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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: Fox News analyst Col. David Hunt & Genevieve Wood, Heritage Foundation
"Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is the latest casualty of the Iraq war, which gravely wounded the Republican Party in Tuesday's vote. Every poll showed that Americans want a change in Iraq and that's why the Democrats won. The unintended consequence of the power shift is that some Democrats will try to impose a secular progressive agenda. First, there will be an attempt to raise taxes. Second, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will encourage investigations of the Bush administration. That could backfire, as most Americans do not want Mr. Bush attacked. They want to see if the Democrats can do better; they do not want to see their government ripped apart in a time of war. There is a struggle within the Democratic Party - far left zealots like Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean are stacked up against moderates like Joseph Lieberman and, dare I say it, Hillary Clinton. Senator Clinton knows she can not win the presidency, which she desperately wants, by throwing in with the far left. So here's what's going to happen - President Bush will veto any attempt to change his agenda, and Congress will not be able to override those vetoes. So there will be a stalemate and a chess game about the 2008 presidential vote. Right now the Democrats are in a good position. The country is giving them a chance to improve Iraq and the tone of politics. But if the Democrats try to destroy Mr. Bush or impose San Francisco values, the country will turn against them. There's no question in my mind."
The Factor was joined by Fox News analyst Col. David Hunt, who in effect said 'good riddance' to Donald Rumsfeld. "He should have been fired three years ago. His arrogance is what did him in, he would not let the military do its job, and people in the Pentagon are doing cartwheels." Col. Hunt predicted a major shift in Iraq policy. "Soldiers keep dying and we need a drastic change, a political solution. We've lost the military option and we have to fix this thing to let our guys come out." But Genevieve Wood of the conservative Heritage Foundation argued that Iraq was not the reason for the GOP defeat. "If the White House thinks replacing Donald Rumsfeld is the answer to the elections, then they missed it. If you go race by race, the war wasn't the reason a lot of Republicans lost. People were angry about big spending, and Republicans were supposed to be the party that would clean up Washington." |
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Guest: Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Senator Charles Schumer, who managed the Democratic effort to win the Senate, gave his analysis of the coming changes in Washington. "We have put together a meat and potatoes platform," Schumer said. "Restoring the deduction for college tuition, getting a better prescription bill and a real energy independence policy. We know that if we don't get some things done that help everyday Americans, 2008 will be much different than 2006." As for Iraq, Schumer claimed that leading Dems will work with the administration. "We've called for a change of mission in Iraq. In a respectful way we will try to move the president from this policy of simply policing a civil war." The Factor wished Schumer and his party the best. "As an independent voter, I hope you succeed, but I don't want sleazy little investigations by hyper-partisans ripping up the executive branch for partisan political reasons." |
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Guest: Rep. Peter King (R-NY)
For a Republican perspective, The Factor turned to Congressman Peter King, who survived Tuesday's drubbing. "Democrats were elected primarily because of Iraq," King declared, "and the president wants to bring them to the table to see if they can forge a consensus plan. The president wants to get Democrats on board as much as he can." King worried that some far-left Democrats will demand investigations and retribution. "There are Democrats in the House who hate Bush and will do anything to stop him. Their base is going to demand that they get some scalps and draw some blood." |
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Guest: Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera joined The Factor with his prescription for the post-Rumsfeld era in Iraq. "We have to assume a defensive posture over there. We have to protect the institutions of the government, allow them to fight their own battles, and protect our forces. 3,000 coalition forces are already dead, and for what? Iraqis have to die for their own country." The Factor agreed that Iraqis need to seize their own destiny. "I don't agree that we're losing the war, but the Iraqis have to step up and fight for their democracy. And I agree that our first duty is to protect our own forces and let the Iraqis fight it out." |
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Guest: Fox News correspondent Megyn Kendall & Mary Kay Culp, Kansans for Life
Kansas abortionist George Tiller, not-so-affectionately known as "Tiller the baby killer," allegedly performs late-term abortions merely because the pregnant woman is "depressed." Factor producer Jesse Watters confronted Tiller's attorney Pedro Irigonegary, who said this: "What's important is what medical people and a woman going through a difficult process decide is for her best interest. I don't care what Mr. O'Reilly thinks." Kansas pro-life activist Mary Kay Culp accused Tiller of wholesale slaughter. "His preferred procedure is to find the baby's heart on the sonogram, inject it with a poison, kill the baby, then put the mother into labor. He has a crematorium on the property." The Factor pointed out that the Supreme Court is hearing arguments about late term abortion. "Depression covers everything, and the Supreme Court is faced with a decision - is the United States going to let a woman walk in with a viable baby in her womb and terminate the baby? We will stay on the story, because this is horrendous." |
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Guest: Political analyst Dick Morris
Finally, political analyst provided his take on Tuesday's GOP losses, which he blamed largely on issues other than war. "Congress didn't do a fair tax initiative, they didn't do Social Security reform, they didn't do immigration reform, and they didn't do ethics reform." Morris also commented on state initiatives that banned same-sex marriage and the Michigan ballot measure that eliminates race-based affirmative action. "Gay marriage is an issue being foisted on the country by liberal judges, and the folks don't want it. And in affirmative action, the thing that wins an overwhelming majority is to be rational about it, which is to say let's not give race preferences, but give preferences to poor people and people in poor neighborhoods." |
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