Rosie O'Donnell may have worried about the threat of "radical Christianity," but Ben Affleck's defense of Islam thrilled the View host on Monday, prompting her to tout the actor as a presidential candidate. O'Donnell and her co-hosts were discussing the verbal battle from Friday's Real Time. Atheist Maher called out his fellow liberals for not standing up to militant Islam.
O'Donnell praised, "I was listening to Ben Affleck and every single thing he said, I agreed with...I wrote on my Twitter 'Ben Affleck for president.'" [MP3 audio here.] The comedienne then explained what the actor's words meant to her: "Fundamentalists on the whole all believe in some common things: that women are second class citizens. That gays are evil, that violence is okay if my side does it since I speak for God."
O'Donnell insisted that Christians, Muslims, Jews and other faiths "have all the traits in common called fundamentalism."
Of course, the host's view on this issue is a bit skewed. On September 12, 2006, while discussing terrorism, she lectured, "Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have a separation of church and state." On May 17, 2007, she proclaimed:
"I just want to say something: 655,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Who are the terrorists?...If you were in Iraq, and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?"
— Co-host Rosie O’Donnell on ABC’s The View, May 17, 2007
Fellow co-host Whoopi Goldberg on Monday also attacked Maher, insulting the liberal comic:
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, maybe, Bill, your world is a little smaller. You can come hang out with us and we can introduce you to some folks who don't feel that way. Just in case you're interested.
A partial transcript of the October 6 segment is below:
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: So, apparently, the Ben Affleck/Bill Maher blow-up has been a hot topic all weekend on. You guys saw it, right? You saw it, Rosie? Tell us about it.
ROSIE O'DONNELL: I saw it. Yes, I did. I was watching it late at night. I couldn't sleep. I was listening to Ben Affleck and every single thing he said, I agreed with. I understood his frustration of not being able to get it out and I wrote on my Twitter "Ben Affleck for president." Just right after it was on and then I saw people go crazy, like, "Ben Affleck was out of his mind. How could he possibly say that?" I'm like, not to me. Here's a clip -- sorry. Then we'll go to you. Here's a clip. I thought he was pretty accurate. Go.
...
ROSIE PEREZ: You know what I loved is I loved how you could see him fuming and building up and he was just turning right red. I just think -- I just think – I love Bll Maher. I understand, kinda, his point, but when you make a generalization about anybody, it's wrong.
....
O'DONNELL: I think Ben's point was that fundamentalists on the whole are the problem, right? Fundamentalists on the whole all believe in some common things: that women are second class citizens. That gays are evil, that violence is okay if my side does it since I speak for God. That sex is generally bad. That other religions are inferior and that my religion is being victimized, no matter if you're Christian, Muslim, Jew or Hindu. They have all the traits in common called fundamentalism.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Extremism.
GOLDBERG: Extremism. And, you know, whenever it's them and not you, it's a problem. Because it could be you in a second. Them and not you. It's them. Well, here's the issue: There are people who believe that. There are Muslims who believe that. There are tons who do not. Tons and tons and tons. So, maybe, Bill, your world is a little smaller. You can come hang out with us and we can introduce you to some folks who don't feel that way. Just in case you're interested.
