| | ACORN spokesman, Fox host get into shoutfest over 'lies'
Bill O'Reilly has not announced his retirement from Fox News.
However, one could be easily led to think he's considering it, watching America's Newsroom anchor Megyn Kelly seemingly audition for the angry host's traditional role as the network's screamer.
Speaking with ACORN spokesman Scott Levenson on Thursday, Kelly began the 'discussion' with Levenson by claiming, "Scott, a lot of people, a lot of our viewers, think your group is corrupt, you've been found guilty of fraud in several states and they don't want you having anything to do with the census. What say you?"
Levenson tries to respond and clearly state his points while Kelly continues to interrupt, and harass him. "The election was four months ago, Megyn, and not one person voted in the election that was not supposed to vote," Levenson said, but the Fox anchor never seemed to listen.
He tried to explain that workers during the election were hired across the country for about $12 an hour, and that a handful of individuals -- not the ACORN organization -- were prosecuted for crimes "with ACORN cooperating with prosecutors in each case." It's like calling Fox News a bunch of thieves if an employee is picked up for larceny, he tried his best to point out.
Levenson also managed to get in a few details about ACORN's participation in the coming census -- which was the supposed purpose of the 'interview.'
"ACORN is voluntarily participating in the census," he explains, "The census will be hiring workers, not ACORN, and ACORN receives no compensation."
As Kelly continues to shout her insulting remarks, Levenson calls her on her 'lies' and, after being repeatedly berated, Kelly says "You're not gonna talk over me, Scott, you're gonna let me ask the questions or I'm gonna cut your mic," a threat she repeated three times before indeed having Levenson's microphone cut off.
Kelly then angrily listed each of the arrests again, as if that was all the ammunition she needed.
"This was the most predictable trainwreck shoutfest since O'Reilly went toe to toe with Barney Frank," opined Hot Air. "I can only assume that's why Fox booked him; there's no value to this apart from the rubbernecking quotient."
This video is from Fox's America's Newsroom, broadcast Mar. 19, 2009.
Download video via RawReplay.com
| Get Raw exclusives as they break -- Email & mobile |
|
|
|
