Return to Transcripts main page
Glenn Beck
Congress Making Energy Crisis Worse; Obama Quits Church; Flawed Fathers Contend for Worst Dad Award
Aired June 02, 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, the Senate, including Barack, Hillary, and McCain, are wasting your time and money again. They`re debating a cap and trade bill. You know, to help the environment, which is going to cost you a ton more at the gas pump. I`ll explain.
Plus, Obama throws his church under the bus, kind of, as he gets ready to claim the nomination. Why`d he wait so long? How`s the GOP going to react? And what did he really say about why he was leaving his church?
Nasty confrontation at this weekend`s Democratic rules and bylaw meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our Democratic party threw us down the tubes.
BECK: Just another example of disenfranchisement in America. I`ll tell you why this New York Democrat hit it right on the nose.
All this and more tonight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BECK: Well, last Thursday night I was up in Toronto, Canada, and I was with Newt Gingrich and he said, "Drill here, drill now, pay less." OK. When it comes to our energy crisis, I couldn`t agree more.
As Americans, like you and me, are paying more and more for gas, it seems like Congress, just sitting there, doing everything in their power to make sure that gas and everything else you buy costs more and more.
So here`s "The Point" tonight. Hey, Congress, enough is enough! Congress is deaf to the problems of America, and it is time for, we, the people to raise our voices and demand that we are heard. And here`s how I got there.
Everything you buy, absolutely everything, spends time in a ship, a truck, a train, a plane on its way to you. The food you had for dinner tonight, do you know how far that came to get to your plate? Fifteen hundred miles on the average. When you`re in the freight business, gasoline, one of your biggest expenses. In fact, my father-in-law runs an insurance agency. He said now gas is his biggest expense, as well.
It costs more to do everything with gas going up. In fact, if you have to ship a product, all that -- all of that cost gets passed directly on to the consumer. Gas prices are up 26 percent from this time last year. So you can expect the price of everything that is shipped to go up accordingly. This isn`t a theory, Congress; this is the way it works.
But that`s just what you buy. How about what you do? Do you drive to work? How about when you go on vacation, how you going to do that? How about the moms who are taking their kids to soccer practice, or more likely, they take one kid to soccer, then another one to dance class, then another one has to go to karate. They`re back and forth from school and town six times in one day. How long before you can`t afford to use your car unless it`s to get to work?
These are the real concerns for average Americans, but Congress, oh, they`ve got their head so far up their ass, they can`t even see the universal crisis that is bearing down on every single American, and we`re getting sick of it.
Tonight, America, here`s what you need to know. This Congress, this week, is debating something called cap and trade legislation. Oh, I`ll have more on that in tonight`s "Real Story" and in the subsequent days. But here`s a little tease for you.
Congress says opponents of the bill say it will make gas prices go up. Well, since when did the government become opponents to bills? Because the one that is opposed to this or the one that`s saying it will go up is the EPA. Last I checked, that was a government entity. It says it will increase the price of gas by at least $1.50 a gallon. Well, thanks, Washington. That`s the kind of relief I was looking for!
What about the damage Congress has already done? The liberals in Congress, controlled by the radical environmental special-interest groups, have created a system where it is impossible to develop the next generation of nuclear energy. That`s how most of Europe thrives.
By the way, they`ve also blocked clean coal technology. Have you tried to build a dam? They`re building the biggest freaking dam ever built in China. We can`t build one here. Go ahead and try to do it.
They`ve ignored coal-to-oil technology while there are 27 new coal processing plants springing up all over Europe. Last week the Senate again voted against oil shale development. It is estimated that we have 1.8 trillion -- with a "T" -- barrels of oil trapped in our country`s oil shale. That is three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia.
And last but not least, they`ve prevented us from drilling in ANWR and off our shores. Meanwhile, China is drilling 50 miles of the shore of Key West and they`re drilling horizontally. And Brazil has tapped -- has tapped two Atlantic oil fields. That makes them now energy independent. Brazil! Best known for the thong! They`re energy independent. Us, not so much.
We need energy independence. We need relief at the gas pump. We need liberation from foreign energy and the dictators who control it. But actually, I`m fearing foreign dictators a lot less than the dictators who are now seen in Washington.
Ben Stein is the creator of a movie, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed," and the co-author of "Yes, You Can Supercharge Your Portfolio."
Thanks for permission, Ben. You say good news -- and by the way, how was your weekend?
BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, "YES, YOU CAN SUPERCHARGE YOUR PORTFOLIO": It was pretty good. I hate a little too much fish last night, so I had my paregoric here today, but I`ve saved drinking it until you actually drink it. In fact...
BECK: I wasn`t really interested. I wasn`t really interested -- I was just -- you`re supposed to respond "Fine" and...
STEIN: Oh, OK, I`m fine, Glenn. I`m sorry. By the way, I think you mean it`s Cuba that`s drilling off the U.S., not China.
BECK: No, it`s China.
STEIN: China is?
BECK: China, fifty miles. Ben, they`re drilling 50 miles off the coast of Key West, and they are allowed to drill -- what do they call it, slant drilling, so they`re coming towards us.
STEIN: So the summary of all this is, we have an insane -- not insane, but insanely powerful lobby of environmentalists who are stepping on the oxygen tank of the American economy -- oxygen tube the American economy needs to breathe. And I don`t know what they think we`re going to do, but if they outlaw coal, outlaw nuclear -- "nucular" as Mr. Bush says - - outlaw shale, what are we going to do? What are we supposed to do?
BECK: Ben, Ben, it`s not just the environmentalists. It`s not. It`s -- it`s our own government. Our government is its own special interest group. I don`t know who they`re answering to anymore.
STEIN: But our government is largely in the hands of the most radical people in any particular interest area. For example, the civil rights division of the Justice Department is in the hand of total radicals. The Environmental Protection Agency is really involved in protecting the environmentalists, not the environment.
I mean, what good does it do if we have a beautiful environment if we`re too poor to drive to it? What good does it do if you have a beautiful environment...
BECK: They`d be happy if we were able to drive to it. You know, I talked to a guy in Seattle today. He said, "Glenn, I love my country. I`m a construction guy." He said, you know, "I build highways. I`ve been doing it a year." He said, "I can`t do it anymore." He was on his way to a job interview for a job in Russia. He`s leaving...
STEIN: Wow.
BECK: He`s leaving here. He`s like, "I cannot do my job anymore."
I talked to the governor of Montana today. He said the people in his state are fed up to here. They have the coal. He said, but the government just won`t get out of the way to be able to make a stable market to be able to change it over to oil.
STEIN: But you do not understand, even with all of your wisdom and insight, the incredible power that the environmental lobby has in Washington. They will grab and buttonhole anybody who gets in their way. They will beat him to the ground. They will flood him with angry letters. They will beat him to a pulp if he stands up to the economy.
BECK: Let me give you this. Let me give you this. This just -- these are stories from this last week. We have now -- the airlines can`t get credit for oil. They had a 20-day turnaround. They could have 20 days of credit. They could get the oil and then pay them within 20 days. Can`t do it anymore.
That means the people who are supplying with them jet fuel don`t even trust that the airlines are good for money for 20 days in the future.
STEIN: And they`re right. And they`re right.
BECK: You`re exactly right. The trains are overloaded. If you try to buy a new car you`re going to spend $2,000 more per car, because in Chicago, the train lines are all backed up because nobody can afford to put them on trucks anymore. We have a thousand trucking companies that have gone out of business in the last 30 days.
Forty-two-thousand trucks now are sitting idle, because we can`t afford to put fuel in them. And we`re selling the trucks to Russia.
Ben, tell me when the clowns in Washington are going to say, "To hell with the environmental lobby. I`m going to have to answer to the end of a pitchfork and a torch soon."
STEIN: Well, there is -- that`s never going to happen, because the pitchfork and torch people, who are just the ordinary American, have no lobby. There`s nobody lobbying for the ordinary American except you, Glenn, and maybe a few others. But there`s nobody lobbying for them, whereas the people that want to protect the snail darter (ph), want to protect various fruit flies, they have powerful lobbies.
And it`s very interesting, but the people in New York and Washington, D.C., who probably don`t even drive, or don`t drive much, are the ones controlling the environmental lobbies.
BECK: That`s right.
STEIN: Even in San Francisco, they don`t even drive. They`re controlling those lobbies. The people like us who need to drive, who want to drive, who love to drive, who love energy, they`re not -- we don`t get our voices heard.
BECK: Yes, well, they`re going to be heard soon. Ben, thanks a lot.
Well, now with food and gas prices rising and the dollar declining, things could get real tough real fast in America. God forbid we have a hurricane. Don`t let it catch you by surprise. Be prepared.
