Comedian Jackie Mason Steps Up To Protect Christmas

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," December 2, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Back of the Book" segment tonight, as we told you in the "Talking Points Memo," the pro-Christmas forces are winning the fight this year. More and more retail stores are using the words "Merry Christmas" in advertising, and the "Happy Holiday" crowd is on the run.

And now Jackie Mason has joined the Christmas teams. It could be all over for the secularists. Mr. Mason joins us now.

So why do you think this is happening. It didn't happen when you were a kid, did it?

JACKIE MASON, COMEDIAN: It didn't even happen two or three years ago. It just suddenly started happening the last year or two. And it's a form of insanity.

I think these people represent nobody. The people that are against the word "Christmas" don't represent the Jews in the world. You would have to have a CIA man following Jews around for the next nine years to find one Jew that's against the words "Merry Christmas." Doesn't disturb a Jew. Does it disturb a gentile if a Jew says "Happy Hanukkah"?

But just you look, the gentiles are now a big, big majority. So because they represent 90 percent of the people, all of a sudden you see if you're a religion but you're not too well known, you're a small religion, you can go out and say "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Yom Kippur," everything else. But as soon as you get popular, you're allowed to have the same religion, but you're not allowed to mention it.

Somehow, it's a dirty word to mention Christmas. Christmas is all about love and brotherhood.

O'REILLY: You know, we did a poll...

MASON: I never heard a Jew that's disturbed by it. Who's disturbed by it?

O'REILLY: I got a few letters from Jewish people who are. But I agree with you, overwhelmingly Jewish Americans like the season. They enjoy the season.

MASON: They enjoy every part of it.

O'REILLY: But we had a poll this week: 90 percent of Americans, 90 percent celebrate Christmas. But somehow, somebody ha intimidated the CEO's of Sears and Wal-Mart and a lot of these other places. Who are these people?

MASON: First of all, there's no constituency for it. If you — I'm telling you that the people who are making these complaints represent nobody but themselves. UCLA (sic) types, anti-religionists, secularists is what you talk about all the time. They're people who have a guilty conscious about anything they might do that's dirty or off-color or vulgar or obscene.

Is there something wrong with a country that pornography is so popular and if, God forbid, if you question the rights of — to disseminate porn, right away it's freedom of speech. You're allowed to do all the pornography you want. You can't challenge it; it's freedom of speech.

Rap singers tell you how to kill people day and right. You've been doing it on your show all the time.

O'REILLY: Right.

MASON: You can't stop a rap singer from telling people to kill every Jew in the world or be gentile or be a short person or be homosexual everybody. You know why? Because it's freedom of speech.

But if you want to say something good, talk about love and brotherhood by recognizing Christ as the savior and everybody wants to enjoy the merriment, all this is not allowed (ph). The Ku Klux Klan is allowed to march. They go out to holler Ku Klux Klan, but God forbid you had a Christmas tree in front of it. They wouldn't be allowed. We call the Ku Klux Klan, but if they said "Merry Christmas," they'd be wiped out.

O'REILLY: But there has — there has to be a power behind this. I think it's the George Soros crew. You know?

MASON: These are sick people. See, there's — somehow it's a popular thing. It's in now to be — to hate religion. It's in how to be hip, to be a swinger because they're living a dirty, filthy, obscene, vulgar life and they're guilt-ridden about it. So any connection with religion somehow feels like an interference to their lifestyle. So they want to eliminate religion; they shouldn't feel dirty.

O'REILLY: How do you read the ACLU?

MASON: These ACLU are a bunch of sick people who fight for anything that's anti-American, anything that's dirty or vulgar, and they hate anything that's respectable or decent.

O'REILLY: But they're supposed to be protecting our rights.

MASON: You know, that the ACLU protected the right at a museum to have dung thrown over Mary, over the mother of Christ?

O'REILLY: Yes. Right.

MASON: Because they protected their right to do it. Not only that, to have it a work of art. And the government should support it and it should be in a museum.

O'REILLY: You're not an ACLU member then?

MASON: You're allowed to destroy — you're allowed to destroy the mother of God, but you can't mention Christ because that's dirty.

O'REILLY: I understand. You're not an ACLU member, huh?

MASON: We live in a sick world.

O'REILLY: We live in a very interesting country. All right, Jackie Mason, onboard.

MASON: I'm so glad you stood up, because this will do a lot for your ratings. Once I show up, it does a lot.

O'REILLY: Yes, I hope so. I hope so. But more important...

MASON: Now you'll become more popular, once they know Jackie Mason was there. You're going to make a comfortable living now. You've got nothing to worry about.

O'REILLY: All right.

MASON: I was worried about your career.

O'REILLY: I know, and I appreciate the concern. More importantly, you're with the good guys. Jackie Mason.

Now we'll wrap things up...

MASON: I'm crazy about you, and I don't care if I'm the only one.

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