There are a few things Marcotte discussed that I want to touch upon. Bill O'Reilly uses inflammatory speech to boost ratings. O'Reilly said Tiller was running "a death mill" and labeled him "Tiller the baby killer." Watch the video and judge for yourself if O'Reilly is attempting journalism or throwing red meat to his audience.
O'Reilly made this statement on his November 3, 2006 Talking Points Memo.
"In the state of Kansas, there is a doctor, George Tiller, who will execute babies for $5,000 if the mother is depressed. And there are rapists impregnating 10-year-olds who are being protected by abortion clinics. It doesn't get worse than that. This is the absolute shame of America."
The old show bisiness saying is "give the audience what they want." The Fox News audience does not want investigative reporting and wonky analysis of policy. They want profession wrestling-style screaming matches and words that make their blood boil. O'Reilly did 29 segments on Tiller. O'Reilly can present himself as the pro wrestling-style hero battling his evil opponent.
"No question Dr. Tiller has blood on his hands. But now so does Governor Sebelius. She is not fit to serve. Nor is any Kansas politician who supports Tiller's business of destruction. I wouldn't want to be these people if there is a Judgment Day. I just -- you know ... Kansas is a great state, but this is a disgrace upon everyone who lives in Kansas. Is it not?"
If that isn't inflammatory language than I don't know what is? O'Reiily has the right to free speech. That freedom has consequences. O'Reilly responded to Tiller's death by attacking Daily Kos, the Kansas City Star and Mary Mapes. O'Reilly desperately wants to turn attention away from his comments. His ratings will tank if viewers believe he has (to quote O"Reilly) blood on his hands.
It took just minutes after the report of Tiller's murder for the far-left loons to hit the websites. Postings on the Daily Kos and The Huffington Post immediately blamed me and Fox News for inciting Tiller's killer. Even though I reported on the doctor honestly, the loons asserted that my analysis of him was "hateful."
Chief of among the complaints was the doctor's nickname, "Tiller the baby killer." Some pro-lifers branded him with that, and I reported it. So did hundreds of other news sources. But the bigger picture here is the glorification of Tiller.
Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry and three other members of the organization were arrested for attempting to deliver a fetus to (then Governor) Bill Clinton. Operation Rescue employee Cheryl Sullenger went to prison for attempting to blow up an abortion clinic. Rachel Maddow reported on Sullenger notifying Scott Roeder of Tiller's movements. Andrew Sullivan reported, that Roeder commented on going inside Tiller's church, on the Operation Rescue message board.
Terry wrote an op-ed titled "We Didn't Kill George Tiller."
Abortionist George Tiller is dead.
I grieve for him that he did not have an opportunity to properly prepare his soul to face his Maker. Unless some miracle happened, he left this life with his hands drenched with the innocent blood of tens of thousands of babies that he murdered. Surely there will be a dreadful accounting for what he has done.
It now falls to pro-life leaders like myself to stand strong and unflinching in the face of the unjust criticism we will now endure because of his killing. And so I turn my attention to the attacks that will follow his death.
Much like O'Reilly's op-ed, Terry seeks to turn attention away from the anti-choice movement's history of harrassment and assassination attempt against Tiller. O'Reilly and Terry portraying themselves as victims is sickening. Tiller is dead and they aren't brave enough to stand by their past deeds.
O'Reilly and Terry are tough culture warriors but pleed for sympathy when public opinion is turning against them. O'Reilly and Terry continue to attack the dead Tiller's role as a abortion provider. Yet they refuse to acknowledge alleged killer Roeder's connection with Operation Rescue. Anti-abortionists are engaging in revisionist history. Their real history is too shameful for them to keep on the public record.
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