Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Biting Hand that Feeds Him: Neil Gabler Brands O'Reilly, Hannity & Gibson "Demagogues"
Today Show/NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

Posted on 12/03/2005 4:05:49 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest

by Mark Finkelstein

December 3, 2005 - 18:48.

It's war, I tell you, war!

On Fox News Watch, the Fox show dedicated to a review of journalism, [tiny] liberal talking head Neil Gabler just branded Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and John Gibson "demagogues."

The topic was the "war against Christmas," and nerves quickly got frayed.

Gabler's fellow lefty, Jane Hall, a normally staid presence, got exercised over what she saw as Jim Pinkerton's questioning of her religious bona fides. In a surprising bit of personal revelation, she declared herself a church-goer and insisted she would not take a back seat to anyone when it came to religious faith.

Neil Gabler took things one giant step further. He eventually declared: "there's an 800-pound gorilla in the room: Fox News. O'Reilly, Hannity and Gibson are demagogues and they know that they can rouse the public around Christmas-time" with talk about Christmas being under attack by secular forces.

Gabler stopped just short of calling Fox's audience dumb and malleable, but the implication was inescapable.

This was an ultimate "biting the hand that feeds you" moment. Perhaps Gabler was confident that, so outrageous were his remarks, they would, ironically, protect him from retribution by his employer. We'll see.


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: antichristmas; bor; christhater; christmas; foxnews; gabler; gibson; hannity; liar; oreilly; traitor; waronchristmas
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last
To: governsleastgovernsbest

Thanks for the heads up... I'll ping my FoxFan list here. :o)


21 posted on 12/03/2005 4:22:00 PM PST by nutmeg ("We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." - Hillary Clinton 6/28/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: TomGuy
Neil should try to explain, then, why FoxNews audience share is increasing, as the liberal-slant CNN and MSNBC are declining.

you have a link to prove that? As far as I can remember, rating have declined across the board for just about everyone since the 2004 election.

22 posted on 12/03/2005 4:22:19 PM PST by DuckFan4ever (Janice Rogers Brown for the Supreme court in '06)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ABG(anybody but Gore)
tried to shout down

Many hosts on FoxNews channel (and some of the other cable news channels) are bad about letting those shout-fests go on. No one gets heard and both sides look childish and petty.

Of course, the shouter does so when they have lost the verbal battle, so they try to shout down the other side to keep them from being heard. It is an old technique.

I have quit watching several FoxNews and other cable news programs because some hosts seem frequently to lose control and allow the shout-fests to go on and on. One day Neal Cavuto, usually a decent host, allowed one shout-fest to continue for a full 5 minutes. It was a complete waste of air time. No one got heard and it resembled a Jerry Springer Show segment.
23 posted on 12/03/2005 4:22:20 PM PST by TomGuy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: ozzymandus
Neil and Jane are such perfect examples of left-wing obnoxiousness and liberal stupidity

Against Neil, Jane comes across as intelligent and cultured and occasionally reasonable.

24 posted on 12/03/2005 4:22:37 PM PST by adamsjas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: StarFan; Dutchy; Timesink; VPMWife78; Gracey; Alamo-Girl; RottiBiz; FoxGirl; Mr. Bob; xflisa; ...
FoxFan ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

25 posted on 12/03/2005 4:23:09 PM PST by nutmeg ("We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." - Hillary Clinton 6/28/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: governsleastgovernsbest

Pot & kettle alert!


26 posted on 12/03/2005 4:23:42 PM PST by AmishDude (Your corporate slogan could be here! FReepmail me for my confiscatory rates.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: TomGuy
No one gets heard and both sides look childish and petty.

Yeah, so whats the Down Side of that?

Most are childish and petty, they might as well look the part.

27 posted on 12/03/2005 4:24:04 PM PST by adamsjas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: chessplayer
Gabler is a jerk.

The Davis family think that Gabler, and Alan Colmes were born from the same uterus.

28 posted on 12/03/2005 4:25:51 PM PST by Cobra64
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: adamsjas

I would never use the words "Jane Hall" and "intelligent" without a negative in there somewhere. She's not as hateful as gabler, but IMHO, she's even stupider.


29 posted on 12/03/2005 4:26:13 PM PST by ozzymandus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: DuckFan4ever
you have a link to prove that?

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117929812?categoryid=1275&cs=1
30 posted on 12/03/2005 4:27:35 PM PST by adamsjas
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: governsleastgovernsbest

What was Cal Thomas' take on the discussion? I thought he was an Evangelical Christian.


31 posted on 12/03/2005 4:28:45 PM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SignalPuke

>That poisoned dwarf. He's dumber than I thought. The funniest thing is that Pinkerton and Thomas are both like 6' 10" and he probably wouldn't break 5' 2".<

Gabler tries to make up for his shortcomings, in ALL departments, by being arrogant and talking 'tall'.


32 posted on 12/03/2005 4:29:25 PM PST by citizencon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SignalPuke
His father is Robert Reich, his mother is Barney Frank and his wife is Ron Reagan.(the bastard child)
33 posted on 12/03/2005 4:29:56 PM PST by fish hawk (creatio ex nihilo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Deadshot Drifter
Great comparison. Krugman and Gabler are like identical twins with the exception that Gabler gives th appearance of bing the more literate and intellectual of the pair.
34 posted on 12/03/2005 4:30:08 PM PST by TCats
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: citizencon

Gabler is very typical for the liberal who KNOWS he's right and is exasperated that conservatives don't have brains.


35 posted on 12/03/2005 4:32:46 PM PST by Semper Paratus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: rightwingintelligentsia

Cal was by far the most laid-back of the lot. The one comment I can remember him making concerned the "Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays" debate.

He said something along the lines of: "look, today's my birthday. But if someone says to me 'hello,' I'm not going to scream at him and say 'no! You've got to say Happy Birthday.'"


36 posted on 12/03/2005 4:33:00 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: governsleastgovernsbest
I don't know whether neil is just so ugly on the inside that it colors the way I see him or not...but, with that little trimmed-oh-so-dyed beard of his, he looks absolutely obscene to me!

99% of the time I love beards on men, but, I won't say what I visualize everytime I have to look at his smug little ugly mug...I'd be banned for sure! Ugh!

37 posted on 12/03/2005 4:35:05 PM PST by top 2 toe red
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: top 2 toe red

We can read between the lines ;-)


38 posted on 12/03/2005 4:36:05 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: governsleastgovernsbest
Gabler's a liberal token that helps make FOX "Fair and Balanced".

He's just doing his job.

39 posted on 12/03/2005 4:36:56 PM PST by Jorge (Q)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jorge

Don't know if you caught the episode, but this was more than people playing their roles, IMO. There was some raw anger on display.


40 posted on 12/03/2005 4:38:29 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson