The Factor Rundown
Laura Ingraham
Unresolved Problems Segment
Want KILLING REAGAN Free?
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The White House Correspondents Dinner
"Every year the president, the press, and a smattering of Hollywood types get together and yuk it up at the White House Correspondents Dinner. I've attended these dinners - for the most part they're overcrowded, over-hyped, and now I think they should be over with What are they actually celebrating? The fact that they have missed or underreported some of the biggest stories of the past ten years? Correspondents and the president, whether Republican or Democrat, really shouldn't be buddy-buddy. Reporters should be checking government power, not being cheerleaders for one party or one point of view. President Obama would have been better off if he had been challenged by an aggressive press. Instead, he was insulated by his media fan club until the total ObamaCare meltdown. For the past six years, most in the press have been drunk on their abiding love for the Obamas. But now the country is forced to suffer through the big hangover."
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Benghazi Update
Guest:Former Governor Bill Richardson
Speaker of the House John Boehner has named Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, an aggressive former prosecutor, to head up the select committee that will investigate the Benghazi attacks. Meanwhile, some Democrats say they won't participate in the hearings. Laura discussed the issue with former New Mexico Governor and loyal Democrat Bill Richardson. "I do think this is a bit of a witch hunt," he said, "but I would disagree with my Democratic friends and say we should participate. I don't think there's any smoking gun, and I still don't think there is some conspiracy here." Laura took issue with Richardson's characterization of the investigation: "When you say witch hunt, that's demeaning. We have four dead Americans and the utter humiliation and tragedy of having a U.S. ambassador murdered in cold blood. Then we had an administration that immediately went political in the aftermath."
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Benghazi Update
Guest:Brit Hume
For more on the Benghazi investigation, Laura turned to Fox News analyst Brit Hume. "Very quickly after the attack," he reported, "it was pretty clear to everyone that this was a planned terrorist attack and was not related to an anti-Muslim video. So everybody, including President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, would have known that. But days later Susan Rice went on all the Sunday talk shows to famously expound that all this germinated with the Internet video. Secretary Clinton is said to have mentioned to one of the grieving relatives that they would get the person responsible for the video. This has looked from the get-go like there was a cover-up."
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Damaged by Benghazi?
Guest:Juan Williams
Laura asked Juan Williams whether Hillary Clinton's presidential chances could be harmed by the impending Benghazi select committee investigation. "So far we don't have anything that would indicate any damage to Hillary Clinton," Williams replied, "but the formation of the committee brings the opportunity to subpoena Hillary Clinton and get her back before Congress. That would put the spotlight on a potential flaw in her resume. So if there's a conspiracy here, I guess it's a conspiracy of hatin' on Hillary by the Republicans." Laura argued that Hillary Clinton, despite all her globe-trotting, was an ineffective secretary of state. "Is the world calmer, is America stronger, is our foreign policy clearer? I would say no, no, no! Just judging her record, there's not a lot to point to. She's traveled a lot, but what the heck has she accomplished?"
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Commencement Address Withdrawal
Guest:Carmelo Cintron
After a smattering of protests by students and faculty members at Rutgers University, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice bowed out as commencement speaker. Laura was joined by Rutgers senior Carmelo Cintron, a leader of the movement that denounced Rice as a war criminal. "She clearly violated international war conventions," Cintron declared, "and she clearly authorized torture and enhanced interrogation. We are not against her free speech, we are not against her gender, we are not against her race, we are against her actions." Laura lamented that many campuses have become the exclusive province of liberals: "I had to sit through tons of left-wing commencement speakers, it's very rare to have a staunch conservative speaker. You're depriving the entire student body of an opportunity to hear someone who is really accomplished and a really nice woman."
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Race in America
Guests:Deneen Borelli & Andell Brown
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, has implied that racism remains a major barrier to black Americans. Laura invited reaction from Fox News contributor Deneen Borelli and civil rights attorney Andell Brown "He wanted to make sure that we know there is a problem with racism in this country," Brown said, "and that we can't ignore it, we have to address it. But I don't believe Kareem's statements are somehow directing us away from personal responsibility. He's saying we have a race issue in America." Borelli, while portraying America as a beacon of opportunity, contended that Abdul-Jabbar was way off base. "His comments are very divisive, and it's the same rhetoric we hear from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and desperate politicians. They play the race card, but the fact remains that America is an exceptional country. I would never say they aren't racists in America, but it's a small number, and that small number can not prevent black individuals from striving and achieving."
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Prayer at Town Meeting Ruling
Guest:Ayesha Khan
The Supreme Court has ruled that beginning town hall meetings with a prayer is fully within the Constitution. Laura welcomed Ayesha Khan, who argued the losing side in the case. "We're disappointed in the ruling," Khan said. "The court got it wrong because this allows local governmental bodies to condition citizens' participation in meetings. Put yourself in the position of a Jewish child who comes to receive an award at a town board meeting - you're asked to stand and bow your head in recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ." Laura reminded Khan that any prayers are totally voluntary: "No one is coerced into prayer. George Washington led his troops in prayer, President Obama prayed at his inauguration, Abraham Lincoln prayed. All of that would violate your understanding of the First Amendment."
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