This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," June 28, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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LAURA INGRAHAM, GUEST HOST: Our top story tonight: the media mob lashes out at Michele Bachmann. Not only has the Minnesota congresswoman announced she's running for president, she believes the Obama administration fears her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELE BACHMANN, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president of the United is threatened by my candidacy. He fears me. He sees me as a serious, substantive competitor. I think he sees that I have a very clear path to victory for the nomination, and I think that he wants to do whatever he can to diminish me because he thinks he will have to see me in the debates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: And the lamestream media cannot wait to diminish her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC HOST: What is this, Michael, a Protestant reformation that somehow we're going back to the purity of the original Christian Church? We're going back to the original perfection of slave holders and how perfect they were and government is the enemy. She speaks pure Tea Party lingo.
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Bachmann wants nothing but pure socialism coming out of the Agriculture Department every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
INGRAHAM: The question is: Why the viciousness from the press? What are they so afraid of? Joining us now from New York are Fox News analysts and talk radio stars, Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes.
ALAN COLMES, FOX NEWS ANALYST: Hi, Laura.
INGRAHAM: All right. Now let me just tell you my theory very briefly and I want to hear whether you disagree or agree. What I think is that Michele Bachmann emerged as the one candidate who both the elites on the left and on the right fear. They don't like her. I mean, it would have been a Huckabee if he was in the race or Palin if she had been in the race. But they're not in the race. It's Michele Bachmann and she's surged in the last couple of weeks. So Michele Bachmann is persona non grata and she is the target. And she is front and center and she should expect it. Alan, do you agree or disagree?
COLMES: Well, she should expect it. And she shouldn't get so offended when she was asked if you're a flake. And she's all offended by it; she finally accepted the apology. I -- I've got to laugh when she says that Obama fears her. The guy who killed bin Laden fears Michele Bachmann.
INGRAHAM: Well, he didn't personally kill bin Laden.
COLMES: She brings this on himself -- herself by saying statements that are not true. And forget the stuff that she thinks like Lexington and Concord are in Massachusetts or that she thinks John Quincy Adams is a Founding Father. She has not adequately answered questions about farm subsidies that she received; a farm that she actually partly owns that she said she didn't. About moneys that go to Minnesota that she said -- she's against anybody else getting it but she gets the goodies. Those are the issues that she has to really answer honestly about; something she has not yet done.
INGRAHAM: Yes, well, I think -- I think, Monica -- look, I think Obama would fear someone like a Michele Bachmann. I know the elites think she has no chance, counting her out. But I've heard this refrain before. She is the Tea Party -- closest to Tea Party person that's out there. And if she caught fire, I say beware all of these people.
MONICA CROWLEY, FOX NEWS ANALYST: Absolutely. In fact, I think that's exactly what's going on here, Laura. What we're witnessing is another edition of conservative woman derangement syndrome. We saw this go on with Governor Palin and now we're seeing with Michele Bachmann. Why? Because you have very strong, articulate conservative women who actually walk the walk, Laura. They put their money where their mouth is. They don't just give bromides about being pro-life, pro-gun. They actually live their lives according to those conservative principles. So therefore, they represent an existential threat to liberalism.
Can you imagine for one second, for one second if either Governor Palin or Michele Bachmann gained real traction with women, a core constituency of the Democratic base? If they started hemorrhaging women because women started responding to Michele Bachmann or Governor Palin's message about constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility and free market, the Democrats would be sunk. Therefore they need to destroy both of these women and that's what you are seeing right now with Michele Bachmann.
COLMES: They are not destroying her by simply explaining the things she says which are not true. And it's not living by conservative principles to take farm subsidies when you're against everybody else getting it.
INGRAHAM: Oh, Alan, that's a long list.
COLMES: She is -- she is an acceptor of socialism. She's the beneficiary of socialism. Something she claims she's against. That is not conservative principles.
INGRAHAM: Alan, let me turn to a hypothetical question.
COLMES: Yes, please, hypothetical.
INGRAHAM: This is cable news. We love hypos.
COLMES: Yes.
INGRAHAM: OK, let's say she had basically a similar background, professional background, kind of stable and pretty cool personal background and, yet, she were a liberal and she espoused liberal ideas, maybe about abortion or marriage or politics in some way, economics. Don't you think she would be hailed as a strong, forward-thinking, liberal leader that is capturing the imagination of one segment of the population? I think she would be hailed.