All this week you can find out how to be ready for absolutely anything with my free e-mail newsletter. In tomorrow`s edition, I`ve asked the president of Everbank, Chuck Butler, to show you the basics of investing safely outside of the U.S. dollar. You can only get it by signing up right now at GlennBeck.com.
And coming up, Barack Obama has finally left his church because of more controversial remarks from the pulpit there, but he didn`t leave for the same reason you might expect him to leave for. We have that next.
Plus, polar bears, caribou, the buck-toothed bunny, oh, no. Time to drill through the buck-toothed bunny to get to the oil in ANWR, as far as I`m concerned. We have the governor of Alaska, who`s now suing the administration to get it done. She joins me in just a minute to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: So, I just want to know, because I`m not sure, if you`re in favor of drilling offshore or in the ANWR, does that make you a polar bear- hating oil company shill? I`m going to have to ask Alaska`s governor that question. She is suing the federal government over a decision to add polar bears to the threatened species list. She`ll join me. And she`s mad as hell, and she`s not going to take it anymore, in just a minute.
But first, as the song says, breaking up is hard to do, and after months of bad press for both of them, really, Barack Obama has resigned his 20-year membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Michelle and I told Reverend Otis Moss that we were withdrawing as members of Trinity. And so this is not a decision I come to lightly, and frankly it`s one that I make with some sadness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Yes. It`s not because of Obama`s former pastor and spiritual adviser, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. You know, he used the church as a forum for his radical social and political beliefs. All the while, Obama, sitting there, you know, and, you know, that revelation put Obama`s campaigns on its knees.
Even after Wright left the church, the congregation asked guest pastor Michael Pfleger last week to speak. But, you know, things didn`t really go so well last week either, especially when he did his Hillary impression.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR MICHAEL PFLEGER, GUEST SPEAKER AT TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: I`m white! I`m entitled! There`s a black man stealing my show!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: Yes. Reverend, thanks for the help.
Trouble is, Obama`s departure from the church this weekend raises a couple of questions, like why did it take him so long to quit? Only took two years for Oprah Winfrey to realize Trinity was bad news. Why did it take Obama 20?
Most importantly, Obama says he`s leaving the church because his campaign is a distraction for them. Is that kind of like Robert Byrd leaving the KKK because he feels that his press would be bad for the Klan? I`m just wondering.
Kevin Madden is a Republican strategist and former senior adviser for Mitt Romney, and Joe Hicks is a conservative commentator and host of "The Joe Hicks Show" at KFI Radio in Los Angeles.
Joe, is this ever going to hurt this guy?
JOE HICKS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, it won`t if people don`t ask the tough questions of this guy. They`ve got to pin him down. This is complete political expedience here. He didn`t once issue any kind of criticism of the kind of political statements coming out of the church. It was all, as you indicate, it`s tough for them, and bad for me, and therefore, I`m just out of the game for a bit. I think it`s frankly outrageous.
BECK: I mean, he did -- he went so far to say, this is really bad. It`s a distraction for the people who are going to the church. Could you be outraged by some of the things that are said? This is a group of people that are bashing whites over and over again. If it were reversed, this would never be tolerated.
HICKS: Well, it wouldn`t. I mean, listen, I think -- this guy has got to be held accountable for this stuff. And the media keeps giving this guy a pass, except obviously for you. You know, everybody`s, you know, avoiding the tough questions about this guy`s bedrock political beliefs. All the stuff, the William Ayers stuff, the Jeremiah Wright stuff, Michael Pfleger.
By the way, he`s got a 20-year association with this guy Pfleger, also. It`s outrageous.
BECK: OK. Kevin, is this ever going to help? I mean hurt? Will it ever come back to bite him? Will the 527s, at least, take this guy on?
KEVIN MADDEN, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR MITT ROMNEY: Well, I think it`s baked in a cake as far as a controversy that is going to dog Barack Obama throughout this campaign.
And I would agree with Mr. Hicks that the decision to leave the church is one that`s going to continue to feed a narrative that shows that Barack Obama will make the politically expedient decision when faced with the -- with the pressures and the contours of a very difficult news cycle.
BECK: Because he didn`t ever come out and really say anything against the church. So he leaves with his street cred in that church. And to me it seems like trying to protect himself and make sure he doesn`t piss anybody off in the church so they come after him and, you know, say awful things in the news and make it worse for him.
But at the same time, he can walk away and say, "Well, you know, I left that church months ago. And this is old news."
