Glenn Beck Explodes At Chris Matthews About Bachmann (VIDEO)

Glenn Beck exploded at Chris Matthews for his comments denigrating Michele Bachmann and her views on American history.

Matthews called Bachmann a "balloon head" on Tuesday for saying that the Founding Fathers "worked tirelessly to end slavery." He noted that, besides the fact that many of the founders owned slaves, and that slavery only ended nearly a hundred years after the founding of America, slavery was also protected in the Constitution via the three-fifths clause, which stated that slaves would be counted as three-fifths of all other people when it came to determining how many seats in Congress each state was due.

Beck called the attacks on Bachmann "disgraceful" and said they were happening "because she could run for president of the United States and she could win."

Then he let loose with an epic tirade. After playing the clip of Matthews, Beck took the phrase "balloon head" and ran with it:

"You sir, are a balloon head that was taught by a balloon head and all you did because you're a balloon head was sit in your stupid balloon head Ivy League classroom and be indoctrinated by a balloon head and never ever used your balloon head to ask an intelligent question of the balloon head in the tweed jacket! You self-sanctimonious, self-important balloon head, America has had enough. Do your own homework."

Beck then said that the founders had indeed tried to end slavery. His comments hearkened back to ones he made earlier in January, when he said that the three-fifths clause was put in place to end slavery. This overlooks the fact that the clause benefited slaveholding states, since the alternative was not to count slaves in the population of states at all. The clause added considerably to the population of the slaveholding states and thus gained them more seats in Congress and more power in the U.S. as a whole.

Also, Matthews was educated at the College of the Holy Cross and the University of North Carolina—neither of which are Ivy League schools.

WATCH:

Comments

[Kim ClarkLawrence]

02:25 PM on 03/12/2011

I hate being the same species as Beck. It's embarrassing.

[robertradliff]

06:33 PM on 03/04/2011

oh and P.S. Glenn Beck,

Frederick Douglass was NOT a founding father, nor was 1852 the year the CONSTITUTION was ratified. Who's the balloon head now, Beck?

[robertradliff]

06:30 PM on 03/04/2011

"balloon head Ivy League professor in the tweed jacket"?
Although he dropped out of Yale, he at some point did take a theology class there, which means that for a period of time he himself, the great Glenn Beck, ALSO sat and listened to the "balloon head professors in tweed jackets" he so vehemently opposes. The hypocrisy never ends with this guy. Beck is the true "balloon head".

[jokamachi]

12:20 PM on 03/02/2011

Glenn Beck.

That's the punchline.

[tadhg82]

04:47 PM on 02/18/2011

Snake oil salesman!

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:33 PM on 02/12/2011

Beck:Wrong for America, Wrong for kindergarden!

[Old Sarge]

04:16 AM on 02/24/2011

Simply perfect! F&F

[dcrimso]

11:04 AM on 02/11/2011

And Beck was educated at a socialist Public Library. What a psycho.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:34 PM on 02/12/2011

Spent all his time in the brail section , oogling the raised dots in the "Playboy edition"

[SomeKindOfWndrfl]

03:27 PM on 02/07/2011

Way to be objective, HP - while Matthews may not be an Ivy-league educated man, at least he IS an educated man...unlike Beck who obviously couldn't stay focused enough to even log a quarter of edu under his belt. If you're going to take pot shots, fire them off objectively. You just lost a reader with that lame-brained factoid.

[Sara Nichols]

11:04 AM on 02/03/2011

That is what you get when you get schooled by Glenn Beck, Mr. Thrill Up My Leg, after you attack Bachmann! So get a clue, dude!

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:36 PM on 02/12/2011

Those who cant Learn , teach! (plaquard above the door to Mr. Becks Bidet)

[jokamachi]

12:28 PM on 03/02/2011

Beck couldn't school himself out of a paper bag.

I'll take Matthews any day of the week, thank you.

