Nonsensical tirades that prey on racial anxieties, like the one Glenn Beck delivered on March 9 about the census underscore part of the reason why 119 advertisers fled his show and why the broadcast of his show in the UK has been without any advertisers for over a month now.

Glenn Beck urged people not to fill out the race question on the Census because it’s an attempt to increase modern day slavery (emphasis added):

Glenn Beck: Why were they asking the race question, you said when, in 1790? … Right, they want to know, do you count as three-fifths? Do you count at all? So, you have to know how many slaves did you have? People find that offensive today because the idea was, if we’re going to count, we want to know how many are here for services etc. etc. and slaves would get less. Well that’s not right. One. One. ‘I’m not three-fifths, I’m one. Whites are not worth than me.’ Now reverse it, why are they asking this question today?

Stu (Co-Host): Because minorities are worth more than whites.

Glenn Beck: Exactly right. So you will get more dollars if you are a minority. So you are worth more as a minority. Well there is no difference. The reason you don’t answer the race question is because one, everyone counts as one. All men are created equal. If you were offended back in 1790 about slavery and that everyone should count the same, do not answer the race question. How dare you. How dare you. At least in 1790, they were doing it to slow the South down on slavery. To try to stop it as much as they can. Today they are asking the race question to try to increase slavery. Your dependence on the master in Washington. No way, don’t answer that question.

The census is a target for many right-wing extremists, like Glenn Beck, because they are deeply concerned about the implications of an updated and accurate assessment of our nation’s diversity. Glenn Beck’s attacks on the census aren’t new. Neither is his willingness to prey on racial anxieties for political or personal reasons.

When a company chooses to supply Glenn Beck with advertising revenue, they are associating their brand with the aforementioned nonsense and vitriol.

And, this kind of talk is precisely why the StopBeck effort rolls along.

If you’re interested, ThinkProgress has more on this latest Glenn Beck census rant.