O'Reilly falsely claimed Obama did not vote to condemn attacks on Petraeus and Kerry
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SUMMARY: On his radio show, Bill O'Reilly falsely stated that Sen. Barack Obama did not cast a vote on a Senate amendment denouncing both an ad by MoveOn.org that targeted Gen. David Petraeus and "Swift Boat" attacks on Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). In fact, Obama voted in favor of an amendment sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that denounced the MoveOn.org ad and character attacks on Kerry, former Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA), and other veterans.
On the October 8 broadcast of The Radio Factor, host Bill O'Reilly falsely stated that Sen. Barack Obama did not cast a vote on a Senate amendment denouncing both an ad by MoveOn.org that targeted Gen. David Petraeus and "Swift Boat" attacks on Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Contrary to O'Reilly's claim, Obama did cast a vote in favor of an amendment sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) that denounced the MoveOn.org ad and character attacks on Kerry, former Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA), and other veterans.
During the broadcast, O'Reilly stated: "You know, we did some research into his [Obama's] vote on MoveOn. MoveOn ran the Petraeus ad. ... They had a vote in the Senate condemning that action, along with -- and I did not know this -- condemning the Swift Boating of Kerry." O'Reilly added, "It was in the same amendment -- same amendment -- that, you know, when you challenge someone's patriotism, that is wrong. Obama did not vote."
As Media Matters for America has documented, Obama did, in fact, vote for the Boxer amendment condemning the MoveOn ad, as well as other attacks on past and present members of the armed forces, including the following reference to Kerry:
In 2004, a Senator from Massachusetts who is a Vietnam veteran and the recipient of a Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts, was personally attacked and accused of dishonoring his country.
[...]
This attack was aptly described by a Senator and Vietnam veteran as ''dishonest and dishonorable.''
The Boxer amendment also criticized Republican-backed attacks on Cleland, a Vietnam veteran whose legs and right arm were amputated as a result of injuries sustained there. It stated of the MoveOn.org ad: "On September 10, 2007, an advertisement in the New York Times was an unwarranted personal attack on General Petraeus, who is honorably leading our Armed Forces in Iraq and carrying out the mission assigned to him by the President of the United States." The amendment went on to "strongly condemn attacks on the honor, integrity, and patriotism of any individual who is serving or has served honorably in the United States Armed Forces, by any person or organization." Fifty senators, including Obama, voted in support of the measure, while 47, including Sen. John McCain, voted against it. As Media Matters noted, under an agreement reached by the Senate leadership, a cloture vote and a vote on final passage were combined for this and other Iraq-related amendments, meaning that the amendment needed 60 votes to pass.
From the October 8 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:
O'REILLY: I think Wright was a legitimate issue. I think Ayers, a legitimate issue. I think people -- people's mindsets when they want to get power are important. Do I put a lot of credence in it? No, because the more I understand Barack Obama, the more I see a practical guy, who, you know, pretty much doesn't -- if -- if the power structure in Chicago is far-left, and the power structure can help Obama, he's gonna go there. You know, we did some research into his vote on MoveOn. MoveOn ran the Petraeus ad.
LIS WIEHL (co-host): Right.
O'REILLY: They had a vote in the Senate condemning that action, along with -- and I did not know this -- condemning the Swift Boating of Kerry.
WIEHL: They coupled those together?
O'REILLY: It was in the same amendment -- same amendment -- that, you know, when you challenge someone's patriotism, that is wrong. Obama did not vote.
WIEHL: Didn't vote "no" -- just didn't vote?
O'REILLY: Didn't vote -- didn't vote for that amendment. Now, the amendment passed, like, 74-22, something like that. Big vote. Obama was in the chamber.
WIEHL: I was gonna say, was he there?
O'REILLY: He was there. Did not vote on that. Now, Obama -- he didn't want to alienate MoveOn. MoveOn's a big fund-raiser for him. But he had the Kerry component in there.
WIEHL: Right.
O'REILLY: So, it wasn't just a slam on MoveOn, but Obama is a cautious politician. Did not vote. So, I think this is all legitimate. But is it the main thing? No. The main thing is your pocketbook.
"You know, we did some research into his vote on MoveOn. MoveOn ran the Petraeus ad." --Bill O'Reilly
They did research on this folks. Just think about all of the stuff O'Reilly just makes up. There is no real difference in the outcome. He nearly always gets it wrong. Mindblowing.
When O'Reilly says "We researched it," that is almost always a red flag that he is making something up.
No Oreilly really makes things up. He lies.
billybob o'really is wrong on virtually everything. I have been watching his comedy show on faucks news for 8+ years and have missed half a dozen shows at most.. I think he is funny in a sick and twisted way. I have a VCR on auto record for him and inshannity. He and inshannity are dangerous. It blows me away that he makes so much money spewing forth his nonsense. I listened to his first book on tape which I bought for 50 cents at a second hand store (I got ripped off). Virtually all of it was from "How to win friends and enfluence people" and "think and grow rich" Some of it was his own BS phylosophy which became antiquated soon after man invented the wheel. He is a bloviating charlatan. His show gives me laughs and thats all it's good for. He is essentially BS in a slick wrapper.
O'REILLY: He was there. Did not vote on that.
Every day I have access to a radio. And every day I cast my vote not tuning in to BillO.
Come ON, MM. Since when is O'Reilly's lies and ignorance NEWS? Your staff would have to be on call 24/7 just to keep up with Billy. The poor guy just gets more and more ridiculous. But I do see your point. BO has a lot of listeners, still.
Bill.
A second grader could do the research, or look up the actual votes that Senators have taken, and you seem to get it wrong. Will you run a correction on this tomorrow? Chances are that, no, you won't. By saying that he didn't vote, you are directly again questioning the patriotism of Obama methinks. Also, Wright is not an issue, and if it is, then every single bigoted republican pastor who has come out, in force I might add, for McCain SHOULD be an issue. If Ayers is an issue, then so should Liddy be an issue for McCain. Do you see how stupid it is? Probably not. Even though what Ayers did is deplorable and detestable, he has redeemed himself where he lives now, and has become a good member of his community in good standing. Does it absolve him for what he and his group did? Probably not, but guess what? He's trying to actually make a difference. Liddy? Not so much. Scumbag would be a nice thing to call him. Also, I think what Liddy did during Watergate was a lot more damaging to the country as a whole than anything the Weathermen did during their times and actions.
Regarding Ayers: Even though he wasn't convicted, and the charges were dropped, you might say he's served a self imposed 30+- year sentence of community service. He was also named Chicago Citizen of the Year in 1987.
I've used this argument with my co-workers - who I point out I have NOT done a background check on, then ask them if they've done one on me! (They'd be VERY surprised, I have a sordid past ;~))
Good to see you again dan.
It's not just Billd'O. The entire NewsCorp brand is devoted to propotainment, not news. I had first hand knowledge of a sensational story the NY Post did, years ago. There were seven major mistakes of fact in it, none of which would have been made by a moderately motivated second-year journalism undergrad. "Did some research.." Right. In his own tusch, after which he blew it out.