Bill O’Reilly Slammed By Conservative Pundits For Gay Marriage Shift [Audio]
Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly seemingly made an about-face on the issue of marriage equality recently, conceding that pro-gray marriage advocates have the more persuasive argument, and that their opponents only “thump the Bible” in response. Since his comments, he has received extraordinary backlash from Conservative pundits and radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin.
On a recent episode of The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly sat down with Megyn Kelly to discuss the issue of gay marriage and the Supreme Court’s consideration of Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. O’Reilly said:
“The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals. That’s where the compelling argument is: ‘We are Americans. We just want to be treated like everybody else.’ That’s a compelling argument. And to deny that you’ve got to have a very strong argument on the other side. And the other side hasn’t been able to anything but thump the Bible.”
Limbaugh criticized O’Reilly for the remarks, arguing that he had marginalized many of the network’s viewers and supporters of so-called “traditional marriage.”
“How many of you who watch Fox are ‘Bible thumpers’? Do you think there are any Bible thumpers, quote-unquote, that watch Fox? Because last night you were sort of marginalized on The Factor as not having a compelling argument and just being a bunch of Bible-thumpers.”
Taking it one step further, Conservative radio host Mark Levin said that O’Reilly had “misled” his audience.
“Have I thumped the bible once? Have I thumped the bible once in one-and-a-half hours?” Levin asked rhetorically.
“You’re a practicing Catholic, have you heard what your priests have to say, all the way up to the Pope?” he continued. “Why are you putting down your audience? I thought you stood for the ‘folks’. You sound like Obama with your ‘Clinging to your guns and Bible’ line.”
He concluded by criticizing O’Reilly of “mischaracterizing and degrading” opponents of gay marriage, saying:
“Those people in your audience who you put down as ‘Bible thumpers,’ I bet they feel misled by you and your books and your monologues.”
Listen to audio of both Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin criticizing Bill O’Reilly’s gay marriage comments below:
