Responding to President Barack Obama’s recent comment that Republicans have no new ideas, Fox host Glenn Beck said the conservative movement — or at least the tea party branch — is actually promoting a novel idea in American politics: Dismantling the federal government.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser earlier this week, President Obama said the GOP hasn’t come up with “a single, solitary new idea” to address the economic issues facing the US.

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Beck countered on his Fox show Friday that the Democrats are also peddling old ideas — socialism, circa 1848.

Socialism is the “oldest idea known to mankind,” Beck asserted, ignoring thousands of years of history prior to the 19th century.

“What they think is we’re arguing to go back to 1990 or Ronald Reagan — we’re not,” Beck said. “We’re arguing that the states should be empowered because this giant government doesn’t work. We cant afford it. So you dismantle the government and bring the control locally there.”

The following video was broadcast on Fox News’ Glenn Beck, Aug. 6, 2010, and uploaded to the Web by MediaMatters.