[Javalation]

05:55 PM on 02/02/2011

The onus is with the balloon head to brought the subject up in the first place. Then balloon head Matthews didn't go far enough in noting the bigotry of the founders. Not only were they willing to condone slavery, none of them suggested that women should be treated as more than property. Heck, the founders didn't think that women could own property, much less vote. Hardly any reason to deify them.

[greevous]

05:06 PM on 02/02/2011

First of all, it's inappropriate to look back through the lens of history and judge people based on ethics that have evolved for 240+ years. So there's really no point in arguing that the Founders tried or didn't try to end slavery. Some of them were abolitionist leaning, and others weren't.

When we talk about history we must first consider context. The Declaration of Independence was written in July 1776. Consider, the English Bill of Rights was less than 100 years old at that point. Slavery had ended in England only 4 years earlier. 87 years prior to the Declaration of Independence, British monarchs were basically gods on earth in their territories, and they didn't take kindly to having their godly rights tampered with even 87 years later. This is part of the context we must consider when we pass judgment on the Founders with our modern sensibilities.

These men were affected by their upbringings and surroundings just like every other human that has ever lived. They weren't gods, but they definitely are worthy of our respect. They were ahead of their times in many things, and commensurate with their times in others. There seems to be a tide of slamming the Founders these days with notions of modern morality, and frankly that smacks of sophistry and intellectual immaturity to me.

[baileywick]

05:32 PM on 02/02/2011

So England ended slavery in 1772 the U.S. in 1863, 91 years behind them. Context?

[NonConforming]

03:30 AM on 02/03/2011

Saudi Arabia ended slavery in 1960. Progress!

Sadly still practiced in Sudan & Chad.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:40 PM on 02/12/2011

The united states ended slavery in the U.S.durring
 the Johnson administration! not Lincoln(just saying)
the E.P. freed all slaves in the state that succeeded !

[Lionel Martinez]

04:45 PM on 02/02/2011

Glenn Beck is a showman and will do and say what it takes to keep his franchise alive and well.

[jburnett17]

04:32 PM on 02/02/2011

I can't stand Glenn Beck or Chris Matthews. They both are blinded by their bias. However, I do have to say that Glenn Beck is partially correct. The Founding Father's were deeply troubled by slavery, even those who were slave owners. It was heavily debated at the convention to establish our Constitution. In order to form this imperfect Union they were forced to be pragmatic. Slavery was woven into the economic fabric not just of the South, but the North as well. There would probably be no United States of America today without this compromise. We can criticize our Founding Father's who were slave holders but at the same time we must recognize that they too were human. I shudder to think what future generations are going to say about ours, beginning with our handling of the environment!

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:43 PM on 02/12/2011

without the invention of the Cotton Gin , the
feasability of maintaining slaves was less than nil!
 

[screenname3453]

01:42 PM on 02/02/2011

“I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of it [slavery].”
—George Washington

[nhr 215]

05:00 PM on 02/02/2011

wow! That is tremendous academic work there. Nothing like sifting out one little nugget of a quote to support one side of an argument. You must be a professional debater with that Google-skill set.... My lord....

[anelder]

12:49 PM on 02/03/2011

How about this one? Or is there a number of nuggets you would recognize as being the intent of someone?

“As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality.”
George Washington

[Dunkleberger Karl]

02:45 PM on 02/12/2011

angst is never the equil of action!

[screenname3453]

05:29 PM on 03/10/2011

Thank you for actually posting a logical response. I mean that in all sincerity. You're right. Angst is never equal to action. I do believe that this quote provides enough evidence to suggest that Bachmann's quotes at least warrant the benefit of the doubt and not the maelstrom of criticism that she received. I would say the same of someone on the opposite side of the political spectrum if the tables were turned.

[Bealach]

01:16 PM on 02/02/2011

I had a hard time making it through the first minute of the video. Don't they have notes or something they can read? It's like they were grasping at straws just to form complete sentences....

[GlennBeckReview]

05:30 PM on 02/03/2011

That's what they do, morning zoo political nonsense.

[Sara Nichols]

10:56 AM on 02/07/2011

Listen, Hun, have you ever watched Glenn's show or listened to the radio show?