During the July 26 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly claimed to have “exposed” the Daily Kos blog “as a hate website” and went on to criticize the decision by some Democratic presidential candidates to attend the YearlyKos convention. In response, Fox News contributor Jane Hall said to him, “You had hateful comments on your website about [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY].” O'Reilly then claimed: “No, I didn't. We took them off.” He later added, “That's a lie, and I can't let you say a lie on this broadcast.” After cutting Hall's microphone, O'Reilly again asserted, “I can't let Jane lie. We don't allow hateful comments on BillOReilly.com. When they come up and we find them, we take them off.” In fact, as of 5 p.m. ET on July 27, several comments about Clinton that were documented by Americablog (here, here, and here) remain on O'Reilly's website, including one that has led Huffington Post blogger Lane Hudson to ask for a Secret Service investigation:
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O'Reilly also has not removed a comment from a user regarding Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-MN) comparison of the Bush administration's response to the September 11 attacks to the aftermath of the burning of the Reichstag in Germany in 1933. As Americablog documented, the user wrote: “Maybe it's time to burn down the capitol building like Hitler did with the Reichstag building? Anyone comparing Bush to Hitler has absolutely no idea of what real Nazis were like in the '30's. Ellison is an idiot.”
As Media Matters for America noted, O'Reilly has continued to attack Daily Kos over the course of the past two weeks, comparing the blog to the Nazi party, the Ku Klux Klan, Mafia gangster Al Capone, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and white supremacist David Duke while declining to address egregious comments on his own website. During the July 26 segment, O'Reilly agreed with Fox News contributor Bernard Goldberg's statement that the candidates' decision to attend the YearlyKos convention “is all you need to know about the strength of character, or more precisely, the lack of character of the Democratic candidates.” Also, O'Reilly called Democratic presidential candidate and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson “the biggest coward in the world” for deciding to attend the convention.
From the July 26 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Just a real quick -- I don't want to belabor this, but a week from today, the Democratic candidates for president will be heading to the Daily Kos convention. And as you know, we have exposed that place as a hate website. Jane still doesn't get it.
But what I am going to do, Jane? I mean, I can't come to your house. But I can tell you that last night, we ran a picture of President Bush that ran on the Daily Kos for three years. They took it off today, Bernie. Was that an accident they took that off?
GOLDBERG: No, of course not. I mean, let me make sure I understand this. The Democratic presidential candidates will go to this Daily Kos or YearlyKos convention and speak to the angriest activist core of the party, but they won't debate the issues on Fox News?
O'REILLY: Correct.
GOLDBERG: Why is that? Why is that?
O'REILLY: I don't know.
GOLDBERG: Because they're death -- I'll tell you why, because they're deathly afraid that the crazies in the Democratic Party will punish them if they come on Fox News. And this tells you --
O'REILLY: Well, that's what RealClearPolitics says. That's what -- there's an article today. That's what they said.
GOLDBERG: Yes, I know. And I think they're right. And this is all you need to know about the strength of character, or more precisely, the lack of character of the Democratic candidates --
O'REILLY: Oh, absolutely. I mean, look at --
GOLDBERG: -- who are terrified, terrified of the crazies in their party.
O'REILLY: They are -- they are absolutely terrified of them. And why? Go there, Jane, tonight, and see what they're saying about me right now.
HALL: OK, well, Bill, Bill --
O'REILLY: That's why. Well, hold it. You know, a guy like Richardson, the Governor Richardson of New Mexico, was treated so well not only on The Factor but by the whole network. And he's the biggest coward in the world.
And as soon as the far left tells him, “Don't you do that, don't you go on Fox News.” “OK, I won't.” OK, and this is a guy we want to go up against Al Qaeda, Jane? Yeah.
GOLDBERG: Yup. Exactly.
HALL: Well, you know, and I know there's that famous quote, you know, “If they can't face Fox News, can they face Al Qaeda?” That is a different issue. They should be on Fox News.
But again you are picking out -- I haven't seen this horrible -- you know, I've seen this photo that was taken down. You had hateful comments on your website about Hillary Clinton.
O'REILLY: No, I didn't. We took them off.
HALL: Yes, you did. You took them off? OK, they are not representative of your website, are they?
O'REILLY: Jane, Jane -- Jane, Jane -- that's a lie, and I can't let you say a lie.
HALL: You're misrepresenting the bulk of this website.
O'REILLY: Jane -- Jane. That's a lie, and I can't let you say a lie on this broadcast. We do not allow hateful comments.
HALL: There were comments you took off. My point is there are hateful comments on websites, Bill.
O'REILLY: We take them off. There were not. We take them off when they come on. All right, Jane.
Here's the truth. I can't let Jane lie. We don't allow hateful comments on BillOReilly.com. When they come up and we find them, we take them off. The instructions are you can't do it. That's it, Jane. All right. I'm sorry I had to be impolite. I cannot let you mislead our audience. We'll see you next week.