MADDEN: Well, a couple of things, Glenn. I think that the pattern here shows that at the end, Barack Obama, when faced with a crisis, does make a politically expedient decision. It`s very similar to his remarks with meeting with the leaders of places like Iran, without preconditions. You know, he`s changed -- he`s trying to change his tune on that now.
When the Reverend Wright controversy was first introduced, Barack Obama explained that it was -- you know, it was old news. Then he said that he could no longer disassociate himself from Reverend Wright than he could his grandmother. Then he decided to disassociate himself from Reverend Wright. Now he`s left the church.
So it shows a pattern that -- that he will take that long -- the long walk towards political expediency. But in the end, he will do what is politically expedient versus doing the hard thing.
BECK: But you know what? Joe, it`s not enough for people like me to bring this up. The media is absolutely giving him a pass. Do you think that the American people...
HICKS: No, they won`t -- they won`t give him a pass, Glenn. I think what`s happened -- you see it in the polls -- that a lot of voters -- it`s clear that a lot of black voters are voting out of some sort of racial loyalty about this guy. White voters, I think, are sizing this guy up and going, "Well, wait a minute. What`s this guy`s basic beliefs here?"
And I think that`s going to be a very difficult sell for Barack Obama to convince voters that -- that he deserves their vote. They`re very suspicious of this guy.
BECK: Kevin, do you see anything -- I mean, I think Hillary Clinton actually had a case to be made when she -- I mean, she`s trouncing him in the last few primaries. She`s 30, 35, 40 points ahead of him in the last few primaries. Does that say anything?
MADDEN: Well, I think it says -- I think it says more about the states that Hillary Clinton was winning. I`m going to -- I`m going to quibble with the idea that Barack Obama has trouble with white voters. I think he has trouble with a lot of these lunch-pail Democrat voters in places like West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. They`re a different type of voter than the ones that Barack Obama is winning in places like Oregon and California.
BECK: Oh, yes.
MADDEN: So the argument that Hillary Clinton is making, Glenn, about being a stronger candidate in these swing states is a very compelling one. The problem is that I don`t think it`s as compelling an argument with a lot of those super delegates now who are looking to rally behind Barack Obama.
BECK: OK. Thanks, guys. We`ll talk again.
Now coming up, you know, I have a list of this year`s contenders for father of the year. It is Father`s Day Sunday. I`m going to give you the chance to weigh in, in a minute.
Plus, things got nasty at this weekend`s Democratic rules and bylaws meeting. I`ve got a clip of video that proves just how disenfranchised Americans really are with our political process. It`s not just the Democrats. It`s everybody. You don`t want to miss it, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: If I may speak for all dads across the country, we don`t really need another tie, especially if you have this little nice -- Jody our camera woman loves this. It has dogs on this.
I`m sure your dad would appreciate the thought, but why not this year get him something else, something different? Like maybe, off the top of my head, a `62 corvette. He`d probably like that. Or a book, maybe one filled with fatherly advice called "In the Event of My Untimely Demise: 20 Things My Son Needs to Know," written by Brian Sack? But I think he`d rather have the Corvette. But a Corvette can`t do a two-minute interview. Brian Sack can.
BRIAN SACK, AUTHOR, "IN THE EVENT OF MY UNTIMELY DEMISE": Yes.
BECK: Are you using your kid to shill your book?
SACK: Absolutely not. No, school is out, and I do not believe in nannies.
BECK: You are shameless.
SACK: No, no, no, no. He had to tag along. Mom was busy, and we don`t have a nanny.
BECK: You going to introduce him?
SACK: That`s my son. Say hi.
BECK: That is a lovely name. Your son.
SACK: His name is Antek. It`s a Polish name.
BECK: It`s a what?
SACK: Polish name. Antek. Wave, say hi. All right.
BECK: If the state is watching, this is one that I beg you, take the child away.
SACK: Oh, dear God.
BECK: Forget about the polygamist thing. Take this kid away from Brian Sack.
SACK: Oh, my goodness.
BECK: OK. So give me -- you have a list of the worst dads.
SACK: Well, yes, I started doing some Father`s Day segment research, and then I came across a lot of bad dad stories.
BECK: Yes.
SACK: And I thought, you know, maybe I could turn this something. Maybe we could make this into, like, an Aesop`s fable.
BECK: Sure.
SACK: We could learn from these people.
BECK: OK, go ahead.
SACK: OK.
BECK: Father of the year.
SACK: First dad eligible is Daniel Kelly. And he left his 2-year-old at home on the sofa with lasagna baking in the oven. He went out to Burger King and got a DUI.
