Irony Alert! Palin and O’Reilly Suddenly Bemoan the “Brutality” of Negative Campaigning

Negative campaigning against Democrats: that’s Good, bring it on. But when Republicans turn attack ads on each other: all of a sudden, attack ads are BAD. And last night, Bill O’Reilly and Sarah Palin got kind of worried about them.

On O’Reilly’s "Back of the Book" segment, Palin (posed prettily against a woodland lake which is presumably meant to represent Alaska) discussed the possibility that attack ads by Republicans against other Republicans – which they referred to as “brutality” - would help Obama. As indeed they might.

Palin, the Gingrich supporter (who pretends otherwise), was particularly distressed that Romney’s better-financed campaign gave him an advantage over her guy. “What we just witnessed in Florida that brutality via $17 million in negative ads in a 65-to-1 negative ad ratio that was mounted against Newt Gingrich, which I think did result in him falling there in the polls and in that primary.” What should be done about it? Americans, she said, should “aggressively and ambitiously do our own homework … because we cannot rely on the media, the establishment, the super PACs and candidates who hide behind the super PACs to tell us what the truth is about these candidates.”

O’Reilly’s response: “Well, OK, but people who watch this program listen to talk radio, read the newspapers…. But that's not the majority of the American people. And the majority of voters will be -- and I'm not being condescending; I'm being realistic -- ill-informed. And they're going to pick up, just as the voters in Florida did, trends on television.”

(Please excuse your humble servant - I’m about to roll on the floor in a fit of hysterics. Given repeated studies showing how misinformed Fox viewers are on issues, the irony is just too much to take. There, that’s better. Back to the blog.)

O’Reilly then asked Palin how she deals with attacks, given that so many of them have been directed at her. “Well, I hope that they, like I am able to do, keep priorities straight and right and know what really matters. At the end of the day what matters to me is my faith, my family, and my freedom as an American. So all that other stuff on the periphery, you know, it can just kind of go away…. But I do feel for others. And I do understand why American voters seem to be a bit more disenchanted with the whole process today, because they see the brutality.”

Really? As if it wasn’t conservatives who turned that kind of “brutality” into an art form? And wasn’t it conservatives, by and large, who praised the Supreme Court Citizens United decision, two years ago, that paved the way for SuperPACs? Now, we’re starting to see the consequences of that decision: whoever can raise the most money has the advantage, and since attack ads are so effective, they won’t hesitate to spend their gazillions on using them to demolish the rivals du jour, whatever party they belong to. If the right didn’t see that coming, gentle reader, they should go back to thinking school.

Do you like this post?

	Tweet

Showing 10 reactions

Brad Darby commented 2012-02-03 13:28:57 -0500 · Flag

Poor Pitiful Palin is looking more haggard everyday. Someone must have whispered in her ear that she’s no longer relevant. If only she would sit down & shut up.

Richard Santalone commented 2012-02-03 13:19:12 -0500 · Flag

@visitor55 & @truman Like all neocons, Princess Moose-alini and Bully O’Lielly possess this common characteristic: they know how to dish it out, BUT THEY SIMPLY CAN’T TAKE IT!

Anne-claire Souza commented 2012-02-03 12:18:29 -0500 · Flag

This woman is starting to look pretty rough,it must really be bothering her that the fascination from her Fans has waned to almost obscurity, the well must be running dry.Bile our “Humble corrspondent”is as per usual talking out of his ass.Nobody cares about the opinions of either one of these Clowns.

truman commented 2012-02-03 09:37:44 -0500 · Flag

@visitor 55. You nailed it. Snow Snooki and Bildo will quickly change their tune during the election. When Plastic-Fantastic MIttens’ SuperPAC and Turdblossom’s SuperPAC spew out lies upon lies about President Obama, it will be all good First Amendment free speech.

John Martin commented 2012-02-03 05:41:38 -0500 · Flag

Tell the truth. let the rival choke on lies and dstoriions. A weak mind like der Mit can’t handle the truth. He is insulated from real life. Ask him kitchen table questions then watch him fold. Newt is trickier but in the end he loves his mind too much not to say everything he thinks no matter how farfetched. Self ediring is not a skill he possesses.

Domenica Iacovone commented 2012-02-02 22:48:08 -0500 · Flag

Palin’s starting to look like Snooki more and more each day.

vermontdave commented 2012-02-02 22:26:54 -0500 · Flag

Margarita,
You must always remember that a Fox fan is always a victim.

NewsHounds posted about Irony Alert! Palin and O’Reilly Suddenly Bemoan the “Brutality” of Negative Campaigning on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2012-02-02 22:08:57 -0500

Palin whines about the campaign monster her side helped create.

Visitor 55 commented 2012-02-02 21:57:59 -0500 · Flag

I wonder who’s been writing ignorant teabagger goddess palin’s scripts lately. Those certainly aren’t her words because she’s actually been able to string two or more big words together. She’s never been able to do that on her own. She’s definitely reading a teleprompter.

Notice how POS borally and ignorant teabagger goddess palin are totally silent about the brutally negative ads that Plastic-Fantastic Mittens and Pig Newton have used to attack President Obama. Not a single squeal or grunt from either of the pigs. And imagine…ignorant teabagger goddess palin is shitting her soiled panties because of Mittens’ SuperPac. SuperPacs are so bad when they’re used against other neocons. But ignorant teabagger goddess palin won’t grunt a word when those same SuperPacs are attacking President Obama with lies.

neocons/teabaggers are hypocrites.

Kent Brockman commented 2012-02-02 21:23:09 -0500 · Flag

LOL! The RW knew what they were going to do with their expanded avenues for attacks, lies, hating & smears. But morons like Sarin_gas Pale_one and Killer O’Reilly never dreamed that vile vindictive people, the type who inhabit Fux Nuze and the TeaGOP Bizaro-Wurld would of course attack their own. In essence, all fundamentalists live in a Cult of Self. One POV in every diseased skull that says “you’re with me or against me, and if you’re against me I’ll crush you”. Enjoy your dinner chumps, you made with your own intolerance and hate. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.