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American commentator Bill O'Reilly regularly expresses his point of view on a wide variety of political, social, and moral issues. The The O'Reilly Factor, since its inception on the Fox News Channel in 1996, has been the primary outlet of his opinions. He would later start his own radio program The Radio Factor a few years later. O'Reilly has also written several non-fiction books detailing some of his beliefs.

Political views

Political affiliation

On his January 10, 2000 show, Bill O'Reilly claimed he is an Independent. In his book The O'Reilly Factor, he described his political affiliation.

"You might be wondering if whether I'm conservative, liberal, libertarian, or exactly what... See, I don't want to fit any of those labels, because I believe that the truth doesn't have labels. When I see corruption, I try to expose it. When I see exploitation, I try to fight it. That's my political position."

O'Reilly was registered as a Republican in Nassau County, New York, from 1994 to 2000, but he claimed it was not by choice, but a clerical misunderstanding when he registered.

O'Reilly has stated that the politician he most admires is Robert F. Kennedy. Furthermore, he stated in a Factor episode that he thinks Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of the best presidents in American history.

Domestic politics

O'Reilly said of the Bill Clinton impeachment that it "was not about sex. This is about honesty and cruelty. For Mr. Clinton, it was about undermining the justice system." In the same article he writes that Gary Condit, a Democratic congressman who had an affair with Chandra Levy prior to her disappearance and death, should be held to the same standard.

According to the Newsmax publication, O'Reilly has repeatedly claimed that Clinton had the Internal Revenue Service audit him. O'Reilly says that he was audited three times since his program debuted in 1996.

In the 2004 presidential election he implied his support for some of George W. Bush's policies, but also complimented John Kerry. During an interview on The Daily Show, O'Reilly told host Jon Stewart that he had yet to make up his mind on who he was going to vote for. He called the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign "terrible" for criticizing Kerry's military record. He has also said that people who voted for Kerry did so as a vote against Bush. He said that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the far-left in a conversation with former Democratic Congressman Brad Carson. Immediately following the election, O'Reilly ridiculed John Kerry, calling him a "sissy." Kerry himself stated publicly in a 2006 interview that he always felt he'd have a "fair shot" at conveying his views on The O'Reilly Factor and regrets not doing an interview prior to the election.

O'Reilly will sometimes advise viewers and listeners not to vote for a candidate that he opposes although almost never tells viewers and listeners whom to actually vote for. All of the candidates he has urged his voters to vote against were Democrats: Tom Daschle, Jon Corzine and Betty Castor.

O'Reilly has been critical of former Attorney General Janet Reno, calling her "perhaps the worst attorney general in history", and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation became a "disorganized mess" during her tenure. He later praised former Attorney General John Ashcroft for going after the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, as well as Enron, WorldCom, Sam Waksal of Imclone and Martha Stewart.

O'Reilly has criticized Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton and her running for president in 2008. In an interview with Jay Leno, he said, "I just feel that Hillary is a socialist, and I'm paying enough tax. Hillary wants to take my money your money... and give it to strangers. There's something about that that offends me." He pointed out that she had voted for every single spending bill that year. In the same interview, he accused her of running as a political carpetbagger, and said that she intends to abolish the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote, claiming that it would be done only to give her an advantage in the presidential race. O'Reilly has taken to using the abbreviation "S-P", for "Secular Progressive", as a shorthand way of referring to that general political category. O'Reilly classifies the group as "far left," and always refers to the group in a harshly negative or conspiratorial manner. However, he says that he is not equating the negative qualities he sees in "SPs" with a "liberal" political ideology. He has called President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. examples of liberals who were also traditionalists.

Foreign politics

Immigration and border control

He has supported stricter border controls, including placement of the National Guard troops on the US-Mexican border and has criticized Bush for not allocating enough resources to make border security effective. He also criticized Ronald Reagan's act of amnesty, claiming that it made the illegal immigration problem worse. He has repeatedly said he feels compassion for illegal immigrants and has often said he would do the same thing if in the same situation. O'Reilly often criticizes the Mexican and U.S. government for their respective approaches toward immigration.

The Iraq War

O'Reilly has criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq in hindsight, in particular the performance of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. However, he maintains that the United States "did a good thing by trying to liberate a country". O'Reilly says the war effort should continue as long as progress is being made. He has also said that some anti-war activists are actively rooting for the United States to lose:

"General McCaffrey says strong progress is being made. He believes the Sunnis have turned against Al Qaeda and that the Maliki government is neutralizing the Shi'ia death squads.