Now, the lesson.
BECK: All right.
SACK: It`s a positive -- you can`t always have it your way.
BECK: Yes, yes. I was thinking, don`t drink.
SACK: Yes, that too.
BECK: With lasagna in the oven.
SACK: Next guy, John Sikorski. Allegedly snorted Xanax and Oxycodone. Fell asleep on the floor in the bathroom, and his 5-year-old was wandering around in traffic.
BECK: Why wouldn`t he lock the door?
SACK: I don`t know. That`s another lesson.
BECK: Yes.
SACK: But the lesson I got from this was, all things in moderation.
BECK: OK, sure.
SACK: Moving on to Josef Fritzl, the...
BECK: Would you cover your son`s ears?
SACK: Yes, Josef Fritzl.
BECK: Those are his eyes. I`m begging the state to take this child away.
SACK: Josef Fritzl, the Austrian guy...
BECK: Yes.
SACK: ... imprisoned his daughter for 24 years in the basement, fathered seven kids with her.
BECK: Bad grandpa?
SACK: Lesson -- lesson, patience is a virtue.
And now we`ve got another one. It`s Michael Lohan. He raised Lindsay Lohan.
BECK: Your son -- your son -- what`s your son`s name again?
SACK: Antek. It`s Polish. I have to explain it every time I say it.
BECK: Antek. Antek, your dad is a very, very bad man.
SACK: Glenn just said I`m a wonderful man. Can you say thank you?
BECK: And a bad grandpa, too.
SACK: Oh, dear. And Michael Lohan.
BECK: yes.
SACK: He raised Lindsay, annoyed Lindsay, and issues inane comments, like Lindsay. Lesson there, silence is golden.
BECK: Brian?
SACK: Yes, sir.
BECK: I think you`re the father of the year.
SACK: What?
BECK: If this is the -- these are the contenders...
SACK: Yes?
BECK: ... you`re a contender, as well.
SACK: Why would that be?
BECK: Your son -- you`ve got your son on the camera just trying...
SACK: Would you rather I leave him at home alone?
BECK: There you go. Uses your own children to pimp your book.
OK. The name of the book is?
SACK: "In the Event of My Untimely Demise."
BECK: Yes. And if you order now at GlennBeck.com, you`ve got a special little work thing. It`s actually really kind of cool. It`s where you can give the present back to your son. Right?
SACK: Yes. And/or this one.
BECK: OK. Order now at GlennBeck.com.
Up next, the governor of Alaska stops by to explain why she`s suing the federal government. You don`t want to miss tonight`s "Real Story." It`s coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: I saw on YouTube this weekend a meltdown from this weekend`s Democratic Rules Committee meeting. And the media laughed at this woman. I`ve been telling you far while that the average American feels totally disconnected from the political process. I`ve got video, I`m not going to laugh at it. I`m going to show you the latest proof on how disconnected we are all, in just a minute.
But first, welcome to the "Real Story." This week, I`m going to be keeping a special eye on the Senate, and you should too. Today they began debating the Lieberman-Warner cap and trade bill. Well, that sounds great. It`s a massive, nasty new effort to cut corporate America`s carbon emissions. Oh, it`s good for the planet.
So let me see, last month it was polar bears and now it`s greenhouse gases. Great, what`s next? Do we have to stop those evil tree-killing beavers, Congress?
While, the senators are saying the environment is as stake, the real story is the only environment I think that is at stake is America`s political environment. Congress is debating a bill on saving the environment. Not one member of the Senate could actually look you in the eye and say, it will make a difference. Because it won`t. It`s all about money.
And the longer you pay these kinds of gas prices while they save the polar bears and the Bacon Museums, the more disenfranchised we all become. Oh, but Glenn, this bill is going to cut emissions by 66 percent by 2050. Really? Not sure I`m sold on that, but thanks for playing the game. Not when you`re paying $4.00 a gallon for gasoline do I give a flying crap. Talk about adding literal fuel to the fire.
Here it is, America, the bill, especially when combined with Barbara Boxer`s amendment would lead to higher coal, higher gas, higher oil and food prices, even though all of these things are at historic highs.
According to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency -- you know, that crazy right-wing organization -- oh, and the Energy Information Administration, two independent government agencies, your annual energy bill will increase by $325. Gas prices will increase by at least $1.50 a gallon. Manufacturing output will decrease by 10 percent. Which means, do you think they`d cut jobs if that happens? Our GDP they say will be reduced by almost $3 trillion by 2050.
