Glenn Beck is known for his histrionic rhetoric suggesting that "progressives" pose immiment threats to life and liberty, which recently prompted a man to threaten assassination of the heads of the Tides Foundation and the ACLU. In response, Media Matters for America called on Sarah Palin, to rise above partisan politics for the good of the country.

This week, Sarah Palin was given the chance to prove herself a true leader, by rising above partisan politics for the good of the country.

She passed on it.

In a public plea this week, David Brock, founder and CEO of Media Matters for America and Michael B. Keegan, president of People for the American Way urged Palin to call on Glenn Beck and in turn urge him to desist using incendiary political rhetoric on his shows. While Beck’s raison d’etre appears to be using extremist rhetoric to stoke conspiracy theories about progressive activism and the “threat of social justice,” the political climate in the United States has become so toxic that rhetoric is increasingly being taken as a call to action.

In July, for example, 45-year-old Byron Williams was arrested on his way to San Francisco to “start a revolution” by killing employees of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Tides Foundation. Both organizations have been targeted incessantly by Beck as “promoters of totalitarian oppression” in the United States. For one thing, Beck claims that “social justice” is a threat to democracy and to religion, as he is heard claiming on this clip from his show on October 21st.

Sex. Abortion. Parenthood. Power. The latest news, delivered straight to your inbox. SUBSCRIBE

Williams said he saw Fox News’ Glenn Beck as “a schoolteacher,” that “it was the things [Beck] exposed that blew my mind,” and that he was driven by belief in conspiracy theories that have been pushed by Beck.

Palin, as many note, has promoted, praised and appeared with Beck. But because she is a leader in the GOP and the Tea Party, she was urged by MMFA and PFAW to condemn his dangerous and extremist rhetoric. In a statement, the heads of the two organizations wrote:

“Palin’s credibility as a leader relies on more than just endorsing candidates and an uncanny knack for making headlines. It requires a moral compass she repeatedly says she possesses to make this country a better, safer place to live for all Americans.”

Brock also made the same plea on the Lawrence O’Donnell show:

Rather than accepting the opportunity to be a leader for the country as a whole and in the national interest, Palin instead called in to Beck’s show to support Beck, calling Brock and Keegan “silly and ironic men.”

These are truly dangerous times.