Eric Boehlert posted a comprehensive look at the money-making scheme that's being orchestrated by the conservative entertainment complex. For example:
Remember when Glenn Beck charged fans $125 to sit through the taping of his radio show? Or when he charged $500 if they wanted to attend a meet-and-greet before the show? And that was after Beck banked $32 million the previous year. More recently, conservative pundits and outlets have rushed to cash in on election spending by renting their emails lists, while Fox News' Karl Rove lightened wealthy donors' bankrolls by $300 million via his failed political groups.
It's conservatism as an ATM.
The "racket" implication also extends beyond the media world and into the Tea Party, which Fox has faithfully touted as a "grassroot" movement. That feel-good characterization was hard to square with the recent revelation that former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey stepped down as chairman of FreedomWorks, an influential Tea Party non-profit group, with a staggering $8 million golden parachute. (He will reportedly be paid in $400,000 installments, annually, in "consulting fees.")
The amount of money that's being tossed around by Glenn Beck and others is astonishing. $32 million? Where does it come from? The model seems eerily familiar -- televangelism. Give desperate people what they want to hear by professionally manipulating their emotions and they'll pay anything for it.
It's less of a movement and more of a scheme to make money for the top personalities.