The Government Is Buying You Off

Is our government trying to buy us off like the people in this 'Waterworld' scene? ('Waterworld' / Universal)

Here's the one thing: You're being lied to. No, no, actually, you're being bought off. You'll see exactly what I mean in a minute. But first I want to talk about something my critics have said about me: that I’m an angry populist. Really? I love this.

I've been saying the same things for two years, and most of the time the ideas were extremely unpopular and I’ve just been called crazy. But now that I’m being proved right, I’m a populist. That's why today I’m going to do the oh-so-populist thing and argue for the AIG executives to get their $165 million in bonuses. Why? Because it's part of a valid contract — you know — that needs to be honored under the rule of law. And, yes, even for an angry populist like me, our laws still matter. Sometimes.

Especially those written by Chris Dodd. Isn't it weird that he's leading the charge against the bonuses? If the government didn't want executives to get bonuses, then they shouldn't have written a law that said bonuses were valid if signed before February 11 of this year. Or — and call me crazy — better yet, they shouldn't have given AIG all the bailouts in the first place, because without them the company would have gone into Chapter 11 or been liquidated, which is what should've happened in the first place.

Do you hear anyone complaining about bonuses and private jets and the big exotic parties for all the Lehman Brothers executives? Nope, because we let them fail. I think that this is all really just another distraction. AIG’s bonus structure was widely reported over a year ago, so the government knew about it. They're only outraged right now because they're playing the role of an angry populist. They're not going to ever mention it outright, but our government senses a growing disenfranchisement.

Just like you have, they have seen different things that all add up. They see our ratings, they see the thousands of people at tea parties, and they also see the polls. They know that, according to Rasmussen, 42 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s policies.

So let me bring you back to the one thing: You're being bought off. It's just like in that awful movie "Waterworld." Do you remember that with Kevin Costner? Oh, he’s trying to forget but let me remind you. This scene?

Everybody was really upset. Everyone was screaming. What do they do? He offers them Smeat and cigarettes. Now I don’t have any Smeat but I did get some cigarettes.

Washington is screaming about bonuses. Why, why is that? Why are they screaming about this? What is the point? Why is Barack Obama on Jay Leno on Thursday night? Cigarettes. Who would like some cigarettes? America, here’s your cigarettes. Take them and just be quiet for a while.

What do you think? Send your comments to: glennbeck@foxnews.com

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