Glenn Beck & the San Antonio Tea Party
The Associated Press assigned me to spend the day with Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck last Wednesday, when he was in San Antonio for the local tax day tea party. It was a long day (I was with him for about 8.5 hours) but of course I was happy to have the work. Got some decent images as well.
Glenn Beck is one of those figures, like your Rush Limbaughs and your Bill O’Reillys, who will usually draw immediate unsolicited opinions from whomever is around when you speak their names, whether they be liberal or conservative.
Television and radio host Glenn Beck pauses in his hotel room before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
I’m going to leave my personal political views out of this post, however, simply because there’s no point in my getting into that in this entry. Readers are welcome to fight it out in the comments section though, if they so desire.
Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck walks to a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
People who know me know that I’m a fairly liberal person, which means that I don’t agree with a lot of what Glenn Beck has to say, but I also don’t disagree with some of what he has to say, either. After spending all day in close proximity with him, though — sometimes only the two of us in a room — I can say that, politics aside, he is a very nice and genuine person. He’s probably the nicest celeb I’ve ever met.
Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, right, speaks with his staff in his hotel room before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
I was also impressed with the fact that, even behind closed doors, he doesn’t limit his criticism to one side. Republicans as well as Democrats, conservatives as well as liberals, all were slammed or praised depending on the topic. Objectivity is a respectable trait, whether or not one agrees with the original statement.
Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, middle right, autographs copies of his book with members of his staff before a public appearance at a tax day tea party, Wednesday, Spril 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
I was surprised to see how many people had turned out at Alamo Plaza to attend this tea party thing. Apparently these national tea parties had been in the news a lot, but I hadn’t even heard of them, but it’s no secret that I rarely watch the news. I usually get my information from the BBC or my USA Today iPhone app, but Ive been so busy lately I was pretty much in the dark about everything because I hadn’t had a chance to catch up on the rest of the world.
Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, seated, autographs copies of his book for fans before a public appearance, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
There were some “interesting” people at this thing, let me tell you. Most were normal people you’d see in everyday life, but as always, there were those “special” few who couldn’t resist making some sort of scene in public to put themselves in the limelight. Some woman dressed up like Betsy Ross, there was a guy who had a bunch of slogans scribbled all over himself and a fake snake pinned to his shirt, and my favorite, a guy who was dressed like Davy Crocket and had made a costume that made it look like he was carrying himself in a tea crate. You know, the old fake legs and arms costume gag. At least his scraggly bushy mountain man beard was real.
Fox News commentator and radio host Glenn Beck, middle, poses with two fans during a public appearance for a tax day tea party, Wednesday, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Ted Nugent was there too, resplendent in his hilarious, venison-fueled craziness. I spent a lot of my time laughing aloud from behind my camera at his freaky expressions and off-color comments. I walked away very relieved and thankful that Ted is not my roommate because a little of him goes a very long way. Insane? Yes, but also a very nice guy in person.
He signed a wounded veteran’s amputee stump, too. I had to make a photo of that. I asked his permission for this one.
A tax day tea party spectator displays his bandaged leg, which was autographed by musician Ted Nugent, Wednesday, April 15, 2009, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
I’m “that woman” who wore the “Betsy Ross” costume. I’m a registered Dem. and quite liberal in many ways. I didn’t want personal attention, but attention to the current issues. People need to pay attention to what our ancestors paid dearly for, protecting our Constitution and protecting us from Tyranny. Thanks for noticing but sorry you didn’t grasp the intent. I do support Glenn Beck and what he has to offer. He is truly a courageous person whom I deeply respect.
Hello,
In 1968 I enlisted at a very unpopular time insofar as most people viewed Viet Nam. I was turned down due to medical reasons and designated as 1Y. That setback has not stopped me from doing what I can to fight for this nation.
I believe strongly in the strength of this nation and the purpose of our constitution. My web site is: http://www.creaivebuildingsolutions4u.com wherein I invite veterans, families and military personnel to post their blogs and experiences.
My site is not a commercial site. Other than the typical “google” ads, I advertise nothing. My purpose is to launch another avenue for members of the military, their friends and family to voice their concerns and opinions.
I respectfully request you to visit the “crew’s quarters” on the site. If you have no objection to the content I would greatly appreciate it if you would pass the address onto others.
Thanking you in advance,
Darren,
Good to hear you gave Glenn an honest chance. I dont know him, except from his radio show. But he does come across as genuine. He researches everything he says before he says it. I would hope he would have inspired you to pay a little more attention to our current social/political situation. He is not just about politics, he is concerned with the american condition. He speaks from his heart and mind, and has some great experience to draw from. You should request to spend more time with him. His star is on the rise.
Respestfully,
Scott Missildine
It is unbelieveable how the mainstream media depicted this as a crazy right wing media event. With everyone doing just as you said and either saying that no one showed up or only showed the couple of crazies, just like you said they would. I am sorry for how the event was downplayed and how I believe our message still did not get accross. I imagine this is just how they depicted Martin L. King when he first started his movement as well.
Great post, honest and fair.
I think the media has portrayed the tea parties as being anti-Obama, when I could give a damn about him, in this case specifically. I believe that the tea-parties, at least for me, were about all of our current and recent politicians who think it is ok to just spend all of our money without one thought on the future.
George Bush did an excellent job of spending a ton of money on the war in Iraq… Obama, in one swipe of the pen, spent more than the total cost of the war in Iraq for the last six years (in fact the current estimates are that he spent twice the total cost of the war in Iraq at the point of signing). No matter the amount of time involved in the expenditure, sending more money out than we are taking in is a bad thing.
You cannot spend your way out of poverty no matter who you are. All of our politicians need to figure that out, yet they seem to just want to spend, spend, spend.
These are fantastic pictures. Thank you for sharing them. I appreciate the objectivity here and that there was no Glenn bashing.
incredibly fair report of what happened and of the people and celebrities that attended. I was there and it was great. I appreciate your account of what happened!!
Glenn: Do you know what the Alamo stands for? I don’t think so. Anyway, your interview with that Cathy person (seems like a nice lady) aggravated me. She claims she has no voice in what Pres. Obama is doing but she’s wrong!! She has a voice through her reps in Congress and the Senate. A little thinking goes a long way. And, tell me you didn’t notice the “ghetto” and other racist signs at the tea party. I agree with Jeanine Garafaolo that most of the tea party participants, while maybe not hating blacks, don’t like having a black man in the White House. Admit it, clown.
EDITOR COMMENT:
Ma’am, this isn’t Glenn Beck’s blog, and if you’d taken twenty seconds to actually read the first couple paragraphs of the post that you commented on, you would have known that. Addressing points to him directly is useless here. I suggest you go to glennbeck.com and address him there.
Now, if you’d like to start an open discussion of your viewpoints here, well, I’m all for that.
–Darren
We all (912ers) feel we have no say in what our Government is doing, and for the first time in my adult life, it scares me. I have called, emailed, and mailed my opinions and concerns to all of my mational representatives, and if I get an answer at all, it is a polite form letter with an attitude that I simply don’t know whats best for me so just behave and let them make those tough decisions for me. I wasn’t at a tea party because I am a truck driver with a dedicated route, but I AM a huge Glenn Beck fan and follower, and I appreciate the way you covered this story.
The reason she is so busy is because there aren’t enough journalists doing there jobs. Great job.
Thanks for being a normal reasonable American! While I am conservative in both ideology and theology where you admit to being a little more liberal you seem like the kind of guy that I could have a great, spirited and open conversation with about many topics while eating some hot wings and having a diet. dr. pepper. Thanks for showing the rest of the world that we don’t have to all hate each other just because we have different view points! kudo’s on a great report
I don’t know how I ended up on your blog, but what a fascinating pictorial story. Commentators on your blog are talking about the event you covered here, but I’d like to comment on your work. Your photography work is pretty stunning, it’s almost like you were able to make time stand still. Your angle is interesting to me because I’m an art director and have to do so much research to know about my clients and their work. It’s fascinating that that you can go into a job and not know the background. I would get eaten alive if that was the case, but photography really is a window when done properly. Each of your frames really embody a huge amount of magnetic energy. The one with betsy ross is fabulous! I can’t say enough! It’s almost kitchy, yet you see how sincere these people really are. Well done.
Lorie,
Thanks for your kind words about my work. I’ve spent the last sixteen years (and hopefully many more to come) building my eye and other skills for the purpose of documenting the world around me. I feel most at home when I am shooting unscripted, spontaneous subject matter. I can’t get enough, and I’m always looking for more challenging and unique assignments.
Thanks for stopping in. Subscribe to the RSS feed for more!
The one of the wounded veteran, I think with his brother pushing him is stunning. I didn’t comment at first because I didn’t know what to say. When I mentioned that you were able to find a way to stop time, this photo really does it. It shines the warmest light into these people’s lives for the observer to see the fundamentals of humanity at work there. How all the people in this photo came to be where they are is pretty telling and the juxtaposition of the brothers stops you in your tracks. Wow, an award winner. The veteran, with much sincerity, is about as inspiring as they get. Warmest regards!
Glad to see that you weren’t caught up in the tea bashing craze swooping the media. What is YOUR take on you not hearing about these meaningless “little” gatherings as CNN and MSNBC would have you believe they were?