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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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| "A front page headline in the New York Times says this: 'Obama Advisers Weigh Ad Assault Against The G.O.P. Focusing on Tea Party' Does that mean the President is gearing up for a fight against the populist movement? There is no question that the tea party has rattled President Obama. Today in a town hall meeting, the President was challenged by a woman who said she is 'exhausted of defending' the administration and 'deeply disappointed.' Although that woman may not be a member, the tea party reflects her disenchantment. The tea party is a philosophical movement that wants small government, fewer taxes and more individual freedom, while President Obama and many Democrats want big government, enormous entitlement spending, and control over what happens in the marketplace. That's the choice this November; it's all about what kind of country you want. I like the tea party - just the fact that these Americans are investing their time trying to change things is a patriotic act. The USA needs to be run in a responsible way, not in an ideological way. More personal freedom, lower taxes and more local control are what the majority of Americans now want. The President is really up against it." |
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With many Democrats claiming the tea party has caused a civil war within the Republican Party, The Factor invited Brit Hume to analyze. "This strategy of trying to belittle the tea party," Hume said, "is very foolish. If you look at the polling on the tea party and what it stands for, it's really quite popular. And it's especially popular among independents, who are the true swing voters in America. The President and Democrats should be saying tea party people have something to say and we're listening to them." The Factor contended that anti-tea party rhetoric has backfired: "The left's attacks on the tea party have actually helped the tea party. They've been demonized by the far left as 'racist' and 'stupid,' which has helped the movement."
Professor Marc Lamont Hill entered the No Spin Zone with a far different assessment of the tea party movement. "You can't completely dismiss them," Hill said, "as a small group of loons. You have to take them seriously and take them on by saying, 'You all want a smaller government, but what do we cut?' A philosophical movement can't have contradictions, and 61% of the tea party wants to keep Medicare and Medicaid. They want lower taxes, they want to cut spending, but they all want 'stuff.' You can't have it both ways." When Hill accused the tea party of being a racist movement, The Factor issued this challenge: "I'm going to have you on next week and I want to see all the evidence you can compile that the tea party is racist." |
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| Fox News analysts Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham assessed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell, who once said she "dabbled into witchcraft." "Even among Republicans and her base," Williams said, "people are saying there's a pattern here. It's not just 'witchcraft,' it's the mortgage payments she didn't make and the IRS liens. There's just too much and it fits into this larger package." Ham accused O'Donnell's enemies of avoiding substantive arguments. "This 'witchcraft' thing has become the central message of the Democrats and liberals against her. We all made mistakes and this was a silly thing she said eleven years ago." The Factor questioned whether the attacks on O'Donnell may backfire: "The more this kind of stuff surfaces, and the more they do this to Ms. O'Donnell, the stronger she's going to get. Her opponent once said he was a 'Marxist,' and I'd rather have the witch than the Marxist." |
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| The Factor asked columnist Sally Quinn and theology professor Larry Chapp about Sunday's rare church appearance by President and Mrs. Obama. "This definitely has some meaning," Quinn asserted. "It means we are still a country of prejudice and bigotry - I think Obama went to church for one reason, because 18% of Americans believe he's Muslim, and most of those people believe being Muslim is not a good thing. He in an uncomfortable situation where he has to prove he's a Christian." Chapp was far less cynical about President Obama's Sunday worship. "He was a churchgoer before he became President, so I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. He was a religious man before and maybe he went to church because he really wanted to. He does have daughters, after all." |
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| The Factor asked Bernie Goldberg about the New York Times report - denied by the White House - that the administration plans to mount a tough advertising campaign against the tea party movement. "The story is probably true," Goldberg averred. "Technically, it may not be the Obama administration that will assault Republicans with this 'tea party' label, but it will be some groups connected to the White House. But as a strategy, linking the whole Republican Party with the tea party won't work in 2010. If the polls are right, people think it's the Obama administration and the Reid-Pelosi Congress that are extremist and out of the mainstream." Goldberg explained why he was not thrilled with Christine O'Donnell's primary victory in Delaware. "I'm with Bill Buckley on this - I want the most viable conservative candidate to win, and 'viable' means 'electable.'" The Factor concluded with this hypothesis: "If Christine O'Donnell wins in Delaware, that is going to send a signal that ideological purity is back and people have had enough as business as usual." |
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| Former President Jimmy Carter says his single term was "successful." The Factor's Check: "I say in my book 'Pinheads & Patriots' that it was not successful. But to be fair, President Carter is basing his assessment on the amount of legislation he got passed." The Factor offered this Check on a couple of troubled celebrities: "Paris Hilton pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine and says she is finally ready to 'grow up.' And Lindsay Lohan admits she failed a drug test, which could mean more jail time for her." Finally, this Check: on former White House correspondent and Israel-basher Helen Thomas: "She will be given a lifetime achievement award by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. You may remember that Helen Thomas was forced to retire after saying Israel should 'get the hell out of Palestine' and go home to Poland and Germany." |
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Bob Maginnis, Edina, MN: "Bill, when you point out that Christine O'Donnell is running for the senate solely on ideology, the name Al Franken comes to mind."
Bill Wallace, South Range, WI: "As I recall, President Obama never held a job in the private sector so Ms. O'Donnell is not alone."
Eric Blake, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL: "Ms. O'Donnell should appear on the Factor. If she handles it well she would help herself."
Gerald Flavel, Anchorage, AK: "Karl Rove is right. The country needs experienced candidates. Amateur hour is over." |
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| Monday's Patriot: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who criticized President Obama's stimulus for "not stimulating private sector economic growth." And the Pinhead: "Octomom" Nadya Suleman, who now says she is "destitute." |
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