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Published January 13, 2015
This is a partial transcript from The O'Reilly Factor, August 15, 2001.
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the Personal Story segment tonight, Gary Condit wants to run again for Congress, if you can believe it, even though polls say 53 percent of its constituents will not vote for him. The question is: Will the Democratic Party support this man?
Joining us now from Sacramento is Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser to the California Democratic Party.
Mr. Mulholland, I hope you're not going to tell me you're going to support Gary Condit.
BOB MULHOLLAND, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Hey, on March 5th, it's up to the voters of this great state. We have 53 congressional races. We'll have 53 Democratic nominees, and the Democratic Party will be supporting them all.
O'REILLY: So you're going to give this guy money if he starts -- if he runs?
MULHOLLAND: We -- we work closely with all the nominees, as well as our 80 assembly members and 20 states senators, as well as our eight statewide candidates. and, you know, we usually spend about $25 million in California on the Democratic Party.
O'REILLY: So you're going to give him money, is what you're going to do.
MULHOLLAND: We usually don't give money directly to congressional candidates because of the federal laws, but we definitely help all the congressional as well as the legislative candidates with voter registration, get out the vote, press conferences, literature.
O'REILLY: And you're going to help Condit the way you would help anybody else.
MULHOLLAND: Well, if he's the nominee -- remember unlike the...
O'REILLY: Well, he's going to be the nominee. I mean...
MULHOLLAND: Unlike -- yeah. It's a -- it's a very strange rule in a democracy. The voters have the final say, and the voters...
O'REILLY: Yeah, that's true, but, I mean, I -- I want the Democratic Party to walk away from this guy because...
MULHOLLAND: Well, I mean -- why? Because -- because some...
O'REILLY: Why?
MULHOLLAND: Because some pundit or talk-show host says they should? That's ridiculous.
O'REILLY: No! Because he was -- he's guilty of bad behavior. Doesn't that mean anything to you anymore?
MULHOLLAND: Well, I -- well, look it, if you took that as the rule, half the Republicans in Congress would have to resign tomorrow.
O'REILLY: And none of the Democrats?
MULHOLLAND: Helen Chenowith or Henry Hyde or Dan Burton, I mean, or - - and Newt Gingrich six years with a mistress, and then he married...
O'REILLY: All right. Do you want me to match you politician for politician?
MULHOLLAND: Hey -- hey, I...
O'REILLY: Let's see. Ted Kennedy. Bill Clinton. I can throw you names all day long.
MULHOLLAND: Yeah, but -- but, see, the rule of a democracy is the voters have the final...
O'REILLY: No, no, no. But there's a -- wait. That -- don't hide behind that.
MULHOLLAND: No, no.
O'REILLY: You guys have a structure. You have a structure in the Democratic Party, OK, and I'm...
MULHOLLAND: And we support the nominees.
O'REILLY: ... and I'm saying to you, if there's somebody who's running that is guilty of bad, tawdry behavior, why would you support the man? You don't have to support him. You can say, "I don't like this guy. I don't want him in our party."
MULHOLLAND: Well, actually, we have a very strange rule out here in California. We do leave it to the voters. The voters have the say in California.
O'REILLY: No, no, no. No, no, no. The voters can vote who they want to vote for.
MULHOLLAND: Absolutely. And that's...
O'REILLY: You don't have to support anybody. There's no mandate...
MULHOLLAND: Oh, no, no, no. Our bylaws -- our bylaws say we help our Democratic nominee. I mean, what kind of political party...
O'REILLY: Now wait a minute..
MULHOLLAND: ... would we be if we didn't help our...
O'REILLY: Your bylaws don't say you have to help everybody who's running for office.
MULHOLLAND: We don't help...
O'REILLY: You can pick and choose who to help.
MULHOLLAND: We -- we don't help Republicans. Let me put it that way.
O'REILLY: You don't have to help every Democrat. Listen, if David Duke came to your state and got the Democratic nomination in -- in some small place, district, you're going to kick him all that money, are you, Mr. Mulholland?
MULHOLLAND: See, there's an example of guy who is out of sync with everybody in America, and that's why he's spending all his time in Moscow.
O'REILLY: All right. Right. So you wouldn't support him, would you?
MULHOLLAND: Absolutely not. In fact, I...
O'REILLY: OK!
MULHOLLAND: I went to Louisiana, and I...
O'REILLY: So don't have to support everybody. Why are you going to support Condit if he's guilty of terrible behavior?
MULHOLLAND: That's your view. Let the voters decide that.
O'REILLY: That's not your view?
MULHOLLAND: No, not at this point.
O'REILLY: Really?
MULHOLLAND: I -- really. I think the authorities in Washington, D.C., are struggling with a case of a missing woman, and I think the journalists are on another endeavor, which is to go after another politician, and you guys do it very well.
O'REILLY: You don't think that Gary Condit, Mr. Mulholland, is guilty of bad behavior in this case?
MULHOLLAND: Well, as I -- as I said a minute ago, if I start taking moral views of all the congressmembers in Washington, D.C., half the Republicans would have to resign.
O'REILLY: Well, half the Democrats would have to resign, too.
MULHOLLAND: No, I don't think so. I think there are a lot fewer than...
O'REILLY: Well, of course. Of course you would think so because you're a Democrat. But I just gave...
MULHOLLAND: No, but also -- also, the...
O'REILLY: You give me a name. I'll give you a name. We could go down the list...
MULHOLLAND: Yeah, but the...
O'REILLY: ... of tawdry behavior.
MULHOLLAND: The difference is the Republicans run on morals, and -- you know...
O'REILLY: All right. Well, maybe that is the difference, but I'm saying to you...
MULHOLLAND: They're usually on their third or fourth wife.
O'REILLY: If I were you and I was a respected member of the Democratic Party, I wouldn't support a guy like Gary Condit simply because...
MULHOLLAND: Look it...
O'REILLY: ... he was so cruel to one of his constituents.
MULHOLLAND: You guys -- you guys -- not you necessarily, but the journalists took a security guy in Atlanta at the Olympics...
O'REILLY: He's not running for office, Mr. Mulholland.
MULHOLLAND: No, no, but -- but my point is you guys convicted him, hanged him, and, ultimately, it turned out...
O'REILLY: All we're talking about is how Condit treated the Levy family.
MULHOLLAND: No, but my point -- my point is...
O'REILLY: That's all we're talking about.
MULHOLLAND: ... you guys convicted that guy, and he ended up getting paid lots of money by the networks, I think, ultimately, the -- remember what the polls show, is that when you say, "Who's got the most favorable ratings -- journalists, politicians, or used car sales men?" Politicians do the best.
O'REILLY: Mr. Mulholland...
MULHOLLAND: Yes, Bill.
O'REILLY: ... this is the no-spin zone. You know that. Now I can say the Baltimore Orioles aren't going to win the pennant. It has nothing to do with what we're talking about. What happened to Mr. Jewell has nothing to do with Gary Condit because Gary Condit is simply guilty right now of bad behavior, yet the Democratic Party...
MULHOLLAND: Well, what the -- what you're...
O'REILLY: ... is going to help him get re-elected, and I think it's outrageous. I'll give you the last word.
MULHOLLAND: Well, a political party -- that's what we're here for to help our nominees, especially those selected by the voters, and the voters have the final say and will be with all our nominees.
O'REILLY: All right. I'm going to tell David Duke he should move to California.
MULHOLLAND: Hey, he's a -- he's a Republican. We hope he does move here.
O'REILLY: All right. Mr. Mulholland, thanks very much.
MULHOLLAND: Thanks, Bill.
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