Fox’s O’Reilly, Rivera hit Bachmann for BP ‘extortion’ claim
Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 2:42 pm
- 10 Comments
Fox News hasn’t been quite as welcoming a place for Michele Bachmann these days. On Friday, Bill O’Reilly praised President Obama for getting BP to fund an escrow account for victims of the gulf oil spill, adding that he’s “not agreeing with” Bachmann’s use of terms like “extortion.” Far from it, O’Reilly says he’d “go in there with a machine gun if I were president” to secure payments from the oil giant. Then on Saturday night, Geraldo Rivera said the Sixth District Republican’s use of the term “extortion” “overstepped the bounds of even rhetoric.” Said Rivera, “You have characterized the White House as an extortionist and withheld, it seems to me, the strongest criticism for the oil company.”
O’Reilly began his interview with Bachmann with apparent chagrin.
“Whoa. Extortion? Shakedown? Look, if the executive branch, the presidency, isn’t going to force BP to pony up the money, who would?
Bachmann instead changed the subject. “The question is who will run the fund… will this fund be politicized?”
“That’s not how it came across,” O’Reilly countered, to a seemingly flustered Bachmann. He later said:
“You and Congressman Barton in Texas, using words like ‘shakedown’ and ‘extortion’ and all of that, I’m not agreeing with that. I think Obama did absolutely the right thing by putting the maximum amount of pressure on these weasels. You saw [BP CEO Tony] Hayward yesterday. Is this the biggest weasel in the world, this guy? Is there a bigger weasel on the planet than him? And you’re trusting him to do anything? … I’d go in there with a machine gun if I were president and say, ‘Hey, you put that money in here or you’re not getting out of the room…’ I think this is the best thing Obama did in the entire mess, getting the $20 billion.”
“You’re dodging my question about extortion and a shakedown,” O’Reilly said in the uncharacteristically heated exchange.
“I think they’re putting pressure on them,” she replied.
Rivera began his panel of three congressional Republicans by addressing Bachmann.
“We are fans of yours on this program,” he said. “You are scrappy, you are independent. But clearly, by comparing the White House negotiation for a $20 billion escrow account to ‘extortion’ you have overstepped the bounds of even rhetoric, don’t you agree?”
She didn’t.
In fact, she didn’t answer the question, prompting Rivera to break in, “Congresswoman, you are changing the subject. Do you withdraw the word ‘extortion’ or do you not withdraw ‘extortion’… You have characterized the White House as an extortionist and withheld, it seems to me, the strongest criticism for the oil company.”
Watch Bachmann on The O’Reilly Factor:
Watch Bachmann on Rivera’s show (fast-forward to 03:37):
10 Comments
Comment posted June 20, 2010 @ 3:54 pm
Is Bachmann’s district filled with a bunch of voters named Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo? Those are the only ones that I could think of who would actually pull the lever for that lulu.
From where I sit (over 1000 miles away from MN), we think folks in a certain district of MN may have lost their marbles. I’d be -embarassed- if she represented me.
Comment posted June 20, 2010 @ 6:32 pm
Trust us, Josh, we are embarrassed. Unfortunately, our district was one of the most gerrymandered in the country in the last redistricting and cuts across a wide swath of Minnesota’s Bible Belt, which is every bit as pernicious as anything in the Deep South. If you want to spare us, and the country, further embarrassment, please donate to Bachmann’s opponent at http://www.tarrylclark.com.
Comment posted June 20, 2010 @ 8:39 pm
I don’t think Michele has lost her marbles.She only has one remaining and it’s possible that one will come rolling out when she tilts her head to either side.This woman is a card carrying nut job!!!
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 5:40 am
I did some canvassing for the Clark campaign on Saturday on a fairly wealthy neighborhood. All republicans said they are voting for Bachmann which comprised 98% of my list. Straight ticket voters.
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 8:13 am
I fully recognize that statists, atheists, and collectivists of all stripes despise and resent Michele Bachmann. That’s half the fun of supporting her. The other half is because she’s the defender of the taxpayers and reliable opponent of all things that smack of big government.
Sometimes her rhetoric can be over the top, but as General Goldwater once said, “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 8:17 am
Her district is gerrymandered like 8 generations of inbreeding.
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 9:49 am
Dennis proves my theory about Rep. Bachmann: she is the political equivalent of the naughty child who, describes what she did in the bathroom, just to get a rise out of the grown-ups. It’s not about policy, it’s about grabbing attention. She would abandon her reliable opposition to “all things that smack of big government”* in a heartbeat, if it worked to her advantage.
BTW, Dennis, protocol in this country is that members of the Senate, including former ones, are referred to as “Senator,” even if they had a high military rank. The US does not believe in military governments on its own soil.
*Except when we’re talking about the rights of gays and lesbians. Let’s not get carried away, right, Dennis?
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 1:51 pm
You know you’re dogshit when even oriely turns on ya,,beatiful,where are you looking for your next job at?????????????????
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 3:31 pm
Why does Obama have to approve sand bags? LOL Do states not have their own emergency powers? Why are they sitting there waiting for the federal government for sand bags? Do it. Then bill BP.
Comment posted June 21, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
Bachmann is so dull that I truly believe she could not spell IQ, even with a dictionary!
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