Ted Cruz likes to say that he doesn’t get down in the gutter and engage in name calling with his political opponents. Although Cruz has had his moments, he apparently is content to let his surrogates speak evil of opponents. Glenn Beck has opened numerous rallies for Cruz with lengthy speeches to warm up the crowd and spoken on behalf of Beck on news programs. Cruz has had much good to say about his front man Beck.
Today on his talk show, Beck said that John Kasich was delusional for thinking he could surge in the remaining primaries adding that Kasich was a “son of a bitch” because “the republic is at stake.” Watch (from Right Wing Watch):
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZb-C39U0BE[/youtube]
Cruz has never apologized to his Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada audiences for the deceptive talks delivered by Glenn Beck on the subject of George Washington. Beck misled thousands with his copy of Don Quixote by telling them that the book was the same copy George Washington purchased on the day Washington signed the Constitution. He also misrepresented George Washington’s diary entry for September 17, 1787, the day he signed the Constitution. I can only assume Cruz doesn’t care what Beck says.
Category: Glenn Beck
More Truth Stretching: Ted Cruz's GOP Debate Claim About Obama's Oval Office Churchill Statue
Despite numerous factual accounts of what happened to the two White House statues of Winston Churchill, Ted Cruz repeated a debunked story during Thursday’s GOP presidential debate which has been around since the early days of Obama’s first term. Here is what Cruz said last night:
CRUZ: Of course it does. And we’ve seen for seven years a president that has made the presidency and has made, sadly, his administration a laughing stock in the world. This administration started with President Obama sending back the bust of Winston Churchill to the United Kingdom within the opening weeks.
Cruz has said that before during the campaign. The claim rated two pinocchios from Washington Post fact checkers.
Obama did send a bust of Churchill back to England. That bust was loaned to George Bush and when he left office the statue had to go back. However, there is another statue which has a permanent place in the White House furnishings. That statue stayed at the White House and in the photo above is being viewed by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron along with Barack Obama in 2010.
It is a pretty silly controversy, so am I writing about it?
Given Cruz’s close ties to David Barton and Glenn Beck, the fact that Cruz repeats what is to him a useful story despite it being so misleading as to be untrue is relevant to his candidacy. Just yesterday, I posted a clip of David Barton claiming that he was on the FBI’s hate group list. He encouraged his listeners to go look up his name on the FBI website. However, I learned from the FBI that the agency has no formal list of hate groups and so David Barton can’t be on it. Barton has made numerous false claims about historical and current events.
While opening for Cruz’s campaign speeches in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, Glenn Beck deceived Cruz audiences about his copy of Don Quixote and George Washington’s diary entry on the day Washington signed the Constitution.
These are needless distortions and falsehoods by two of Cruz’s closest endorsers. Cruz’s distortion of the facts was needless as well. However, it seems that Cruz and company have such a pattern of this that all factual claims need to be checked (see also this example from a Cruz legal brief). Those who have followed Barton and Beck know that truth stretching is part of the operating procedure. Either this has rubbed off on Cruz or birds of a feather have flocked together.
So many red flags go up. Cruz’s slogan is TrusTed. My response is: Why should I?
Glenn Beck at Ted Cruz Rallies: George Washington's Don Quixote Out, Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket In
Last week Michael Calderone pointed out that Glenn Beck was not truthful when he told Ted Cruz rally audiences in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada that the copy of Don Quixote Beck displayed was the copy George Washington purchased on the day the Constitution was signed. In fact, that copy of Don Quixote, along with a Spanish edition, is owned by Mount Vernon’s library. Beck’s book was given by George Washington as a gift to friend Tobias Lear.
Furthermore, I discovered that Beck’s depiction of George Washington’s diary entry on the day he signed the Constitution was blatantly false. Since then, I have found nine different recorded events where Beck told the entire false narrative involving the book and the diary entry.
As Breitbart News pointed out, Beck admitted to Huffington Post that he misled Cruz’s audiences about the book (but not the diary entry), but he did not admit it to his own readers. Instead, Beck took a defensive stance on his own website and accused HuffPo of sloppy journalism and lack of research.
Without comment or apology to the many people he misled on the campaign trail, Beck has switched gears and speeches. Now instead of displaying his copy of George Washington’s Don Quixote, he brought out the “Golden Ticket” from the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Watch:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Y0qdmR14MYo[/youtube]
In other speeches over the weekend, he brought out a personal letter from President Reagan to his daughter Patti. Reagan hoped to talk his daughter into improving their relationship. Beck says Patti Davis sold the letter for drug money. He apparently picked it up at auction. At least that is his current story.
It is beyond me how Beck can claim to love truth while offering up such a hoax and how Ted Cruz can look the other way.
