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O'Reilly declares war on Moore and Hollywood Nazis. Plus: Is Bush a lock in November, and is L.A. more dangerous than Baghdad?
Jun 16, 2004 | Like his right-wing rival Rush Limbaugh, Fox News star Bill O'Reilly has taken to equating some of his liberal nemeses with Nazi goose-steppers. From the June 10 broadcast of "The Radio Factor With Bill O'Reilly," courtesy of online watchdog Media Matters for America:
"O'REILLY: Joseph Goebbels was the Minister of Propaganda for the Nazi regime and whose very famous quote was, 'If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes the truth.' All right? 'If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes the truth.'
"And that's what Stuart Smalley [a well-known Al Franken character from "Saturday Night Live"], and Michael Moore and all of these guys do. They just run around."
Turning to a recent screening of Michael Moore's much-hyped forthcoming film "Fahrenheit 9/11," O'Reilly decided that a who's-who of A-list Hollywood actors are also Nazi cheerleaders.
"O'REILLY: So who turns out for the screening of this movie last night? You ready? Now, here are the celebrities that turn out. Here are the people who would turn out to see Josef Goebbels convince you that Poland invaded the Third Reich. It's the same thing, by the way. Propaganda is propaganda. OK?
"Billy Crystal. Martin Sheen. Leonardo DiCaprio. Ellen DeGeneres. David Duchovny. Sharon Stone. Meg Ryan. Ashton Kutcher. Demi Moore. Norman Lear. Rob Reiner. Jodie Foster. Chris Rock. Larry David. Jack Black. Matthew Perry. Diane Lane."
Warming to his theme, O'Reilly later compared Hollywood liberals to infamous Nazi-propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.
"O'REILLY: No, no, no, but I think it's [the effort by some Hollywood celebrities to help defeat President George W. Bush] more organized than ever before and I think they [anti-Bush Hollywood celebrities] have more access to the media than ever before because the celebrity media, as I said, is so profitable and pervasive. So now it becomes a Leni Riefenstahl Third Reich propaganda proposition where what they say and do is put in everybody's face."
Ironically, O'Reilly himself has been blasting Bush for many of the same reasons as his left-wing colleagues. From his June 4 syndicated column:
"Clearly, something is very wrong when inexperienced, poorly trained military reservists are allowed to run wild and abuse prisoners. Clearly, something is wrong when enormous mistakes are made in the occupation of a country whose defeat was a foregone conclusion. I mean everybody knew the USA would defeat Saddam, so why was the aftermath of the war so screwed up? Is this another intelligence failure? Is this a strategic failure on the part of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his team? We don't know because Mr. Bush rarely holds anyone publicly accountable for doing his or her job poorly."
"Bush outclasses the left"
That's according to Atlanta talk radio host and longtime Clinton-basher Neal Boortz, who is applauding President Bush's cordial conduct during Monday's unveiling of the Clinton portraits at the White House. He says the Dems ought to learn a thing or two from the current president about dignity and tact.
"Yesterday, in a ceremony at The White House, the portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton were unveiled at The White House. In attendance were former President Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton, along with several administration officials. Basically, it was a big reunion, though Monica Lewinsky was not invited.
"President Bush spoke at the event, praising President Clinton's 'energy and joy.' He also said 'Over eight years, it was clear Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy.' In other words, it was a completely non-political, positive event to honor the hanging of the official presidential portrait.
"Now, understand the setting: here you have George Bush, who ran for office against the Clinton administration promising to restore honor to the White House. These are ideological opposites. Yet, Republican President George Bush can set all of that aside and out of respect for the office of the presidency, have this ceremony."
Boortz, overlooking the unruly Republican impeachment mob that made Clinton's second term less than joyous, then cast a baleful eye on Al Gore's recent scorching speeches against the Bush presidency.
"Contrast (Bush's civility) with the remarks awhile back of Al Gore, who called on Bush's entire cabinet to resign, and who has accused the president of being a liar and misleading the nation, among other things. The left loves to demonize Republicans for being hateful, but it sure looks like the other way around these days.
"This is the new face of politics. The Democrats are the new party of shrill, intolerant, uptight whiners, and there's George Bush praising political rival Clinton while smiling, joking and having a good time.
"Now you tell me just who is mean-spirited?"
Boortz must have missed the coordinated GOP onslaught three weeks ago branding Al Gore as "insane."
It's the war, stupid
Reason Magazine's boisterous editor Tim Cavanaugh is no card-carrying conservative, but his latest campaign prediction will no doubt delight the right. He writes off the recent polls giving John Kerry the lead, declaring that "Bush is a lock" in November.
"It doesn't matter how much gas costs, how poorly things are going in Iraq, what new torture memos surface, or whether there are new terror attacks inside our borders. John Kerry hasn't got a whore's chance in a convent, Bush is going to kick his ass all over the United States, and when we see the results in November, the idea that anybody ever thought Kerry had a prayer will seem as quaint and absurd as the brief flurry of 'excitement' for Dukakis (or was it Kakdukis?) back in Old '88."
Kerry's fate, in fact, has everything to do with the war, says Cavanaugh.
"When U.S. troops are in the field, the candidate perceived as more hawkish always wins ... Even in 1972, when public opinion had supposedly shifted decisively against the war and it was clear to all that we were going to lose, Nixon vivisected McGovern -- just on the promise of losing it a little more slowly than McGovern would have."
Conservatives, however, will be less than happy with Cavanaugh's assessment of the president and his popular appeal.
"Though I find Bush slightly (ever so slightly) less emetic than Kerry, he's a crook, a stumblebum, and a lazy, mirthless little prince, and any country that would re-elect him deserves every bad thing that will happen to it."
