Author:
Mike Barnicle wannabe
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Date Posted: 21:45:02 08/22/05 Mon
In reply to:
Mike Barnicle wannabe
's message, ""O'Reilly Factor" whacks Union-Leader for refusing to defend its editorial stance on sex offenders on TV" on 21:30:50 08/22/05 Mon
(published in, New Hampshire Union-Leader, Andrew Cline's editorial blog, 8/22/05)
O’Reilly’s spin zone
On August 17 the New Hampshire Union Leader published an editorial supporting Gov. John Lynch’s decision to study a Florida sex offender law, called the Jessica Lunsford Act, before deciding how much of it to implement here. There is a national movement to have the act adopted in all 50 states, and Lynch rightly asked that the attorney general study the huge bill — more than 80 pages, according to newspaper reports.
Last week someone from Bill O’Reilly’s show called to ask if I could come on the show on Monday to discuss the editorial. I couldn’t. Today I started receiving phone calls and e-mails from angry listeners to O’Reilly’s radio show. They wanted to know why the Union Leader opposed the Lunsford Act, and they said O’Reilly called us cowards for not agreeing to go on his show. Well.
First, we never opposed the Lunsford Act. That’s perfectly clear in the editorial. We simply supported the governor’s decision to study the bill first instead of rubber stamping it. Anyone who read the editorial should know that. If O’Reilly wants to say we are wrong to want the state to study a huge bill before acting on it, fine. But that’s not the same as opposing the contents of the law. And besides, since when is it conservative to want the government to adopt new laws without looking at them?
Second, O’Reilly never asked why I couldn’t go on the show, nor did he give an alternative date. Apparently anyone who has other plans on the date O’Reilly comes calling is a coward.
O’Reilly dubs his show the “no spin zone.” But from what I’m hearing from his listeners, he’s giving them nothing but spin about our editorial.
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Union-Leader's editorial page editor Andrew Cline's response to Bill O'Reilly