Glenn Beck Also Misled Ted Cruz Audiences About George Washington's Diary Entry
In at least seven speeches I have found online, Glenn Beck misled Ted Cruz rally audiences about his copy of Don Quixote once given by George Washington as a gift. Beck told audiences that he owned the copy of Don Quixote purchased by George Washington on the day the Consitution was signed. He didn’t. He has a later one which Washington gave as a gift to Tobias Lear. While Beck has yet to admit to his readers or listeners, he did admit it to HuffPo yesterday (see this link for the speeches and background).
Now I can report a discrepancy between Beck’s story about George Washington’s diary and the diary entry for September 17, 1787 found in the published collection of his entries online.
Here is just one instance where Beck tells audiences that Washington’s September 17, 1787 entry consisted of two lines. Watch:
(Transcript)
The last day of the Constitution…the last day of the Convention, in George Washington’s diary he only wrote two lines. The first one was ‘signed the Constitution today.’ Next line, ‘I picked up my copy of Don Quixote.’ Now I’ve never understood that. ‘Hey, I just saved the world today and I’m going to Barnes and Noble in about an hour.’ This is George Washington’s copy of Don Quixote. This is the copy he picked up the day they signed the Constitution.
However, according to the online Diary of George Washington, Washington didn’t mention Don Quixote or buying any books in his September 17, 1787 entry. He did mention the Constitution and provided more than one line about it. For photos of the original entries see the Diaries of George Washington (page one, page two).
Monday 17th. Met in Convention when the Constitution received the Unanimous assent of 11 States and Colo. Hamilton’s from New York (the only delegate from thence in Convention) and was subscribed to by every Member present except Govr. Randolph and Colo. Mason from Virginia & Mr. Gerry from Massachusetts. The business being thus closed, the Members adjourned to the City Tavern, dined together and took a cordial leave of each other—after which I returned to my lodgings—did some business with, and received the papers from the secretary of the Convention, and retired to meditate on the momentous wk. which had been executed, after not less than five, for a large part of the time Six, and sometimes 7 hours sitting every day, sundays & the ten days adjournment to give a Comee. opportunity & time to arrange the business for more than four Months.
The members partied at the City Tavern and then Washington recorded that he went to his lodging. He did pay for the copy of Don Quixote on that day but we don’t get that information from his diary. Thanks for the good folks at Mount Vernon, I can show you that we know the book was paid for on that day because Washington recorded the purchase in his cash account book.
In Washington’s Philadelphia Cash Accounts, he recorded the purchase of Don Quixote on September 17, 1787.
On the 17th of September, Washington recorded the purchase of the 4 volume set of Don Quixote.
The story behind the purchase more likely relates to Washington’s meeting earlier that month with the Spanish ambassador who engaged Washington in a discussion of the book. For more on that, see this entry on the Mount Vernon website.
If Beck has a source for his claim, I would certainly like to see it.
However, I feel sure he doesn’t. If Rick Tyler gets fired for relating a false story he thought was true, then how can Cruz make Glenn Beck the front door of his campaign?
Glenn Beck Says He Takes Full Responsibility for Misleading Ted Cruz Crowds Then Faults Huffington Post for Calling Him Out
No wonder Glenn Beck likes David Barton so much.
At recent Ted Cruz rallies, Glenn Beck told audiences he owns the copy of Don Quixote originally owned by George Washington and which was picked up by Washington the day he signed the Constitution. As it turns out, Beck’s copy of Don Quixote was given as a gift by Washington to Tobias Lear. That is not what he told audiences, and to HuffPo, Beck admitted the error. However, on his website, he chides Calderone and HuffPo as if they made the error. Let me unpack this.
First, in a January 30 HuffPo article, Calderone reported that Beck told a Cruz rally he owned the copy of Don Quixote purchased by George Washington the day he signed the Constitution.
Beck also described how Washington picked up a copy of Don Quixote on the day he signed the Constitution, before holding up what he claimed was Washington’s own copy. Beck joked that today, the action would be as extraordinary as signing the Constitution before taking a trip to Barnes & Noble.
About the copy of Don Quizote brandished by Beck, Calderone yesterday quoted Beck as saying:
He wrote two lines [in his diary] on the day of the signing of the Constitution,” Beck said of Washington during a Jan. 30 stop in Ames, Iowa.”First line: ‘Signed the Constitution today.’ Second line: ‘I pick up my copy of Don Quixote.’ This is his copy of Don Quixote that he picked up that day.
Watch Beck tell the same story at Morningstar Church in South Carolina (see below for another time when Beck related the same story):
[youtube]https://youtu.be/jjlYclfDqpI[/youtube]
Contradicting Beck, Calderone yesterday published a report demonstrating that the copy of Don Quixote Beck displayed was not the copy he said it was. The copy of Don Quixote secured by Washington the day he signed the Constitution is owned by Mount Vernon’s Washington library. The library also owns a Spanish language copy of Don Quixote.
