While discussing MoveOn.org's "Petition Against Fox's Racist & Hate-Filled Smears" on the July 23 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly said, "[Sen. Barack] Obama must condemn organizations like MoveOn and the Daily Kos if he truly wants to run without a race component. These are the people that are dividing Americans along racial lines. It is not a stretch to say MoveOn is the new Klan."

As Media Matters for America has documented, O'Reilly has previously called MoveOn.org and Media Matters for America “the most vicious element in our society today” and referred to the staff of both organizations as “assassins.” On July 30, 2007, O'Reilly claimed that the Democratic presidential candidates were “afraid of the Daily Kos and MoveOn.” O'Reilly has also repeatedly compared the Daily Kos website and its founder, Markos Moulitsas, to the Klan or white supremacist David Duke.

From the July 23 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: Now, in the beginning of this campaign, I told you that any media using the race card would be scrutinized by us, and that includes folks who may attack Senator Obama on that basis. But we have seen little of that.

Instead, the vile, far-left smear machines are trafficking in racial hate, and the MoveOn campaign is a vivid example of that.

To his credit, Barack Obama has not made race an issue and was embarrassed when Jesse Jackson did that a few days ago. But Obama must condemn organizations like MoveOn and the Daily Kos if he truly wants to run without a race component.

These are the people that are dividing Americans along racial lines. It is not a stretch to say MoveOn is the new Klan.