|
|
| 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.
|
|
|
Guests: Charles Krauthammer
"There is great joy in left wing precincts after President Obama's inauguration speech. No longer does the President seek to portray himself as a moderate; he is now an out-of-the-closet liberal. But the problem is not President Obama, the problem is us. We the people have to decide whether we want a market-based economy or allow the federal government to control commerce, including health care and living expenses. The President believes in equality and that's nice, but it's impossible. You can not equate an American who holds a Ph.D. with a high school dropout. No matter what President Obama tells us, the two will never be equal in the marketplace. Therefore, the President seems to want to change the marketplace, putting the federal government in charge of who gets what. He believes his view will bring the nation prosperity, but it has not and it will not. Let me give you a stark example of the choice all of us must make. Years ago Rupert Murdoch started the News Corporation, which now employs 48,000 people worldwide. Those people, and I am one of them, are given opportunity. By contrast, the President has added more than 130,000 people to the federal payroll at a cost to the taxpayer of about $10 billion a year. Most of those federal employees work hard, but their salaries and benefits are provided by the taxpayers in the private sector, the employees of the News Corporation. The struggle in America is not between Republicans and Democrats, it's between the people. You either want freedom or you don't, and every time the government imposes a new tax or sets up new entitlements, it becomes stronger and we the people become weaker. That is what Inauguration Day 2013 was all about."
The Factor welcomed FNC analyst Charles Krauthammer, who quarreled with the notion that America has fundamentally shifted to the left. "One theory is that we get the government we deserve," Dr. K said, "and that Obama reflects a change in the political ideology of the country. As the country has become more dependent, there are more people who want to suck on the teat of the state. That's certainly true of Europe and that's where we are headed, but I don't think the 2012 election was a definitive test because President Obama did not have an opponent who presented a coherent and strong argument of the Reaganite perspective of smaller government, less taxes, less dependency. We'll get a good test of this in 2016 after four more years of Obama's hyper-liberalism, but Republicans need a candidate who can make the case." |
|
|
Guests: George Stephanopoulos
For another perspective, The Factor turned to ABC host and former Clinton adviser George Stephanopoulos. "The country has decided that they basically like the government reforms that were put in place by Franklin Roosevelt," he stated. "They like Social Security, they like Medicare, they think those programs have benefited the country. Ronald Reagan called for reforms in those programs, but he did not repudiate them. The country rejects any kind of radical transformation." The Factor stressed that spending simply has to be reined in: "The General Accountability Office, the non-partisan investigative arm of Congress, came out with a report saying government can't sustain the spending. They're basically telling the Obama administration that you have to stop spending, but he wants to increase spending."
Returning for a second segment, Stephanopoulos opined on Tom Brokaw's suggestion that gun control is akin to the civil rights movement. "That's not the analogy I would use," Stephanopoulos said, "but I think what he was talking about is the kind of passion a lot of people feel right now and the need that a lot of people feel to speak out. We can differ on exactly how to get a handle on the gun violence in this country right now, and I've been a long time supporter of gun control measures that are in accord with the Second Amendment. I personally believe it could reduce some violence to have a limit on the number of bullets that can be in a magazine." The Factor contended that the current debate is part of a larger culture war: "I think this is a battle between the elites like Brokaw and the folks, and the folks know that all these bans don't work. Chicago has a ban on handguns." |
|
|
Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a practicing Catholic, wants to liberalize abortion in his state. Legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl elaborated on the controversy. "A woman in New York who is in the third trimester," Wiehl explained, "can only get an abortion if her life is in danger. This new law would enable a woman to get an abortion in the third trimester if her health is in danger, not just her life." Guilfoyle pointed out another provision, saying, "He also wants to broaden the number of medical professionals who are able to perform those abortions because it's becoming very difficult to find doctors who will do it." The Factor urged New Yorkers to oppose the law: "I appeal to all good people in New York State not to vote for this, this is just wrong. We're talking about human lives here." |
|
|
Guests: Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes
Self-proclaimed Republican Colin Powell, who has endorsed President Obama in both his campaigns, is now siding with the President regarding voter ID laws. Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley analyzed Powell's liberal positions. "He's not alone in making these critiques of the Republican Party," Colmes pointed out. "Other people in the party say the same thing - Senator Lindsey Graham said the Republicans can't be 'an old white guy party.' So why single out Colin Powell?" Crowley argued that Powell has wandered far off the Republican reservation. "Colin Powell was never a conservative, he was always a moderate Republican, but he now seems to be taking it one step further and bashing the Republican Party." The Factor invited Powell to pay a visit to Fox News: "He goes on MSNBC, a very liberal network where he's not going to be challenged. I'd like to debate General Powell, but he doesn't come on." |
|
|
Guests: Jesse Watters
FNC's Jesse Watters attended the inaugural festivities Monday and asked some of the revelers exactly what they were celebrating. Among the replies: "To be an American and to be a female under him as our President" ... "I'm celebrating history in the making for the second time" ... "I'm actually a Republican but I'm just here to celebrate the inauguration." Watters reported that he was warmly received in the capital. "The folks were friendly to me, there was no hostility, and most of the celebrities were just trying to get on camera. They want to come on The Factor." |
|
|
| Avoid wagering on the Super Bowl because this year's Ravens-49er's matchup is totally unpredictable. |
|
|
Carrie Graves, Williamsburg, VA: "Bill, you are wrong! Not all of us deserve the government we get. What about those who understand where the country is heading but were overwhelmed by the uninformed?"
Greg Hrvinak, Nanticoke, PA: "Why do some atheists want to ban the bible from the inauguration? Why do they feel so threatened if to them it's a fictional book?"
Elaine and Bill Pedrow, Henning, NM: "Bill, loved when you told The View ladies you were not in the business to please the audience, but to solve the problem! Standing your ground is indeed a good tip." |
|
|