Bill O’Reilly thinks Pope Francis is “a little naïve, politically” and doesn’t understand “the robust capitalism that we have in this country.”
Bill O’Reilly chatted with Fox’s Martha MacCallum after a Talking Points commentary in which he highlighted the dangers of protecting the vulnerable, as Pope Francis urged in his speech at the White House earlier this week.
In this segment, O’Reilly complained that the pope is not “confrontational.” O’Reilly explained, “He didn’t get up there with the Castro brothers, who are killers, and say, ‘You guys are killers, let the people out of prison, that you have in there for no reason.’ He didn’t do that.”
MacCallum, who spoke positively about the pope and his message, pointed out that we don’t know what the pope said to the Castros in private. She also said that the pope’s way is very similar to Obama’s. “He believes that you have to open the door, shed light, you have to put these people on the spot by being with them, by shaking their hands and by holding them accountable.”
O’Reilly interrupted. “Engagement, yes. I agree with you.” But, apparently, O’Reilly wants a scold for pope, like he is.
And speaking of scolding, O’Reilly went on to lecture the pope to be more skeptical of Obama. Though he called the pope “a fine man,” I’ll venture that O’Reilly thinks we’d all be better off (especially O’Reilly) if Pope Francis were more like himself and less like - well, the pope.
O’REILLY: Look, he’s a good guest, the president is a good host. However, I said this yesterday and I believe it. I think the pope’s a little naïve, politically. I don’t think he understands the robust capitalism that we have in this country, that has lifted literally billions of people, over the centuries, out of poverty. I don’t think he really quite gets that.
…He’s in a bubble. They’re keeping him in a bubble.
…The problem is that President Obama doesn’t see American capitalism as an altogether good thing. He does not and that’s where he’s going off the rails in his presidency. So I hope the pope isn’t influenced by that.
Actually, I think O’Reilly is the naïve one, or the one in a bubble – his one percent bubble that seals him from the lives of people who work hard, play by the rules and still get screwed. And he’s so worried about a fraction more of his millions going to the government, he hasn’t seen – or refuses to see that the stock market has gone gangbusters since Obama took office. O’Reilly also ignored how Obama has failed to prosecute any senior Wall Street banker for the fraudulent practices that triggered the 2008 financial crisis.
But, hey, suggesting that Obama is actually in bed with Wall Street doesn’t go with Fox’s mission of blaming and hating Obama for anything and everything they can throw at him.
Watch O'Reilly try to refashion the pope in his own image below, from the September 23 The O'Reilly Factor, via Media Matters.
The founders of the United States of America (as well as the first members of We the People) fully understood Pope Francis I’s description of the hardships caused by unfettered capitalism and markets without real limits. America’s founders rejected the notion that the few who possessed extraordinary wealth should rule. Rather, our founders and early members of We the People entered into an agreement among all Americans that all of our lives, fortunes and sacred honor should serve each member (and all members) of We the People. In other words, all Americans have already agreed with Pope Francis: “Money must serve, not rule!” The Agreement among We the People already mandates that wealth must serve to fulfill the human rights of all Americans and that the few who have extraordinary wealth shall not rule the many. The Declaration of Independence evidences all Americans’ agreement to Human Rights Capitalism. See https://goo.gl/AgAc2a
From the lectern used by Lincoln when he delivered his Gettysburg Address, Pope Francis’ final message is for America to lead as it once did by honoring its original Agreement. In other words, he has challenged America to once again serve as a world leader based upon our Declaration of Independence. See https://goo.gl/AgAc2a
“The overwhelming majority of today’s wealthy (at least, in the West) got that way by being BORN into wealth.”
Translation: it’s NEVER what you know that determines your outcome in life — IT’S WHO YOU KNOW! Here’s an eye-opening website that backs this up:
http://www.theyrule.net
“My dad’s family were miners. They were poor, the mine owners were rich…….”
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I have just one question El 84: by any chance, were any of the mine owners in your dad’s time like that ELEPHANT-SIZED, PENNY PINCHING, CORPULENT FLAG SHIRT WEARING SLOB Don Blankenship (former CEO of Massey Energy)? Remember that HORRIBLE MINE EXPLOSION in West Virginia at the Upper Big Branch mine in 2010 that took the lives of twenty-nine miners? Two INDEPENDENT investigations finally revealed what was known for many years: BLANKENSHIP CUT CORNERS LEFT AND RIGHT WHEN IT CAME TO MINE SAFETY IN ORDER TO LINE HIS POCKETS! Here’s a FACT: according to a Washington Post article I found via a Google search, in the 28 month period prior to this tragedy, he was cited for safety violations 835 TIMES!!
After all, it was capitalism that allowed the slave trade to thrive for centuries. It was capitalism that allowed the real workers to spend 10-14 hours a day in sweatshops under abysmal working conditions.
Capitalism really hasn’t worked for the vast majority of people for the past century. The overwhelming majority of today’s wealthy (at least, in the West) got that way by being BORN into wealth. A minority of today’s wealthy got that way by working—but in jobs where wealth was “traded” (Wall Street brokerage houses, etc). But the overwhelming majority of people affected by the workings of the capitalist system don’t see any real benefits, especially as the beneficiaries of the current system have opposed—at every turn—efforts to boost the “little guys”; things like increasing the minimum wage, making it easier for employees to “share the wealth” (like getting health benefits from employers who are making billions in after-tax profits or paying their CEOs 50-100 times what the line/floor workers make).
Sorry, Bill. But I’m willing to bet the Pope has forgotten more about how capitalism works than you’ve ever understood about it.
“Actually, I think O’Reilly is the naïve one, or the one in a bubble – his one percent bubble that seals him from the lives of people who work hard, play by the rules and still get screwed.”
Naturally Ellen. Always remember: ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO ONE gets into prestigious and VERY EXPENSIVE private schools like Chaminade High School in Mineola, NY (O’Lielly graduated from this school in 1967) and Ivy League Harvard University in Cambridge, MA unless he (or she) meets AT LEAST TWO of the following requirements:
1. LOTS OF $$$$
2. STRAIGHT A’s (or near straight A’s)
3. THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS, especially LEGACY CONNECTIONS!
