During his Talking Points Memo at the top of Wednesday's O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, host Bill O'Reilly called out NBC Today co-host Matt Lauer for denouncing Republican efforts to cut spending on things like "climate control": "Are you kidding me, Lauer? Funding for climate control? Nobody can control the climate but God. So give a little extra at mass or services."
As NewsBusters reported, on Wednesday's Today, Lauer lamented: "...some of the things the Tea Party and others on the far right are asking for – no funding for Planned Parenthood, no funding for climate control, public broadcasting." In response, O'Reilly remarked: "Funding for Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting when the debt stands at 14 trillion? Have a telethon on the Today show for those concerns. Raise the money privately. This is nuts. The country's nearly bankrupt. China holds more than a trillion dollars of our debt and you guys want climate control funding? I feel a cold front coming on."
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BILL O'REILLY: Liberal Americans simply do not want to cut spending very much. They want to take from affluent Americans in order to expand income redistribution. And they want an entitlement society like Holland and other European countries have. Listen to this exchange on the Today show.
MATT LAUER: And when you look at some of the things the Tea Party and others on the far right are asking for – no funding for Planned Parenthood, no funding for climate control, public broadcasting – does it seem to you, Senator, that this is less about a fiscal debate or an economic policy debate and they're making an ideological stand here?
CHUCK SCHUMER [SEN. D-NY]: That's exactly right, Matt. You've hit the nail on the head. Even in the cuts they want to make, we can find other cuts that don't cut into the muscle, that don't prevent students who deserve to go to college from going to college. And they're saying no, not because they care about the deficit, but they have an ideology just to get rid of all government.
O'REILLY: They don't want to get rid of all government, Senator Schumer, just unnecessary government. And are you kidding me, Lauer? Funding for climate control? Nobody can control the climate but God. So give a little extra at mass or services. Funding for Planned Parenthood and public broadcasting when the debt stands at 14 trillion? Have a telethon on the Today show for those concerns. Raise the money privately. This is nuts. The country's nearly bankrupt. China holds more than a trillion dollars of our debt and you guys want climate control funding? I feel a cold front coming on.
— Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
