Conservative author Glenn Beck on Sunday took to Twitter to blast New York Times columnist David Brooks for comments he made last year about the talk radio host's predictions concerning Egypt without President Hosni Mubarak.
On PBS's Newshour last February, syndicated columnist Mark Shields mentioned Beck in a discussion about how people attending the CPAC convention viewed the goings-on in Egypt from a domestic political perspective (transcript via LexisNexis):
MARK SHIELDS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Well, I think it is a lack of self-confidence, surefootedness. They didn`t know what they wanted to say. They weren`t sure.
The only one who was really critical that I saw was Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, who basically took the line that has been developed by both Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. And that was that the -- Barack Obama, by not supporting Hosni Mubarak in his hour of need, was turning his back on a great ally.
And that -- that became the position. But there was nobody there really celebrating the moment of freedom and taking that, picking up that banner. And that -- that -- I think that does belie a lack of confidence, surefootedness, on a terribly important issue.
JIM LEHRER, HOST: Do you agree -- David, do you agree with Mark that what - - what these folks, these 11,000 people want is a candidate -- maybe not the whole Republican Party, but these 11,000, they want somebody who can beat Barack Obama; it isn`t about they have a certain set of issues that they want a candidate...
(CROSSTALK)
DAVID BROOKS, NEW YORK TIMES: Not for these 11,000. These are true believers.
JIM LEHRER: OK.
DAVID BROOKS: These are -- this is not your Republican committee person who owns a car dealership somewhere out in the country.
MARK SHIELDS: Yes.
DAVID BROOKS: These are true believers. And they will -- they are going to have a straw poll. And, traditionally, somebody like Ron Paul will win this thing.
And so they want the hard-core stuff. And so -- and they want -- they want to establish principle. And the other aspect of this group, increasingly true of the party activists as a whole, is they are quite libertarian, not that interested in social conservative issues. And so they will tend to gravitate towards somebody like Paul.
Just on the -- on the Egypt thing...
JIM LEHRER: Yes.
DAVID BROOKS: ... there -- there was an interesting split among the Glenn Beck types, really with delusional ravings about the caliphate coming back, and I would say the conservative establishment, which saw this as a fulfillment of Ronald Reagan`s democracy dream.
And there was that interesting split. And there were really some fights, including between Bill Kristol and Glenn Beck this week...
MARK SHIELDS: That`s right. Yes.
JIM LEHRER: Kristol taking the position that...
DAVID BROOKS: ... saying, this is wonderful. What are you raving about? It is not the taking over of the Muslim fundamentalists.
And Glenn Beck, and you -- for the first real time, you began to see a lot of really serious conservatives taking on Beck and people like that, and saying, you know, your theories are just wacky.
With the Egyptian election going to Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi Sunday, Beck took to Twitter to dish out some crow:
1/3 Quote of the day from NYT's David Brooks (2011): “For the first real time, you began to see a lot of really serious conservatives…
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) June 24, 2012
2/3 Brooks cont’d: “…taking on Beck and people like that, and saying…your theories [about Egypt being...
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) June 24, 2012
3/3 Brooks cont’d: …”taken over by Muslim fundamentalists] are just wacky.” David Brooks Apology Tour tickets now on sale? #COWARDS
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) June 24, 2012
One quite imagines there will be a lot of media members that warned America to not worry about a Muslim Brotherhood takeover if Mubarak fell having to eat their own crow in the coming days.
Stay tuned.
(HT Dan Gainor)
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— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) June 9, 2012