Again, I don't know. With all America has sacrificed in Iraq, though, it seems reasonable to let the end game play out. If things are getting better, don't derail the train.

But the anti-war crew is now fully invested in defeat. So the struggle at home is becoming even more vicious. Iraq is a shooting war. America's a political war. Both are driven by hatred."

O'Reilly has recently criticized the people of Iraq for not "standing up to the terrorists" and said they are "not willing to fight for their freedom." He went on to state that the United States should withdraw to the borders to prevent infiltration of foreign fighters entering from Iran and Syria. He also claims that the violence between the Sunni and Shia sects is not because of the sects themselves, citing the relative cooperation of Sunnis and Shia in Kuwait and Afghanistan after the United States invaded those countries in 1991 and 2002, respectively.

On March 18, 2003, O'Reilly appeared on ABC's Good Morning America and said, "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again." On February 10, 2004, he appeared once more on Good Morning America, stating:

"My analysis was wrong and I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm not pleased about it at all.... What do you want me to do, go over and kiss the camera?... I am much more skeptical of the Bush administration now than I was at that time."

O'Reilly called the Iraqi people a "prehistoric group" after reading a poll showing that only two percent of the Iraqi people viewed the US Forces as liberators and 55 percent preferred that they leave. "We cannot intervene in the Muslim world ever again", he said. "What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of them (...) no more ground troops, no more hearts and minds, ain't going to work."

In an interview of White House Press Secretary (and former colleague of O'Reilly's at Fox News) Tony Snow, said that the United States cannot win given the circumstances of Iraqis not supporting the effort:

You can't win. No one could. No nation could unless the Iraqi people turn on all the terrorists. And they're not. They're not, Tony.

O'Reilly went on to say that the country was corrupt and compared the situation to the American support of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War:

"It's like South Vietnam. It's the same thing. There were a lot of South Vietnamese helping us. A lot fought and died on our side but there wasn't enough of them to prevent the communists which were more united.

Cindy Sheehan

Over a year after her son Casey died, anti-Iraq War activist Cindy Sheehan began a protest outside of Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was spending time at his Prairie Chapel Ranch. O'Reilly stated that Sheehan's behavior may, in the eyes of some, border on treason. He later said, "So it's obvious Cindy Sheehan has become a political player, whose primary concern is embarrassing the president. She is no longer just a protester. I don't think she ever has been, by the way." In an interview with Phil Donahue on September 23 2005, O'Reilly referred to Cindy Sheehan as "clueless". He included her on his October 2005 "Cowards List", which he described as comprised of "people who will not stand up and answer questions about their bomb-throwing statements." On January 4 2006, he remarked, "She's run by far-left elements who are using her, and she's dumb enough to allow it to happen. It's not a vilification, it's a fact."

Terrorism

O'Reilly has endorsed an aggressive War on Terror policy, and often describes his views as comparative to the efforts of Presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman in fighting World War II. O'Reilly supports coercive measures to extract information from detainees at Guantanamo Bay, which he visited on two occasions. He has said that, in comparison to torture procedures used under the regimes of dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot, the U.S.'s tactics are not torture and are beneficial even when involving physical techniques, claiming that "Torture is taking my fingers off, disfiguring me, taking my eye out — not keeping me in a cold room and uncomfortable with blaring rock music."

He has also said that detainees should be judged under military tribunals, but not protected under the Geneva Convention because the convention requires combatants to wear a uniform.

He has been critical of politicians such as Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and private citizens such as financier George Soros for wanting to try terror suspects in civilian courts.

O'Reilly has supported the Bush administration's wiretapping of foreign calls in and out of the United States. However, he has criticized the Bush administration for not going to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts to get warrants for the wiretapping and has said he would not support tapping calls made by domestic parties.

O'Reilly feels that both political parties in the United States are "playing games" with regards to the fight against terrorism:

"...both the right and the left are playing games to some extent. Certainly, Al Qaeda remains dangerous, but the only way to hit them is to invade Pakistan. Do the Democrats want to do that?

On the other hand, it would be a tragedy if after all the blood and treasure Americans have sacrificed, Al Qaeda has not been badly damaged.

America should be united in fighting these savages, but we're not. Ideology has poisoned a reasoned, disciplined approach to defeating the jihadists. America's great strength, diversity of thought, can also be a weakness. And Al Qaeda knows it.

The old saying goes, "United we stand, divided we fall." Well, we're divided."