By the way, just a reminder, 70 percent of our GDP is based on your spending, so reducing it must mean we have to reduce your spending power. That sounds like a good idea. So why would politicians, including all three presidential candidates, support the plan? Well, it`s because government will rake in $6.7 trillion.
That`s the trade part of the program, this according to the "Wall Street Journal." All this money will be used on things like the green job training. I love this one. Wildlife adaptation. I don`t even know what the hell that means.
They`re going to spend a lot of money on new international aid and Native American tribes. You know what? Instead of political posturing, our elected leaders should really be looking into real ways to solve our energy problem. Our truckers can`t afford the diesel they`re trying to put into the truck. Our leaders should be looking for oil everywhere they can. They should be cutting taxes on alternative fuel cars. They should be rewarding companies that find oil or new ideas to replace oil.
We are not the country that Congress sees. We are a country that solves problems. We`re not a problem that creates them. But instead, Washington is touting a plan which may hypothetically help slow down a hypothetical problem by raising actual energy prices, reducing actual American production, and giving you less actual money to spend.
If we continue down this path, it will not be Republicans against Democrats or capitalists against environmentalists. It will be the people against the government. They`ve got to wake up! We the people need to wake them up. Speak up. Governor Sarah Palin, she`s the governor of Alaska. She`s close enough to the people to actually hear the people and then respond to them. She is suing the federal government over the threatened species status of polar bears because it inhibits the state`s ability to search for oil.
The governor joins me now. First of all, I have to ask you, how is Trig, your newborn?
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) AK: Oh, Trig is doing wonderfully. Thank you so much for asking. He`s an awesome bundle of joy. Thank you, Glenn.
BECK: I have to tell you, governor, I was so impressed with the way - - your child was born with Down`s syndrome and I was just so impressed with the way you and your husband handled that. As a father with special needs.
Tell me about the polar bear lawsuit?
PALIN: Well, we are suing the federal government, recognizing that the Endangered Species Act is not a place to kind of mess around with in terms of listing as threatened a species that right now is very, very healthy. In fact, the number of polar bear has risen dramatically in the last 30 years. Our fear being that extreme environmentalists will use this tool, the ESA, to eventually just curtail or halt North Slope production of very rich resources that America needs. You know, we need that oil. We need that gas. I`m glad your fired up about it, Glenn, and I appreciated your monologue there.
BECK: I`m so sick of it, governor. And is it true, ANWR, where they want to drill, it`s 700 miles away from the closest tree, is that true?
PALIN: Well, what`s true about ANWR is that it`s about a 2,000 acre plot, also. A lot of land that is -- shoot, the footprint is smaller than LAX, for instance, that plot that needs to be explored. And ANWR is ripe for exploration. There are so many other parts of Alaska`s plain, again, very, very rich in reserves. And if we want to become more energy independent, it makes sense, obviously, to be looking domestically. Safe, clean domestic supplies of energy that Alaska has and that we`re able and ready and willing to contribute to the rest of the U.S.
It infuriates us also the lockup of ANWR but other areas also is leading to that lack of independence and lack of energy security that we need in America.
BECK: You know, they`re suing now in the State of Massachusetts because what they want to do is build windmills off the coast of Nantucket and the federal government won`t let them do it. And they`re suing because they say the state has a right to build these windmills if they want to do it. If they win, can you use that legislation to say, you know what? I don`t care you say, Washington, we`re drilling, it`s our oil?
PALIN: It is our oil, it is federal land, though, so we need Congress to see the light and quit relying on unstable and these foreign regimes that aren`t real friendly to America, asking them to increase production for America`s security needs and for our energy needs to be met. That`s ridiculous, it`s nonsensical. Again, when your sister state, the 49th state in our union, Alaska, up here we have those resources and they`re ready to be tapped.
BECK: What does the average Alaskan say about this?
PALIN: The average Alaskan says, again, we recognize these reserves being ready to be tapped, and we are ready to contribute more to the U.S. There`s really hungry markets here in Alaska, too, though. We`re paying outrageous prices for our oil and our heating fuel.
BECK: Aren`t you paying the most in the country? I mean, you`re paying over $4 a gallon in Alaska.
PALIN: Yeah. Isn`t that ridiculous? We are. And Alaskans, collectively, we own these resources underground, we want them to be tapped, and we`re ready to contribute more to the U.S. in terms of resources that can lead to a safer nation. And I say this while our nation is at war, while we`re fighting in some sense over energy supplies. It`s ridiculous. We do have the resources here.
BECK: Have you -- have you considered or have you been talked to or anybody said anything about you running with John McCain?
PALIN: There`s a lot of rumor and speculation about -- not just me, though, a lot of governors who may be tapped, at least for consideration. There are rumors out there.
BECK: Well, would you -- would you go to -- I hate to ask you this -- would you go to that den of vipers in Washington if you were asked?
PALIN: You know, if I had to make such a decision today, it would be, no, there are a lot that Alaska could be, should be doing to contribute more to the U.S. and I think that I can help do that as governor of the state staying here.
BECK: You know, I have to -- I don`t mean to be rude, because -- look, I grew up in Washington State. Alaska is spectacular in its beauty. My father worked up in Alaska for a while while they were building the pipeline and everything else. But I have to tell you something, we brought Alaska into the union, if I`m not mistaken, with an eye to the future of its reserves. Why would we not tap the Alaskan reserves right now?
PALIN: That is exactly why we became a state. Fifty years ago, we struck deals with the federal government, saying that we wanted to be let into the union and we`d be a self-sufficient as possible. We`d do that by developing our God-given resources up there and we`d contribute to the federal government and now, though, we`re not allowed to do that. So the federal government and -- again, the extreme environmentalists, are not allowing up to uphold our end of the bargain when we became a state. We are so rich, with millions and millions and millions of barrels oil still sitting under ground, and trillions and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, clean, stable supply that`s not allowed to be tapped.
BECK: Governor, thanks a lot. That`s the "Real Story" tonight. Just a reminder, we are five days away from starting my summer tour called Beck `08 "Unelectable." It`s a comedy tour, I think. Actually, it`s becoming more of a rant as we get closer to this. We kick things off Saturday June 7th in Atlanta, then we move on to stops in Oklahoma City, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Portland, Maine, Syracuse, Springfield, Akron, Houston, Columbia, South Carolina. You can log on to glennbeck.com right now and grab your tickets. We`ll see you Saturday in Atlanta.
Coming up, think America has enough with the political process in Washington, DC? Oh, you just wait until I show you what happened at this weekend`s DNC Rules and Bylaws meeting. You`re not going to want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: Sometimes the voice of the angry young man sounds an awful lot like the angry old woman. That was the case this weekend. I don`t know if you saw this video of this passionate Democrat. Her name is Harriet Christian. She was thrown out of the DNC rules and bylaws meeting when it was decided that the delegates in Florida and Michigan would only have half a vote. Harriet didn`t take the news so well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIET CHRISTIAN, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Proud to be an older American woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where you from?
CHRISTIAN: New York City! Hillary`s state, the best nominee that`s possible! And the Democrats are throwing the election away! For what? An inadequate black male? Who would not have been running had it not been a white woman that was running for president! And I`m not going to shut my mouth anymore! I can be called white, but you can`t be called black! That`s not my America! It`s equality for all of us! It`s about time we all stood up for it! I`m no second-class citizen! And Goddamn the Democrats!
I came here for the vote of every American. And our Democratic Party threw us down the tubes! I was a second-class citizen before, now I`m nothing. Why, because they want to do what they want to do! And they think we won`t turn and vote for McCain. Well, I got news for all of you! McCain will be the next president of the United States!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: I will tell you, I don`t know if I agree with her on that one, but that is the sound of the disenfranchised. What we cut off on the tape, and I`m little disappointed, is the laughter of the media was she walked away. I believe the majority of voters in this country are feeling disconnected from the political process and this woman`s outrage is just the tip of the iceberg. Here to confirm the worst is pollster Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen reports.
You know what, I have to tell you, Scott, as though I don`t really have a say in this country anymore and I`m on television. I watch the news. I see what these clowns are doing in Washington and I think, they`re not even listening to anybody. Am I alone?
SCOTT RASMUSSEN, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Not at all. Sixty seven percent of Americans say the federal government has become a special interest group. It looks out for itself first. Just 17 percent of Americans say the government represents the will of the people. There is a huge disconnect. It`s not something that just happened at the Rules Committee meeting on Saturday or at the Democratic nomination process this year. It`s something that has been going on for more than a decade and it`s very deep seated and very problematic.
BECK: But it`s never been this deep, has it, Scott? There`s something -- at least, it feels to me, it`s not Republicans, it`s not Democrats, it`s all of us. It`s Americans -- we`re united in this. We all think our government stinks.
