Bill Press: Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh and O'Reilly Are Cowards - Never Allow Opposing Views

September 25th, 2010 11:18 AM

Liberal radio host Bill Press on Friday called Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly bullies and cowards for never bringing people on their programs that disagree with them.

Most comically, Press made this pathetic and indefensible remark on MSNBC, the nation's most biased cable news network that hires anchors who categorically refuse to allow any dissenting views on their shows.

But Press was clearly missing the irony in the following position espoused on "The Ed Show" as was the host who seemed to very much agree (video follows with transcript and commentary): 

BILL PRESS: I tell you the other thing, Ed, the fact that Glenn Beck likes Chris Christie? Of course he does. He's a bully too. You've got people every night on this show that disagree with you, and you have a good dialogue. Have ever heard anybody or seen anybody who disagrees on Glenn Beck or Bill O'Reilly or Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity? No. They're all bullies, they're all cowards, they're all alike. That's why they like Christie.

That a so-called "news" network would allow such a completely erroneous view to be expressed while cameras are rolling is offensive to say the least.

This is especially true coming from MSNBC which during extended prime time from 5PM to 11PM presents viewers with six straight hours of far-left content with little if any opposing viewpoints.

Now, in fairness to Schultz, he does bring conservatives on his television show unlike colleague Keith Olbermann. But as can be seen from the following, Ed can be quite rude to callers to his radio program that disagree with him:

Want to talk about bullies, Bill?

As for allowing folks on shows that disagree with them, Press was way off base. Hannity almost always has a liberal on his "Great American Panel." Here's Kirsten Powers going after Sean a few hours after Press made his pathetic accusation:  

What was that you were saying, Bill?

As for Limbaugh, he had a liberal caller on Wednesday:

CALLER: Hey, thank you. I wanted to take exception with your charge that the liberal media is simply trying to make Palin or O'Donnell portrayed as evil individuals. I mean any candidate who has made as many outlandish and sometimes ridiculous statements as those two is going to be under such scrutiny, and a good deal of it has come from the right as well. 

Again, what was that you were saying, Bill?

As for Beck, he takes liberal callers virtually every day. One this past week vehemently disagreed with Glenn's view concerning Tea Partiers dressing up at rallies.

Which brings us to O'Reilly who potentially epitomizes a commentator not only willing to allow opposing viewpoints on his program but also reveling in it.

Bill has had classic on-air arguments with Geraldo Rivera and Megyn Kelly just to name a few. As readers are fully aware, liberal comedian Jon Stewart was O'Reilly's guest on Wednesday as was Democrat strategist Janet Fleming.

O'Reilly could possibly be the television commentator that allows - maybe even encourages - the most dissension on his program. 

Add it all up, and Press's remarks Friday were 100 percent false. But that shouldn't come as a surprise to NewsBusters readers.

As our publisher Brent Bozell noted in May, Press is "preposterous."