George Soros

O'Reilly has accused billionaire George Soros of trying to influence the 2008 United States Presidential Election by donating to causes and organizations like the radical left moveon.org, which regularly criticizes conservative, moderate and even some liberal politicians. Media Matters for America, the media watch dog group that criticizes media figures whom are not liberal that O'Reilly accuses of receiving funds, has subsequently denied any funding directly or indirectly from Soros. O'Reilly alleged that PBS journalist Bill Moyers oversaw $500,000 worth of money transferred from the Shoeman Center Foundation (a group Soros donated to) to Media Matters.

"you know, you’ve got to admire Soros for coming up with this organization. I mean, you know, he's made billions by doing this in business, by being in Curaçao and Bermuda and France, where he was convicted of a felony. And he knows how to do this. He knows how to move the money around and use it to gain influence. And now he's set his sights on changing the basic fabric of this country."

The organization to which O'Reilly refers is the Open Society Institute.

Soros' conviction was for insider trading and was fined more than $2 million. The fine was later dismissed on appeal. Soros has appealed further and proclaimed his innocence.

He extensively cites what he feels as Soros' behind the scenes dealings in his book Culture Warrior.

ACLU

O'Reilly has been critical of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), calling it "the most dangerous organization in the United States of America" especially in their challenging of the Justice Department and the Department of Defense regarding the War on terror. He has called them a "fascist" organization in response to their threatened lawsuit against Los Angeles County for failing to remove a cross from its official seal..

O'Reilly alleged hypocrisy on the part of the ACLU for stating that New York City's random searches of bags in the public transportation as a breach of personal rights, but requiring people entering their New York headquarters to consent to a bag search.

O'Reilly asserted that the ACLU is now a political organization rather than an advocacy group, taking positions and cases based on politics rather than free speech.

He has come down hard on the organization for its actions on behalf of the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) which is currently under suspicion of involvement with the rape and murder of a young boy:

"Now many of these people subscribe to a philosophy of relativism. That is a theory which says there's no absolute right or wrong. All moral values are relative. What's wrong for you is not wrong for your neighbor if he or she doesn't think his or her actions are wrong.

That's what the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) is all about. Those loons believe it's OK to rape kids because they want to.

"

The ACLU defends NAMBLA's freedom of speech surrounding their publications and has said that the legal blame in the murder should go to who committed it.

The ACLU has said that they sometimes have to defend "unpopular" speech or speech that they don't agree with, including the Ku Klux Klan's, saying their only "client" is the Bill of Rights. O'Reilly alleges the ACLU "cherry picks" its cases to promote a left wing agenda while not supporting causes of free speech that conservatives support in his criticism of the ACLU defending live sex shows in Oregon.

O'Reilly decried the group's criticism of The Minutemen, claiming the latter were only engaging in a form of protest, a right the ACLU defends. O'Reilly alleges that the organization is protesting the Minutemen because they are going against the ACLU's left wing agenda.

O'Reilly expressed outrage over what he saw as the organization's anti-Christian bias when it protested the portrayal of the nativity scene in New York City Public Schools, but did not protest displayal of the Jewish menorah or the Islamic star and crescent.

O'Reilly criticized the ACLU for suing San Diego County for renting property to the Boy Scouts of America in Balboa Park. The ACLU brought up a law claiming that the Boy Scouts discriminated against gays and atheists. O'Reilly criticized the San Diego City Council for voting 6-2 to vote the Scouts out before a ruling on the lawsuit was made.

"It would be impossible for the Boy Scouts (search) or any children's organization to admit avowed homosexuals because of the potential liability. Say the Scouts put openly gay and straight kids together and some sexual activity occurred. Well, parents could sue for millions, same way parents could sue if the Scouts put boys and girls together and underaged sex occurred. As far as the atheist issue is concerned, the Scouts say no specific belief in God is necessary, only an acknowledgement of a higher power. And that power could be nature. Come on. The whole discrimination thing is bogus."

Part of the Boy Scout Oath says, "To do my duty to God and my country" and the Scout Law includes, "A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties." However, the bylaws of the organization specifically state that Scouts must "respect the religious beliefs of others" and “in no case where a unit is connected with a church or other distinctively religious organization shall members of other denominations or faith be required, because of their membership in the unit, to take part in or observe a religious ceremony distinctly unique to that organization or church.”

O'Reilly argues this is a liberal definition of what God may be, allowing diversity for anyone believing in a higher power to join.

He went on to refer to the ACLU as Nazis:

"Now the ACLU is free to come to your town and sue the heck out of it. And believe me, that organization will. The ACLU doesn't care about the law or the constitution or what the people want. It's a fascist organization that uses lawyers instead of Panzers. It'll find a way to inflict financial damage on any concern that opposes its secular agenda and its growing in power."

