economist, but I am a thinker. I mean, why not give credit cards out for, you know, buying things from GM?

FREEMAN: I think the Glenn Beck debit card proposal could really catch on. I was actually going to suggest just money dropped from helicopters over our largest cities. I don`t know if that would -- what you would think of that one.

BECK: No. I mean, look, James, I`m guessing here that you don`t believe that this stimulus package is worth a hill of beans, either. It`s not going to do anything.

FREEMAN: Well, I`m not -- I`m not aware of too many private economists who say that the economy right now is showing signs of weakness because government is not spending enough. I`m not hearing a whole lot of that in the markets that we inhabit.

BECK: Right. And we are borrowing the money from China, and we will basically go out and buy products, much of which will be made in China. China gets it coming and going.

FREEMAN: Well, the money is going to be borrowed or it is going to be taken from taxpayers. In either case, it`s redistributed by government.

And what is not happening with that is, wealth is not being created. It`s being redistributed by government. And so, if the politicians wanted to consider something that would truly stimulate the economy, get us growing faster, they need to think about how you motivate the job creators, how you motivate the people who actually make our economy go.

BECK: But when are you ever going to find somebody? I mean, when you`ve got somebody like Mitt Romney, who is in the private sector, who gets it, who has actually created jobs, they never get into Washington. The people that we have in Washington, most of them are either attorneys or they`ve never met payroll before. They have no idea how business works.

FREEMAN: It may be that he should have made a tax cutting plan, an aggressive tax cutting plan, a more central part of his agenda. He went to Michigan and he talked about aid to the automobile industry. He spent a lot of time talking about immigration.

It may be, given the economy is top of mind and given his credentials, he really should have focused on tax cutting. And I think we`ve got a great example. We`ve seen this movie before.

The early part of the Bush administration, you remember, they tried this kind of stimulus, sending checks out to everyone. The response by the economy was minimal. Where we really saw the growth take off was after the 2003 tax cuts...

BECK: Right.

FREEMAN: ... where we cut taxes on investment -- cap gains and dividends.

BECK: All right. Nobody in the media will remember that one though, James. Everybody forgets.

James, thanks a lot. I appreciate it.

I`m still trying to figure out how $165 billion, one time, is going to affect a $14 trillion economy. But that`s a different story.

Now, playing politics with your country`s economy is one thing, but there are political games being played right behind the scenes right now that may impact our country`s future in unbelievable ways, and virtually nobody is talking about it. While most people foolishly believe that we, the people, nominate our presidential candidates, the real story is the Democratic Party`s nominee may ultimately be decided this year by 800 powerful people that most Americans have never even heard of.

They`re called superdelegates. They were given their power back in the 1980s when the Democrats believed that, you know, that voters really couldn`t be trusted to make a smart decision on their own. In other words, these superdelegates are like a hedge against voters nominating somebody who the party establishment just doesn`t like.

This year, with Clinton and Obama separated right now by less than 10 delegates, the superdelegates just might cast the deciding votes. And they can cast them for whomever they want.

Imagine what would happen to this country if Obama were to win the popular vote, but would lose because of some back-room deal among the superdelegates to nominate Clinton instead. The race riots of the 1960s would look like a cakewalk.

And what about the reverse? What woman wouldn`t feel alienated or disenfranchised if victory was stolen from Hillary?

It all adds up to what could -- and I stress "could" -- be a Democratic National Convention that not only rips the party apart, but the country, as well.

Now, the good news is, I don`t think this is going to happen. I know it`s counterintuitive for those who might be watching, just thinking, oh, that Glenn Beck, he`s just a mindless conservative that hates everybody different than him, but I actually have a great deal of respect for the good people of the Democratic Party. I think the superdelegates will do the right thing and listen to the people.

Kenneth Bickers is a professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Ken, help me out. Tell me that I`m not wrong, giving faith to the superdelegates that they will stick with the voice of the American people.

KENNETH BICKERS, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER: Hi, Glenn.

Well, if the convention were held today it would be the superdelegates that would be making the decision. But more than likely, by the time we get to the Democratic National Convention, by then, either Obama or Hillary will have enough delegates that it probably won`t come down to the superdelegates. But it`s a real possibility.

BECK: OK. So, but there are -- I mean, there you are in Colorado. Correct me if I`m wrong, but the Colorado party chair has already received phone calls from Chelsea Clinton and the Obama camp, saying, hey, hey, hey, wait a minute, let`s be cool here.

Right?

BICKERS: Well, that`s right. Well, the superdelegates are different than regular delegates. It`s part of the reason why they are called superdelegates. They get to decide for themselves who they want to support for the nominee.

BECK: Who are these people?

BICKERS: Well, the superdelegates -- the technical name is party leaders and elected officials. So these are the -- these are the leaders of the party organizations in all of the states, and they are the elected officials that are Democrats in Congress, as well as state governors. So, they get to decide for themselves.

