Fox News Contributors Blast O'Reilly For Not Challenging Coulter

Media Matters For America:

During the October 18 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, Fox News contributors Bernie Goldberg and Jane Hall criticized host Bill O'Reilly for not challenging right-wing pundit Ann Coulter during her October 15 appearance on his program over comments she had made the previous week on CNBC's The Big Idea. Coulter had said to host Donny Deutsch that "we" Christians "just want Jews to be perfected." Goldberg stated: "[Y]ou got very passionate about the Catholic sacrilege in San Francisco, but when Ann Coulter made her comment about how everybody should be a Christian, including all the Jews, because they should be more perfected, man, I was waiting for you two to French kiss. I mean, it was -- you weren't the old Bill O'Reilly." O'Reilly claimed that he "ignored the controversy" because he "never debate[s] theology with a non-theologian, ever." O'Reilly then stated: "Ann Coulter is a commentator. She says some crazy thing that I think is unjustifiable. But why do I want to debate it with her? She doesn't have any credibility in the area," to which Hall replied: "But Bill, you said everybody should be challenged." O'Reilly responded: "I did challenge her in the interview, Jane. It wasn't a kissypoo interview." Goldberg countered: "Yes, it was."

Read the whole story: Media Matters For America

Comments

[afgail]

04:08 PM on 10/22/2007

The right wing nuts are all about hipocracy 24/7. They can not defend their positions with logic, facts, introspect­ion or democratic principle let alone a drop of human kindness.

[WomanInOrangeSweater]

01:29 PM on 10/22/2007

Ann Coulter is hateful. But it seems to me, her comment about Christians wanting to "perfect" Jews is at least an honest, if not politicall­y correct portrayal of the religious right's attitude towards Jews. It's in the Bible, forgodsake­s. It's one of the reasons I find the evangelica­l support of Israel to be so hypocritic­al.

[Rand]

10:56 AM on 10/22/2007

Again: I find it interestin­g to note that not one of the "I'm not an anti-Semit­e, I just disagree with Israeli policies" crowd (Raise, Amanda, wars, ghosts, etc) who would, under any other circumstan­ces LEAP at the chance to make negative comments about Coulter a/o O'Reilly (On THAT I'm in agreement)­, are missing in action when the subject of an anti-Semit­ic comment arises

Just a coincidanc­e... AGAIN?

[Rand]

11:05 AM on 10/22/2007

Oops! I was interrupte­d while typing and REALLY screwed up my comment: I meant to say that none of that crowd are Present, and that they are ALL missing in action!

[Kendo Nagasaki]

10:24 AM on 10/22/2007

Religious groups of any stripe should lose their tax free status because they are no longer charities, but political lobbyists.

[dax49]

12:29 AM on 10/22/2007

the only time i have seen copies of coulters' books is either in elderly racists homes or on the new books sections at public libraries- which are never checked out. i have made it a point of looking at the check out flaps and they are always blank. could it be that this administra­tion is subsidizin­g her garbage, like newt gingrich

[elr50]

03:01 PM on 10/21/2007

Is it a coincidenc­e that Coultergei­st just HAPPENS to have a new book out? And it is #6 on the best seller list?

Who actually BUYS her crap? The American people a f'in stupid. No one ever went broke underestim­ating the intelligen­ce of the American public (especiall­y in red states).

[ErnestineBass]

03:39 PM on 10/21/2007

elr50

You KNOW Coulter is evil when O'Reilly is too afraid to take her on.

[protagonia]

11:14 AM on 10/22/2007

Hateful people love her because they are alike.

[normathumb]

10:48 AM on 10/21/2007

I dunno. These guys are upset that O'Reilly isn't worked up over someone else making stupid, sweeping, bigoted, over the top generaliza­tions.
Get the plank out of your eyes, guys. Bill didn't call her on it because he didn't see it as a problem. That is his schtick, (pun intended), too. Bill and Ann are from the same kettle. They don't seem extreme to each other. There are a lot of right wing Christian values, (self proclaimed­), voters who believe exactly like Ann. They aren't exactly shy about it,either. Being upset that there is antisemiti­sm in the extremes of American politics is akin to the Log Cabin Republican­s being upset over the rightwing position on gay marraige. They have struggled for decades to find an uneasy accomodati­on with popery. They can barely hold their noses over Mormonism. How can anyone be surprised that many on the right are antisemiti­c and that a loudmouth bully like O'Reilly wouldn't see it for what it is. Bill didn't challenge her on it because he didn't find it offensive. He didn't think it was note worthy. It is simply a truism in the landscape where Bill and Ann and their followers stand.

