O'Reilly persisted in false claim that independents swung 2004 election for Bush
On the September 21 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly falsely attributed President Bush's 2004 election victory to independent voters, marking the third time he has made this claim. O'Reilly asserted that "Bush won by three million votes. And they were independent voters." Media Matters for America has twice corrected previous claims by O'Reilly that Bush prevailed among independent voters (here and here). In both instances, Media Matters pointed out that exit polling shows that Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) narrowly won independents, carrying them at 49 percent to Bush's 48 percent. Bush's victory was instead sealed through his 93 percent share of the Republican vote.
From the September 21 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:
O'REILLY: You're not going to get an analysis like this anywhere else. President Bush was re-elected last November. OK? Almost 11 months ago. Because Americans gave him the benefit of the doubt. They didn't give the benefit of the doubt to Kerry. So you had two guys, and both had fairly substantial downsides to non-ideological people. You know, the Kool-Aid drinkers on both sides are going to vote for their guy, no matter what. They don't care. But the independents who swung the investigation of Bush basically gave him the benefit of the doubt. They liked how he reacted after 9-11. They liked his strong war-on-terrorists stance. And they said, well, maybe Iraq isn't going the way we wanted it to go, but we have confidence in him to pull it out. That's exactly what happened, and Bush won by three million votes. And they were independent voters. OK?
Bill O'Reilly: I just make things up.
O'Reilly lies so much, that Media Matters basic format is really unable to convey the magnitude of his BS. I think a web hobbyist (like me perhaps) should make an auxillary site on O'Reilly featuring an updated bar graph of his lies. Because, I really think a graphical format is the only way people can see how many lies Bill is committing. Every week we add a new bar. And it should be cross-referenced so that people can click on any bar and get links to the MMFA pages of the lies he made.
clarence: great idea, but someone beat you to it
sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com
Thanks. I went to the page and may become a member. I DO wish I had more time to do that sort of page.
Rove has to be putting the heat onto Billy. He's practically dancing with Bush at the debutante ball. Every day, hell, every minute there seems to be a new justification why we must love BushieCo.
I suggest Media Matters give O'Lielly his own MM website - or it would be easier to cite when he tells the truth - a much more rare occurrence than his being accurate. Of course, that's a slippery slope - you'd have to do the same for FAUX News.
If you go by the exit poll data, Kerry won the election, but obviously the REAL data proved otherwise. The exit poll data in the 2004 election was severely faulty and therefore shouldn't be cited as evidence that independants didn't sway the election for Bush. Independents ALWAYS sway the election for whomever is the victor. The committed right and left will always support their candidate. The only votes up for grabs are the independents.
It wasn't independents. It was, once again, the disenfranchisement of minority voters who stood in long lines for hours, in the rain, in Ohio and didn't get to vote. Meanwhile, voters in more upscale white districts breezed in and out of their polling places. And don't forget Diebold, a company with close and lucrative ties to the Bush administration and the defense department. Their voting machines had no paper trail. Coincidence - I don't think so!!!
Recall O'Reilly Clear Channel persona is anchored in the claim that he himself is an independent.
This is typical of infomercialists. They distance themselves from the direct fame / money benefit they recieve by pushing the product.
He's paid very well to be part of the Clear Channel / Fox 24/7 Bushinfomercial, and this role is the sole source of his fame and power.
The "I'm independent / no spin here" claim, as I recall, is also made by ClearChannel 1- Savage, 2- Boortz among others.
Bill O' Reilly: "They liked how he reacted after 9-11. They liked his strong war-on-terrorists stance. "
A high percentage of people like how Bush reacted after 9/11. The Iraq comment is basically just follow the herd; The "independents" believe in Bush.
The fearful and voters that feared somehow an another person right to choose who they share their bed with diminishes the quality of that voter's rights swung the election. Since we have found that little has been done, maybe nothing, to protect the people of our country. Hopefully, the second set of voters will wake up and realize another person's personal choices have little or no reflection on their lives. If fear is ever remove from the voting equation the neo-cons are done for.
since we have found that little has been done, maybe nothing, to protect the people of our country. Hopefully, the second set of voters will wake up and realize another person's personal choices have little or no reflection on their lives. If fear is ever remove from the voting equation the neo-cons are done for.
by ufleirx
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Bill O' Reilly was probably referring to the supposed "security moms," that for all practical purposes didn't exist, as it later turned out.
Anyway we need real voters, that actually exist, not something that's made up. What it's going to take is a change of values, and also critical thinking; i.e. people don't just follow the herd. Wishful thinking I know.
Just like Crossfire, O'Reilly's show makes a mockery of our political system. O'Reilly casually throws out argumentative, outrageous and often wildly inaccurate statements which are supposed to be seen as wittty and insightful. In fact, they spawn more of the same. O'Reilly's show is even worse than Crossfire was, and needs to go. THANK YOU MEDIAMATTERS, AND PLEASE KEEP THE PRESSURE SQUARELY ON THIS PERSON UNTIL HE IS DESERVEDLY TAKEN OFF THE AIR LIKE CROSSFIRE.