The Glenn Beck Era Is Over: His Looniest Moments at Fox News

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Ray Gustini 11,690 Views Apr 6, 2011

For the last two years, Glenn Beck's Fox News program has been the go-to source for flawed historical analogies and intricate conspiracy theories diagrammed on a chalkboard. Today's news that Beck is "winding down" (read: quitting) the show prompted us to take a look back at his more memorable moments on the network.

The Obama power grab (May 2009)

A vintage Beck performance: in a five-minute span, he goes from hinting about an assasination plot (against him, naturally) to making jokes about pancakes.

The Beer Summit Conspiracy (July 2009)

Beck was a master at uncovering the hidden political motives behind staged photo opportunities. Did you know politicians like to look good?

All The President's Czars (August 2009)

Like other presidents, Obama was quick to appoint "czars" to oversee specific initiatives. Too bad that word also happened to be...Russian.


A Brief History of Eugenics (August 2009)

When it came to choosing between the Obama-as-Commie and Obama-as-Nazi memes, Beck was conflicted. So he split the difference and believed both, at the same time.

The Boiled Frog Metaphor (September 2009)

Beck, to his credit, understood the power surreal metaphors have on a television on audience. Here, he boils a rubber frog to make a point about the economy. But he really didn't even need a reason.


 

George Soros: Puppetmaster (November 2010)

There was always a 50-50 chance with Beck that, when something went wrong in the world, liberal billionaire George Soros was somehow the cause. Last fall, he devoted two full nights to tracing the man's influence.

 

Snooki: Bad Role Model (January 2011)

Beck largely stayed out of the culture wars. But he couldn't pass on an opportunity to tell the nation's youth they shouldn't idolize Snooki from Jersey Shore.

 



 

The Coming Insurrection (January 2011)

The beginning of the end. Beck shares his intricate theory on why the revolution in Egypt is a sign of the apocalypse. Even Bill O'Reilly thought this was beyond nuts.


 

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at rgustini at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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