O'Reilly's bigotry has no place in Vermont
Toolbox
By BILL LOFY - Published: May 17, 2007
Last Saturday was in most ways a typical final day of a legislative session in Montpelier — exhausted legislators scrambled to finish work on important bills, debated long into the night, and went home having accomplished significant progress on the priorities of the state. But something else happened that day that left many legislators and political observers on all sides of the political spectrum unsettled, angry, and worried.
That morning, Rep. Bill Lippert, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, was eating breakfast in the Statehouse cafeteria when a news crew from the Fox News program "The O'Reilly Factor" approached him. In a menacing tone, with cameras running, a producer for the show asked Rep. Lippert misleading questions that effectively accused him of protecting child predators because he opposes Jessica's Law, which would impose 25-year mandatory minimum sentences on sex offenders.
Data from the U.S. Department of Justice show that 25-year minimums, by discouraging plea bargains, can actually undermine the chances of getting a conviction and increase the likelihood of a sex offender walking free without serving any time (many victims refuse to testify at trial and the burden of proof is so onerous that offenders are often acquitted). Because of those facts, Rep. Lippert, along with the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, opposes the bill.
But facts won't get in O'Reilly's way. Ignoring Rep. Lippert's support for tough sex offender bills that actually work, the Fox News producers singled out Lippert as someone who wants to make Vermont's children more vulnerable.
On Monday's program, O'Reilly was almost gleeful in condemning Rep. Lippert for his alleged sympathy for child predators. In a segment called "The Truth About Vermont," O'Reilly accused Rep. Lippert of favoring transgender Vermonters over child victims, despite the fact that a transgender anti-discrimination bill that Lippert supports was also passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and supported by Gov. Douglas.
So why would Fox News ambush Bill Lippert, one of the most respected members of the Legislature?
The answer is as simple as it is unsettling: Rep. Lippert is gay. As a leader in the effort to pass Vermont's landmark civil union legislation a few years ago, Representative Lippert has been a target of anti-gay vitriol for several years. His defense of civil rights for gays and lesbians has rankled a small but vocal group both inside and outside of Vermont that relies on hateful and threatening rhetoric to promote its anti-gay agenda.
Consider some of the e-mails Rep. Lippert has received since the O'Reilly program aired:
"If I were you, I would seriously consider killing myself."
"I hope you get the s—- beat out of you on a regular basis."
"I also hope that the people of Vermont 'purges' [sic] their system of you liberal, evil, 'infections' soon."
"I hope you die."
And these were just the printable comments; others were far worse.
It should go without saying that this kind of rhetoric, which O'Reilly's show encourages every day, has no place in Vermont. But here we are in 2007, and homophobia is alive and well. As the nation engages in a long overdue debate over the offensive and racist rhetoric we hear on the airwaves from the likes of Don Imus and others, Vermonters should take no comfort in thinking that we are immune to the voices of intolerance.
In fact, we should turn our attention to a program that broadcasts right here within our borders. For the past year, one of Bill O'Reilly's best friends here in Vermont has been a radio host named Paul Beaudry, whose program on WDEV, "True North," is a veritable hate-fest. Not surprisingly, Beaudry has used this incident to crank up the gay-bashing. On Tuesday, when Rep. Anne Donahue, a Republican, called in to Beaudry's show and defended Lippert, the line suddenly went dead. It came live in time for Beaudry to take a caller who called Lippert a "sicko" and "pervert."
This is typical Beaudry: he's become obsessed with Lippert, both during last year's election season and the legislative session, accusing him of sympathizing with pedophiles simply because he's gay.
Bigots like Bill O'Reilly and Paul Beaudry have the right to free speech, but Vermonters also have the right — and responsibility — to stand up to intolerance. You don't have to go to New York or Washington to exercise that right — you can do it right here at home by calling WDEV radio and let the station and its advertisers know that you object to how the show is being used as a platform for slandering, targeting and intimidating individuals.
In response to criticism of the O'Reilly ambush on Rep. Lippert, O'Reilly's supporters argue that the group of legislators who rushed to Lippert's defense acted inappropriately.
It's true that some of these legislators were vocal and forceful in condemning the media program's tactics. While in retrospect some of them might wish they had offered a more measured response, I find it entirely understandable that lawmakers would rush to the defense of their colleague and in defense of Vermont's strong child predator laws. In fact, I couldn't agree more with one of the comments a legislator made to the Fox News producers: "Go home!"
Go home, indeed, Mr. O'Reilly, and while you're at it, take Paul Beaudry and his gay-bashing bigots with you. Hate has no place in Vermont.
Bill Lofy is a communications consultant from Jericho whose clients include the leadership of the Vermont House and Senate.
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