Thursday, October 05, 2006

How Bill O'Reilly makes sure Republicans don't get blamed for scandals



The right wing is always trying to claim that this scandal plagued Congress is 'bipartisan' scandal-plagued. Now, I'm not going to argue that there haven't been a couple of Democrats who have gotten into hot water, such as William Jefferson (the guy with the cash in his freezer) or Cynthia McKinney (who was thankfully defeated in a primary earlier this year). And there was the episode with Rep. Kennedy being drunk at 3 AM.

However, Democrats have a short list (and as the McKinney primary and Minority Leader Pelosi trying to strip Jefferson of his duties shows, the list they have, they take seriously). Comparing that to the scandal-plagued Republican Congress is like comparing a nice looking colt to Barbaro. There is a difference in magnitude that is astounding.

So, Bill O'Reilly, that 'fair and balanced' news anchor from FOX News, has hit on a new way to make it appear that scandals are bipartisan. Just label Republicans as Democrats. On a segment dealing with Mark Foley, the letter 'D' was carefully used in place of an 'R.' And then he repeated this on two other occasions, making it seem unlikely that it was a mere error.

What a sleazy tactic, but I can't say I'm surprised.

Hat tip to my lovely and charming sister, Miriam.

4 comments:

Chuck said...

I've always known how low O'Reilly was in terms of misleading his audience with half-truths, semantics and outright lies. He's on the scale of the Republican propaganda mouthpiece Limbaugh.

But this was the "best" one yet.

Let's not forget the sexual escapades of both of those I've mentioned. Both of them have been publicly shown to be perverts deluxe. It almost seems like a prerequisite for these right wing tools.

They should stay out of this one, but they won't; Foley is almost like family.

EAPrez said...

I don't think OLeilly is responsible for this --- this was the network guys who did this. I don't understand why Democrats appear on FNN or why they watch it. Best way to make them irrelevant is to stop doing both! We already know they're slanted so why anyone feels compelled to tune in to "see their spin" (the excuse most on the left give for watching) is beyond me.

Tom & Icy said...

O'Reilly is a living hyperbole (an exaggeration not to be taken seriously) and a megalomaniac (one who takes his own exaggeration seriously). I sometimes watch him a few minutes while the other stations are having commercials. Then I tune back to the commercials because they are more entertaining prevaricators than he is. I can't ruminate him, I have to spit him out!

You did a terriffic job as a guest blogger at Sars.

Anonymous said...

Fox News is "fair and balanced" because they get extreme views from both sides and let people shout at each other.

That is pretty funny about switching the letters, though. Gave me a laugh anyway-