What is Beck thinking?

A friend tweeted that Glenn Beck “has offered reassurances why we need not mourn for the 80+ youths massacred in Norway… apparently they were “Hitler youth”.

That may be an unfriendly reading of what Beck said, which was:

“There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics? Disturbing.”

Without the audio I don’t know if “Disturbing” referred to the shooting or the idea of a political camp for kids. If the former, which is the most charitable interpretation, we’re still left with a mind-numbingly stupid thing to say. How does he get from a politics camp to Hitler Youth? There are all kinds of political camps for kids, as others are gleefully pointing out. And this is what he says just days after a bunch of kids was gunned down by a lunatic?

I’ve never been a fan of Beck. I know that most of his detractors are full of it, eager to lie or exaggerate. But this shows that he is, at best, a thoroughly thoughtless jerk. At worst he’s an idiot and a bottom feeder. If anybody on the conservative side of the aisle still listens to this clown my question to them is, in light of this, why?

Update:

For all my Lefty friends who are feeling smug about how offensively stupid Beck is, do you read Thomas Friedman? Here’s what he said on another subject:

“If sane Republicans do not stand up to this Hezbollah faction in their midst, the Tea Party will take the G.O.P. on a suicide mission.”

After that will you still read Thomas Friedman? If you do, you have to stop complaining about Beck.

Well, that didn’t take long

I liked Herman Cain. I even sent him money. I was willing to put up with his religiosity.

And then he goes and says the government can and should ban mosques. Now, when he talks about Sharia he’s right. We have every right to fight that – a duty, in fact. And I’m on record as believing that Islam is the world’s worst major religion.

But the First Amendment is pretty damn clear, Herman. The government can’t ban churches.

Sigh.

Is it so much to ask that some party, any party, put forward just one candidate who has read and understood the constitution? This is so discouraging, and a big part of why I have never voted for anybody as president. I always end up voting against someone worse.

As long as the Republicans run someone to the right of Karl Marx I’ll vote against Obama. Again.