Now Bill O’Reilly Needs To Apologize For Being An Idiot To The NAACP

Bill O'ReillyLast March, Bill O’Reilly engaged in an on-air brawl with a constitutional expert who told him that ObamaCare would be upheld by the Supreme Court. Bullheaded Bill vehemently disagreed and and promised to replay the segment and apologize for being an idiot if he were wrong. Well, he was wrong, but still declined to make a genuine apology.

Tonight O’Reilly reprised his idiocy. During an argument with NAACP Washington bureau director Hilary Shelton. O’Reilly once again browbeat his guest with assertions of his warped version of reality. Shelton attempted to point out that the booing Romney endured was unique and a result of Romney’s disrespect of his audience.

Shelton: We’ve had Republican candidates for president at the NAACP before. As you know, four years ago, John McCain. As you know, when George Bush ran for president the first time…
O’Reilly: And McCain got jazzed too, by your crew.
Shelton: No he didn’t. Neither one of them did. That’s absolutely not true.
O’Reilly: He got jazzed by your crew and you know it.
Shelton: I hope you’ll go go back and actually play that on your show.
O’Reilly: We covered it. I remember covering it.
Shelton: What you’re saying is simply untrue.

Since O’Reilly already demonstrated his cowardice when he refused to apologize in the prior incident, it is unlikely he will will bother to show any more integrity this time. So for anyone who is interested, here is the speech that McCain gave at the 2008 NAACP conference. There was not a single negative reaction from the audience. No booing, no heckling, no “M-Fer, I want more iced tea.” No one got “jazzed.” But don’t hold your breath waiting for O’Reilly to apologize for, once again, being so desperately wrong.

The few hisses Romney suffered were entirely deserved. He seemed intent on baiting the audience. But this was not a pattern of behavior on the part of the conferees, as McCain’s video proves. Then again, McCain was a far more gracious guest. His demeanor was respectful as he solicited their support.

McCain: I’m here today as an admirer and a fellow American. An association that means more to me than any other. I’m a candidate for president who seeks your vote and hopes to earn it. But whether or not I win your support, I need your good will and your council.

Compare that to the condescending attitude Romney exhibited wherein he belittles his audience by declaring that the only reason they would not vote for him is because they are incapable of understanding how righteously awesome he really is.

Romney: I believe that if you understood who I truly am in my heart, and if it were possible to fully communicate what I believe is in the real, enduring best interest of African American families, you would vote for me for president.

Yeah, sure. It’s too bad that they’re just too stupid to see the real you. Or are they? Romney affirmed his scornful tone at a fundraiser he rushed off to following the NAACP event. When asked about the mixed reception he received he said of the NAACP crowd…

“I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy – more free stuff. But don’t forget nothing is really free.”

See? People who simply want to be able get affordable health care without being gouged by greedy insurers; who want to take care of their family’s needs without losing their homes or going bankrupt; who want an end to cancellations when they file claims; who don’t think that preexisting conditions should be an obstacle to getting coverage; to Romney these people are freeloaders looking for a handout.

So Romney should not be surprised if he encounters more booing or other public condemnations. He’s earned it. And O’Reilly should stop pretending that he knows anything. He doesn’t.

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4 thoughts on “Now Bill O’Reilly Needs To Apologize For Being An Idiot To The NAACP

  1. Why is it not possible for Romney to communicate what it is that he can do for the African American community? Could it be because he really has nothing to communicate? I think Romney was communcicating at this event but it wasn’t to the African American
    community in general or this audience in particular. Romney was communicating to the fringe of his own conservative base about how he was going to cut all unecessesary spending. Number one on his list was ‘Obamacare'(a misnomer, correctly called the Affordable Care Act)a term he intended to be negative,and I’m sure any other program that would help the African American community at large. You see, in Romney’s mind, these folks just have to pull themselves up by their boot sraps like he did and be born to wealth and priveledge. That’s how you get ahead in today’s world. That’s how Mitt did it! Then you take some of that wealth you extracted from the society you live in, in part by destroying viable companies for profit, hide it in off-shore accounts to avoid paying your fair share to the society that made it all possible. Instead of repealing the AFA lets end all corporate welfare to people like Mitt Romney and his sponsors like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson.

  2. Do I misremember that a Republican once yelled, “LIAR!” at President Obama while he ADDRESSED CONGRESS? Am I mistaken that the FOX NATION “comment crew” often uses racist “jazz” in reference to the entire Obama family? The things O’Reilly gets mildly frustrated over and the things he gets outraged over seems strange.

  3. Mark, all I can say is I wish more progressives would heed your advice never to appear on FOX. This episode is quite the cautionary tale.

  4. No candidate deserves the boos that Mitt Romney got. And Bill O’Reilly knows a heck of a lot more than you do.

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