During his “Talking Point Memo” segment on his Thursday program, “The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly said that President Barack Obama is not a communist or a socialist, but instead is a “social-justice anti-capitalist.”
“The president’s comments last week about success in America are very important because they show how he really feels about capitalism,” O’Reilly said. “If you listen to the anti-Obama forces on talk radio and cable TV, you will hear over and over again that the president is a socialist or a communist. ‘Talking Points’ has never bought that. It is far too simplistic. Instead, the president is a reluctant capitalist — a man who believes our economic system is stacked against the poor and working class and always has been.”
But O’Reilly said there was a reason for the president’s feelings toward capitalism — “historic grievances.”
“Like many liberal people, the president believes American capitalism is often predatory, rewarding the wealthy and exploiting the workers,” he said. “So, what the president wants to do is restrain capitalism through taxation. If you score big, he wants a big piece of the action so he can give what you get to other people. Also, Mr. Obama wants to regulate how commerce is done in the USA. Now, I see no evidence that the president wants to seize private property, which is what communists do. Also the feds are not running the Fox News Channel as they would be in a socialistic system, like the one Hugo Chávez has imposed in Venezuela. Now, I could be wrong about this, but I think Mr. Obama allows historical grievances — things like slavery, bad treatment for Native Americans and U.S. exploitation of third world countries — to shape his economic thinking. Rather than seeing the USA as basically noble, he gives the bad things about America far too much weight, leading to his desire to redistribute wealth, thereby correcting historical grievance. All of this is pretty philosophical, but it directly affects you.”
And O’Reilly added that if presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney wanted to win in November, he needs to make the case that capitalism is the best path to a healthy economy.
“In order to defeat the president, Mitt Romney will have to convince you, the American public, that we will all be much better under robust capitalism,” O’Reilly said. “That if Mr. Obama is voted out — the private marketplace will rebound, creating decent-paying jobs. The president will counter with the status quo, which of course is shaky. Summing up, Mr. Obama is not a socialist, he’s not a communist — he’s a social-justice anti-capitalist.”