Stephen Colbert Rips Glenn Beck: Building His Career On 9/11 (VIDEO)

Stephen Colbert ripped apart Fox News host (and New York Times cover boy) Glenn Beck Tuesday night, mocking his 9-12 project, meant to conjure the spirit of compassion and camaraderie Americans felt on September 12, 2001.

"We weren't told how to behave that day after 9/11, we just knew," Beck says to describe the project. "It was right, it was the opposite of what we feel today. Are you ready to be the person you were that day after 9/11, on 9/12?"

"Ready!" Colbert shouted, decked out in a gas mask, holding a gun, and wearing adult diapers.

Colbert then used a classic "Daily Show" tactic, exposing the hypocrisy of Beck's 9-12 project by highlighting comments he made on September 9, 2005.

"This is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this," Beck said on his radio program that day, "you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims' families? I don't hate all of them. I hate probably about 10 of them. But when I see a 9-11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh, shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining. And we did our best for them."

"The 9-12 project is not for families directly affected by 9/11, just people building their careers on it," Colbert said.

Colbert went on to mock Beck's now infamous tendency to cry, and to launch his own "democratic experiment, the 10-31 project."

"It will be scare and balanced!" he joked.

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Comments

[jmpfjoy]

08:26 AM on 04/09/2009

And I am really disgusted with citizens who can't tell a train wreck from real journalism­.

I think ratings are high because people love a good mental breakdown, and Beck is definitely going to deliver.

[urweatherman]

08:38 AM on 04/05/2009

I am really disgusted with television show hosts that purely attack those that have better ratings and react out of total jealousy. I am not surprised though, MSNBC has a whole lineup of such folks.

[ghost2082]

11:13 PM on 04/06/2009

Number One- Colbert is on Comedy Central, not MSNBC.

Number Two- Your fake crying nancyboy Beck just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, exposing him for the jerk he truly is. Please tell me how quoting Beck's own exact words with a transcript AND audio is an attack on his character, and not just a spade being called a spade.

Number Three- Beck's high ratings are simply proof that there will never be a shortage of stupid brainwashe­d idiots ready to lap up the constant bullshit that Beck and the other Fixed News line-up spew out on a daily basis. You know, stupid people like you.

[Elephantinroom]

12:14 AM on 04/08/2009

You're supporting the host who was wearing a diaper?

[MichaelMcKLA]

09:19 PM on 04/04/2009

I am a happy fella. I ignore Fox News and everyone on it. I do, however, turn it on when I am in need of righteous anger and fury or propaganda from that now-margin­alized political party.

[beckfan]

07:57 PM on 04/04/2009

Glenn Beck is a wonderful man. Colbert should be ashamed of himself for mocking Glenn's heartfelt appeal to community and decency in America. Why don't Colbert and Stewart just pack up and move to Europe? They would be quite welcome there. By the way, Obama's soft stance on terrorism may get us another day of infamy. George Bush's policies kept us safe for eight years and saved many lives. Why mess with what works?

[CoolerHeads]

01:45 AM on 04/05/2009

Wow. America love it or leave it, huh? Thanks for reading straight from the right wing hymnal. Is that some of Glenn Beck's version of community and decency?

And what exactly is your proof that George Bush's policy "kept us safe"? That there wasn't another terrorist attack on our soil? Okay, here's what happened, Bush ignored reports that bin laden was going to attack in the US, and he let it happen. Then after that, he sent our troops to Iraq to provide Muslim extremists easy access to American targets, all while doing Bin Laden a favor by removing one of the strongest opponents to Al Qaeda in the region (Baathist Party) and making it possible for Al Qaeda to operate in Iraq. So once we were doing Al Qaeda all those favors, why would they attack us again? They got us to dance for them like a puppet, thanks to Bush's stupidity. We were playing completely into their hands, helping them spread their message and helping them make us look like the bad guy and helping them marginaliz­e moderate Muslims.

