On the December 5 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, host Bill O'Reilly referred to Media Matters for America as “loony” and the “most oppressive group” among Internet “smear sites.”

In a debate with Democratic strategist Bob Beckel about Media Matters' call for CNN to stop inviting right-wing pundit Ann Coulter on as a guest, O'Reilly said: "[I]f you look at the smear websites, they're trying to get Ann Coulter off CNN. It's not about the war. It's just about her. So I don't understand this. What is that? Is that fascism, totalitarianism -- what is that?"

O'Reilly also claimed that Media Matters “want[s] me fired because I said that San Francisco's vote was a disgrace to ban military recruiting.” In fact, it was San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Chris Daly who called for O'Reilly to be fired for this statement: "[I]f Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off-limits to you except San Francisco."

From the December 5 broadcast of Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: All right, so what she's talking about is this -- this loony website that's trying to get a petition to keep Ann Coulter off CNN. You know -- again -- silence her voice, silence her voice, silence her voice. So I'm not getting this, and I want Bob Beckel to explain it to me. So we're gonna take a quick break --

[...]

O'REILLY: The far-left wing of the country --

BECKEL: Uh-huh.

O'REILLY: -- is not a tolerant bunch. Would you agree with that?

BECKEL: With people who are continually for the war, that's correct.

O'REILLY: All right, so they're not a tolerant bunch. They -- if you disagree with their analysis -- they're going to shout you down or they don't want to hear from you, or try to banish you from speaking. Can you -- can you --

BECKEL: On the war -- on that war, yeah, that's correct.

O'REILLY: No, no, no, on anything.

BECKEL: No --

O'REILLY: You know, if you look at -- if you look at the smear websites, they're trying to get Ann Coulter off CNN. It's not about the war. It's just about her. So I don't understand this. What is that? Is that fascism, totalitarianism -- what is that?

BECKEL: I don't know. Is that a smear, or does that raise a credibility issue that you call them smears and fascists, these people on the left? I didn't call the right-wing websites that. But let's get back to your question. The question is: Is there intolerance on the left when it comes to this war and [Inaudible] of course there is. Is there on the right? Of course there is. There's no spin there.

[...]

O'REILLY: Well, look, Bob, look. What I'm trying to get across to you is this: that I don't understand -- and maybe our viewers can -- or one of our listeners can tell me. If you're going to be a far-left individual, if you're going to stake out that territory, I always thought that this was the territory of diversity. This was the territory of ACLU, protecting people's rights of speech. It doesn't seem to be that way. You see where I'm coming from?

BECKEL: Well, yeah, except that you're lumping everybody on the far left into 12 people who demonstrated.

O'REILLY: No. But if you go to the smear sites on the Internet, they have all -- they try to silence me --

BECKEL: Give me an example of one, sir.

O'REILLY: Well, look -- I'll give you one that's real personal.

BECKEL: OK.

O'REILLY: They try to silence me. They want me fired -- because I said that San Francisco's vote was a disgrace to ban military recruiting. I was supposed to get fired for that opinion.

BECKEL: Right.

O'REILLY: And even [San Francisco attorney and political activist] Angela Alioto, our pal out there who is super left, said it's insane. O'Reilly's entitled to his opinion.

BECKEL: Well, I certainly --

O'REILLY: Come on, Bob.

BECKEL: -- I certainly disavow myself from that. Now I, myself, have had death threats from right wingers. And -- but I think to silence your voice would be a great tragedy.

O'REILLY: All right, now -- but see we expect the Nazi, crazy, far right to be totalitarians and to follow the Nazi tradition of killing or persecuting anyone who they disagree with. We expect that. All right, 'cause that's what the far right, crazy fascists do. That's what they do. We don't expect it on the far left, yet they have now emerged as the most oppressive group.