COLMES: Well, I don't disagree with that -- I don't disagree with that because I think she is a strong person who is capturing the imagination on the conservative side but she still has not answered certain key questions that I referenced earlier. And she still has not…
INGRAHAM: Well, she just got in the race, right. She just got in the race.
COLMES: …accounted for some of the things that -- she has not directly answered questions when asked by Chris Wallace and a bunch of other people. And she continues to make these faux pas. And then, like someone today edited her Wikipedia profile to have John Quincy Adams be a Founding Father. I mean, she's always right. She won't even admit a mistake.
INGRAHAM: Well, Alan, when the president says there are 57 states or says Navy corpsmen four times, come on.
COLMES: OK, you keep that 57 states and corpsman you know that's all you got. Every single time you bring up something on the right, all you got is 57 states and corpsmen. It's old already. Come up with something new. Michele Bachmann said this stuff today.
INGRAHAM: How do you deal with him at Thanksgiving, Monica? How do you deal with this man at the holiday table?
CROWLEY: Don't even -- the fact that you just mentioned that, Laura, I'm having post-traumatic stress syndrome. Look, in fact, Alan asked for a new Obama gaffe. A couple of weeks ago he used the words "feets" as in how many shoes do you wear on your "feets"? Nobody picked that up, OK.
COLMES: All right, OK. You're right, he's a complete moron.
CROWLEY: Excuse me. I also think there's a huge element of sexism here, Laura, because, for example, when our colleague Chris Wallace, who has since apologized, but when he said on Sunday morning are you a flake? I cannot imagine a male candidate getting that question.
INGRAHAM: Any man being asked that question. I agree. I didn't like it.
CROWLEY: Or frankly, Hillary Clinton getting that question.
INGRAHAM: Yes.
COLMES: Yes, because she is not a flake.
INGRAHAM: Well Alan, here -- Alan here is -- here is what -- here is what I think ultimately does matter is your performance, right, in office and -- and the question is for Democrats, is it more important that you say millions of jobs will be saved and created as a result of x policy and then that doesn't happen. Or is it more important, frankly, if Obama makes a gaffe about 57 states…
COLMES: But what policy has she got? For example, if she says if we do away with the minimum wage, we'll create -- we'll do away with the job deficit. There is no evidence of that whatsoever. What policy has she got?
INGRAHAM: Alan, the one thing -- do you -- Alan, do you think Obama's policies are working?
COLMES: Yes. In fact, they would have worked better with a bigger and more robust stimulus.
INGRAHAM: They are?
COLMES: We needed a bigger stimulus and that would have worked even better.
INGRAHAM: OK, so if we spent more money then it would really be working.
COLMES: Yes, much better.
INGRAHAM: OK, so that that's the question for the people.
COLMES: Yes.
INGRAHAM: And Monica, I think in the end whether -- whether a staffer prepared some blue card that had the wrong point about John Wayne's birthplace but none of that is going to matter in the end.
COLMES: Oh a staffer did it. OK.
INGRAHAM: In the end, none of it is going to matter. In the end, what you believe and whether you connect with the American people and their values at a time of great economic distress…
CROWLEY: Yes, yes.
INGRAHAM: …I think that's what matters. I think, Alan is right about this. Alan, you're right about one thing. She should get used to it. Because if you're a conservative woman in the United States and you're unapologetic about your views, guess what? It's going to be open season on you.
COLMES: It's not about being a woman. Stop playing the woman card. This is not about anti-feminism.
INGRAHAM: It doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother Monica. Monica, does it happen to you?
CROWLEY: Yes and that's why I said it's a conservative woman derangement syndrome because we represent an existential threat to them. That's why they have to take these women out metaphorically speaking before they can gain any traction.
COLMES: All you've got to do is present her own words to her.
INGRAHAM: Yes, Alan, Monica, I wish we had the whole hour because I'm transporting myself to the Thanksgiving table.
CROWLEY: Yes, it's ugly. It's ugly, Laura.
COLMES: You don't want to be there.
INGRAHAM: Yes, I'm coming next year. Thanks a lot guys.
COLMES: It's not pretty.
CROWLEY: You're perfectly welcome.
INGRAHAM: Thank you.
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