Matt Ortega

"We don't throw the first punch, but we'll throw the last."
--Senator Barack Obama

Thursday, March 2, 2006

O’Reilly: Homie Don’t Play That

Bill O’Reilly is Mr. Black People. Earlier this week, O’Reilly engaged in a debate with a caller over President Bush and his efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. The caller was disgusted that very few of the jobs in the reconstruction effort are going to locals. O’Reilly tried to defend the President and, well, you decide how well he did.

February 27 broadcast of The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly:

CALLER: Okay, Bill. I’m going to expand on [rapper/producer] Kanye West’s statement and say that George Bush doesn’t care about American people. After Katrina, he passed a law making it so his no-bid contracting buddies could bring in a bunch of illegal immigrants, instead of putting Americans to work, plus it took them five days to get down there. Straight after [former President] Lyndon Johnson, who showed up the same day as the flood and put Americans to work.

Now, you look at this thing with the — Dubai. He’s out here waving a veto pen. Didn’t even let the governors know. Didn’t let other potential American bidders know. Didn’t let hardly anybody know about this — this deal.

BILL O’REILLY: Well, he says he didn’t know.

E.D. HILL (co-host): Well, wait –

CALLER: That even makes it worse, Bill. How can the administration –

E.D. HILL: American companies –

CALLER: — approve this thing without him even knowing about it?

BILL O’REILLY: Well look, [caller], here’s the deal. On the rebuilding of New Orleans, you’ve got to use contractors that can do the job. So, you can’t be — you know, if you’ve got contractors who specialize in infrastructure rebuilding, you’ve got to bring them in. And the homies, you know, who you don’t know — I mean, they’re just not going to get the job.