This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," May 6, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: Now for the top story: here to reply [to my "Talking Points" on the open season on the Republican Party], Ann Coulter, the author of the book "Liberal Victims and Their Assault on America."
OK, tactics now. Do you agree that the Republican Party is severely weakened at this point in history?
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ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE COLUMNIST: No. I think we just lost an election. And I hope Republicans aren't this insufferable every time we win an election, declaring the Democratic Party finished forever. I mean, it seems to me if you look at it historically over more than oh, 10 minutes ago, Americans forget how bad the Democrats are. The Democrats come in and then we come roaring back.
O'REILLY: OK, so you don't see that the structural party damage is something that can't be resurrected?
COULTER: No. And what's peculiar about this is no matter what the facts are, liberal Republicans are always telling us we have to be more liberal. No matter what the evidence is, and this is a perfect example of it.
O'REILLY: But that — isn't that the split, that the Colin Powell wing vs. the Ann Coulter?
COULTER: Of course, it's always been, but the evidence keeps proving them wrong. But no matter how many times we run the experiment, they'll turn around to us and say oh, you weren't liberal enough. We just ran the most liberal Republican in the party other than Arlen Specter. And he's no longer in the party. You try the liberal Republicans and they lost. And now they're coming back and blaming us again.
O'REILLY: But if a party is divided between the Powell wing and the Coulter wing, how can it ever come together…
COULTER: Well, it isn't.
O'REILLY: ...and defeat a machine that has the American media on its side?
COULTER: Right, it certainly does…
O'REILLY: Right.
COULTER: ...which is why it's not just liberal Republicans. It's the entire media…
O'REILLY: Right.
COULTER: ...haranguing, hectoring Republicans saying you have to stop being conservative.
O'REILLY: So you have a divided party. You may be right, you may be wrong. It doesn't matter.
COULTER: Well.
O'REILLY: But the GOP is divided…
COULTER: ...the party…
O'REILLY: ...against the Democratic Party and the media. That's tough.
COULTER: Oh, it certainly is, but the party is a lot smaller than conservatives. I mean, these polls that keep being cited about how the number of people who call themselves Republicans is only 21 percent . Well, okay, something like 34 percent called themselves conservatives, whereas only 17 percent called themselves liberals or something like that. It's been like that for decades and decades. There are more conservatives than there are Republicans. So it's not a coincidence that the people who want us to lose, the media and the Democrats, keep telling us stop being conservative. We win when we're conservative. We lose when we're liberal. And we just ran that experiment again last November.
O'REILLY: But you don't always win you're conservative. Barry Goldwater got his butt kicked. So.
COULTER: And he is the one who's always been cited today as not being social on — or conservative around social issues.
O'REILLY: If Sarah Palin ran for president against Barack Obama the next time around, Sarah Palin's a conservative, traditional woman, conservative.
COULTER: Right.
O'REILLY: You would support her, right?
COULTER: Of course.
O'REILLY: OK. Do you think…
COULTER: I voted for her in the last election, not for the guy at the top of the ticket.
O'REILLY: Do you think that she has a — would have a — say the economy straightens out, all right, and say there isn't another terror attack. Those are the two wild cards, but say all things are equal. Do you think Sarah Palin because of her conservativism could beat a Barack Obama with the media on assign…
COULTER: I think a conservative could beat Barack Obama whether it's Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney or Jeff Sessions, or whomever we run.
O'REILLY: Yeah, OK.
COULTER: I mean, look at more facts that liberals want us to ignore. When Democrats are running their own candidates, they choose conservative Democrats to run. Look at how the gay marriage vote went.
O'REILLY: Yeah, but Obama's not a conservative Democrat.
COULTER: No, he certainly is not.
O'REILLY: He ran to the middle.
COULTER: When Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer are looking for Democrats, they find pro-gun Democrats, they find pro-life Democrats.
O'REILLY: Depends what it is.
COULTER: They know conservatism sells. They keep telling us to stop running conservatives.
O'REILLY: OK.
COULTER: And also.
O'REILLY: Do you get offended…
COULTER: .I'm sorry, wait a second. Just look at the gay marriage thing.
O'REILLY: Yeah.
COULTER: Obama won it in California, a liberal state like that. And yet, so did traditional marriage. In Florida, McCain won. But you know what won bigger? Traditional marriage. And then Democrats tell us (INAUDIBLE) gay marriage issue.