RASMUSSEN: There is a unity behind that view, and it has been getting progressively worse. Fifty percent of Americans say elections are fair. Just half. And again, that number is held steady for a long time. What you`re seeing, if you remember back in 1994, there was the angry white male who overthrew the Democrats in Congress. It`s 14 years later and people are saying, hey, wait a minute. We put the Republicans in charge for a while, nothing changed. We threw them out, we put Democrats back in Congress, nothing`s changed. It`s happening at the time when as consumers, people know how to react and be heard. You go into a restaurant, you don`t like what they serve you, you don`t go back. You tell your friends and they don`t go back. And you have an impact. But in the political process, people don`t feel they have kind of an influence.
BECK: So, Scott, here`s the question that`s been bothering me all weekend. I talked to a lot of people this weekend, a lot of friends. They all said the same thing. They were all talking about gas prices. And there`s real anger.
As Congress continues to watch out for the polar bear and the environment and talk about cap and trade, nobody seems to be looking out for the consumer. Nobody is doing anything in Washington. It`s no longer an option just to say, ah, the hell with them, that`s why I`m not going to vote. Because it does affect you.
So at what point do these numbers become frightening? At what point do these numbers tell the people in Washington, look out, the torches are coming for you clowns?
RASMUSSEN: Well, they should be very concerned right now. It`s not just these numbers. We have now been 30 years since Jimmy Carter won the White House after the Watergate affair. And in that time, there has been only one candidate who managed to win a mandate, a majority of the popular vote by a significant margin, and that was Ronald Reagan. And it`s because the leaders are not connecting with the public. We haven`t had a period like this since the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. And the political system is in serious trouble.
BECK: Do you believe that there is a tipping point? I mean, look, I talk to about 8 million people on my radio program all the time and I hear it. I hear the -- I hear -- I said last week that I thought Montana might actually, not secede from the union, just call it game over if the Supreme Court ever said that guns were a collective right, not an individual right. My phone and e-mail exploded. People saying, really, Montana, how can I buy property there? I mean, there are people that are just done with it.
RASMUSSEN: And the real frustration - I look at these numbers and I get worried about it, but you try to find what is the way out and right now, it`s very difficult and the reason it`s difficult is because the people who are running the government also write the rules on the election process.
BECK: Yep. Yep. All right, Scott, thanks a lot.
Coming up, cartoons used to be fun and games on Saturday morning, right? Now, not so much. Wait until I show you this new cartoon that teaches your children to cut their carbon footprint or die. I`m not kidding. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: There is a new Web site from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation called Professor Splinky`s greenhouse calculator. The site is meant to engage children in environmental issues. How does it do that? Well, it tells your child how old they`re allowed to be until they should die. Why should they die? Well, because they`re using up more than their fair share of resources.
I ain`t kidding you. Going through the site, each child has to answer questions like, how much energy do you use? How much meat do you eat? How far do you travel? You know, to see how much of the Earth they`re killing. But how much is your fair share, according to the Web site? Well, when you consider everything, you just need to live like the average person in Malawi. Sounds reasonable, right?
But what happens if your child exceeds the average Malawian? Well, this happens. Your kid gets represented by an exploding pig. There they are. So who has a problem with an exploding pig that represents your child leaving a bloody puddle there?
Well, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for one. This is from their code of practice. Quote, "Particular care must be taken in the presentation of portrayal of such violence. Such content should not put undue emphasis on violent images or sounds. And where appropriate, it should be preceded by a warning."
Oh, a warning should appear where appropriate, like, when targeted at children, perhaps. I`m just saying. I didn`t notice a warning, but maybe I missed it. But they are specific when talking about targeting children with violent images, like when they break in with news updates.
Quote, "Particular care should be taken with scheduled television news updates at those time when programming is directed at children. News updates at such times must not include any violent content."
OK, Ii think I get this. Don`t interrupt children`s content with violence unless the children`s content is violent. I think that`s OK. But the code also says, quote "Special care should be taken to ensure the content which children are likely to watch or access unsupervised should not be harmful or disturbing to them."
Well, what could be disturbing about an exploding pig and telling kids that they should die when they`re nine?
This is yet another example of what I`ve been saying on this program forever. When it comes to environmental dogma, journalistic standards get thrown out the window. Bye-bye.
If you want to see this website, you won`t believe it, I`ll put it in my free e-mail newsletter. You can sign up for it right now at glennbeck.com. It will be there tomorrow morning. From New York, good night, America.
END
