This is a rush transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," June 9, 2008. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Impact" segment tonight: the far-left party in Minnesota.
The public opinion descent of the Bush administration has corresponded with the rise and the profile of the radical left in America. Shortly after 9/11, these people had gone to ground taking their stridently anti-American message with them. But now they are back big time, led by the media, Hollywood, and big money-backers like George Soros.
Now I document the danger from the radical left in my book "Culture Warrior," if you want specifics. But this evening, we'd just like to give you a sample of what the lunatic left was up to this past weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad media hurts real people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bill O'Reilly, kiss my (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
ROBERT "BIKO" BAKER, LEAGUE OF YOUNG VOTERS: The truth of the matter is America, if you turn on the TV, is a racist, sexist, xenophobic society when you turn on the TV. We're afraid of Muslims, we're afraid of gay people, we're afraid of African-Americans, and we're afraid of working-class white folks.
ROBERT GREENWALD, DIRECTOR OF THE FILM "XANADU": We do have two visitors from FOX News right there down front here. We do need to make life in terms of their communicating these images back to the liars, distorters and people at FOX News.
REV. LENNOX YEARWOOD, HIP-HOP CAUCUS PRESIDENT: So either you are FOX News or fake news. It is time to step up now and to reveal yourself. And I hope that you print this, because you should know the madness that you have put forward, the people who have died, that FOX News is complicit in this madness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: By the way, our crew felt they were in physical danger at that conference.
Joining us now from Washington to assess the situation, FOX News analyst Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham.
All right, Mary Katharine. Now the key question here is: Are these just loons to be ignored? And you know, obviously they're unstable people. There's no doubt about it. But I think that they're a threat. I think that they can do a lot of damage to America and they are doing a lot of damage on the Internet, in the media, and with George Soros and his billions of dollars. I mean, they want to take over power here in this country. Am I wrong?
MARY KATHARINE HAM, POLITICAL ANALYST: No, I don't think you're wrong. They do want to take over power. This conference this weekend was specifically about taking power within the media. This is a group of people living in an alternative universe and apparently studying in the Reverend Wright school of oratory, discussing the fact that conservatives have entirely too much control over the media, and that the media is sort of consolidating at this frightening level. They seem to think, despite the fact that you can get any kind of information on the Internet at any time and that the Huffington Post is regularly breaking stories, and that there's all kinds of things out there for you to access. I think they're pretty wrong on this point.
And the fact is that when you get — if you get liberals in office who are willing to listen to these folks, and they do drive a lot of money to the party and to liberal candidates, you're going to get things like the Fairness Doctrine and these very sort of status policies that want to make sure that liberals have their say in the media, even when the market doesn't want them to.
O'REILLY: Well, bottom line is they want, Juan, they want to shut FOX News up. And you said that many times. And you used to work for The Washington Post. You used to work for NPR and PBS. And they don't want any dissenting voices. It's ridiculous to assert that conservatives control the media because it's 10 to 1 liberal to conservative. And FOX News, this is the interesting thing, Juan, both the Clinton campaign and the McCain campaign say that we're the fairest of all the networks so far in the primary situation. I mean, you have hardcore Democrats like Terry McAuliffe saying that publicly. These people don't care about that. They don't want any dissent. They're fascists, right?
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, that's the problem. I mean, if you look at the numbers, not numbers done by FOX News, but numbers done by independent pollsters, what they come back and say is that conservatives, conservative news consumers are the ones who think the media is the most biased. Liberals, for the most part, don't think that. I mean, they have some problem, you know, but I think it's now more — it's about 50 percent of the liberals say oh, it's unbiased. It's no problem.
But if you went to the conference this weekend, they have such anger and fury. Anybody who has anything good to say about America is a dupe, is a non-critical thinking person, lacking faculty. Just as that guy said, America is xenophobic, racist, sexist…
O'REILLY: And that's all you hear.
WILLIAMS: …that's the reality.
O'REILLY: There are no dissenting voices in that conference, Mary Katharine, because if you do, you feel threatened. I mean, actually threatened. Look, all you've got to do is look at what Hillary Clinton got from the far left. Hillary Clinton's a liberal woman, correct? Liberal woman?
HAM: It's true. I mean, and I think that's why Republicans to some extent warmed up to Hillary during the Republican process. She became the Republican of the Democratic primary. She was badly treated by the media. She was tragically unhip according to all the ultra left. And you know, that's what we're talking about here. These guys make up the tiny percentage of people in that Rasmussen poll that came out this week that actually think Obama got the worst treatment in the primary.
O'REILLY: Let me just say...
HAM: I mean, it's just...
O'REILLY: ...the Rasmussen poll says only 17 percent of Americans believe that the media today offers unbiased coverage. Seventeen percent. Eighty-three percent of Americans believe the fix is in in the media.
But the hatred, Juan — you're an African-American. I mean, you know this much better than I do. The hatred level at that conference, not just toward FOX News, but everything about America, traditional America, was just off the chart. I mean, I know you've got right-wing nuts that are haters. I got it, but not at this level.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
O'REILLY: Not at this level.
WILLIAMS: Well, see, they believe that it is at this level, Bill. And they believe that they are, in fact, matching the heat and the bitterness that comes from the far right with their own anger. You know, they remember swift-boating. And so they're out there and they're saying, oh, FOX News is part of this right-wing conspiracy. Remember that language from Hillary — all that — and so, they think by heating it up and distorting to their ends, that they are somehow providing balance.
As I said, the polls don't indicate that even when it came to coverage of Obama and Clinton. What most Americans say is the press is universally almost favorable towards Obama. They don't expect that they're going to be too favorable to John McCain.
O'REILLY: Except FOX News. FOX News wasn't favorable...
WILLIAMS: Exactly.
O'REILLY: ....toward Obama.
WILLIAMS: But you know what?
O'REILLY: We played it straight.
HAM: They're not willing to admit that.
WILLIAMS: But you know, Bill, you should know this for yourself because you've been victimized, vilified, demonized.
O'REILLY: Yes, I'm public enemy No. 1. Last question...
WILLIAMS: That's what I'm saying.
O'REILLY: Yes, I mean, but look...
WILLIAMS: So if you're talking about the future of this country, you got to realize they're making it difficult to have a civil, logical discussion...
O'REILLY: And you know what they're doing, Juan?
WILLIAMS: ...unless you put...
O'REILLY: We're making it difficult for them because we're outing them every time they do it. Mary Katharine, one last question.
WILLIAMS: That's good.
HAM: Well, what they want eventually is to use the government to shut down conservative messages.
O'REILLY: Absolutely, that's what they want.
HAM: That's exactly what they want to do.
O'REILLY: And they're trying...
HAM: It's totally fascist.
O'REILLY: I don't think that'll happen. But what do you think about Moyers and Rather showing up at this? I mean, talk about — these two guys were actually powerhouses a few years ago at CBS News. And here they are among the lunatic fringe. Go ahead, Mary Katharine, real quick.
HAM: I think, yes, there's some, you know, cognitive dissonance going on here, where they're talking about a new media paradigm. They've got two of the oldest dinosaurs of old media talking. But what they have in common is that they do want to shut down conservative messages. They give these Orwellian speeches about how they want to improve diversity and media. They don't. They want to shut it down. And they were getting all sorts of cheers about it.
O'REILLY: OK. Mary Katharine, Juan, thanks very much.
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