Oh, and let's not forget what all of Bush's keeping us safe did to us back at home. Thanks to all the brilliant de-regulat­ion, corporate wellfare and allowing financial monopolies­, our economy is totally effed up. Oh, and remember how we lost new orleans to the dirty bomb of Katrina? So, yeah, forgive me if I don't think Bush kept us safe.

[Elephantinroom]

04:29 PM on 04/06/2009

For nearly a decade, Iraq has defied its obligation­s to destroy its weapons of terror and the missiles to deliver them. America will continue to contain Saddam, and we will work for the day when Iraq has a government worthy of its people.

Now, last month, in our action over Iraq, our troops were superb. Their mission was so flawlessly executed, that we risk taking for granted the bravery and the skill it required. Captain Jeff Taliaferro­, a 10-year veteran of the Air Force, flew a B-1B bomber over Iraq as we attacked Saddam's war machine. He is here with us tonight. I'd like to ask you to honor him and all the 33,000 men and women of Operation Desert Fox. Captain Taliaferro­.
http://www­.cnn.com/A­LLPOLITICS­/stories/1­999/01/19/­sotu.trans­cript/

[Elephantinroom]

04:32 PM on 04/06/2009

On the Saturday edition of the NBC Nightly News, anchored by John Seigenthal­er, correspond­ent Lisa Myers reported several critical mistakes made by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco in handling the Hurricane Katrina crisis. The story even showcased a whispered conversati­on, recorded by CNN, between Blanco and an aide in which Blanco admitted she had been too slow in asking for federal troops. Blanco: "I really need to call for the military ... and I should have started that in the first call."
http://new­sbusters.o­rg/node/20­72

[LCDTV]

08:37 AM on 04/05/2009

if u do not like i suggest you leave the country .

[Wood-Harp]

07:25 PM on 04/04/2009

Beck's tears are about as genuine as Coulter's relationsh­ip with God and Jesus.
In direct relation: http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=-rBhPDctq­Cg

[Marshall Ball]

05:27 PM on 04/04/2009

nice

[Griffin97]

03:45 PM on 04/04/2009

Just listen to Glen Beck's show sometime - his use of SARCASM is so ridiculous­ly-overt, there is no chance you could miss it! Unless, of course, you have your own TV show (with a different fan-base) and know that you can take his statements out of context in such a disgusting manner, without getting caught. Nice way to boost your own ratings. (Sarcasm used in last statement.­)

[lunarmagpie]

09:33 PM on 04/04/2009

sarcasm is always such a convenient excuse for being a jerk.

[Tony Cavalieri]

05:00 PM on 04/06/2009

so what are you saying, Beck was being sarcastic when he wanted people to be patriotic?

[TommyObamaLewinsky]

09:39 AM on 04/22/2009

oh, you mean the same period where Cheney confessed yesterday that he didn't really know much about Al Queada because Bush et al ignored Clinton and CIA's reports on the seriousnes­s of Al Queada. Cheney should shut his big fat angry mouth before he talks himself straight in jail, because God, the Lord, Jesus knows he already made a place for himself in hell.

Why do they need to make an investigat­ion because Cheney already admitted everything there is to convict him of war crimes.

If the US doesn't prosecute them, another country will.

[ketchupandfries]

02:05 PM on 04/04/2009

Thank God for Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and their fabulous writers! Someone has to call out Glenn Beck, the crazy money man and their cronies, who wouldn't recognize the truth if it bit them in their teleprompt­ers!

[jackiero]

01:06 PM on 04/04/2009

Yes, yes, Colbert! We need to go back to a life of 9/10/01! You know the one, where we didn't give a hoot about out neighbor or our fellow man. That life could easy be considered the life of 9/11/02, when we mourned for one year then went right back to pre-9/11 thinking. The way I see it, Beck is trying to evoke that feeling that we all had on 9/12 when the tragedy started to sink in, but when we were still kind and loving toward others. Blacks, whites, and people of every other color race political affiliatio­n and creed were consoling each other on the streets. There were no divisions. But yes, let us go back to that 9/10/01 day, where it was cool to be self absorbed. Let us continue to knock the conservati­ve talking head like Beck, who is actually crossing the aisle and embracing something so inately "liberal" like the feeling we all had on 9/12/01. Yes, yes, well done, Colbert! I'm with you and your followers all the way! A conservati­ve could never ever be anything other than a war mongerer. Isn't that liberal 101?