BECK: So, they`re the elite of -- I love this -- the party of the people, and they have the elite deciding. Do the Democrats -- or the Republicans have superdelegates?

BICKERS: Well, not exactly. The Republicans have a very different kind of system, a much more -- a federal system. So the Republicans allow states to decide whether their delegates are going to be pledged or not.

There are a handful of states where they allow their delegates to go to the convention and vote for whomever they choose to. And the Republicans have a small number of people from each state -- actually, three from each state -- that are kind of like these superdelegates, but it`s a fairly small proportion of the total on the Republican side.

BECK: Is it -- is there any way -- if it would come down to this, and I don`t think it will, and I just -- I just think people will do the right thing at the end -- would there be any other way to look at it, by the American people, than, they stole the election for one or the other? Wouldn`t it just rip things apart, because we`re talking gender and race here?

BICKERS: Yes. I think if it comes down to the superdelegates, it`s going to be -- there are going to be allegations that the party nominated the wrong person for the wrong reason. It`s about 20 percent of the total delegates. So...

BECK: Because, you can get into earmarks, right? You can actually make deals. You can say, hey, I want you to cut this program or ad this program and I`ll put my superdelegate vote your way, right?

BICKERS: Yes, exactly. It -- in principle, the -- well, I don`t think principle would have anything to do with it. But the campaigns could go -- they could go to the superdelegates and make commitments to the future about, if you support me, then we`ll help you in the future.

BECK: All right. Kenneth, if we get into this situation as we get closer, we`ll have you back. Thanks.

That`s the "Real Story" tonight.

If you would like to read more about the unbelievable politic games that go on behind the scenes, you have got to pick up a copy of my book, "An Inconvenient Book." You will never trust any of these weasels in Washington ever again after you read it.

It`s "An Inconvenient Book." You can order your copy right now at glennbeck.com.

Believe it or not, it`s number two again on "The New York Times" -- I think this is like the 11th or 12th week on "The New York Times" best seller list.

Now, coming up, U.S./Mexico border out of control. What a surprise. The latest reports, more kidnappings of Americans on the border.

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BECK: Well, the Republican Party is in such a mess these days, you would think they were responsible for problems along the border, too. Oh, wait. They are.

I`ve been telling you about hellholes like Nuevo Laredo. Oh, I`m sorry. I didn`t mean to call it a hellhole. More of a deathtrap.

It`s a town just across the border from Laredo, Texas. How the drug lords there are warring the Mexican government, and innocent American citizens are getting caught in the crossfire. In volatile border towns all across Texas and Arizona, kidnappings and murders are now becoming the new normal.

Here is the worst part -- it is only getting worse. Organized, well- financed Mexican kidnapping cells are targeting residents along the California coast. Last year, at least 26 San Diego County residents were kidnapped and held for ransom in Mexico. Not all of them made it home alive.

Why haven`t you heard this story anywhere?

We have got to get our border under control. It`s a situation that worsens day by day, and Washington doesn`t seem interested in stopping the madness. But John McCain is on the horizon to ride in and fix it. Considering the batch of bozos who are likely to be our next president, none of them seem to be up to the job.

Tony Manolatos, he`s from "The San Diego Union-Tribune." He has been covering the story.

Also with us is Mike Cutler, former special agent for the INS and senior fellow for the Center of Immigration Studies.

Tony, let me just start with you. You`re the guy who`s covered this and broken this story.

What is happening down there?

TONY MANOLATOS, "SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE": Well, as you say, Glenn, the kidnappings are on the rise -- 26 last year, compared to 11 in 2006. So, you know, we definitely thought it was newsworthy enough to get the story in our paper.

BECK: You would think. Twenty-six Americans have been kidnapped, and you can`t find this story anywhere.

Thank you for the job that you`ve done on this.

Every time I se this anywhere, it`s always made to make the Americans look like, oh, well, they`re in the drug business. Oh, these were bad Americans anyway. We shouldn`t care about these Americans.

Who were these people, and how are they being targeted?

MANOLATOS: Well, it did surprise me. When I first got the tip and I took it to the FBI, that, you know, the FBI was saying that 90 percent of the folks who are getting kidnapped are innocent victims, have no criminal ties at all.

So, I did ask, you know, well, how are they getting targeted? And the agents said, you know, these folks generally, they have businesses and family interests in Mexico, and they cross the border, you know, weekly, sometimes daily.

So, they have a presence down there that a lot of us in San Diego don`t have. And a lot of times they are alone when they are down there and they become easy targets.

BECK: Did you have a hard time covering this story at all? Did you get any pressure?

I know in Texas, a lot of the reporters are afraid to do it. They`re blowing -- just across the border, in Mexico, they are blowing up newspaper offices and threatening reporters. Did you have any problem reporting this story?

MANOLATOS: No. No. It came to me from a source, I took it to the FBI. And the FBI sat down with me a day or two later, and then we got it in the paper the next day.

So it went pretty smooth.

BECK: Mike, they are not targeting the Americans here in America, they are waiting for them to cross the border.

MIKE CUTLER, FMR. SPECIAL AGENT, INS: Right.

BECK: This was happening in Texas. It`s now happening in Arizona. It`s now happening in California.

What does this tell you about the future?

CUTLER: Well, I think the future is bleak if we can`t gain control over our border and have a credible force along not only our border, from within the interior of the United States enforcing the law.

Look at it this way, Glenn -- if you look at communities that have lots of immigrants you find that the folks bring with them -- and this is one of the wonderful things about a place like New York -- the food, the music, the culture. But also, there`s a climate of violence that pervades Latin America.

In Colombia, for example, one of the biggest ways for organized crime to make money is by the kidnappings that we`re seeing in Mexico. My fear is that ultimately this will be happening throughout the United States.

Just as narcotics makes their way completely across the country from the border, I`m concerned that as more and more gang members -- and we`re seeing it throughout the country -- MS-13 -- as they extend their tentacles throughout our country, the violence, the tactic of kidnapping and other crimes that kill people are going to be carried out against American citizens.

BECK: But you know what, Mike? What are you going to do?

Americans raise their voice, and then, for some reason, Clinton came out and she had a statement in the last -- in the last debate that she doesn`t think it`s right to give drivers` licenses to illegals because it would be proof that they were here illegally. I kid you not, that`s what she said.

CUTLER: Unbelievable.

BECK: Obama doesn`t want to do anything about it. John McCain isn`t serious about the border.

CUTLER: No, he`s not.

BECK: What are we supposed to do about it?

CUTLER: But the American people aren`t being heard. Remember almost two years ago, when hundreds of thousand of illegal aliens and their supporters took to the streets chanting, "Si se puede," "Yes, I can"? A chant, by the way, that Mr. Obama has picked up on. You saw very few Americans standing on the opposite side of the street saying, wait a moment, you folks aren`t immigrants, you are illegal aliens.

You know, I`ve often made the point, the difference between an immigrant and an illegal alien is the difference between house guest and a burglar. But the politicians have an agenda. I don`t know what to tell you, Glenn.

BECK: All right. Tony, Mike, thank you very much.

By the way, I`ve told you before that we are going down to the border, and we are going to cover this firsthand. But it takes a lot of logistics. And we will be there.

Now, the housing situation in New York, has it gotten so bad that we have to hold contests to build houses? Well, wait until you hear this story. Apparently, it has.

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BECK: Well, New York City has commissioned a contest to answer a somewhat important question. Namely, what the heck do we do with all the people if something bad happens in New York City?

As you can see, the government moves very, very quickly, because all of the emergency housing is completely done and ready to be set up for victims of a tragedy at a moment`s notice.

Who am I kidding? It`s the government.

They have just announced today that they have narrowed the field of submissions for possible designs of emergency housing. So, seven years after 9/11, not only do they not have actual emergency housing, but all they`ve done is decide on 10 finalist that will be awarded $10,000 to flesh out that design. That looks kind of creative.

Seriously, universal health care sounds like a great idea. It does. That gallbladder surgery should be done any time now. We`ll just wait.

As far as the designs themselves, they had some serious hurdles to deal with. Manhattan doesn`t have space to store thousands and thousands of trailers. So, you have to get innovative, like, for example, stack some apartments on a barge and float them down to New York.

You just take the barges and pull them right up to the shore and, voila, instant disaster recovery. Unless someone figures out how to sink a boat. But what are the odds of that?

Or, how about take some little red cubes and through them on top of a little improved bridge? You know, it would work great as long as the roads are in perfect shape.

I kind of like -- I kind of like this idea. It`s called the scissortainer (ph). You pull it out of the truck and then open it up into a container-sized apartment, which is bigger than most normal apartments in Manhattan.

Or, another container idea -- we`ve seen all these things before. I mean, maybe they don`t have the best view in the world, but they work in a pinch. I guess. And why only have one when you can stack them on top of each other and just make some fancy pseudo apartment building?.

As far as I know, there is no clubhouse or hot tub or doorman.

One interesting thing that I began to ponder as I saw these designs for emergency housing is the fact that I work in a city that needs emergency housing designs. Let`s be honest, I`m on an island with only, like, two tunnels and a couple of bridges as a way off.

When anything hits the fan, I don`t think I`m going anywhere. I saw the commercials. Oh, I did. I saw "Cloverfield." I saw the commercials for it.

I know what`s coming. Oh, I know.

From New York, good night.

END