Jonah Goldberg Tells Beck About the ‘Liberal Fascism’ & The Left‘s ’Tyranny of Cliches’
- Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:00pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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On Tuesday evening, Glenn Beck was joined by Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online founder and author of “The Tyranny of Cliches: How Liberals Cheat in the War of Ideas.” The focus of Goldberg’s book is how liberals perceive their surroundings, and in doing so, tend to believe that they are the only ones operating with logic, facts and reason. Goldberg, catalyzed by consistently seeing college students use the same, tired cliches while attacking conservatives and Libertarians, sorely begs to differ.
The author pointed out that a common catch-phrase used by liberals when describing the philosophy of their conservative counterparts is: “let them eat cake.” Ironically, however, the saying is often misattributed to Marie Antoinette and did not include the word “cake” at all, but rather “brioche” — a kind of French bread that typically costs more money than regular bread due to the amount of butter used in the dough. This last part is significant, because in the France of old, bakers were forced to sell brioche to the poor for the same price as their basic bread, whenever they ran out of that basic bread. It was a classic “limousine liberal approach,” Goldberg noted. It would be akin to mandating that a bar owner sell 18-year-old scotch at the same price as “Pabst Blue Ribbon.”
Goldberg also challenged the liberal mindset that proclaims “labels” are a social ill, saying that the left simply doesn’t want conservative, principled values to interfere with their agenda.
“It’s what they say to shut people up.”
Yet while liberals hate labels, they seem not to mind name-calling. He used the example of Al Gore calling his critics “Nazis and brown shirts” to illustrate his point.
“The Left has no obligation… or accountability to own its own intellectual history,” he added, because they “don’t want to be hindered by that.”
“That is what we saw with the Tea Party.”
Goldberg left no stone unturned, assailing the Civil Rights movement, the real question of “diversity” and “social justice,” Herbert Crowley, the U.N. social justice report, and even Barbara Streisand.
It was an informative and compelling interview you won’t want to miss:
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Spqr1
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 5:31pmNice job fools! Just keep pretending that the 1990‘s and Frank Luntz’s focus groups and buzz phrases invented for Newt and his little newtlets never happened.
Report Post »SilentReader
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:28pmJonah Goldberg hits the nail on the head. Yet again!
I really loved hearing where “Let them eat cake” came from. I’m sure this new book, The Tyranny of Cliches, will be just as great as Liberal Fascism was.
His book Liberal Fascism definitely was an eye opener. Fascists they are, and dangerous fascists they will remain.
Report Post »waetherman
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 6:20pmYou do realize that story about the bread shortages is complete poppycock, right? First, they weren’t caused by controlled markets, they were caused by poor harvests. Second, it would make no sense; why would a baker make brioche if they couldn’t make enough bread? They would know that they would certainly be selling the more expensive brioche for the price of bread if they couldn’t meet the market demand for bread. If such a rule did exist, it would only result in bakers making more than enough bread for their customers in order to ensure that they didn’t run out – a shortage of brioche, and an oversupply of bread, if anything, would be the result.
The famines happened because of crop shortages and the reliance on bread as a staple, without other crops to take its place when harvests failed. That’s the whole story.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:27amThe alinsky radicals lay claim to compassion the same way they lazy claim to fairness. It’s whatever they say it is whenever it is politically expedient, but they have no concept of either. It merely sounds good and is nothing more than an alinsky angle to attack and distract from. The U.S. Constitution addresses both perfectly, yet they hate the U.S. Constitution on both counts.
Report Post »When it comes to the alinsky liberal– compassion and fairness is something for the dictator to decide, so long as the dictator is themselves and they themselves are left out of any equation to the downside. This is largely due to their inability to do anything charitable in any regard with anything they believe is their own. Greed, covet, pilfering, slander, hate – is core makeup of an alinsky liberal. They preach it endlessly, feel it deeply, live it..
Guitar Master
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:26amzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From THE REPORTER
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
This will go down as one of Glenn Beck’s most boring interviews.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 11:04amWhich still leaves it more exciting than anything the leftstream alinsky media has ever comec up with!