In his speeches, Beck clearly identified his book as Washington’s copy which he picked up the day he signed the constitution. In a statement to HuffPo today, Beck acknowledged his false statement:
“The lesson that I take from Washington’s diary where he says ‘Signed the constitution. Bought Don Quixote’ is that we are never done in our service to God and Country,” Beck said. “I have incorrectly stated that my copy is the copy that Washington purchased the day he signed the Constitution. That version is one of the copies owned and housed in Mount Vernon. I take full responsibility for connecting my book (which is dated 1796) to the book Washington purchased that fateful day of September 17th, 1787. But make no mistake the copy in my possession is from the private library of George Washington.”
I don’t think Beck and I view taking “full responsibility” in the same manner. On Beck’s website, here is what his readers see:
Unlike Glenn, the Huffington Post is evidently not a student of history — nor fond of research, for that matter.
Rather than publish with journalistic integrity, HuffPo decided to throw caution to the wind and publish an unsubstantiated hit piece questioning the authenticity of a book Glenn owns and has taken along on the campaign trail. The book in question is George Washington’s volume of Don Quixote. The hit piece, titled “Mount Vernon Says It Owns George Washington’s Copy Of Don Quixote, Not Glenn Beck,” was published yesterday.
Beck’s article doesn’t provide the statement given to HuffPo. Beck tries to change the subject. Calderone questioned exactly what Beck claimed. Beck told audiences repeatedly that he had a book he didn’t have. Either Beck intentionally deceived the audiences or he is not the history buff he claims to be.
On his website and on his show, he doesn’t admit what he did to HuffPo and doesn’t take any responsibility for connecting his copy to the book picked up by Washington on the day he signed the Constitution.
When Ted Cruz’s former campaign communications director Rick Tyler falsely reported a story about Marco Rubio’s statements about the Bible, Tyler was fired by Cruz. Will Cruz now demote Beck or remove him from the rallies?
More Instances Where Beck Connected His Copy to the Copy Held by Mount Vernon
It appears that Beck told Richard Dreyfuss the same or a similar story. Watch at the beginning of this clip.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IFB8TfLVHc[/youtube]
In the description of the video with Dreyfuss, the story appears:
Published on Jan 31, 2016
Glenn Beck ran into actor Richard Dreyfuss by surprise backstage at a Ted Cruz rally over the weekend and had a chance to show the actor two of George Washington’s personal artifacts he was carrying with him in a briefcase. (Video: Josiah Ryan http://bit.ly/1Kj0iWo)
One was George Washington’s compass, which he received at age fourteen and carried with him for his entire life. The other was the first president’s copy of Don Quixote,
“A compass is used for exactness,” said Beck, later from the stage. “I’m here to support Ted Cruz because he is exact in everything he does. His word is his bond. He believes, as George Washington did that deeds not words.”
Beck said Washington went and purchased the copy of Don Quixote just hours after signing Constitution signaling that the responsibility of keeping the Constitution was now in the hands of the voters.
He joked it was the modern day equivalent of running to Barnes & Nobles.
“The response is always the same, especially for his compass — reverence and awe,” Beck said later on his Facebook, referring to his encounter with Dreyfuss.
Beck said yesterday that he sometimes said the copy of Don Quixote was the one Washington picked up the day he signed the Constitution and other times he didn’t say that.
GLENN: Jeez. If I need to drag around the documentation for everything — so when I was on the road and said, “This is George Washington’s.” And we went back and checked the tape. There were times that I said, this is the one that he got on that day, and that wasn’t the one he got on that day. He had three copies. So that wasn’t the one that he got on that day. But usually I said, “This was George Washington’s copy of Don Quixote.” And they’re questioning that this was George washington’s copy. And the only reason why they said that it wasn’t was because they went on record because people were calling Mount Vernon saying, “Glenn Beck is lying, isn’t he?” And they said, “No, we have George Washington’s copy of Don Quixote.” Yes, you have two of two them. He had three of them. I have the other one. But nobody cares to listen to that. And so it’s just sloppy journalism, at best.
If Beck has a video of a speech at a Cruz rally where he didn’t claim to have Washington’s Constitution Day copy of Don Quixote, he should post it.
In Aitken, South Carolina on February 15, Beck told the same story. Watch:
Here’s the same story at Ames, IA (at 7:00), a rally in SC (at 16:07) and then again in Nevada (start at 3:39)
[youtube]https://youtu.be/M4z4qNFRmRA?t=3m39s[/youtube]
As recently as February 21, Beck told a Nevada crowd that he had Washington’s Constitution signing day copy. Watch: