By now you’ve no doubt heard and/or seen how Fox News’s in-house Democrat strategist Bob Beckel had an “F-bomb” meltdown on Sean Hannity’s show Monday evening. But look, this isn’t a surprise–everyone at Fox News knows that Beckel is a train wreck of a human being. That they laugh, joke, and have him as their go-to liberal Democrat says more about the program hosts than it does about Beckel.
He has repeatedly boasted of his sexual conquests/exploits with college age women, lap dances, and prostitutes, during breaks on the sets of different shows. And he has done it in front of female guests. His vulgarity is as well known as his drinking binges and drug abuse were. I say were, because it’s my understanding he has, at least for the moment, cleaned up the drinking and drugs–and from the bottom of my heart I hope that’s true for his sake.
Beckel is vulgar and crude, but this isn’t about him as such; it’s about those who have him on their shows; it’s about those who let him bully and bluster on the set as he does. But this time he got caught coming out of break, and like a good liberal he blamed Hannity, telling him: “You should run your show a little better, instead of having me get caught like that.” And there it is, there’s the nod that this is common practice. He blamed Hannity because he was accustomed to getting away with it.
As I said, my angst isn’t about Beckel as such, he’s just a tired, angry, old sot. My angst is about the way these things are covered up. And Fox is notorious for covering up. I’m not going to recount all of the goings on behind the scenes: I’m asking why does Hannity give credibility to the likes of Beckel and Al Sharpton? A gullible viewing public watches his programming not realizing that it’s all an act.
Former Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura said it best: “Politics in America is identical to pro wrestling. In front of the crowd, in front of TV, they pretend they hate each other. They pretend like they are big adversaries and that’s the sell job they do to us, the citizens. Just like pro wrestling, my job was to go out and piss everybody off so bad they would pay their hard earned money to go out and see me get my butt kicked. Well, the point is, we are all friends in the locker room. We all work together. It’s entertainment. We put on a show and this is no different. They are putting on a show, because behind the scenes, they are all friends. They go out to dinner together and cut their deals together. It’s a show.” (Interview with Christopher Stipp; 2/22/10)
And that’s what you get on these shows. If those like Hannity were really about showing these people for what they are, they wouldn’t give cover to the likes of Sharpton. Hannity had an opportunity to hold Sharpton accountable when I sought his help in pressuring Sharpton to accept my challenge to debate him along with Chairman of the Urban League, Marc Morial; and former Congressman and co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, Walter Fauntroy. Hannity’s way of helping was for him and Sharpton to have their own debate one week after the one I had scheduled for February 28, 2011. I had rented space at the National Press Club to host the debate. I had challenged them because of their attacks and accusations directed at the people who gathered at the Lincoln Monument on the same day that Dr. Martin Luther King had led his march on Washington.
Instead of helping me hold Sharpton and the others accountable, he and Sharpton held a mock debate at a New York hotel, charged admission, and proceeded to make a mockery of reining in troublemakers like Sharpton. But specific to my point, that’s what they do. That’s why Beckel and Sharpton can behave as they please, because they know those like Hannity have their back. If Hannity had helped me pursuant to my challenge to the February debate, Sharpton would have had less credibility in Sanford, Florida.
People want to believe that the Fox News hosts are fair and balanced. What they are in reality is part of the fraternity that gives aid, comfort, shelter, and fat paychecks to the likes of Beckel and Sharpton, and that gives credibility and platforms from which they can spew their grotesque heterodoxy.
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Thanks for confirming what I have long suspected.
doris mckinnon: my pleasure…
I am all for “HOPE AND CHANGE”.
I “HOPE” Obama and his cronies do not get relected because it is time for a “CHANGE”.
independent vet. 63-67: I am w/ you 100 percent…
All commentators, whether on Fox News or MSNBC, are about the ratings. My question is, where can we find reliable news? I think it’s about personal responsibility – we must each sift through all information and form our own opinions. Isn’t that what makes this country so great? We all have the right to form and speak our own opinions freely.
falconfan: there are many news sites for unfettered news and/or commentary…
Beckel is a fat, big mouthed slob just like that screaming moron that was on msnbc that got fired. Liberals are always angry and bitter. I’d like to meet either one of those puss guts in person some day and give them the finger poke in the chest.
carpenter: hahaha…now now…you don’t wanna the bloke to have a coronary…
you nailed it Mychal. They’re all out for their ratings!!!!!
dennis reilly…thy’re for ratings and theater…it’s just one big televised social club…
I am really tiring of “The Five”, as Beckel is an insult to the human race. Just a smart *ss, and if I led the life he claims to have led, I sure wouldn’t be advertising it on TV. But, he is so much like most of the Democrats (who are Party involved) I know, and have now just avoided as much as possible, as there is no logic or commonsense with these people.
jane leasman: beckel is no different than the rest of them…couple hosts got caught in situations w/ staff members…certain of the hosts has reputation for having eyes for the husband’s of others and that’s just the tip of the iceberg…
dennis reilly: that’s exactly what their after and all that comes w/ same…
Note: Jesse Ventura was Governor of Minnesota, not Wisconsin. We have totally AWESOME Scott Walker!!!! Go Scott!!!!
truetolife: agreed about Scott…and am aware of typo…thk you much…
Bob has a brother who happens to be a fairly known actor and is completely opposite of him. Hannity hangs with Bob after the shows and they are good friends, I heard them a few times calling in on Mark Levin’s show and they always joking around, and the only reason Mark likes this guy is because Bob is a dog lover that’s it. I used to watch FOX news but that crap about the fair and balance to me is the same as hope and change…meaningless!
henry: meaningless is very appropriate…
And…..his brother is a CONSERVATIVE! He had a starring role in the movie “Atlas Shrugged” also.
rvd: I wonder what it’s like around their table during holidays…lol…
I agree with you 100%! The Five is a very disappointing show. I have never been able to watch how foolish they talk and try to be “funny” and chummy with Bob B. We are having a Constitutional crisis in our country and on the verge of seeing the end of our Republic and Fox has to try be “fair and balanced” cough-cough while they accept $$$$$$$ from the Saudi’s.
yoll: you my friend have said a mouthful…
yeah, beckel is an ass. why does conservative Fox allow that to happen? they are about the only conservative news channel around.
dave buls: because they’re not conservative…I watch Neil Cavuto and Greta Van Sustern when possible…and I watch fox business channel…fox news is msnbc w/ blonds…
Mychal, I would absolutely agree with you, but I guess I would ask then, just who should we listen to then to get our news from? Does anyone know how to report in an unbiased way? Just wondering. Seems like it is getting to the point that we cannot be sure of anything that is being reported or commented on.
Again, thanks for letting us know what is going on.
Blessings, Carol
Sometimes I feel like we’re all in the Matrix. What is real? So far, I listen to Rush for the truth. He doesn’t have guests on his show, so at least you’re getting the truth as HE sees it.
nancy: true…levin is good…albeit to be honest I very seldom if ever get to listen…
carol: I watch Neil Cavuto almost every day and when possible I watch Greta Van Sustern…I watch fox business channel…when I’m in the office during the day…and to answer your question the news is biased…that why you find trustworthy sites to get information from…and learn how to glean the truth from amongst the spin and fiddle of news…
Do as I did … go to the Fox website and email your displeasure at this piggish, crude buffoon.
bob davis: believe I don’t have to mail…they read it over here for themselves…and when they don’t they hear about it…
I personally see the beginning of the end of FOX ….. they are all nothing but a bunch of buffoons! O’Reilly being the worst of them all! The “walk the edge, but never fall off onto either side” narcissist! I have grown very weary of Hannity….it’s the same talking points, over and over and over, ad nauseum! We weren’t big fans of Greta Van Susteren, but in all honesty, she is much more on the ball than her colleagues and a hell of a lot more honest! And so are her guests, except for Trump….another blowhard! I wonder why We as Conservatives or Republicans don’t take a page from the liberal playbook and demand Beckel be fired….just like they do whenever one of ours, in their perverted minds, crosses the line! I have already written to Hannity letting him know my feelings concerning his “apology” on the part of his so called “buddy”!
Soros is taking over Fox step by step by “implanting” his leftist brain-midgets, so no wonder that this is the end of Fox we know…
bright knight: no fox is doing to it to themselves by hiring away talent from cnn and the other liberal sewers…
rvd: I like Neil Cavuto..he is the best…and I like Greta…she is honest and does’t let her liberal points of view in the way…I watch fox business channel…it’s infinitely better…
Ditto here, Mychal. I really do wonder though, how liberal Greta still is. Her husband converted to Conservative and I think she may be in the process too.
rvd: she might be…I like her and would hire her as my attorney in a heartbeat…she is sharp and fierce…
Mychal.. Accurate conclusion , as usual… one very minor note..
Jesse, The Body, Ventura was governor of Minnesota. Otherwise.. dead on target.. and one of the reasons I no longer watch or trust most of Fox News. Keep up the good work..
wayne hennie: oops…lol…thks I knew that…I threatened to call his office once when I got sick in blane, mn…they have some law that I had to see a doctor in their state in order for me to get a prescription called in from my doctor…I was furious they that they were trying to force me to spend money I didn’t have to…I finally got over the illness w/out the prescription…but in the meantime I was furious…lol…haven’t been back there since…
Mychal, I quit watching Fox quite awhile ago when my blood pressure couldn’t take the BS, and that’s what it is, Fair and Balanced my behind. You and Jesse hit it exactly, I’ve thought this for quite a bit and I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
I don’t mean to be so rude but if Gayle really believes that Fox is trying to be fair and balanced, she’s a sheeple.
You could be fair and balanced BUT TRUTHFUL! instead they allow lies, distortions, and just plain not answering the questions.
30calgal: your last sentence sums it up well…
I always suspected Beckel was vulgar and crude. Now he has removed all doubt.
ray: he’s as vulgar and crude as the day is long…
The issue being addressed here is real, it is cogent, and it is contradictory to the real and exact purpose of “news media”. We, as a society have forgetten “The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” is not merely a legal form, to exact a greater more honest answer, but it is only a legal reminder that this is the definition of “truth”, and while we are commonly not held accountable to it in its exactitud, we, as a Society, believe it must be brought up in Court, because there a legal obligation to hold all testifying, to the full weight of account, “the truth”.
The antics of such “journalists” and pundits which routinely disregard the fact there is “truth”, and then there is all the rest, which does not qualify for that label, no matter how close it is to the standard, it simply is not, have coarsened us, led the average person to similar lower standards, and a similar willingness to accept “mostly true” as the truth. Those professionals, they know they transgress and are less than honest in assessment, but that they feel, is their job.
We, the Society, who accept this, and gradually become accustomed to it to the point we dally in the same game, for the most part, we don’t think clearly about it, and do it out of habit from the habituation of hearing it, and finding it normal, and by this, we are corrupted even while we intend to keep ourselves true and honest.
In this essay, mention is made of the challenge to debate, with a specific form of venue, with an intent of debating serious, critical to our culture rhetoric and actions, and bringing their use in public to a clear conclusion as to their conformity to Our Principles and our once total and comprehensive expectation of “truth”.
Rather than see a real need, and lending a hand, the talk show host performed a faux debate, in a forum uncontrollable, as to content and character, and by doing so, undermined a specified deliberate plan, which would have clarified the political character of a questionable political activist, and perhaps helped us re-arrange our Social Contract that is merely verbal and changing everyday as we interact.
When I suggest an intent to do something, and it is clear cut, with a purpose expressed, suggested names and times, a venue and set issue, and someone goes out and does a publicity stunt to characature the planned and expressed intent, they have not only undermined me with deliberation, but they have cast their lot with the opponent I had cause to bring to a venue where the truth would be clear to see, and made certain that clarity would never come out, pre-clouding the issue, so to speak.
When such a thing takes place, it is good cause to reconsider what is the purpose and what are the principles of that person who interfered with a simple and honest purpose that was well understood as to why it was needed, and how it has lost any and all purpose, having been pre-emptively ridiculed.
Those in pursuit of truth do not play around with its antigen, “everything but plain, open, un-alloyed truth”, and those who do make use of this, most often have purpose in their use.
My question is this: Did Sean Hannity believe he had a better venue, a better chance of confronting the issues at hand, and demonstrating to the audience “the truth”? I think not. I believe he, like most rational and thoughtful people knew well, a carefully controlled in the right venue debate, absent ghost audiences laughter on cue, side bar remarks, and straight forward, with deliberate and strict moderation is always the most productive form and venue when the purpose is full exposure, and the actual form and manner in which this plan was undermined, is no accident if perpetrated by a professional, but has provided another layer of “cover” for the exact actions which were the focus intended for debate. We have to ask ourselves each and every time we see it: why is it that person is undermining another, why are they proposing and performing “challenge lite”, on a talk show, when the truth was being sought?
After asking ourselves these questions, we have a right to an answer, from ourselves, consisting of “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”. Perhaps if we stood on this routinely, we wouldn’t have to ask, because we already know the answer, and only need to act in accordance to what we know about the person.
In general, I like the personna of Sean Hannity. Now I have to seriously question his motives, and whether his honor is more important than his ratings. Me thinks perhaps not.
John McClain
GySgt, USMC, ret.
Vanceboro, NC
john mcclain: news should be…who, what, when, where, why…it doesn’t include personal opinion…opinion editorials are what people like me do…
Beckel is one reason (there are others) I don’t watch the 5@5 – can’t stand even looking at him. I also tend to avoid Hannity – because he constantly talks over guests he disagrees with. I wouldn’t be surprised if FOX pays their liberals more than the conservatives, just so they can take a beating. Heck, maybe they’re even trained to say those stupid things! Lately watching more of FBN and CNBC.
I do agree with you almost all the time, Mychal. It takes guts to put yourself out there like you do. Keep it up.
◄Jeff►
I totally agree, Jeff. Hannity’s radio show is no better. O’Rielly is another host who invites interesting guests and then talks over them so much that we can’t hear what they have to say. Fox News could be “fair and balanced” without insisting on hiring dispicable liberals to spew their lying spin. Fox could just tell us the facts, leaving nothing out. A few more professional liberal pundits on the unemployment role would make me happy.
pat: I can’t disagree with you…
jeff: it doesn’t take guts my friend…it takes willingness…I watch FBN myself…its much better than fnc…
Gayle, Donna, Dennis – All good comments. My thoughts are this, “Beckel is a Loud-Mouthed PIG” I can’t believe HE makes a salary and I’m looking for a job! The sooner Fox ‘FIRES HIM” the better (IMO that is…)
hidlins: he’s not even comic relief…
IT HAS GOTTEN TO WHERE IF BECKEL IS ON, I USUALLY DO NOT WATCH THE “5″. YOU HAVE COMBS THAT IS SUCH A GOOFY CLOWN AND BECKEL WHO IS JUST A DISGUSTING OLD SOT…I USE YUOR TERM AND A GOOD ONE IT IS!