Report Post »Thatsitivehadenough
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:14amhttp://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/102011/10282011/661339
Report Post »restorethelove
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 3:04amIt’s uncanny to hear Goldberg comments. I went to Mass media and Society class when Goldberg was speaking here in Albuquerque. My controversy paper is about the fact that the “public relations” chapter of my 2012 Mass Media text has one example of “publicity stunt” and it’s the tea party. This single paragraph, epistemic flaw is all you need to rip them a new one. Whoops! They put their foot in it…
Report Post »Lord_Frostwind
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:37amGoldberg brings up some good points. I‘ve been labelled with so many cheap liberal slang’s that I’ve started to appreciate them as a badge of honor, “Warmonger” being my personal favorite. Watching them throw around big concepts such as “military industrial complex,“ ”fascism“ and ”racism” like common insults only demeans people’s intelligence, deadens the meaning of those things, and shows their lack of intellectual strength. I always laugh when I ask them to elaborate on what exactly they mean when they say I’m a racist, most of the time it’s pretty funny.
Report Post »vox_populi
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 3:15amYeah, that’s pretty much how I feel every time I see someone conflate liberalism/progressivism/Marxism/communism/socialism/social-democracy/etc.
Report Post »FEWL
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:48amDon‘t forget ’Mysogenist’ or however you spell it, the great conservative ‘He man woman haters club!’
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:52amProblem is that the American Communist Party
the American Socialist Party
American Marxists
American Liberals
All are members in good standing with todays DEMOCRAT Party
Go Figure
Report Post »From Virginia
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:01am@Vox-pop – Yeah, go ahead and laugh. All those terms you listed HAVE melded into one big stink with the intent of stripping people of their liberty and making slaves of us all.
I don‘t know why you people think that’s such a nifty idea. I’ve just come to the conclusion that you are all evil. I mean, who’d want to DO that to people.
Report Post »vox_populi
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:22am“I don‘t know why you people think that’s such a nifty idea. I’ve just come to the conclusion that you are all evil. I mean, who’d want to DO that to people.”
Yeah, that’s probably it. I’m probably just evil. Or – or! – it‘s that you’re severely, severely misunderstanding several of these terms due to extreme straw-manning done by conservative media outlets which defines all forms of socialism as synonymous with the worst of Stalinist Bolshevism. This straw-man job becomes obvious every time I see conservatives become suddenly confused as to how socialist and anarchists could work together, but to anyone who knows real history that alliance is obvious – anarchism is a subset of socialism, and no, it isn’t just about “chaos.”
But of course, you’ll never hear about the non-State forms of leftist thought, like libertarian socialism or syndicalism. Those aren’t as easily shot down, so they aren’t even discussed.
Report Post »contkmi
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:33amVox is all butt-hurt because none of his managed economy theories has ever worked in practice.
He‘s just proving Goldberg’s theories that libs like to throw around terms that they think most of the population won’t understand, or they misuse the terms themselves.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:58amYou’re probably not “evil” Vox, just dumb as a box of rocks.
Report Post »TADTAD
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:14amFor the record, I earned my degree in history and I love cake. I used to really go for the Pabst and Scotch, too. Alas, those days, much like our country/gulag is long gone.
Report Post »Moozmom
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:08amWonderful comments! So interesting that the left is offended once again by truth. Love it!
Report Post »MRMANN
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 3:24amYes, truth seems noxious to the Left.
Report Post »Verceofreason
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:33amHow does one ‘assail’ the civil rights movement?
Report Post »Steelheadisadouche
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:01amStart with a mast, then put your ass on it.
Report Post »cja23
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:24amObama says he fundamentally disagrees with Romney, But it’s more like…Obama does agree more with Castro and Chavez, that‘s what’s so da-n scary.
Report Post »acidovorax
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:22amThe problem with Goldberg’s premise is that he is trying to refute very common fallacies of argumentation that are ubiquitous on ALL sides. I can’t go a day without hearing/reading a conservative claim “Liberalism is a mental disorder”, “liberals argue based on feelings; conservatives base their’s on facts”, ad nauseum.
Yes, these are fallacies of argumentation that everyone should be aware of, and liberals do use them frequently. But when your own side is eat up with the same types of logical absurdities, you might not want to protest so much.
Report Post »Verceofreason
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:36amHe sounds like a run of the mill douch.
Report Post »He knows as little of Antoinette’s ACTUAL words as anyone else.
Theodwulf
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 4:40amLiberalism is predicated on the theory that the “People” are idiots and need to be managed by their “betters”(liberals in the miond of liberals), so It can be considered a mental disorder..delusions of adequacy.
Report Post »From Virginia
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:13amI don‘t think it’s a fallacy. I recently had a discussion with a lib concerning the fallout of removing fathers from the homes in minority households. She started with it’s better to be on welfare than have children subject to child abuse. I pointed out that mothers on welfare are much more likely to abuse their children and that studies have shown that children are much more likely to succeed and are much more well rounded if they have both a male and female role model.
Her response was to cry – seriously – she started crying. I asked her what was wrong with her and she boo-hooed that it was just so sad. I’m afraid I laughed in her face. I told her NO! It wasn’t sad – that it had nothing to do with her. That is was JUST a discussion.
This woman has avoided me to this day and I don’t miss the association. There is no dealing with these people and I get really impatient with the thought of ever having such a discussion again. These people are just STUPID! They should all be forced to wear stupid signs.
Report Post »acidovorax
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:43amWulf and Virginia, you make my point. I wasn’t arguing the specifics of the cliches, but that ALL sides use such simplistic reasoning. Conservatives are prone to emotive arguments, appeals to authority, appeals to tradition, etc. While you may be correct in your observations, you lose ground when you argue that such poor argumentation and reasoning skills are inherent in one group and not to be found in members of your ideology.
Report Post »G.E.R
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:00amMost revisionists are actually historians with some credentials, and their theses often hinge on nuances and the interpretation of details. Goldberg, on the other hand has no credentials beyond the right-wing nepotism that has enabled his career as a pundit, has drawn a kind of history in absurdly broad and comically wrongheaded strokes. It is not just history done badly, or mere revisionism. It’s a caricature of reality, like something from a comic-book alternative universe.
Report Post »tenngoat
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:42amAnd your credentials are? Exactly! Just because you say it is so, doesn’t make it so. Again, a typical liberal (and neg-headed) strategy. Demeaning your opponent (or calling into question their credentials) when you, yourself, have none is laughable. Your Saul Alinsky tactics don’t work here.
Report Post »decendentof56
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 7:23am@G.E.R…”Goldberg, on the other hand has no credentials beyond the right-wing nepotism that has enabled his career as a pundit, has drawn a kind of history in absurdly broad and comically wrongheaded strokes”……
Well, GER, let me give you an example of LEFT-wing “nepotism”, as you call it, in real life (by some little socialist **** that works for our local paper.” BTW, I know her illogical, socialism-infected family.
What follows is factual, and a perfect example of what Goldberg speaks with regards to the left.
I had written the local paper with regards to comments made by a lady who complained (rightfully) about extremely loud music at a local rodeo which is attended by Mexicans. This lady had been unfairly attacked by leftists who had insinuated she naturally had a bias towards Mexicans. BTW, she never mentioned ‘Mexican music’ in her short piece but, rather, just music.
I wrote to respond that any music that could be heard 2 miles away from its source was in fact too loud. I, like the first lady, never mentioned the type of music, but just that it was too loud. The next day, the not-yet reporter wrote in to imply that since she was bi-racial/bi-lingual, she was more sensitive to Mexican culture and, I assume, unable to hear the music or see it as too loud.
This is a perfect example of conflating an issue. This young “lady” had purposefully mixed fact (loud music) with fiction (that her being ‘bi-whatever’ would have made me more tolerant of t
Report Post »brother_ed
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:57amThat is typical of what Goldberg is saying; only a ‘qualified’ historian is allowed to make an argument!
The ‘little people’ have no business telling academia anything. Perfect!
Report Post »G.E.R
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:08amGoldberg is not smart enough or hardworking enough to pen a genuine piece of scholarship, or even popular history, and he is too pretentious to admit to having written an Ann Coulter style, red meat for morons polemic. He’s written a book arguing a premise that every learned person in the world knows is completely false.
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:51pmIntellectual arrogance often manifest in vituperation.
Now that you know I understand $1.00 words, I will make it simple.
My grandfather told me that all politicians have the same goal—to become wealthy.
Report Post »Republicans simply steal your money.
Democrats steal your money and tell you how they will spend it.
SHOWMESTATEGUY
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:54pmDemocrats hate, they hate anything that would upset their money wagon.
If you don’t give the evil ones some money then they hate you. Sad but true.
The Democratic Party didn’t always hide from the light, but for the last 20 years none will leave their closets before 10:00 PM.
Report Post »Albacheeser
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:39pmTo the author: In the article, that should read “Pabst Blue Ribbon” (unless you meant Pat’s Blue Ribbon for some reason but it sounded like both Jonah G. and GB both pronounced it correctly)
Report Post »jzs
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:20amYeah, Marie Antoinette was a classic liberal. That’s the kind of history you get from Glenn, a history you won’t recieve from any legitimate college in the the United States. No matter, Glenn’s fans never went to college nor do they have any interest in the history of our country unless presented by a right wing hack who never studied history, and who has no academic credentials, and yet, somehow, is an expert based on the ghost written books he claims as his own. In that realm, facts don’t matter. The only thing that matters is how much money you can make off the book off of people like you. You won‘t see Glenn’s books on the reading list of any college, even religious colleges, anywhere in the world. Because they are false and not even written by Beck.
