Glenn Beck and the Conservative punditocracy weigh in on the World Cup

World Cup fever is sweeping the globe. As Tom Mendelsohn writes for the 'The Independent' (UK), conservative pundits aren't necessarily on board.

The World Cup vs the American Right
There’s a World Cup on, you’ll have noticed. Depending on your tolerance for empty platitudes, it’s either a joyous carnival of global fellow-feeling, or an excuse to have a month’s sit-down football binge.

Unless, of course, you’re a conservative American media pundit, in which case the whole farrago is a giant four-week excuse to flare your nostrils, beat your chest and proudly trumpet your increasingly deranged xenophobia amidst a rare backdrop of useful context.

The American Right, you see, hates soccer. None of them, however, are quite sure why; they just know that it threatens them in some unknown way, and then try to construct arguments to fit their prejudices...

Below is a partial transcript of Beck's rant against Obama's policies which he likened to the World Cup

VIDEO: Glenn Beck on the World Cup and President Obama's policies

GLENN BECK: Barack Obama’s policies are the World Cup. Their policies, his policies are the World Cup of political thought. It doesn’t matter how you sell it to us. It doesn’t matter how many celebrities you get. It doesn’t matter how many bars open early. It doesn’t matter how many beer commercials they run. We don’t want the World Cup. We don’t like the World Cup. We don’t like soccer. We want nothing to do with it.

You can package it any way -- you can spend all kinds of money. You can force it on our television sets. We will not enjoy the World Cup.

The rest of the world likes Barack Obama’s policies. We do not, and I’m cool with that. If you want Barack Obama’s policies or the World Cup in your country have at it. I don’t hate you. I don’t understand you, but I don’t hate you... I believe that everything you need to know about Barack Obama’s policies can be explained by the World Cup… Congratulations to Barack Obama and his polices that will have as much success as the World Cup in America. Go try those polices someplace else. They’ll be wildly successful.

One surefire way of converting a skeptic is to sweep them with the national euphoria of victory. America's dramatic last minute win over Algeria, catapulted America into the Top 16 and the top of their pool whilst converting a fairweather Stephen Colbert.

VIDEO: Colbert Report - US Defeats Algeria
US Defeats Algeria

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STEPHEN COLBERT: Now Nation. I don't know why. But I suddenly realised that I'm a long time fan of Soccer

Watch a video compilation of "Pre-convert" Stephen Colbert railing against Soccer, The World Cup and what he believes it represents - Stephen Colbert: World Cup