As you may know, the Tea Party held a convention in Nashville over the weekend. Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker and spent some time defining the movement, beginning with President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN: There are many things that he is doing today that cause an uneasiness in many, many Americans. I'm one of those who looks at the way that he is treating the trials of these terrorists kind of as, gosh, they're on a crime spree right now. No, we are in war. These are acts of war that these terrorists are committing. Please hear us. Congress, you have constitutional limits, and we want you to adhere to those. We have free market principles that built our country. Mr. President, we want you to remember those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well it took just moments after that before the left-wing media replied, hammering Governor Palin:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SHRUM, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: What we heard tonight was more a masterful exercise, masterful in paranoid politics. I mean, she came across to me as a merchant of hate with an "oh gosh" smile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Now, all of this is utterly predictable. The Tea Party people do not like the liberal vision of big government and want a tougher strategy on terrorism. The far-left media despises that. Therefore they must attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL SAMMON, FOX NEWS WASHINGTON MANAGING EDITOR: The mainstream media hates the Tea Party movement almost as much as it hates Sarah Palin, and the reason is simple. That's because both are a threat. Palin is a threat down the road, whether it be in 2012 or beyond. The Tea Party is a threat because it is galvanizing Republicans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
What Bill Sammon said is absolutely true. Of course, he was attacked.
NBC News correspondent Chuck Todd said: "Come on, Bill Sammon, an absurd attack and you know it, that [the mainstream media] hates tea party movement? Please. Didn't expect a shot like that from u."
After reading Mr. Todd's statement, "The Factor" began to research the mainstream media's coverage of the Tea Party. We found only two – two — positive comments amidst thousands of reports: one by The Detroit News, the other by the Associated Press.
I mean, this is stunning. The establishment media cannot even admire the spirit of the movement, that is Americans getting involved and trying to improve their country.
Look at it this way. You can disagree with the Tea Party people, but the spirit of honest citizen involvement in government is noble. Is it not?
Yes, the Tea Party deal has elements of extremism in it. For example, I think folks who push the birther nonsense are very misguided and some of those people embrace the Tea Party.
But the American media will never embrace the Tea Party. Why? Well, generally speaking, they look down on the folks. They think you are dumb.
But the Tea Party is around, and it's only going to get stronger.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
As you may know, I was desperately wrong on my Super Bowl prediction. It's the first time in years I got it wrong, as the New Orleans Saints were simply brilliant on the field. Quarterback Drew Brees dominated the game, and this is a great American story. A team that had never won much of anything becoming the Super Bowl champs, representing a city that is making a hard-fought comeback itself. We salute the New Orleans Saints and the good people of the Gulf Coast. They are patriots.
On the pinhead front, reacting to the Tim Tebow ad, NOW President Terry O'Neill objected to the tackling sequence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY O'NEILL, NOW PRESIDENT: What I saw was a pro-violence against women message, not the sort of thing that CBS can be proud of, surely. Now, isn't it interesting that the ad connects the idea of male happiness with violating — committing violence against a woman? It's really a disturbing message when you think about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Pinhead? You make the call.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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