You know, I must admit, when I first signed on to the Beck boycott I was participating on principal, but expected little or no impact. Let's face it, we've done these before with little or no success. But thanks to a combination of blatant race baiting and a wonderful organization called Color of Change, it has worked far beyond almost anyone's expectations. This is especially true of those on the right.
From Hot Air
[RedState's] Erick Erickson’s trying to get a counter-boycott going because "If they are successful, they will move beyond Beck to others." A noble impulse, but is that really true? My hunch is that companies have limited patience for this sort of thing; they’ll throw a bone to an angry constituency if it’s sufficiently large and focused on one show, but the more targets the boycotters add, the greater the headaches for corporate advertisers who are looking for airtime and sensitive about not alienating other constituencies by getting too political. Even here, the great lefty victory over Beck appears only to have resulted in ads being shifted to other Fox programs. If Media Matters et al. suddenly decide they want O’Reilly and Hannity boycotted too, how many companies will oblige them knowing that it means sacrificing the biggest viewing audience in cable news?
The most depressing thing about this isn’t the fear of lefties taking down conservative broadcasters, it’s the fact that Beck is catching hell while [Keith Olbermann], a man who eagerly compares Republicans to terrorists when he isn’t busy screaming about right-wing "hate speech," rests easily in the thought that his own advertising is secure.
Uh-oh! Are they worried about a "chilling effect" on hateful rhetoric? As we continue press corporate enablers on their de facto support of this kind of hate speech, the right is beginning to understand that this sort of beyond-the-pale, formerly unchecked game of "who can take it the furthest" has it's limits. Now, it may finally have started to backfire on them.
They know we are watching, waiting to seize on these sorts of moments in the future. There is blood in the water, and they know it. Even the MSM is taking notice of a boycott in a non-dismissive way for once. From NewsCorp's own Marketwatch.com today:
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- In what is shaping up to be one of the more effective boycott campaigns in years, advertisers are abandoning the "Glenn Beck" show on Fox News following the host's incendiary comments that President Barack Obama is a "racist" and has a "deep-seated hatred for white people."
...
Whether the show can survive with advertisers deserting it depends on whether they can replaced and how much money Fox News is prepared to lose before pulling the plug.
It also, [Northwestern University Professor] Greening said, "depends on Beck's level of contrition or how he explains it. But unless he does something to rehabilitate himself, he has probably crossed the line into obscurity."
Their response has been varied, from a spattering of insignificant counter boycotts to a bizarre, petty counter boycott against Jon Stewart's advertisers of all people. Of course none of this will work, but at this point they are powerless and do not know how to respond. We however do know how to respond. If you haven't already, contact the remaining Glenn Beck advertisers, and be firm but respectful! If you already have, contact more of them. We've made great progress, we've got them running scared, let's not quit now! Remember Dan Rather!
[UPDATE] The rec list? I'm speechless! We've got a whole week, keep those letters, emails, and phone calls coming, we won't stop until there is no one but Cash4Gold.com left!
UPDATE X2: Looks like we've struck a nerve in Glenn, but based on his past emotional breakdowns that is no major feat. Naturally, he has developed a Palin-esque persecution/faux populism reaction. From his Twitter:
"I have made VERY powerful people VERY angry. They have tried to cover their tracks. They have failed. Will expose and ask 4 your help VERY soon.
Gee Glenn, why don't you cry about it?
UPDATE X3 Thanks to schmiss for this delusional screed from Legal Insurrection:
Is it any surprise or coincidence that this boycott is taking place against a vocal opponent of Obama's health care restructuring and cap-and-trade plans just at the moment that opposition to such plans is coming to a head? No, the boycott simply is one part of the overall push to silence opposition, much like calling protesters un-American and political terrorists.
Nonetheless, I am happy to see this boycott. Here are my ten top reasons:
1. The boycott will fail, as do virtually all boycotts.
2. The failure of the boycott will be a huge victory for freedom of speech.
3. The failure of the boycott will diminish the power of the boycotters.
4. The diminished power of the boycotters will empower grassroots opposition to health care restructuring and cap-and-trade.
5. The boycott reveals once again that many liberals are hypocrites who only want freedom for their speech.
6. The boycott reveals that the left-wing blogosphere is afraid of other voices being heard.
7. The boycott reminds us that large corporations are spineless in the face of liberal pressure groups.
8. The boycott reminds us also that we should not confuse large corporations with free markets or free enterprise or freedom.
9. The boycott will tell us whether Fox News has a spine.
10. The boycott is a reflection that Democrats have few positive arguments in support of their agenda and need to create enemies.
UPDATE: And now a boycott of Whole Foods! The Left is feeding on itself, like people stranded at a plane wreck on some mountaintop. In case you were wondering, corporate Whole Foods has no spine.
See? The success of the boycott is bad news...for OBAMA!
UPDATE X4 Many have requested a recent list of Glenn Becks remaining sponsers. anon2008 has posted a great diary with a list of Glenn Beck's remaining sponsers.