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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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Guests: Laura Ingraham, Monica Crowley, Alan Colmes
"The two people the liberal media fear most are Rush Limbaugh and me. That's because we both have powerful daily forums where we can explain what we believe is harmful to the country. Left-wing folks have tried to drum up a phony feud, citing divisions within the so-called 'conservative community,' and they point to me and Limbaugh as the primary example. The loons are taking my commentary out of context as they always do. Zealots picked up on my statement that opponents of gay marriage must do more than 'thump the Bible' if they want to win the debate. The reason the polls have turned around is that proponents of gay marriage have succeeded in making it a civil rights issue, while opponents have not put out a compelling argument against gay nuptials. That is correct and honest analysis, but my personal opinion on gay marriage hasn't changed; I have always said that heterosexual marriage is a society stabilizer and the issue should be decided state by state. My position on immigration has also been consistent - protect the border with the National Guard but have compassion on individuals who are good people. I don't mind being criticized for my opinions, but guttersnipes who lie and distort and slander are the lowest rung, and there are legions of them."
Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham entered the No Spin Zone and accused The Factor of inadvertently diminishing religious Americans. "I don't think you needed to use the term 'thump the Bible,'" she said. "You're right that people who are for traditional marriage haven't been very good at making their arguments and you're right that a lot of them do have a very deeply held religious belief about what traditional marriage is. But the left loves to see conservatives fighting and they're exploiting this. Why did you use the word 'thump?'" The Factor answered Ingraham's question thusly: "I made a very honest point that if you're going to stand up for heterosexual marriage you have to do it outside the Bible, you can't just cite the Bible because you'll lose if you do. I did not insult Christians who believe in the Bible! Of all the conservative radio talk show hosts, you have the most common sense, yet you bought into this garbage! I'm disappointed in you."
For additional perspective on the alleged "feud" among conservatives, The Factor turned to Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes. "I do think there is a significant rift on the right," Crowley conceded, "between establishment and modern conservatives. There is a sense that the establishment still believes in top-down, we know best, while the Tea Party believes in bottom-up." Colmes focused on the supposed differences between The Factor and Rush Limbaugh. "You and Rush Limbaugh are different flavors - you're more flexible and more of a traditionalist, I would call you more of a populist while Rush Limbaugh seems to be more ideological. Liberals will look for that divide because everybody likes to see a food fight on the other side. The word 'thumping' is condescending and some people probably took it that way." |
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Guests: Chris Edwards
The number of Americans receiving food stamps is approaching 50-million, a 50% increase since President Obama took office. The Factor examined the proliferation of food stamp use with Chris Edwards of the libertarian Cato Institute. "Both President Bush and President Obama hugely expanded eligibility for the program," Edward lamented. "In the last five years the number of Americans in poverty has gone up by 10-million, but the number on food stamps has gone up by 20-million. So it's not just a poverty problem, it's this expansion in eligibility that is the real problem. This has been a massive expansion in old-fashioned welfare, where people get benefits for not working. And I think the fraud and abuse of the food stamp program is in the billions and billions of dollars." |
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Guests: John Stossel
Fox Business host John Stossel has been investigating how the government interferes in the economy via tax incentives and penalties. He entered the No Spin Zone and cited the example of an amphibious vehicle that has been banned from U.S. streets. "You can't use it on the road in the United States," Stossel reported, "because it doesn't have an air bag. But of course in the water the air bag would go off every time you hit a wave. These could be really useful as rescue vehicles, but the Big Three gets cozy with government and keeps things off the market." Stossel also took aim at U.S. Senators and their coiffures. "The Senate has a barber shop that loses a third of a million dollars a year because they offer cheap haircuts. They have guys who have been there for years and they pay them a lot. They give manicures and massages as well." |
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Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl
As the Supreme Court decides whether to overturn California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, legal analysts Lis Wiehl and Kimberly Guilfoyle provided other instances where the high court overruled the will of the people. "In 1982," Wiehl said, "the Supreme Court ruled that a referendum in Washington State that banned mandatory busing was unconstitutional. So mandatory busing came back and that still stands." Guilfoyle pointed to another case where Colorado voters decided that homosexuals were not entitled to preferential treatment. "In 1996 the Supreme Court said that was unconstitutional and that it violated equal protection. The court said it was discriminatory against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals." As for California's Prop 8, both Wiehl and Guilfoyle predicted that the United State Supreme Court will return the decision to the California Supreme Court, which has already ruled that gays have the right to marriage. |
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Guests: Charles Krauthammer
President Obama attended an Easter church service at which Pastor Luis Leon accused the "religious right" of racism and sexism. Charles Krauthammer denounced the minister but gave the President a pass. "I thought what the pastor did was disgraceful," Dr. K declared. "He said this is a racist and sexist country and he blamed it on the religious right. It was a libel and a slander, but was Obama somehow complicit in this? My answer is that the President is not required to react to what the pastor says. This is different from sitting in the pew of Jeremiah Wright's church for twenty years and having him marry you and baptize your children." The Factor contended that President Obama should have objected to Reverend Leon's inflammatory language: "If I were the President I would have put out a statement saying it wasn't the best way to phrase things on Easter Sunday. The President is supposed to represent the whole country, and that's what Barack Obama doesn't seem to get." |
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Jim Walsh, Waverly, NY: "Bill, you touched on an important issue: no central Christian authority in the USA. We are too scattered."
Karen Palmer, Trempealeau, WI: "Bill, you are on a slippery slope with your new book 'Killing Jesus.' The Bible has already covered that."
L.J. Adams, Richmond, VA: "Bill, you missed an important point with Beckel. The President of the United States gets an annual pension of $400,000. And a bureaucrat in California deserves more?" |
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| For the sake of their education and growth, take your children to the most interesting place you can afford to go on vacation. |
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