O'REILLY: But that means you have to get a charismatic leader like Barack Obama, with the level of charisma.
COULTER: Yeah, it would be nice to have charisma and all that.
O'REILLY: Last question on this.
COULTER: But the one thing you have to have is conservatism.
O'REILLY: Do you get offended when a guy like Colin Powell singles you out? I know it's good for your book sales and all of that, but does it bother you or you don't care?
COULTER: No, I don't care.
O'REILLY: You don't care?
COULTER: No, I, I mean, I must say there is — there's nothing harder in the world than being a black Republican. So OK.
O'REILLY: OK.
COULTER: They really get it back.
O'REILLY: You were on, was it "Larry King," is that what you were on?
COULTER: With Joy Behar.
O'REILLY: OK, right. But if Larry were there, you'd show up anyway. I mean, why not? I'm not criticizing you for it. I just don't watch it. I don't understand that show. So you and Behar are on the show together, OK. Roll the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, "VIEW" CO-HOST: I want to know if you want to be waterboarded because Sean Hannity has volunteered to be waterboarded, but I don't see him sticking his head under the faucet yet.
COULTER: Well, for one thing, about half of the male hosts on FOX News have been waterboarded on TV. I've seen worse on "Fear Factor." And no, I don't want to be waterboarded. Do you want to be…
BEHAR: Are you sure?
COULTER: Do you want to be aborted because I think you support abortion? In fact, can you abort the (INAUDIBLE) instead of waterboarding them?
BEHAR: Oh, that was quite a jump. But you know what, Ann's taking a…
COULTER: No, it's not.
BEHAR: Start smiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: I think you got her there.
COULTER: And I like the idea.
O'REILLY: Yeah, I think you got her on the do you want to be aborted?
COULTER: Of committing partial birth abortion on the terrorists.
O'REILLY: Who are the FOX News hosts who have been waterboarded, by the way?
COULTER: Oh, they're always doing it.
O'REILLY: Yeah? Who?
COULTER: I'm so impressed with these guys.
O'REILLY: Who does that? I never see that?
COULTER: At this point, more journalists have been waterboarded…
O'REILLY: Yeah.
COULTER: ...than actual terrorists.
O'REILLY: I have a list of people I'd like to have here at FOX News.
COULTER: And you know our own troops get waterboarded. The liberals didn't care about it when it was being done to our troops.
O'REILLY: Here's what I want to know. When you and Ms. Behar…
COULTER: Yes.
O'REILLY: ...get off camera, do you chat and stuff? I mean, or is it…
COULTER: Yeah, I like her.
O'REILLY: Oh, you do?
COULTER: Yeah.
O'REILLY: Genuinely as a person?
COULTER: She is a genuine comedian. And I like funny people, and she's funny.
O'REILLY: So you — there's a civil conversation and you guys trade recipes or…
COULTER: Well, this time, we were doing it by satellite. We do not trade recipes. Stop being such a sexist, Bill O'Reilly.
O'REILLY: Can't help it. But you chat and when you're on "The View"…
COULTER: Well, yeah, when I did it on…
O'REILLY: Yeah.
COULTER: Not on "The View," but she was hanging with a bad crowd that day. But when it's just Joy Behar and me, I think…
O'REILLY: There's no problem. It's like you and Maher, you guys go out on the lecture circuit.
COULTER: Also a genuine comedian.
O'REILLY: But you're not — it's off camera.
COULTER: No, we were traveling together. No.
O'REILLY: Right.
COULTER: It'll ruin both our reputations, but he's a very good person actually.
O'REILLY: All right, so he's respectful to you and…
COULTER: He's a good guy.
O'REILLY: ...you're respectful to him. And you're not calling Behar or any other word?
COULTER: No, I mean, the only thing I'll tell you generally is among all of the liberal industries, I certainly have the most secret fans and, or at least sympathizers among comedians because political correctness and comedy are like matter and anti-matter.
O'REILLY: So they admire your moxie?
COULTER: Most of the lines I get in trouble for, they'll be pulling me aside whispering to me, that was a funny line.
O'REILLY: OK, they like the line.
COULTER: A lot of them are similar to the line.
O'REILLY: But you know, they don't come out and say it publicly though. They don't stick up for you publicly. So that means they're weasels, you know that? I'm just — I'm not saying. I'm just — OK, Ann Coulter, everybody. There she is.
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