Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Bob Cesca

Bob Cesca’s response to this quote from Bill O’Reilly:

“The far-right is utterly dominated by impotent middle aged men with small penises who hate women. I wonder what the correlation is.”

Morning Quote: Bill O’Reilly

Shocking news from Bill O’Reilly when he tells Republicans that they have to accept the need to raise taxes:

“Republicans need to accept the need to raise more revenue.”

Watch:

VIDEO: O'Reilly Interview With President Obama

The President won the day. O'Reilly is an A$$. Howard Kurtz has an excellent analysis of the interview, although he should have been tougher on O'Reilly, who was, in my view, openly antagonistic at times:

Maybe it was the setting, an afternoon chat in the White House on Super Bowl Sunday. Maybe it was the fact that Barack Obama’s team had just helped free two injured Fox News correspondents from Egypt. But Bill O’Reilly didn’t put any points on the board.

Watch:

 

Morning Quote: Sarah Palin’s Latest Word Salad

During his interview of Sarah Palin on Wednesday night, Bill O'Reilly told Palin that Charles Krauthammer doesn't believe that her reality show is helping her politically, and he asked Palin if she felt that was true. Her response was, as per usual when she has no ghostwriter to speak for her, pathetically childish and word-salady. She also failed to answer O'Reilly's question.

Well, bless his heart. He’s probably used to those in the political beltway who perhaps aren’t out there working but they’re talking and they’re meeting people and they’re doing their ‘strategery’ [sic], whereas I’m workin’ and I’m havin' a great time doin’ it. It’s been a pleasure to bring Americans along for the ride to show them… America’s Fort Knox, this land that we call Alaska, has to offer and to film eight episodes to show Americans what it is that we do and have up here in terms of resources. [she then repeatedly cuts O'Reilly off to plug her latest book]

O'Reilly, evidently in an attempt to clarify, since Palin had not answered his question, asked her outright if she feels that the television show helps her in the "political arena". Palin again responded in a cringe worthy manner:

I told Alaskans that I was gonna do all that I could to promote Alaska. And I’ll tell ya that TLC’s debut show as the highest-rated show in that cable network’s history. I think it’s doin' a good job for Alaska… Promoting Alaska and even more importantly promoting domestic resources that we have in America that can be tapped into to allow us to be more secure, healthier, more prosperous. A lot of the show has to do with the resources that we have that need to be developed.

Good grief, gag me. This woman wants to be our PRESIDENT, arguably the single most powerful position on earth. The very idea of that is nothing less than completely ridiculous.

Video & Transcript: Alan Grayson Goes After Fox News Hosts/ Bush Era Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Via Huffington Post:

Grayson took to the House floor to debate the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy with seven large cardboard slides, each complete with a color headshot of the person and a description of how prolonging the current tax rates for the top two-percent of income earners in the United States would benefit those individuals.

His argument: Fox News contributors such as Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sarah Palin, as well as the previous president of the United States himself, support, and in some cases aggressively lobby for, the complete extension of the Bush tax cuts because they would pad their pockets with an additional six-figure (in Rush Limbaugh's case, seven-figure) sum each year.

"They want tax cuts for the rich because they want a tax cut for themselves," Grayson said. "Instead of placating these people and letting them spew out onto the airwaves their lies about the Bush tax cuts without ever revealing the fact that they stand to gain millions, millions of dollars each year from their selfish desire to take advantage of the rest of America, let's do this: Let's take that money and create jobs."

Watch:

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Madam Speaker, we've heard endless braying from the Republicans, time after time, demanding an extension of tax cuts for the rich in this country. They tell us that somehow extending tax cuts for the rich will somehow create jobs. When we've had tax cuts for the rich for nine years and I haven't noticed a lot of jobs being created in nine years.

Former President Carter Rightly Attacks Fox News Distortions; O’Reilly Defends Fox With Lies

Media Matters Documents the truth of Carter’s statements. O’Reilly once again proves his lack of credibility. Oops.

From Media Matters:

Bill O'Reilly attacked comments from former President Jimmy Carter about Fox News' race baiting and its role in promoting falsehoods about President Obama's citizenship and religion. But Carter was right: birtherism, race baiting attacks on Obama, and lies about his religion have all found a home on Fox News.

O'Reilly: "Carter can simply not back up what he says." On the September 21 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly aired snippets from an interview in which Carter offered criticism of Fox for having "attempted to twist around what [Obama's[ religious faith is and whether or not he's an American" and their tendency to "inject race" into their coverage of Obama. O'Reilly then criticized Carter for "not telling the truth":

O'Reilly cropped video to hide Carter's statement that Fox "called Obama a racist" -- a clear reference to Beck. While O'Reilly claims that Carter "can simply not back up what he says" and says that "it is beneath a former president to accuse FNC of injecting race into the political process," O'Reilly crops Carter's quote to cover up the fact that he said that Fox has "actually called Obama a racist on television.”

On the July 28, 2009, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Glenn Beck said that Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture" and "is, I believe, a racist," a statement he subsequently claimed to stand by, in spite of growing criticism. Beck's comments were condemned by a wide variety of media figures. A year later, Beck "amend[ed]" his statement and said he meant to attack Obama's theology.

Much more about this on Media Matters. It is astounding that these morons consistently tell enormous lies, always get caught, and yet they just keep on with it.