He later went on to criticize the Boy Scout leadership for not standing up to the ACLU, claiming that the ACLU was against freedom.

On October 16, 2006 at Mount Pleasant High School in Michigan, a student stood up publicly in the cafeteria and called the principal of the school "a skank and a tramp." In addition to this, he called the school administrators Nazis and questioned the sexuality of the vice-principal. The school suspended the boy for 10 days, an action that brought a lawsuit by the ACLU. O'Reilly criticized the ACLU for defending the remarks as satire when he saw it as hate speech.

Social views

O'Reilly supported California Proposition 73 because it would have required parental notification of underage girls seeking an abortion. "he left-wing media has been able to convince millions of Americans that the government knows what's best for families, not the parents."

O'Reilly ardently condemns the practice of partial birth abortion. He has criticized the practice being done without explanations being made and has criticized human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for not condemning the practice:

"Once again, this isn't about a women's right to choose or the New York Times plea for reproductive rights. This is about late term abortions for just about any reason."

O'Reilly supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, but has said that nobody has the "right" to marriage; he says that marriage, like driving a car, is a privilege, not a right. He has said that if the government felt marriage was a right, then it would not stop polygamists and incestuous couples from getting married, and says he does not compare homosexuality to incest or polygamy.

He supports the discussion (but not the advocation) of intelligent design in schools and considers the opinion of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's opposition to such theories "fascist" He said he supports teachers saying that some people, especially in religious groups, believe that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is wrong.

O'Reilly feels that there is a lack of leadership in the amongst the traditionalists and this has emboldened the secular-progressive cause. He still feels that using religion to justify public policy is wrong:

"Right now, religious people are the ones speaking out for traditional values. But America does not forge public policy based on religion. Thus as soon as God enters the debate, the secularists win."

O'Reilly opposed the nationalized health care plan that filmmaker Michael Moore argues for in his film Sicko, saying it would create huge backlogs. He also said, however, that he thinks the government should perform more oversight functions on health care:

"...government-run health care would be a disaster, featuring long waits for treatment and an enormous rise in taxation. But there should be government oversight on private insurance companies and strict guidelines about abusing customers. There can be compromise and effective government control of medical care abuse in the USA. It is possible. But if Michael Moore's plan ever gets traction, pray hard you never get sick."

US legal system

He regularly criticizes jurists in controversial cases as "activist judges." He uses the issue of gay marriage as an example. "The folks decide that by voting and, in the case of gay marriage, the folks have decided. And that decision should be respected."

O'Reilly supports a balance between reasonable gun control and private gun ownership.

The prison system

O'Reilly has called the current U.S. prison system too lenient and has said that criminals have too many privileges.

He has suggested prisoners be sent to labor camps in Alaska with strict rules and minimal privileges. He has said this would serve as a replacement for the death penalty, to which he is opposed.

Jessica's Law

O'Reilly is a self-professed proponent of stricter penalties for child molesters. He has fervently supported Jessica's Law, and criticized the law's detractors. He has given verbal support for Republican Doug Forrester in the 2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election, suggesting that his opponent, Democrat Jon Corzine, would be less likely to support a national version of the law, though stopped short of actually endorsing Forrester.

O'Reilly has been particularly critical of the Debra LaFave case, in which she was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old boy, but was only sentenced to house arrest and seven years probation.

He criticizes many politicians who oppose mandatory minimum sentences for child molesters, and calls several states "child predator-friendly."

Mass media

Entertainment media

Film industry

O'Reilly has been very critical of the U.S. film industry's creation of slasher films such as the Saw series.O'Reilly has said that films like these are marketed to children and can have horrible consequences on their personal development. He commented on Kill Bill Vol. 1:

"It's the most violent movie ever made, featuring brutal dismemberments and a scalping close-up. And you should see the raves this movie is getting from the pinhead critics. And who's lining up to see it? Children, that's who."

Music industry

O'Reilly has criticized the rap and hip hop industry for promoting a "anti-social" culture that children may pick up. He has said he does not care if adults listen to the music, but argues that children are not able to process the information and determine it to be destructive behavior. He has gone after several rappers such as Eminem, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg:

"Every educator that I've talked to, and I've talked to hundreds, say that the kind of gangsta rap that Ludacris traffics in has debased the culture, made it more difficult for them to teach children and indeed, led children into anti-social behavior."

