Bob Beckel, the long term on-again, off-again liberal talking head at Fox News, has been fired from the cable news network – again. This time he was said to have made “an insensitive remark to an African-American employee.” One would have to assume, though it is by no means certain, that the remark was racial in nature. Beckel, as one of the original co-hosts of the panel discussion shows, “The Five,” was famous for his “insensitive” remarks during the many political back-and-forth arguments that took place on the program.
Bob Beckel, an out and proud liberal
Before he started life as a cable news personality, Beckel was a well-known, albeit not always successful, Democratic political operative. His most famous claim to fame was being the campaign manager for Walter Mondale’s disastrous 1984 run for the presidency. Mondale lost to then President Ronald Reagan in a landslide, losing 49 out of 50 states. Previously he had worked for President Jimmy Carter as the youngest deputy secretary of state in history. He did a stint in the Philippines in the Peace Corps.
Beckel’s modus operandi was to basically say everything he thought, no matter how outrageous, and then enjoy the expressions of anger from his more conservative co-hosts.
He was acidly contemptuous of Republican political figures, in particular President Donald Trump. Ironically, as it turns out, Beckel would boast, from time to time, that his father was involved in the early civil rights movement.
Zero tolerance at Fox News
Beckel had previously left Fox News as a result of his lengthy recovery from back surgery in 2015. He had returned to his post as a co-host of “The Five” at the beginning of 2017.
Fox News has been rocked by allegations of sexual harassment perpetrated by the now late Roger Ailes and fired host Bill O’Reilly. A number of lawsuits are ongoing because of those alleged actions. Unfortunately, the turmoil at FNC has spread to accusations of racial discrimination and bias at the cable news channel.
Very likely, Fox News has instituted a policy of zero tolerance where expressions of racial or gender bias are concerned. The irony is that Beckel, albeit a liberal, but who has his own problems with impulse control, even when on the air, was the first major figure to go down under the new regime.
What are Beckel’s options now?
The alleged remark was said to have been made May 16 with a complaint made by the staffer in question almost immediately. After an internal investigation, Beckel was informed on the morning of May 19 that his services would no longer be required at Fox News.
Depending on what the remark actually was, Beckel could take the matter to court. On the other hand, he also had the option of making it public and letting the people judge whether whatever he said was sufficient grounds for firing.