[mizzledizzle]

02:48 PM on 04/04/2009

beck is not reaching across any aisles...a­t all...and the feelings we had on 9/12 were not "liberal".­..we were pissed off and the bush administra­tion ran with it to justify war in iraq....an­d by the way, i hate when people praise the bush administra­tion for keeping us safe post 9/11...we got hit on their watch..i dont care what ari fleischer says..if bush's war on terror is so great, why did it take the worst attack on our soil to bring out his great foreign policy?

[DJ23]

03:57 PM on 04/04/2009

Colbert doesn't need YOU to explain to him What Beck is "trying" to do. We all get the point of the project. But, as you chastise Colbert, you made no mention of Beck's words on 9/9/05 about the 9/11 victim's families.

Also, let's not forget that Colbert's program airs on Comedy Central. He is a comedian.

Please don't reply back with some crap about 9/11 not being laughing matter. Colbert was mocking Beck's hypocrisy and questionin­g his motivation­. Rightfully so in my opinion.

It seems like a calculated publicity stunt for his show. If he is genuine and sincere about this "project", he should start by apologizin­g for the comments he made about the 9/11 families.

But, from your comment you seem to not have a problem with what Beck said on 9/9/05. The person you took offense to, in this COMEDY skit, was Colbert.

Am I wrong?

I'd like to hear your feelings about what Beck said. What would be your reaction if Colbert or some "liberal" made those comments?

It's only wrong if a liberal does it. Isn't that conservati­ve 101?

". . .embracing something so inately "liberal" like the feeling we all had on 9/12/01"

This comment is to quite ridiculous­.

[urweatherman]

08:53 AM on 04/05/2009

Your comments DJ were totally rediculous­. First of all, you can't compare because, as you said yourself, Colbert is a comedian and has no accountabi­lity for what he says. So why do so many people take hime seriously? They should not as you seem to do. And being a comedian, everything Colbert does is purely a publicity stunt....s­o don't accuse others of the same. Liberal 101 would be coments like those of the famed college professor in Colorado..­....

[NPA]

11:16 AM on 04/04/2009

An "American" that has hatred for the 9/11 victims is no American in my book! Glen Beck has much in common with Bil Liden and al-Qeadea it seems. I remember that day vividly.

[casinogeves]

05:36 PM on 04/04/2009

Bil Liden? Did someone ask what happens when you cross Bill Clinton and Joe Biden?

[BN2112]

10:29 AM on 04/04/2009

Brilliant Stephen! The real question is--is Beck a real lunatic or does he just play one on TV?

[lunarmagpie]

09:34 PM on 04/04/2009

i think the answer here has to be "both."

[shag11]

07:02 AM on 04/04/2009

I love the fact that Letterman and the others do this. Most of the Dem. pundits are too wimpy. They let the right-wing­ers talk all over them and shut-down their message. Bravo to Stewart and Colbert, as well.

[seattle music]

02:33 AM on 04/04/2009

So when is someone going to take a horsewhip to Glen Beck for his lying, phony exploitati­on of 9/11?

Oh, wait. Colbert just did.

Well done, sir.

[gatogato]

12:51 AM on 04/04/2009

Colbert - the most intelligen­t (and funniest) man in the world

[2Foxxie4U]

12:32 AM on 04/04/2009

OH SNAP. They done brought out Chuck Norris! DDDX

EVERY SOCIALIST FOR THEMSELVES­! DDDX *heads for the hills as Chuck Norris karate-cho­ps and roundhouse­-kicks every commie in sight faster than the speed of light, thus killing them before they were ever born*