THERE IS NOTHING THAT IDS EVEN REMOTELY DECENT OR THOUGHTFUL IN THEIR ANSWERS AND I THINK IS THIS THE BEST FOX CAN DO??? IF YOU HAVE WATCHED FOX OVER THE YEARS YOU HAVE TO ADMIT THERE IS A DEFINATE CHANGE IN THE PROGRAM AND THEY ARE GAME PLAYING ALONGS WITH THE DEMS. PRETTY SAD I SAY!! SOMEWHERE OUT THERE THERE HAS TO BE A MORE HUMANE WELL ROUNDED DEM THAT COULD REPLACE THEM AND NOT MAKE YOU SHIVER WITH DISGUST.
josie: you are right fox news has devolved into msnbc w/ a gaggle of blonds…except for Neil Cavuto and Greta…colmes is even more disgusting than beckel…
I watch FOX news. In their quest to be fair and balanced, they donate time to gasbags like Beckel. I was also watching Hannity but had walked away and only heard the aftermath of the incident. FOX viewers know Beckel, Sharpton and some others are there for “balance” and to provide a bit of humor when they open their mouth and empty their brain.
gayle: I disagree…beckel is there as an expert and sharpton is there as representing all blacks…big difference…
Mychal – I’ve been a fan for years, forwarding your articles to friends and co-workers….but I’m really disappointed to see the quote about it being Hannity’s fault, without the proper context. I was watching the show when it happened and it was obviously a joke on Beckel’s part. Both he and Sean were trying to lighten a bad situation. Reading this article it sounds as if he was truly blaming Hannity, and that wasn’t the case.
Donna, it is interesting that different folks watch the same event and come away with different takes on that same situation. I saw this event as it unfolded too…I thought Beckel was serious when he cast blame on Hannity. Then later in the week they have Beckel throwing shekels in Beckel’s Swear Jar… they all jest and the nation burns. Not arguing Donna, I will try to find it and look at it again…
Mychal you tried to nail Sharpton’s foot to a stage and that slippery snot just slid away. Brother i think this is a case where you may be casting pearls before swine. While I would really enjoy seeing/hearing you tear him up, I am not sure it would convert many. Praying for venues for conservatives to get the message out to the sheep.
In Christ,
Dennis McCutcheon
Dennis, Donna, if one draws a line, stands firm on it, because one is serious, concerned, and it is about truth, the State of our Nation, and the state of our Society, there can be no doubt one will step on toes, and hurt people, holding a hard line means not making common room for “wiggle”, and it will be people on both sides of the line with sore toes.
Those who are likewise in pursuit of truth, and recognise it is not common, and special efforts must be made, special standards must be adhered to, higher than average, and hard, those people will take the pain as part of the pursuit, the natural injuries on any job.
On the other hand, those who are in pursuit of an agenda, who have no intent on truth, but all intent on power, their toes will hurt ten times as much as anyone elses, just ask them, and that pain will be the excuse and remonstrance for never accepting a challenge to a fail debate, after all, they got their toes stepped on, totally denying all the deliberate toe stomping they have done to gin up divisiveness, and suggest what has clearly been shown as the truth was somehow made up, or “twisted into shape” to appear as a standard.
Those who gain their own personal venue with a weekly or daily appearance and time, should be held to a higher standard, and expected to meet it. Mr. Hannity knew he was helping Sharpton avoid answering the tough questions, and Sharpton knew aswering soft balls, thrown at him in a less formal venue was a “get out of jail free” card, and so he did his best to be as open as he could and present a picture that said “this man needs no careful debate” to all who would rather sit on fences than choose a side on their own.
Mr. Hannity did no favors for Mr. Massie, but he did a great favor for Sharpton, and for Beckel as well. It is precisely why I won’t watch television news in any forum.
Sincerely,
John McClain
Vanceboro, NC
john mcclain: you are spot on…btw…send me link for website your column appears on and I link it to my page here…just email it to me…
dennis mccutcheon: sharpton has to be confronted by those who he cannot demagogue…yrs ago I was on his television and he said on the set that he had never debated anyone like myself…he said I was the best he ever faced…I’m guessing he remembers that encounter and that is his reason for not wanting to face me again…
donna: the fact is that they know what and how beckel is…I know for a fact that he is vulgar and crude off camera…I also know he is given to boasting about his conquests etc when there are female guests on during breaks…