Bill O’Reilly interviewed his scapegoat of the week, Governor Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, tonight regarding his sin of calling the state’s tree a “holiday tree” instead of a “Christmas tree.” Every year, O’Reilly carries on his malicious crusade against those who don’t celebrate the holiday the way he thinks they should – and then blames them for ruining it. Tonight, his antics turned laugh-out-loud ridiculous as he repeatedly shouted at Chafee for “making people unhappy” and then shouted, “I’m not angry! I’m a happy guy!”
The hilarity started during O’Reilly’s Talking Points segment when he read a letter from Calvin Coolidge, from O’Reilly’s own private collection, that he said represented his philosophy of Christmas:
Christmas is… a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
It’s that “real spirit of Christmas” that motivates O’Reilly year after year to do things like ambush an elementary school official for barring Santa Claus from a holiday gift exchange and use Christmas cards of Jesus to harass Gov. Chafee.
Without a note of irony, O’Reilly gleefully accused Chaffee of “tying the Christmas situation into secular progressive politics.” As if O’Reilly isn’t doing just that with his conservative politics.
Chafee told O’Reilly, “You like to make a lot of controversy, all I can say is, on this one you’re wrong.”
O’Reilly retorted, “Governor, you’re the one making the controversy! All I want to do is keep the traditions of Christmas that make most Americans happy! …You’re in the minority. You’re imposing your will and you’re making people unhappy in a season of joy...”
Chafee got in a dig at the “fair and balanced” network: “Fox News, you guys are too angry.”
O’Reilly insisted, “I’m not angry, Governor. Look, I’m a happy guy. I want our traditions to be respected. That’s all.”
It must have been all that happiness that made him yell so much.
Chafee ended the interview by wishing O'Reilly "Merry Christmas." I so wished it had been "Happy Holidays," instead.
And BOR claims that this statement represents his philosophy of Christmas? Are you freakin’ kidding me?! If Christmas is a “state of mind” in which cherishing “peace and goodwill” is of importance, then it shouldn’t matter what a beautiful, decorated tree is officially called. In fact, it shouldn’t even matter whether there is a Christmas tree in the public square or governmental buildings at all. A state of mind that is based in peace and goodwill doesn’t rely on physical manifestations such as decorated trees, Santa Clauses or nativity scenes in order to feel/think in the spirit of Christmas – and such a state of mind certainly doesn’t go around yelling/bullying people for using the words “Holiday tree” or for wishing folks “Happy Holidays”.
BOR is the antithesis of a state of mind that is based in peace and good will. He relishes stirring up outrage and anger and behaving in antagonistic ways. He delights in targeting those who believe differently than him and seeks to bring them down. BOR is about using the holiday season to bring attention to himself through his over-hyped “war on Christmas”. It’s his way or the highway. Pffft. Peace and good will, my ass.
It’s Gov. Chafee who comes off as a happy guy.