News media

O'Reilly feels the American news media is corrupt and often criticizes it for not reporting topics that hurt the liberal agenda. He has often stated that he is the only one in the media holding people accountable on both sides and slowly people are starting to wake up to what he feels is their corruption. In June 2007, Adweek Magazine sponsored a survey that asked participants who they trusted more as a source of political information between ABC News and Bill O'Reilly. According to the poll, 36% believe that O'Reilly is a better source than ABC News while 26% believe the opposite. According to the survey, 23% of Democrats believed that O'Reilly was a better source while 55% of Republicans believed the same.

O'Reilly feels that the mainstream news media often slants their coverage that are less critical of liberal causes, points of view and politicians than they are of conservative ones. He has criticized the media for not highlighting Rosie O'Donnel's controversial remarks of accusing the United States government of purposely carrying out the September 11, 2001 attacks while they highlighted Ann Coulter's remarks about calling Senator John Edwards a "fag." O'Reilly's made a sarcastic remark responding to the situation:

"Doing the math Ms. O'Donnell says something 100 times more offensive than Ms. Coulter, in my opinion, yet there's no coverage about it. But there's no left wing media bias in this country. Oh no!"

O'Reilly has criticized journalists who donate to political parties after a report stated that 9 out of 10 journalists donated to Democrats or liberal causes and feels this has resulted in news media tilting to the left.

O'Reilly has asked his viewers and listeners to not patronize the following media outfits because he sees them as media operations whom "have regularly helped distribute defamatory, false or non-newsworthy information supplied by far left websites"

• The St. Petersburg Times
• MSNBC
• The New Yorker Magazine
• Newsday
• U.S. News & World Report
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Syracuse Post-Standard
• Kansas City Star
• Roanoke Times
• Barre-Montpelier Times-Argus

Television News

In an interview with commentator Bill Maher, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather accused Fox News Channel of receiving "talking points" from the Republican controlled White House. O'Reilly criticized Rather heavily for not offering any evidence to support the claim. O'Reilly cited his defense of Rather during the Memogate incident:

"As you may remember, I defended Rather in the Bush National Guard debacle. I said Rather did not intentionally put on a bogus story. He just didn't check it out, he was too anxious for the story to be true.

Now many of you criticized me for that defense, but I'm a fact-based guy. And there's no evidence Dan Rather fabricated anything. It was sloppy reporting that did him in.

But now the fabrication word is in play again. If Dan Rather has evidence of White House dictums coming to FOX News employees, he needs to display that evidence. We are awaiting his appearance. We'll let you know when it is."

O'Reilly has gone after PBS personality Bill Moyers. O'Reilly criticized Moyers for having no balance in his presentations, citing a criticism by PBS own ombudsman. He also called Moyers dishonest for making disparaging remarks about O'Reilly to Rolling Stone and then later denying he made the remarks when confronted by one of O'Reilly's producers.

O'Reilly had generally been respectful towards CNN, but was upset at a portrayal by them of him in a conversation about racial issues with Fox News commentator and author Juan Williams. O'Reilly claimed that CNN did not do responsible research and mischaracterized him as a racist, when in fact his comments were in fact against racism.

O'Reilly has criticized NBC News several times for their coverage of the war in Iraq, claiming that it is biased toward the war's opponents.He also criticized the network of trying to downplay the War on Terror in the wake of American casualties in Iraq.

Print press

O'Reilly has been particularly harsh on the print press. He has accused them of purposely misquoting him and using their hard news pages to further their editorial points of view. He has said that print media is too liberal and attacks opposing viewpoints viciously.

In 2003, O'Reilly criticized the Los Angeles Times for endorsing then-governor Gray Davis, who was running against Arnold Schwarzenegger and a whole field of different candidates, including Republicans, Democrats and Independents, in a recall election. He said that he "has never seen a newspaper try to destroy someone as aggressively as the Times is doing." He also criticized The New York Times on the same issue for referring to Schwarzenegger solely as a bodybuilder. He made the claim that Californians have canceled their subscriptions due to the "extreme left-wing bias" of the newspaper.

O'Reilly has accused the media of being hypocritical with its criticism of President George W. Bush's handling of North Korea and Iran pursuing nuclear weapons while not being critical of President Bill Clinton for what was the same course of action.

The New York Times

O'Reilly frequently criticizes The New York Times, accusing them of omitting information that would be damaging to left-wing organizations and causes.

On March 15, 2007, The New York Times ran an editorial titled "Immigration Misery" that had claimed a "screaming baby girl has been forcibly weaned from breast milk and taken dehydrated to an emergency room so that the nation's borders will be secure." Upon further investigation, the only two babies admitted to the hospital in the area of Bedford, Massachusetts (where the raid took place) were due to dehydration because of pneumonia and not as a result of being "forcibly weaned." O'Reilly alleged that the information in the editorial was falsified and claimed The Times wanted to promote illegal immigration in order to make the illegal immigrants into legal US citizens and register them as Democrats.

