Greta confronts Dem candidate seeking 'war' with Fox News
Democratic congressional candidate Mike Dickinson has vowed to wage 'war' against Fox News if he's elected. Let's see if he survives Greta first
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," April 10, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: A threat from a Democratic congressional candidate. As we've told you, Virginia Democrat Mike Dickinson tweeting, "If elected, I promise war on the Tea Party, FOX News, NRA and other trash.
And Mike Dickinson joins us. Good to see you, sir.
MIKE DICKINSON, DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR CONGRESS IN VIRGINIA: Good to see you, too.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, why do you hate me?
DICKINSON: Well, I have a problem with all of FOX News.
VAN SUSTEREN: No, what about me? I'm FOX News. I'm trash, apparently. What's the problem with me?
DICKINSON: I don't have a problem you personally. I have a problem with the company you work for. I think the facts are misrepresented. Every day is an attack on Obama --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Do we misrepresent here on ON THE RECORD?
DICKINSON: I can't say personally that you do.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, you don't watch that much?
DICKINSON: I don't watch that much. I can say, like the previous story with the two cowboys, you have that story and that's a good story but it should be prefaced by the fact that they're breaking the law. And that's why they got tased.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you not hear me say the court order that I read?
DICKINSON: That guy he is no hero.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you hear me say that?
DICKINSON: I did hear you say that.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, did you want me to say it twice or three times?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK.
DICKINSON: But you still put them on. In my mind, it's aggrandizing it. It's encouraging people to fight the police and fight the government. And like it's some federal government situation.
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Let's go back to this war on FOX News.
DICKINSON: Yeah, all right.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. Tell me exactly what your problem is with me.
DICKINSON: My problem with you is you have guests like the previous story, and it encourages people to fight the government. Like Obama and the federal government is a big bad authority, that they are coming to take your land and coming to take your house and coming to take your cattle.
VAN SUSTEREN: I must get you ...You must have a potato in your ear because I said the court order. I don't get it. It's like --
(LAUGHTER)
DICKINSON: You did. You did. But there's some people out there who watch your show and they watch FOX News and they --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: They have potatoes in their ear and they didn't hear that part?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: They didn't hear that part?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: The problem is not so much what I do but that the viewers have potatoes in their ears?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. All right. Now we got that sorted out.
(LAUGHTER)
The Tea Party, any Tea Party arrested in your jurisdiction?
DICKINSON: Any Tea Party arrests?
VAN SUSTEREN: Yeah, any arrests?
DICKINSON: There is a strong like Tea Party movement in --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Anyone arrested?
DICKINSON: Not that I know of.
VAN SUSTEREN: You don't think it's the First Amendment, do you?
DICKINSON: The Tea Party? No, I love the First Amendment.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why can't they have their positions?
DICKINSON: I think they can have their position. But I think they misrepresent their position. It's not "We, the people" --
VAN SUSTEREN: Because they got potatoes in their ears?
DICKINSON: The Tea Party is not the "We, the people", flag-flying, eagle-soaring, it's not the movement that they portray. Their movement is the "ME" movement. It's not "We, the people." It's "Me, the people".
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, so you think --
(CROSSTALK)
DICKINSON: They want rights that apply to them and they don't want to give those rights to anybody else.
VAN SUSTEREN: Yet, you don't want them to have the right.
(CROSSTALK)
DICKINSON: I think they have right to --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: But you want to have a war, for god's sakes. You say you want a war. You don't want to hear what they have to say?
DICKINSON: I think they need a war on them because of the fact of how they portray themselves. They portray this image as totally not who they're. It's totally not who they're.
VAN SUSTEREN: That's really bad to portray yourself as not how you are, right?
DICKINSON: Exactly.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, terrible.
Let's go to this speaking event. A letter to the "Times Dispatch," you wrote, January 29, 2012, and you claimed you were the CEO of Mid Atlantic Show Clubs, which is a group of strip clubs and stuff, right?
