posted by Damozel |
Fight! Fight! Fight!
In a shouting match that aired this evening on The O'Reilly Factor, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd slammed Bill O'Reilly for his sustained smear campaign against the participants and presidential candidates who plan to attend the 2007 YearlyKos conference, which began today in Chicago.
At one point, O'Reilly accused Dodd of being a "propagandist", declaring, "If I were Joseph Lieberman, I would never talk to you again." Dodd responded: "You object to the fact that 1,500 people are going to gather in Chicago, representing hundreds of thousands of people who utilize this community gathering, this Internet site...a way to express their views every day." Sen Dodd Confronts Bill O'Reilly About Smearing YearlyKos Convention (The Huffington Post)
Senator (and presidential candidate) Chris Dodd talks over Bill O'Reilly while O'Reilly---bug-eyed with fury---tries to talk over him. Let's see: O'Reilly (host) called Dodd (guest) a "propagandist," said he used to respect him but doesn't anymore anymore, yelled-- definitely forgetting to use his inside voice-- that Dodd should apologize to Joe Lieberman, and accused him of "legitiimizing hate." Now that's civility, Fox-style!
UPDATE (Aug.4): Hot Air has the whole segment, including the picture BO was so worked up over, plus some clips from Dennis Miller's subsequent remarks [click here] It puts BO's anger on behalf of Lieberman into context (while rendering them no less absurd, according to me)
Boy, O'Reilly really has got his knickers in a knot over the hateful hating haters who are hating on Bush and Lieberman over at Kos, hasn't he? I do think it's sweet that he and his pals are so concerned about the hatefulness of the internets. So am I! I even agree that the people who hang out at Kos are frequently uncivil (which is why I---unlike, I may say, some of my colleagues--- don't go there much) and that the picture in question was---in my mom's favorite phrase---uncalled for.
But here's an idea: why don't Bill O'Reilly and his pals lead the way in setting an example of extreme civility/courtesy/chivalry towards all, including Hillary C?
Ha ha, just kidding! The reason I love Fox the way I do is that the whole concept is based on using labels, catchphrases, and sound bites to sell a particular point of view----and it totally works! Well, it works on people who watch Fox, anyway. Maybe O'Reilly really didn't realize that the Opposition Viewpoint had learned a trick or two from Fox. After all, calling something "vile" doesn't really tell you anything about it. It's not a fact; it's an opinion about a fact all wrapped up in a label.
But in the Too Much Information Age, lots of people are looking for short cuts to forming an opinion. If you can convince people that you want the same things they do, and that you're out there gathering and digesting information so they won't have to, a certain percentage of them will be quite happy to come to you for your predigested opinions. I'm sure that Kos as well as Fox numbers among its audience people who are looking for opinions rather than facts.
To get back to the O'Reilly shouting match, I thought Dodd did a great job of maintaining the decencies of debate while O'Reilly was trying to shout him down. He impressed me more in those few minutes than he's ever managed to do in any debate.
Afterwards----with Dodd safely out of the way---they called in Dennis Miller to do damage control. Here's a News Hound's take on it:
Miller came in kissin butt telling O'Reilly he's a big fan of The Factor and wouldn't miss it but wondered why he would let a" hack like that get a toe hold". The 'hack" being U.S. Senator Dodd.
Then Miller claimed that O'Reilly's site gets 8 times more traffic than the DailyKos. Miller was off quite a bit on this one. It seems he forgot about Alexa when he made that bogus claim...
Then Miller got off on one of his streaming verbal jaunts about Dodd and Kucinich insulting both men. Trying to assure his injured clubhouse buddy, Miller said " This guy had nothing!" He used terms like pandered and tedious and described the YearlyKos as a " loserfest"..... Bill O'Reilly Gets Dennis Miller To Beat Up Chris Dodd For Him
Respected Senator and presidential candidate Chris Dodd is a "hack"? Who was it again---wait, it's on the tip of my tongue---who said, "Why is it so easy for you to see the speck in your brother's eye when you can't seem to see the plank in your own?" Or, as News Hound Chrish later expressed it, "Disagree with or criticize O'Reilly and it's hate speech, but him slandering you is just an "expose."" (Framing the hate debate). Either that or a Dennis Miller "comic" monologue.
UPDATE (August 4): You might also take a look at Ann Althouse's note here: O'Reilly versus Chris Dodd. Among other things, she says:
Miller gets so overheated he makes O'Reilly seem mild mannered. Why is he so angry at Dodd? He's going "This guy had nothing" over and over, but then, why get so upset?...
Miller's attitude is that O'Reilly is so great and YearlyKos is so insignificant. He says: "That convention is a loser-fest. I mean, there are hookers who have put an embargo on that convention."
No one seems to notice that Miller is indulging in sexual humor... which is exactly what Kos did with that depiction of Bush and Lieberman that O'Reilly wanted Dodd to condemn.(Althouse)
V ia Hot Air, "the entire Dodd segment and the choice cuts from Miller Time."
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