He accused The Times of promoting NBC News over ABC News .

On June 2, 2007, Homeland Security stopped a plot by four terror suspects thought to be linked to Al Qaeda. Authorities have alleged that the suspects were trying to blow up an oil pipeline in the Howard Beach section of New York City that carries jet fuel to JFK Airport. O'Reilly went on his program and told his listeners that he expected The Times to report it as a featured story on its Sunday edition for June 3, but found that the story was on page 37. Although, due to the high volume of news, newspapers often do place stories they deem less relevant towards the back pages, a story that occupied the front page talked about brick laying in India. O'Reilly accused the newspaper of burying the story to not highlight a successful foiled terror plot because it contradicts the paper's editorial point of view claiming that aggressive tactics to fight the War on Terror are not a good idea and that the term itself has no merit. O'Reilly claims that as polls show most Americans feel Republicans would do a better job of handling a terrorist threat than Democrats, The Times intentionally gave the news less exposure in hopes of influencing their readers' focus away from issues that Democrats tend to poll weaker than Republicans in. O'Reilly also believes that the paper would highlight any terrorist attack if one was to occur so they may criticize the Bush Administration:

"So The Times wins both ways. The paper diminishes the War on Terror by putting it on page 37, but if something bad ever happened, it can attack President Bush.."

Internet media

O'Reilly has accused some political websites (most of them being left-leaning) of "distorting the truth" and "engaging in hatred":

"There are no rules. These people will do and say pretty much anything to harm people with whom they disagree politically. The trend started back in the Clinton-Lewinsky days, and now thousands of bloggers are operating, throwing dirt all over the place. Now they're not all bad. Some of these bloggers are good, accurate watchdogs. But there are plenty of awful ones."

He has criticized the Daily Kos website, accusing it calling for increased attacks upon American troops in Iraq, and for Iran to attack Israel. O'Reilly has also alleged that Daily Kos bloggers have called the Pope a primate and evangelicals "nut cases", that they wish for the success of any subsequent attempts at the assassination of Vice President Dick Cheney after he avoided an attempt on his life in Afghanistan during a 2007 visit, and have said that the world is "better off" without White House Press Secretary Tony Snow when Snow publicly said he had cancer. These comments however were not left by Daily Kos bloggers, but rather comments that readers have left when commenting on a Daily Kos blog (an equivolent to a comment left on a YouTube video). In summer of 2007, O'Reilly said that the entire field of 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates (aside from Senator Joseph Biden) went to the Yearly Kos convention that was sponsored by the Daily Kos. He has said that sites like the Kos are taking control of the Democratic Party through intimidation:

"As we have been reporting, a group of far-left bloggers has succeeded in frightening most of the Democratic presidential candidates and moving the party significantly to the left, at least in the primary season.

The lead intimidators are MoveOn, Media Matters and the vicious Daily Kos. These people savagely attack those with whom they disagree. And the politicians don't want to become smear targets.

So most of the Democratic candidates have agreed to speak at the Kos convention this coming weekend, something that is beyond shameful."

Environmental issues

O'Reilly generally supports the science behind global warming, although he has said that he is not entirely certain that fossil fuels are the cause. Nonetheless, he has expressed support for a long-term strategy to curb fossil fuel use. He has said he would not support the Kyoto Treaty for economic reasons, but supports the use of fewer polluting agents, more conservation, and "tons more innovation" such as tax credits for alternative fuels.

Economic views

O'Reilly is a frequent critic of government welfare and poverty programs. He is also critical of the estate tax. However, he does not differentiate between the marginal tax rate (46 percent) and the effective tax rate (roughly nine percent ).

O'Reilly has said French unemployment and subsequent riots are the "common effects of socialist thinking". He claims the French unemployment rate is high because of entitlements sanctioned by the French government, and that these entitlements make employers hesitant to hire young employees for fear that they will be required to give benefits to underperforming workers.

He says he supports income-based affirmative action as opposed to race-related affirmative action. He has also said that personally he would hire a minority to work for him over a white of equal qualification because the minority, in all likelihood, has had to go through more challenges than the white.

He said that much of the chaos following Hurricane Katrina occurred because roughly 10 percent of the population cannot sustain itself. He has claimed that much of the funds doled out under entitlement programs is spent on alcohol and drugs.

Oil companies

O'Reilly has been critical of oil companies, claiming their record profits are evidence that they have price-gouged Americans with artificially high gas prices. He has often taken an opposing point of view to conservatives such as fellow Fox News analyst and commentator, Neil Cavuto.

