Detroit Free Press Columnist Drew Sharp Performs Terribly On The O’Reilly Factor

Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp was invited on Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News show (to talk about Rush Limbaugh’s publicity-stunt bid to maybe take on an ownership role with the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams) and, after little more than a few minutes, it was pretty obvious why: Sharp was completely overmatched and woefully (and stunningly) underprepared for this debate with O’Reilly. As a native Detroiter, it pained me to see how pitiful Sharp performed against O’Reilly. It was like Drew was totally unprepared for O’Reilly to defend Limbaugh as aggressively as he did (duh) and it seemed Drew could barely muster a couple of examples (in an ocean of many) of Limbaugh’s racism and use of race to divide Americans.

Consider this from The O’Reilly Sucks Blog:

The next segment was about Rush Limbaugh possibly buying the St. Louis Rams, and O’Reilly wants to know why people have a problem with it. Earth to O’Reilly, maybe because Rush Limbaugh is a massive racist, and most of the NFL players are black. You have to be deaf dumb and blind not to know why people are opposed to Limbaugh buying the Rams. O’Reilly reported that the NFL players union is opposed to it, and he had sports writer Drew Sharp on to discuss it.

Sharp said Limbaugh is a partisan who a lot of people hate because of his statements and his racism, Billy said that’s your opinion. Then O’Reilly defended Limbaugh and said his research staff can not find any racist statements made by Rush Limbaugh. And that he has the best staff in the business so if they can not find it he never said it. Then Billy played the clip of what Limbaugh said about Donovan McNabb and said that is the only thing he could find about Limbaugh. Hey O’Reilly, what about the Barack the magic negro song, that’s racist pal. O’Reilly denied Limbaugh is a racist, and said there is no evidence of it, which is just ridiculous.

And this Drew Sharp was terrible, he had nothing, he should have had the racist quotes from Limbaugh. Billy said it was not fair to disqualify Limbaugh from buying the team just because he says provocative things, as he denied all the racist statements he has made. The one or two examples Sharp used were disputed by O’Reilly, and Drew had no comeback, so he was terrible. The man was totally unprepared, and O’Reilly dominated him.

It’s hard to argue with a lot of what Steve wrote in this blog. Drew looked just plain awful and it was painful to watch O’Reilly smash him without even so much as breaking a sweat.

It was like the free breadsticks you get at some restaurants before your main course comes.

It reminds me of the old days when pro wrestling was on TV and the one guy would be standing in the ring with no music, plain tights and a jacket from deep in his closet. His opponent, the star, comes out with a flowing robe, fancy tights, a manager, a hot-looking valet, music and beats the crap out of the scrub in like three minutes (just in time for a commercial).

Drew Sharp was there to make O’Reilly look good. And, wow, did he play his role out well.

As for racist statements from Limbaugh, if O’Reilly’s research team can’t find any then that speaks volumes about how incompetent and/or biased they are (or how ignorant they are to what the word “racist” means).

Sharp’s column:

http://www.freep.com/article/20091013/COL08/91013044/1089/Column-on-Limbaugh-sparks-tiff-with-Fox-s-O-Reilly

The White House’s Anita Dunn Calls Out Fox News For Bias, But This Is Old News

White House Communications Director Anita Dunn called out Fox News for what it is: a conservative media outlet with a far-right agenda.

But, is this really anything new? This is kind of old news, but it is refreshing to see the White House call out Fox News for its right-wing bias (which extends beyond its prime-time lineup of opinionated hate).

Here are some of the comments highlighted by Sam Stein of The Huffington Post with the video to follow:

“If we went back a year ago to the fall of 2008, to the campaign, that was a time this country was in two wars that we had a financial collapse probably more significant than any financial collapse since the Great Depression. If you were a Fox News viewer in the fall election what you would have seen were that the biggest stories and the biggest threats facing America were a guy named Bill Ayers and a something called ACORN.”

“The reality of it is that Fox News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party. And it is not ideological… what I think is fair to say about Fox, and the way we view it, is that it is more of a wing of the Republican Party.”

“Obviously [the President] will go on Fox because he engages with ideological opponents. He has done that before and he will do it again… when he goes on Fox he understands he is not going on it as a news network at this point. He is going on it to debate the opposition.”

“[Fox is] widely viewed as a part of the Republican Party: take their talking points and put them on the air, take their opposition research and put it on the air. And that’s fine. But let’s not pretend they’re a news organization like CNN is.”

Read more at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/11/anita-dunn-fox-news-an-ou_n_316691.html

Good for Dunn and the White House to fight back against Fox News which is playing the role of media relations firm for the Republicans.

The right-wing bias on Fox News is not just in its evening programming with conservatives like Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. It includes others masquerading as liberals (Greta Van Susteren and to a lesser extent Juan Williams) or disguising themselves as objective “reporters” or analysts (The dreadful Fox and Friends crew, Chris Wallace, Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, etc.).

Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/11/anita-dunn-fox-news-an-ou_n_316691.html

Sen. Lindsey Graham: We’re Not Going To Be A Party Of Angry White Guys

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the more mild Republicans, is coming under heat for being considered a moderate by those on the far right. Sen. Graham is fast becoming a victim of the runaway freight train of conservatism that is flat-out steamrolling everything in its path.

Here is an excerpt from The State (South Carolina):

GREENVILLE – An often clamorous crowd blasted, grilled and occasionally cheered Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in a town hall meeting Monday that centered on health care reform but returned repeatedly to his positions on climate change, judicial appointees and immigration.

Graham returned the fire with a grin, at times shouting over his most boisterous critics and telling some who questioned his Christianity and party loyalty that their minority conservative views wouldn’t succeed without the political coalitions he said are necessary to serve the majority of Americans and attract enough votes in Congress.

“If you don’t like it, you can leave,” he said.

The 75-minute forum filled several sections of Furman University’s Timmons Arena and attracted demonstrators, critics with handheld cameras, shouts of “traitor” and “Sotomayor” – and a smattering of supporters.

//

Some did.

Here is a comment Sen. Graham later made to the angry crowd:

GRAHAM: We’re not going to be the party of angry white guys.

That did not go over well. Republicans, with these tea baggers and townhall nuts have created a monster that is spiraling out of control with anger.

See for yourself:

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/981753.html