DICKINSON: That's correct.
VAN SUSTEREN: That wasn't true, was it?
DICKINSON: I worked for -- I was a consultant for them.
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: It says CEO of Mid Atlantic. Were you the CEO?
DICKINSON: I was, I guess, consulting operations --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: So that wasn't quite true, was it?
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: It was wrong. It was a lie. A little bit of a lie, right? Tiny one, little bit of a lie?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. You speak you like transparency. I went to your campaign website, your campaign website and it talks about who you are. It says "Meet Mike." OK. Meet Mike. And do you know what? You didn't put in here about how you were a lobbyist for strip clubs and you learned from Larry Flynt not to sugar coat but tell it how it is. But you didn't tell it like it is here, right?
DICKINSON: If somebody asks me, I will them what Larry Flynt --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: But that wasn't -- we didn't exactly meet Mike. We don't really learn about Mike here, do we?
DICKINSON: You learn about Mike on Twitter every day.
VAN SUSTEREN: Twitter, that's another thing. Let me ask the other thing. You say what you don't like about it is the loop of partisan bickering?
DICKINSON: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: I'm curious what you think when you sort of tweet about people being like you, just go out there and tweet like have a war on FOX News, including me, I guess, that you have a war on this free speech of the Tea Party. You don't like that stuff, do you?
DICKINSON: I don't care for the Tea Party.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK. But it says on your Meet Mike that you don't like this partisan bickering?
DICKINSON: My deal with the party bickering --
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you like that?
DICKINSON: -- I think all political parties are fake somewhat. Instead of somebody --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: But you said you don't like it, but you do it.
DICKINSON: I don't partisan bicker. I just say --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: If you don't, let's go to your Twitter account. You want to go to your Twitter account?
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Your Twitter account has been suspended, right?
DICKINSON: No it's been reactivated.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, but it was suspended, right?
DICKINSON: Somebody complained that I was being mean on Twitter. So all these people --
VAN SUSTEREN: Would that be that partisan bickering you don't like in the Meet Mike?
DICKINSON: No, ma'am, no.
(LAUGHTER)
VAN SUSTEREN: You don't think so?
DICKINSON: No.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you don't think the think you said on Meet Mike --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: -- that you don't like partisan bickering and then your Twitter account gets shut down, yours, for partisan bickering. I have a problem with that.
DICKINSON: Somebody said I was being mean. I was in there expressing my opinion. My view with all politicians is that politicians should say who they are and --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Then we go back to Meet Mike. You don't mention any place in this little paragraph on your website about working for Larry Flynt and writing stuff for him. You don't write about that at all, do you? You don't write about the strip clubs. You don't write that you lied to the newspaper and bragged you were the CEO of a strip club organization that you are not?
DICKINSON: I also didn't put all the stuff I put on Twitter on there either.
VAN SUSTEREN: You want to take back your war on FOX?
DICKINSON: No.
(LAUGHTER)
VAN SUSTEREN: You don't?
DICKINSON: No.
(LAUGHTER)
VAN SUSTEREN: Why are you running?
DICKINSON: I'm running for office because I think we need politicians who say what they think and who don't hold back. You should not sugar coat and you should not lie. You not --
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: You lied to the newspaper. How can you say that -- how can you possibly say that to me?
DICKINSON: I mean, I think these politicians should just be honest about what they think and who they are.
(CROSSTALK)
VAN SUSTEREN: I mean, like, why did you lie to the newspaper?
DICKINSON: I'm not lying. There's a lot of politicians out there at war with FOX. But how many other ones have come out and said it? Would you agree with me on that?
VAN SUSTEREN: Oh, you know, Mike, it's going to be a long election. I hope you will you come back? Will you come back?
(LAUGHTER)
DICKINSON: I will come back any time you like.
VAN SUSTEREN: You are a piece of work.
Anyway, Mike, thank you. Good luck in your campaign.
DICKINSON: Thank you very much.
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