O'Reilly claims that the United States is not doing enough to make itself independent of foreign oil, stating that "If Brazil can develop an ethanol industry that makes it completely independent of foreign oil, then the USA can."

References

1. O'Reilly, Bill (2002-03-12). The O'Reilly Factor: The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life. Broadway. ISBN 0767905296. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
2. Ingrassia, Michelle (December 6, 2000). "HE'S LIVING THE LIFE OF O'REILLY: The TV pundit looks at his success an d sees the Levittown factor". New York Daily News. p. 40. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/oreilly072401.asp
4. "talking Points: Condit Should Resign".
5. "IRS Official to Judicial Watch: Clinton Enemies Were Audited", Carl Limbacher, NewsMax.com, April 23, 2002
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference CBS_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. "Redefining the Democratic Party". billoreilly.com. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
8. "O'Reilly to Kerry: "You're a sissy"". Media Matters for America. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201705,00.html
10. G.W. (2004). "Self-proclaimed non-partisan Bill O'Reilly urged listeners to vote against Daschle in South Dakota; O'Reilly's Dem Convention preview: Daschle's "no good"; [[Nancy Pelosi|Pelosi]]'s a "nut"; [[Max Cleland]]'s "strange"". Media Matters. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
11. O'Reilly, Bill. "Right Man for the Job?". FOX News.
12. Kovacs, Joe. "O'Reilly scorches Hillary on 'Tonight Show'". World Net Daily. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 26 (help)
13. Bill O'Reilly (2005-06-22). "Guarding the border". Jewish World Review. Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
14. "The Truth About Iraq". Fox News Channel. 2006-05-14. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
15. ^ "Bill O'Reilly's 'Apology': Still Spinning in the 'No Spin Zone'" by Peter Hart, Common Dreams NewsCenter, February 25, 2004.
16. "Devil in the Details: He Is the Eggman" by Heidi Pauken, The American Prospect, March 1, 2004.
17. "My Bad: 25 Years of Public Apologies and the Appalling Behavior That Inspired Them" by Paul Slansky and Arleen Sorkin, Flak Magazine.
18. "O'Reilly: Iraqi people are "primitive", "prehistoric group"". Media Matters for America. 2006-06-18. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
19. "Iraq's Future". Fox News Channel. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
20. "Fox's Gibson falsely claimed that O'Reilly did not personally attack Sheehan". 2005-08-12. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. O'Reilly, Bill (2005-08-16). "The Truth About the Cindy Sheehan Situation". Fox News. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "O'Reilly vs. Donahue in the No Spin Zone". Fox News. 2003-09-23. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. "O'Reilly's 'coward' list". Media Matters for America. 2005-10-27. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. "O'Reilly on Cindy Sheehan: 'She's run by far-left elements who are using her, and she's dumb enough to allow it to happen. It's not a vilification, it's a fact'". Media Matters for America. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. Bill O'Reilly (September 22, 2006). "A Deal on Tough Interrogation..." Fox News Channel. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
26. ^ Therese, Marie (June 17, 2005). "Will Wonders Never Cease? NPR's Juan Williams Finds His Voice, Argues with O'Reilly". News Hounds. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. Bill O'Reilly (September 13, 2006). "Does The U.S. Support Torturing Terror Suspects?". Fox News Channel. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. "The Terror War Meets the Culture War". 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
29. "Al Qaeda and the 2008 Presidential Race". 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
30. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (May 8 2007). ""Far Left Influence: 'Hurricane Soros' Is Getting Stronger"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
31. http://mediamatters.org/items/200704240003
32. Bill O'Reilly. "Buying Political Power". Fox News Channel.
33. Bill O'Reilly. ""Factor Investigation":George Soros". Fox News Channel.
34. Bill O'Reilly. "Buying Political Power". Fox News Channel.
35. ""Soros appeals conviction for insider trading"". International Herald Tribune.
36. "O'Reilly: ACLU is America's "most dangerous organization... second to Al Qaeda"". Media Matters for America. 2004-06-08. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
37. "Failure to Punish". Fox News. 2006-03-16. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
38. "ACLU Statement on Defending Free Speech of Unpopular Organizations". American Civil Liberties Union. 2000-08-31. Retrieved 2007-03-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
39. "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on why the ACLU defends free speech for racists and totalitarians". American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
40. "The ACLU Exposed". Fox news Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
41. "What does Bill think about the ACLU?". The Oprah Winfrey Show. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
42. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,171995,00.html
43. "More Controversy Over Anti-Christian Bias in NYC Schools". Fox news Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
44. Fact Sheet: Boy Scout Oath, Law, Motto, and Slogan, The Boy Scouts of America, Retrieved 2007-10-23
45. "Boy Scout By Laws". Boy Scouts of America National Council. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
46. "Another Big Win for the ACLU". Fox news Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
