Host Bill O’Reilly noted that he is investigating with Sean Hannity how leftist distortions and smears find their way into the mainstream media. Tammy Bruce noted that elements of the left take phrases out of context to demonize not only conservatives, but anyone who is not a complete liberal ideologue and they started with a test case on Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
O’Reilly questioned why they’d target the left leaning radio host Don Imus. Bruce noted a purging effort by the far left most visible in the Lamont-Lieberman race offered this insight:
"In order to be able to even go after Republicans eventually or conservatives, these far left forces need to purge our own house of Democrats like myself who speak the truth and will confront them on what they are."
Tammy Bruce also noted how, as a NOW chapter president, any agenda she wanted was easily advanced by major newspapers.
"I used them. I mean, my best friend when I was the president of NOW is I could dial a phone and I would move the story through the "New York Times" owned newspapers. It was the network that I could rely on. There I was sitting in my basement alone writing the National Organization for Women in Los Angeles, and because I would get an idea and package it, I would move it nationally the next day. That certainly is not -- now frankly, I'm proud of most of my work. But the truth of the matter is I used essentially what is a conspiratorial network of people in the newspaper and television industry at the time that would move whatever it is that I wanted moved."
Bill O’Reilly also noted that this leftist agenda is advanced by the "New York Times" and elements at NBC (presumably Keith Olbermann) and "Newsweek." The entire transcript is below.
BILL O’REILLY: Now, as the former president for NOW, National Organization for Women, you certainly know this world.
TAMMY BRUCE: Sure do.
O’REILLY: And I, I am, Sean Hannity and I are doing an investigation on this. And we should have it for everybody on Monday on "The Factor." But I am seeing danger for this nation. Because of all of this dishonesty being fed out of this far left swamp into the mainstream media. Am I overstating it?
TAMMY BRUCE: No, you're not. And coming from the left, one of the agendas that we had of course was the realization that we had to at least make our agenda appear to be broader and more accepted than it was. We would create sub groups, separate special interest groups making it appear as though there was a large mainstream movement occurring when there wasn't.. Of course the argument was that the end justified, was justified the means. Now in this instance in what you have just talked about with, with Mr. DeLay is what happened to you is what happened what I consider the test case back six, seven years ago to Dr. Laura Schlessinger, with a word plucked out of a sentence used in an attempt to destroy one person. That effort, Bill, was launched by about a half a dozen people only and facilitated through the internet of well financed, small group of people who have literally and they did then and they still do, have a list of individuals that that are to be targeted, because they know that– Well, you are on it of course. It's, it’s people who are not intimidated, who will not be silenced of their own accord, and so they must be destroyed. We saw it start with Coulter a few months ago, and it's moved to Imus. And of course they will move down their list because we're moving into this election.
O’REILLY: Okay. Now the Laura Schlessinger thing you are talking is about she had a television show. She said something about gays and the Bible. They took it out, they ran with it. All the sponsors of her TV show bolted and she didn't get a television show. And that was the first one. But, you know, people will say to you listen Don Imus was essentially a liberal guy on the radio. He gave platform to the far left. Why would they target Don Imus?
BRUCE: Well, he’s, just the reason I get targeted is quote, not being a, quote, "real Democrat." He is targeted because I see him as being the Lieberman, if you will, of, of the Democratic framework. There is a civil war going on right now between the far left individual extremists as you’ve, as you’ve noted them to be, and the classical liberal basic Democrats. And that is where you saw the Lamont-Lieberman attack happened, the attempt to purge Lieberman. In order to be able to even go after Republicans eventually or conservatives, these far left forces need to purge our own house of Democrats like myself who speak the truth and will confront them on what they are. That's why Imus had to be eliminated. And that's why they went after him first. And now they'll proceed down their list.
O’REILLY: Okay, now, there's also a list, and I don't know whether you are aware of this, but this is what Sean and I are working on, of mainstream media people like Frank Rich and others who are used by these far left web sites, fed stuff directly to them.
BRUCE: Oh yes. I used them.
O’REILLY: And they put it in the papers.
BRUCE: I used them. I mean, my best friend when I was the president of NOW is I could dial a phone and I would move the story through the "New York Times" owned newspapers. It was the network that I could rely on. There I was sitting in my basement alone writing the National Organization for Women in Los Angeles, and because I would get an idea and package it, I would move it nationally the next day. That certainly is not -- now frankly, I'm proud of most of my work. But the truth of the matter is I used essentially what is a conspiratorial network of people in the newspaper and television industry at the time that would move whatever it is that I wanted moved.
O’REILLY: You bet. And we have elements at NBC who do it every day. We have elements at "Newsweek" magazine who do it, and we're going to name one of those tomorrow. We have the "New York Times."
BRUCE: Good. Good for you.
O’REILLY: But, but you’re telling me you had people that you could feed stories to they would print verbatim. Wouldn't check them you could just feed what you wanted to them and pop it right out there.
BRUCE: Yes. It was mostly, it was mostly about, it was mostly theory, it was attitude, it was the idea itself. And we'd move it through the "New York Times" and of course it would move to the "Boston Globe."
O’REILLY: Oh absolutely, on the wire and out to all the other stations.
BRUCE: Well the Rosies -- the wires were particularly important. Absolutely.
O’REILLY: Right, right, and now you have Rosie O'Donnell who is now doing this in the entertainment realm. They contact her, they feed her this crap. She spits it out in front of all the women who are watching her on ABC. And this is how it goes.
BRUCE: Well you have multiple impressions using different media. You’ve got of course newspapers and people like Frank Rich. It's moved through the guarantors on camera like Rosie O'Donnell. So a regular Americans hear it from so many different avenues they believe it's true. And they get really immersed in it. Our job is, and part of what I see as my job now is to expose that method so that Americans can finally make up their own minds. And that's through talk radio and the internet. That's why this–
O’REILLY: We appreciate it Tammy.
BRUCE: Thank you.
O’REILLY: And we're taking up the mantle.
BRUCE: Excellent.
O’REILLY: We're going to expose everyone in this dishonest swamp.
BRUCE: Good for you. Good luck.
O’REILLY: Because it's danger to the nation.
BRUCE: It is.
