Summing up today's massive right wing FAIL

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Six months ago, when Glenn Beck first talked about organizing today's event, he said he intended to "bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States, or political parties. We were united as Americans."

By any meaningful measure, this is, at a minimum, disingenuous. Beck, Dick Armey, and right-wing organizers have been obsessed with ideological warfare and tearing the country apart. Their goals are to attack Democrats and undermine the Obama presidency. There's nothing especially wrong with that -- conservative Republicans are in the minority, and it stands to reason they'd oppose the majority's agenda -- but it has nothing to do with where Americans were eight years ago today.

Time's James Poniewozik's take on today's events struck the right note.


It's precisely why the message of today's gathering is largely incoherent. Beck insisted his intention is to see us "united as Americans." Except, he wants nothing of the sort, and by all appearances, those gathering in D.C. today have the exact opposite in mind.

The point of today's protests seems to be to condemn the president, his party, and a progressive economic agenda in general. While Americans rallied behind the nation's leaders eight years ago, today's activists are desperate to see America's elected leadership fail.

What does this have to do with the feeling of national unity and civility Americans felt in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks? Not a thing. "9/12" is a shallow excuse to rant and rave, attack Americans the right doesn't like, and share hysterical right-wing ideas and conspiracy theories.

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