It’s the “Palin phenomenon.” The stupider you are, the less you know, the less education you have, the more credible you are on any subject. Birds of a feather flock together.
Anyway, no, the analogy of Pabst and scotch is wrong. Even if this guy’s story is true, which I doubt, there’s a difference. Brioche has more fat calories than bread, something that could help keep a starving person from starving, something alcohol can’t. Nutritionally, you really can’t compare butter and scotch.
Report Post »acidovorax
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:29amJZS. you’ve got those fallacies of authority down pat, huh? “Academic credentials”, “legitimate college”!! Why don’t you take a break? The Strawman wants to take a turn.
Report Post »Lord_Frostwind
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 1:50amNow now Mr. JZS, that’s a rather broad brush to paint people whom you disagree with. In an argument of intellectual knowledge, you seem to show very little of the ability to back up your claims, and instead resort to cheap high school tactics using college level vocabulary. My analysis, you’re a demagogue by bringing up inconsequential fact to make your argument, IE bringing up why you won’t see political opinion books in college book lists when almost any college worth the cost of admission would not use books from that category of literature anyway.
Alas, this is probably wasted on you.
You also completely missed or ignored the point of the “Pabts Scotch” analogy. While the bread would do well for keeping people alive, making a product that has a higher production cost the same price as a product that has a lower quality and lower production cost, you throw the economics of the product out of sync, and will likely result in the more expensive product becoming unavailable. In this case, because of a dumb feel good policy, the baker would stop producing the brioche because they would be producing it at a loss to their own finance. That, or they go out of business, which is another common consequence of dumb feel good policies.
Report Post »contkmi
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:22amHey, JZS, did you know stupider isn’t a word?
It makes your point (if there was one) a little laughable, doesn’t it?
Report Post »jzs
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 10:07amLord_Frostwind, yes, your post is lost on me especially since Marie Antoinette never said “Let them eat brioche.” Nor, as far as I can tell, did the French ever force breadmakers to sell brioche for the same price as bread.
And yes whomever, “stupider” isn’t a word. Nor is “stoopid.”
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 12:56pmHey JZS,
It would serve you well to go back and reread the article, and then re-examine your posts.
Just sayin’
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:32pmOnce again I’m amazed at the depth of the Conservative Position.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:32pmTo also note, the “let them eat cake” quote from Marie Antoinnette cannot be confirmed as true…It’s also believed the liberal mob that beheaded her created the quote to justify their hatred for her…Something liberals still do today.
Report Post »From Virginia
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 8:27amI despise liberals. This discussion should have been done ages ago. The Payne vs Rousseau thought dichotomy was settled with the American (Payne) and French (Rousseau) Revolutions. One (American) ended in liberty and one (French) ended in a countrywide blood bath.
Report Post »vox_populi
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:24am“The Payne vs Rousseau thought dichotomy was settled with the American (Payne) and French (Rousseau) Revolutions. One (American) ended in liberty and one (French) ended in a countrywide blood bath.”
The American Revolution also ended in a bloodbath, technically speaking, in the form of the War. One with much, much higher casualties, too.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:54amIt was not a “liberal mob” that beheaded Marie Antoinette. She was tried, convicted and executed for treason. There was little doubt that she had conspired with the Austrians when they invaded France in 1792. After all, her own family ruled Austria, and there was plenty of compromising evidence. The trial was not exactly a fair one, and she was horribly traduced for things she certainly had not done–for example, molesting her own children. Still, she had plenty to answer for. There is absolutely no evidence that she ever said “let them eat cake,“ ”let them eat brioche,” or anything of the sort. The legend that she did was not even current at the time of the French Revolution.Goldberg is whacking at a straw man–er, queen.
Report Post »beekeeper
Posted on June 27, 2012 at 9:59am@FROMVIRGINIA – it’s “Paine”, not “Payne”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine
Report Post »sbenard
Posted on June 26, 2012 at 11:20pmI credit Jonah Goldberg’s books for opening my eyes about the true tyrannical nature of American progressives. I recommend them highly. One of my best friends just read Liberal Fascism and told me he had the same experience. I can’t wait to read the new one after seeing the interview on GBTV this evening.
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