Fox News Channel (FNC) host Bill O’Reilly tore into Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz during the talking points memo portion of Thursday’s O’Reilly Factor over what he deemed “the biggest smear so far in the presidential campaign” against GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio and a donor with a massive historical memorabilia collection.
Accusing Rubio of being insensitive toward Jewish people, Wasserman Schultz attacked Rubio for holding a fundraiser at the home of Dallas real estate figure Harlan Crow, who has a private collection of historical items that include pieces from the Third Reich.
With no basis to accuse Rubio and Crow of being anti-Semitic along with neglecting to mention the diversity of his collection (from good and evil figures), O’Reilly slammed the DNC head for carrying out “a vicious, utterly false attack” on Rubio. For the record, here’s Wasserman Schultz’s statement that O’Reilly quoted:
Rubio is holding this event on the eve of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. Holding an event in a house featuring the artwork and signed autobiography of a man who dedicated his life to extinguishing the Jewish people is the height of insensitivity and indifference. There’s really no excuse for such a gross act of disrespect. Mr. Rubio, who by the way represents a sizeable Jewish population in our home state of Florida, should cancel this tasteless fundraiser. It is astounding that these items represent horror for millions Jews the world over would not stop Mr. Rubio or anyone in their tracks when planning this event.
Upon reading the statement, O’Reilly unleashed his disgust for the liberal Congresswoman by remarking that “[w]hat is truly astounding is the woman's ignorance” of the fact that:
I’ve been to Harlan Crow's home and I have seen his collection of history. It's amazing. Any museum would be proud to display what he has. Both good and evil are represented in an educational way. There are documents and letters from crucial moments in American history as well as world history. They include items from villains such as Hitler, Stalin, Tojo and Saddam Hussein.
Explaining that her logic would rule out events being held at places such as London’s Imperial War Museum, O’Reilly simply declared that “her take is truly insane.”
The purveyor of the No Spin Zone then called on the leader of the DNC to resign for her decision to invoke the Holocaust: “By attacking Rubio using the Holocaust, the head of the DNC has shamed herself and her party. She should immediately resign. There comes a point when politics gets so dirty it corrupts the nation. We are at this point.”
The Talking Points Memo segment from FNC’s The O’Reilly Factor on September 24 is transcribed below.
FNC’s The O’Reilly Factor
September 24, 2015
8:01 p.m. Eastern
BILL O’REILLY: The biggest smear so far in the presidential campaign, that is the subject of this evening's talking points memo. In a vicious, utterly false attack on Senator Marco Rubio, the head of the Democratic National Committee, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has reached a new low in political attack discourse. Earlier this week, the Senator Rubio, held a fundraiser at the Dallas home of real estate guy Harlan Crow. Mr. Crow has one of the biggest private collections of historical memorabilia in the world. The collection includes items from the Third Reich, including stuff from Hitler. Wasserman Schultz used that collection to smear Rubio, quote: “Rubio is holding this event on the eve of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. Holding an event in a house featuring the artwork and signed autobiography of a man who dedicated his life to extinguishing the Jewish people is the height of insensitivity and indifference. There’s really no excuse for such a gross act of disrespect. Mr. Rubio, who by the way represents a sizeable Jewish population in our home state of Florida, should cancel this tasteless fundraiser. It is astounding that these items represent horror for millions Jews the world over would not stop Mr. Rubio or anyone in their tracks when planning this event.” What is truly astounding is the woman's ignorance. I’ve been to Harlan Crow's home and I have seen his collection of history. It's amazing. Any museum would be proud to display what he has. Both good and evil are represented in an educational way. There are documents and letters from crucial moments in American history as well as world history. They include items from villains such as Hitler, Stalin, Tojo and Saddam Hussein. If you follow Wasserman Schultz's reasoning, no could hold an even in, say, the Imperial War Museum in London, for example. Her take is truly insane. By attacking Rubio using the Holocaust, the head of the DNC has shamed herself and her party. She should immediately resign. There comes a point when politics gets so dirty it corrupts the nation. We are at this point. It's not just the Democrats who are using despicable tactics, although they seem to embrace them at a very high level. Some Republicans are comfortable using falsehood and innuendo to smear liberals and when Talking Points sees that from the GOP, it will be reported. Summing up,, there’s no place for defamatory deceit in any political campaign. Presidential race now underway has the potential to get very nasty, and we will fight against that. We begin with Debbie Wasserman Schultz this evening and that's the memo.
