Tuesday, April 26, 2005
When Pundits Attack
Is there trouble in Bobo's Paradise? Apparently. There is something of a feud brewing between Right wing pundits, pitting Fox News stalwarts Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly against the bile-spewing, hate-mongering Michael Savage. Savage is so bad, that he actually makes you want to side with O'Reilly and Hannity - a sympathy I never thought I would feel.
Poor Bill O'Reilly is feeling the heat from other fellow conservatives as well. First the loofah, now this. Bill needs a hug.
[Note: these stories were reported in the New York Post which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. which also owns Fox News, so the reporting might be biased in favor of Fox's employees]
The controversial conservative [Savage] — who was fired by MSNBC in 2003 after referring to a caller to his show as "a sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die" — recently burned more bridges by calling O'Reilly a "Leper-Con who poses as a conservative" and Hannity "another Republican bootlicker who began as a Rush [Limbaugh] understudy" on his "Savage Nation" radio show.In response, Fox News has canceled a string of appearances slated for Savage in the weeks ahead. Savage took to whining about the treatment:
"These two are now acting the way the mainstream media has been acting for decades, thinking they are the gatekeepers of who shall be heard in the conservative world," Savage sputtered in a statement.Ironic that the movement of personal responsibility spawns pundits that can't seem to grasp the fact that they will be held accountable for their vitriol. Memo to Savage: if you utter gratuitously insulting personal attacks on people, they might not invite you on their shows. This may or may not be unfair, but it's the way the world works.
"Both are jealous of my audience and are trying to silence me because they do not want the competition."
Poor Bill O'Reilly is feeling the heat from other fellow conservatives as well. First the loofah, now this. Bill needs a hug.
The gay-bashing broadcaster isn't the only publicity hound taking aim at O'Reilly, the undisputed king of cable news.Now, now boys can't you all play nice. Where's Ann Coulter with that ruler to instill a little discipline. Or, rather, is this the infighting that David Brooks claims makes the conservative movement stronger? Ingenious.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue, famed for firing off several press releases a day to media outlets, is ticked that O'Reilly once described him as a "witch-hunter" and Pope John Paul II as an "autocrat."
"My members are a little bit fed up with him," Donohue claims. "I guess he feels like if he is to the left of me, he'll appear more fair and balanced. We're on the same side philosophically on most issues. But I feel like, when someone crosses the line from criticism to disparagement, I'm gonna call them on it."
A Fox News Channel spokesperson responds: "One is a well-known hater, and the other is a notorious publicity hound. We congratulate them on their successful attention-grabbing efforts."
[Note: these stories were reported in the New York Post which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. which also owns Fox News, so the reporting might be biased in favor of Fox's employees]
