On Wednesday, Meghan McCain leveled an attack against Rep. Michele Bachmann on MSNBC, calling her a “poor man’s Sarah Palin.” One night later on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham fired back.
Host Bill O’Reilly was attempting to point out the so-called divide in the Republican Party between the grassroots Tea Party portion and the entrenched establishment represented by Meghan McCain and Karl Rove, according to O’Reilly. However, Ingraham objected to McCain’s classification.
“Bill, are you serious? I can’t agree – are you serious with that?” Ingraham said. “The only reason Meghan McCain is getting any traction, you know God bless her, is because of her last name. I mean Meghan McCain, maybe she is a poor man’s Ron Reagan. I mean, you called her a moderate Republican. Why is she a moderate Republican? Is there any indication that she is a Republican?”
The two then debated the merits of Meghan McCain, who O’Reilly labeled a “liberal Republican”:
O’REILLY: I think she might be a liberal Republican. Look, there is a segment of the Republican Party, and I think Karl Rove is in it.
INGRAHAM: And a losing segment.
O’REILLY: Maybe. There is powerful people in that part of the Republican Party.
INGRAHAM: Who thinks Karl Rove agrees with Meghan McCain? I don’t even know what Meghan McCain stand for. I mean, last time I checked she was talking about her tattoos.
O’REILLY: They are worried about the Tea Party. That’s the blanket that Meghan McCain and Karl Rove have in common they are worried about the tea party.
INGRAHAM: Yeah, because we need to go back to Bush 41, Bob Dole and John McCain — because they were big winners when it came to advancing the conservative cause and advancing the GOP. Bill, every time the Republicans go down the acceptable route, the middle of the road – they lose.
Watch:
Meghan McCain and Ingraham have had a history of a back-and-forth. In 2009, Ingraham called McCain “a useful idiot” and “a plus-sized model.” McCain replied publicly at the time, telling Ingraham to “kiss her fat ass.”