On the December 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly invited right-wing pundit Ann Coulter on the show to discuss “far-left smear websites.” O'Reilly introduced the segment with a declaration that “we are closely watching far-left smear websites to make sure they are held accountable for damaging people,” but he noted that “our policy is not to name the websites, because, well, they're beneath contempt.”
He then claimed that “smear sites” “intimidate people with whom they disagree. ... They really want to just bludgeon anybody with whom they disagree.” Coulter agreed but admitted that “one thing that perplexes me is why they want to keep me off only CNN." Media Matters for America has urged its supporters to ask CNN to stop featuring Coulter due to her history of false, misleading, and inflammatory statements.
After mentioning Media Matters President and CEO David Brock, Coulter attacked such websites, calling them “little Nazi block watchers,” stating: “They tattle on their parents, turn them in to the Nazis.”
She complained that several conservative pundits have security details when going to speak at college campuses and stated, “No liberal has to have security. Though I'd like to change that.” She also claimed, “I think what mostly encourages violence is [liberals'] incapacity to formulate an argument.” As Media Matters has documented, Coulter has said, “I think a baseball bat is the most effective way these days” to talk to liberals.
Finally, O'Reilly and Coulter resoundingly agreed:
O'REILLY: All right. Be careful, Ann. They're bad people.
COULTER: Thank you.
O'REILLY: They are bad people.
COULTER: They are bad people.
O'REILLY: And that's not an ideological statement. They are bad human beings, doing what they're doing.
From the December 1 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: In the “Unresolved Problem” segment tonight, as we told you last week, we are closely watching the far-left smear websites to make sure they are held accountable for damaging people, something they do on a regular basis.
Now, our policy is to not name the websites, because, well, they're beneath contempt. They want that kind of publicity.
[...]
O'REILLY: Yeah, but on a policy basis, what they're trying to do on these far-left smear sites is intimidate people with whom they disagree, and then choke off their ability to get their message out. I mean, freedom of speech means nothing to these people. They really want to just bludgeon anybody with whom they disagree, or am I wrong?
COULTER: No, you're right, though. I mean, the one thing that perplexes me is why they want to keep me off only CNN. You know, why not Fox? Why not MSNBC?
O'REILLY: Well, they know that Fox isn't going to play their game.
COULTER: David Brock has something against MSNBC?
O'REILLY: Yeah, they know Fox isn't going to play their game.
COULTER: What about MSNBC?
O'REILLY: Nobody watches them, with all due respect. I mean, it's true. Nobody watches the network. It doesn't mean anything.
COULTER: Well, I think it's an excellent use for George Soros's money to keep republishing the things I say on CNN.
O'REILLY: OK, but to answer your question, CNN is perceived to be a left-wing outlet, and they don't like your voice on the left-wing outlet. But, you know, aren't liberals or far-left people supposed to be champions of freedom of speech? Isn't that what the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] is all about?
COULTER: No, of course not. They're Nazi block watchers. This is what they're good at.
O'REILLY: They're Nazi what?
COULTER: Block watchers, you know. They tattle on their parents, turn them in to the Nazis. They're little Nazi block watchers.
O'REILLY: See, this is why they don't want you on CNN there. You're calling them Nazis. They don't --
COULTER: Coincidentally, Sean Hannity doesn't want me on CNN either. I think he might be paying for this website.
O'REILLY: Why not? Why doesn't Hannity want you on CNN?
COULTER: Because he only wants me on his show.
O'REILLY: Oh, he wants full control of you. OK. Now, you're --
COULTER: Which he basically has.
[...]
O'REILLY: OK. So you believe that these people want to hurt you, and now you have to have security with you?
COULTER: It's not just me. It's David Horowitz. It's [MSNBC contributor and former Republican presidential candidate] Pat Buchanan. It's [Weekly Standard editor] Bill Kristol. If you go speak at a college campus, I promise you, if you don't have a security detail, they will physically attack you, because they are the party of ideas, and they're so intellectual their ideas just can't fit on a bumper sticker. You know, everything else they're always saying about themselves. But when it actually comes time to formulate a counterargument, all they can do is throw food.
O'REILLY: All right. But it gets to be frightening. And I -- look, in my own case, I have to have security, and obviously --
COULTER: Any conservative does.
O'REILLY: Yeah, but I think liberals, some -- well, I don't know. Look, there's no question --
COULTER: No liberal has to have security. Though I'd like to change that.
O'REILLY: Well, there's no -- let me just ask you this. Do you believe that these smear sites on the Internet are encouraging violence against you and others?
COULTER: They may be intended to. I think what mostly encourages violence is their incapacity to formulate an argument.
O'REILLY: All right. That's a different thing.
COULTER: And they do have the reaction of a 4-year-old.
O'REILLY: So you don't believe that they actually want to see you harmed, these left-wing smear sites?
COULTER: Oh, I do think they -- oh, the websites? Well, who knows? It's all kind of a mix. I think they want to keep me off CNN because -- I don't know why it's just CNN. Like I say, why not the Cooking Channel? I'm going to have to start my own petition to keep Ann Coulter off all stations.
O'REILLY: All right. Be careful, Ann. They're bad people.
COULTER: Thank you.
O'REILLY: They are bad people.
COULTER: They are bad people.
O'REILLY: And that's not an ideological statement. They are bad human beings, doing what they're doing.