47. "More Evidence That Our Freedoms are in Jeopardy". Fox news Channel. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
48. O'Reilly, Bill (2005). "Election Day, 2005". FOX News.
49. O'Reilly, Bill (2007). "Kansas and Abortion". FOX News.
50. "Bill's Talking Points Memo (Friday, [[February 20]], [[2004]])". Retrieved 2006-10-10. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
51. "God versus science: that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo"". FOX News. 2005-08-03. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
52. "Reluctant Culture Warrior (Friday, [[March 5]], [[2004]])". Retrieved 2007-08-06. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
53. "Michael Moore and Your Health". FOX News. 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
54. "Gay Marriage and the Culture War". FOX News.
55. BillO'Reilly.com: The O'Reilly Factor Flash, November 7, 2005: "Once I saw what happened in Hurricane Katrina, I said every American household should have a firearm. If there's a tremendous earthquake in San Francisco and looting, you don't want your family protected? You don't want a firearm in your house? You're living in the world of Oz. And the military is a noble enterprise. Why should the rest of the country protect your butt if San Francisco is going to thumb your nose at the military by passing this resolution?"
56. "Work or die". 2001-06-14. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
57. "Jessica's Law Report Card". BillOReilly.com.
58. "Protecting the Kids - Liberal Versus Conservative". FOX News. 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2006-10-10.
59. O'Reilly, Bill (2005). "Protecting the Kids in New Jersey..." FOX News.
60. ^ "What Is Convicted Child Sex Offender Debra LaFave Doing on TV?".
61. "Is O'Reilly a Cry Baby?". Fox News Channel. 2003-10-23. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
62. "What on Earth is Anheuser-Busch Thinking?". Fox News Channel. 2004-03-02. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
63. "Where Voters Go for News". Adweek Magazine. 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
64. O'Reilly, Bill. "The Week in Review". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
65. O'Reilly, Bill. "Journalists Giving Money to Political Candidates". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
66. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines. "Media Outlets that Traffic in Defamation". billoreilly.com. Retrieved 2007-07-18. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
67. O'Reilly, Bill. "Dan Rather Owes FOX News an Apology". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
68. O'Reilly, Bill. "Video: O'Reilly catches Bill Moyers telling whoppers, Michelle comments". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
69. O'Reilly, Bill. "CNN Goes Over to the Dark Side". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
70. "NBC's Anti-Iraq Bias"
72. O'Reilly, Bill. "Blood in the Water Over Iraq". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
73. O'Reilly, Bill. "Lashing the Print Press". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
74. O'Reilly, Bill. "Would You Vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger?". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
75. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (October 11 2006). ""Blaming America First"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
76. "Covering the News the Left Wing Way". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
77. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (March 21 2007). ""Illegal Immigration and the Left-Wing Media"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
78. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (March 9 2007). ""News Wars: NBC, CBS and the NY Times"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-04-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
79. O'Reilly, Bill. "Blood in the Water Over Iraq". FOX News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
80. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (June 7 2007). ""The New York Times Under Siege"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
81. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (June 5 2007). ""Relax, the War on Terror is Not That Big of A Deal"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
82. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (October 5 2005). ""Political Smear Sites"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
83. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (July 17 2007). ""JetBlue and the Radical Left"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
84. Bill O'Reilly, Headlines (July 31 2007). ""Intimidating the Democrats"". Fox News Channel. Retrieved 2007-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
85. O'Reilly, Bill (June 4, 2002). "Global Warming & the Bush Administration". Fox News. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
86. O'Reilly, Bill (June 8, 2006). "A Taxing Proposition". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
87. O'Reilly, Bill (April 3, 2006). "French whine". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
88. O'Reilly, Bill (June 30, 2003). "Affirmative action, negative reaction". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
89. "O'Reilly: "Many, many, many" hurricane victims who failed to evacuate New Orleans are "drug-addicted... thugs"". Media Matters for America. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Date= ignored (|date= suggested) (help)
90. O'Reilly, Bill (April 18, 2006). "Bigwigs at Big Oil Making Big Bucks". Fox News. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
91. O'Reilly, Bill (April 18, 2006). "Bigwigs at Big Oil Making Big Bucks". Fox News. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
92. O'Reilly, Bill (May 8, 2006). "Oil and immigrants". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)