In case you missed it, Bill O’Reilly engaged in a rather contentious debate with Fox News contributor Mary Katharine Ham last week over the legalization of marijuana. O’Reilly accused Ham of “babbling” as she tried to explain why she thinks pot should be legalized. Last night, she was back for Round Two. O'Reilly continued attacking her unfairly.
As our Priscilla reported, O’Reilly got some of his pot facts wrong in Round One.
Ham is an O’Reilly Factor regular on Monday nights. Usually she’s paired with Juan Williams but Williams was ditched last night for a more prolonged debate with Ham directly. Also, while Ham is a conservative, she’s not a fire breather. Although I would not call myself a fan, she argues her points respectfully and thoughtfully. There’s simply no reason for O’Reilly to be treating her the way he did.
Ham did not seem amused by O’Reilly’s antics in either segment. She responded to O’Reilly’s mention of her daughter by saying, “Who, by the way, did not sign up to be brought up on national TV in a drug discussion but let’s go ahead.”
O’Reilly replied with sneering condescension, “I’m sorry, but if you’re going to advocate the legalization of marijuana, you’re gonna have to answer questions about children. …By the time your daughter gets to the teenage years, pot will be like chewing gum, smoking a cigarette.”
Ham said she doesn’t want her daughter drinking alcohol or getting a tattoo when she’s a teenager but that doesn’t mean those activities should be illegal.
But as Ham went on to say that she thinks marijuana, like alcohol, can be consumed in moderation without harm, O’Reilly lost it. He accused her of “pettifogging the issue.” Which, considering that O’Reilly was the one who brought up how dangerously strong pot is, seemed like an unfair charge.
At that point, the shouting started, though O’Reilly seemed the most outwardly exercised. “You are part of the problem, Mary Katharine, but you will not acknowledge it!” he accused.
Ham shot back, “You have a pretty dag-gone big platform. You can continue to say that (that legalization will harm children). And, by the way, they’re not legalizing it for children. …And Colorado has not fallen apart in 10 years of medical marijuana use. So. We’ll see what happens. I look forward to the studies which you do not have yet.”
Neither looked satisfied with the outcome.
I’ve got absolutely no idea where BillO’s going with this line of “thought.” I’ve never read any research saying that chewing gum is bad for your health or should have limitations on its sale and distribution. (This isn’t Singapore, after all.)
As for cigarettes, well, their sales are restricted/regulated to adults (age varies by state). I’ve never heard of any cops busting underage kids for smoking (and I’ve never heard of any cops busting underage kids for buying cigarettes, only the store clerks selling them).
But, overall, I don’t get BillO’s point here. I’m not sure BillO gets BillO’s point.
Maybe now she realizes that Bill isn’t correct about everything under the sun!