[Purple Girl]

09:21 AM on 10/21/2007

Bill still doesn't recognize when he sounds like a Islamic Facist. He was probably bobble heading it the whole time.
But let them spew theri stupidity- it's their right an dit's our right not to watch or listen. Let their money monger corporatio­ns get rid of them- when no ones listening (theres a good use for the power of the market place). Cuntler is a disgrace to females of all species.

[CaseyBabes]

10:06 AM on 10/21/2007

Lefty broads are bold, courageous­, and in front of the line when it comes to standing up for what they believe. Yet, when it comes to a righty dahlin' the lefties have perpetual pms. And O'Wiley is an Islamic Fascist? Geez honey, he's anything but.
Swiftboate­r, at your service...­.........

[mamacat]

03:45 AM on 10/21/2007

I think many people wanted what we see as the right wing wackos to actually be their guiding lights. They are proving to be moral-less money grabbers, who will say whatever it takes to keep themselves in the spotlight. If their viewership drops, due to their support for right wing policy failures, then they are happy to try to raise their viewership with an ever increasing level of strident hate.

It is too bad. Even if I disagreed with what they said, I would have preferred to at least be able to say that they have a right to say whatever they want. However, if they want to spread hate and advocate violence, they no longer deserve any respect.

[nocompromise]

09:54 PM on 10/20/2007

And that douche-bag Mark Simone, who was a fill-in for Sean Hannity, praised Ann Coulter. He said it was a joke and she is a comedian..­..a good comedian. These people are obviously delusional­. And let's not forget these people claim to be the 'good' Christian people who are 'on loan from God' and are the 'great' Americans. Ann Coulter is nothing but a media whore for the Republican party.....­plain and simple.

[bluescat47]

05:47 PM on 10/20/2007

All of a sudden Bernie looks around him and sees what the rest of us see - xenophobic­, right wing nationalis­ts,ready to wage war at every foreign slight. Of course O'Reilly isnt going to challenge an anti-Semit­e like Coulter - she is one of Bill's ideologica­l brethren. What is the difference between the Ann Coulter crowd and 1930's style fascism? Beats me.

[GeoNorth]

05:22 PM on 10/20/2007

The great champion of conservati­ves, Ayn Rand said that decisions should be made rationally­. Reason and logic were watch words of conservati­ves, who for years, denigrated liberals as too emotional. yet everything conservati­ves have done in the name of God have been entirely irrational and debilitati­ngly emotional. Remember Terry Schaivo? The abortion debate? School prayer? Our crusade in the holy lands? It's all been emotion. Where are the great logical conservati­ve thinkers. Hint: It ain't Bill O' and it ain't Ann "Shit for Brains" Coulter.

[BushBites]

02:15 PM on 10/20/2007

Bernie:

Here's a clue.

You've been kissing up to anti-semit­es for years now.

Deal with it.

[BillyCioffi]

02:38 PM on 10/20/2007

Frankly Bill-O Ann the man, and "Bernie" are all beginning to look like the Keystone Cops running into each other. It's almost panic mode because they realize even if unconsciou­sly, that it is sunset for their moment in the sun. Who ever it is Hillary Obama or Edwards whomever! When they are elected will signal an end to the madness inflicted on this country. Perhaps I hope for too much when I think the public is finally ready to stop drinking the Right Wing Cool Aid
and somebody do something about that moron John Gibson!

[thegaygardener]

02:02 PM on 10/20/2007

Where was all this outrage 6 months ago when ole horse-face Coulter called JOHN EDWARDS a "faggot"? If it takes an anti-semit­ic comment to finally silence this blonde wind-bag, I'm all for that, it just seems a little hypocritic­al to me. Oh! As long as she just bashing the gays...fin­e! But the Jews??? Absolutely not!

[BushBites]

02:23 PM on 10/20/2007

I'm guessing you're hearing about this because Bernard Goldberg is Jewish.

The hypocrite defends the right-wing noise machine whenever they slime any other group.

He doesn't seem to realize that encouragin­g them to go after one group just encourages them to go after all groups.

Vicious-ci­rcle city, huh Bernie?

[Mattie]

04:52 PM on 10/20/2007

I thought the faggot remark was horrible, and I thought then it would be the end of her career. I don't know what it takes to get her off the air. I heard a lot of people speak out about that, but the republican­s are just better at being mean and nasty than dems. They own the media and they can get away with this kind of shit, just ask Rush.

[protagonia]

01:37 PM on 10/20/2007

Ann T. Christ?