BOISE, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Celebrity talk show host and conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck entertained an audience of about 60 in a legislative meeting room at the Capitol this afternoon, in a “WallBuilders” event organized by Sen. Steve Vick and Reps. Barbara Ehardt and Gayann DeMordaunt. David Barton, founder of WallBuilders, a Texas organization that bills itself as “a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage,” also spoke.
Vick said the three Idaho lawmakers organized the event with Barton and WallBuilders, and Beck wanted to join in. “We didn’t invite him – he asked if he could come,” Vick said. Audience members included more than 30 GOP lawmakers from both houses, staff members, some lobbyists and others, including a couple of reporters; Vick invited everyone in.
Beck gave an energetic talk about what he called the dangers of ESG, which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, a type of reporting that companies are increasingly doing to attract investors interested in those metrics. Beck told the group that soon, everyone will have an ESG score, and it’ll be used to track them and prevent them from doing business if it’s too low. “You will lose points on your ESG score just by being around me,” he said to laughter, then urged Idaho lawmakers to legislate against such moves. “We need a state to stop and take all of them on and say, ‘You cannot do business this way in Idaho,’” Beck declared.
Barton said, “Idaho, you got a good chance to be the model on this.”
Beck added, “This has to be done now. There is nothing more urgent. … You don’t need to have a conspiracy theory, it’s scary enough on its own.”
When an audience member asked about how to legislate on the topic, Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, responded, “We already have it drafted.”
Beck said, “This is a public-private fascistic system. This is not the private sector.”
After his talk, Beck posed for a group photo with the GOP lawmakers who attended, and said, “I wanted to meet you guys, the model of American heroes.”
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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