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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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| "Chief Justice John Roberts' ruling maintaining the legality of Obamacare is actually a conservative decision. He did not want to overturn a law that had been passed by Congress and he searched for a way not to strike the law down. Initially he wanted no part of Obamacare, but the Chief Justice changed his mind when presented with the taxation option. Yes, Congress does have the right to tax, even punitively, and that's what Roberts has upheld. By fining Americans who do not buy health care, the feds are punishing them, using taxes as the weapon. That's been done before; the huge tax on tobacco is a great example. But there's one big difference - nobody can force us to buy tobacco products, but the government is forcing us to buy health insurance. It's hard to believe that Justice Roberts does not understand the enormous power he has delivered to the federal government. According to his reasoning, the feds can now use the IRS to hurt any American who does not do what the feds think they should do. The punitive aspect of government power is something that America has always used sparingly, but no longer. We either buy the mandated health insurance or we get punished! So what should conservatives do about John Roberts? Hate him? Talking Points says no. The Chief Justice made a mistake, but he did so to avoid judicial activism. Instead of name-calling, the right must put forth something better than Obamacare, but so far the GOP is not off to a good start. There is a change taking place in Washington, where the liberal Obama administration has greatly expanded federal power. The good news is that we the people can change the course of the country by voting in November. That's the American way and, ironically, that is the message John Roberts is sending us, whether he means to or not." |
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Guests: Charles Krauthammer
The Factor invited Fox News analyst Charles Krauthammer to evaluate the Talking Points Memo. "You left out one factor in Roberts' decision," Dr. K began. "I agree with you that he wanted to uphold the law and he went looking for this relatively flimsy dodge, but I think what you're overlooking is that Roberts is the Chief Justice and he has a sense of his institutional duties. He sees a major part of his role as maintaining the Court's prestige and standing. He thought â?" mistakenly, in my view - that by overruling such a sweeping piece of legislation he would be exposing the court to charges that the Court was acting politically in a partisan way. He was intimidated!" The Factor concurred, suggesting that Chief Justice Roberts "was not looking at the case, he was looking at the impact of the case." |
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Guests: Mary Katharine Ham and Juan Williams
Even though his signature legislation has been upheld by the Supreme Court, President Obama's approval ratings remain below 50%. The Factor asked Fox News analysts Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham to assess the lack of an Obama "bounce." "This is not the big issue," Williams declared, "the big issue is still the economy. Right now about 70% of Americans say the election is about the economy, only 10% say it has anything to do with health care." Ham depicted Obamacare as an albatross around Democrats' necks. "People fear what is going to happen in the future and this remains incredibly unpopular. Polls show that a majority of Americans would like all or parts of it repealed. This is a giant, horrible bill." The Factor reiterated that Republicans have to propose a viable alternative: "If the Republicans want to persuade people, they have to look them in the eye and say this is what we're going to do and this is how it's going to help you in your health and in your wallet." |
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Guests: Brit Hume
The Factor asked Fox News political analyst Brit Hume whether Republicans should put forth a sweeping alternative to Obamacare. "The Republican view is that they should take this step by step," Hume said, "because trying to do it all at once doesn't work. 'Hillarycare's' failure proved that, and the failure of this proves it as well. It's not an unreasonable argument and I think that Republicans, in political terms, are doing the right thing. They are focused on taking Obamacare away." But The Factor again insisted that Republicans have to do more than just say 'no': "As an American I would like to hear the other side of the story so I can make a determination of what's better for my family." |
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Guests: Bernie Goldberg
Back in March The Factor predicted that Obamacare would be overturned and made this promise: "If I'm wrong, I will apologize for being an idiot." FNC media analyst Bernie Goldberg entered the No Spin Zone and reported that far-left websites have been playing that clip over and over. "You may be many things, Bill," Goldberg said, "but naive isn't one of them. You should have seen this coming - you're a big name on a big network and you made a big, loud prediction. So of course they were going to go after you. They're going after you for entertainment reasons â?" it is great entertainment to go after Bill O'Reilly, who has a target on his back. You gave them the ammunition and my advice is to accept it, smile, and move on." The Factor did "smile and move on," but also took a shot at media analyst Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post and CNN: "He does the bidding of MediaMatters and that disturbs me. He certainly knows that they're in business to hurt people with whom they disagree." |
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Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl
Fox News legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl reacted to the Justice Department's announcement that it will not prosecute Attorney General Eric Holder, who was held in contempt of Congress. "The Justice Department says they have discretion," Wiehl reported, "and they don't have to charge him. So the criminal side of this is over, but there's a civil side â?" Congress can take this to a federal judge and say Holder is not abiding by our contempt order." Guilfoyle predicted that Eric Holder will skate, at least for the time being. "Nothing is going to happen to Holder unless there's a new president. He has executive privilege and he's a friend of President Obama." The legal aces turned to the school bullies who viciously mocked an elderly bus monitor. "The school district eventually did the right thing," Guilfoyle said. "They issued a one-year suspension to the four 13-year-old students. They're going to go to a 'reengagement school' and they'll do community service." |
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Alan Barnes, Melbourne, Australia: "What happened, Bill? You pontificated for months that Obamacare would be overturned. Do you have egg on your face?"
Bob Stewart, Wilton, NH: "Bill, you're a constitutional pinhead. It's not the Supreme Court's job to correct intrusive policy like Obamacare. Roberts is right about that."
John Reyes, Tacoma, WA: "Mr. O, as a Wounded Warrior, I want to thank you for supporting us. I know you and Miller gave us free tickets for your Chicago show." |
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| Monday's Pinhead: Singer Lauryn Hill, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion after neglecting to report $2 million in earnings. |
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