# O'Reilly, you do have some actual facts to back up that claim, right? Right?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390 "2003-12-28T07:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/41 "2003-12-29T21:03:04Z")
I’d just like to flesh out **elucidator** ’s hypothetical book-deal scenario with a couple of concrete examples. In 1989, Newt Gingrich managed to secure the resignation of House Speaker Jim Wright for accepting a huge royalty return on one of his books. Then, in 1994, when Gingrich himself was Speaker, it became apparent that Gingrich himself had accepted a $4.5 million advance from Rupert Murdoch’s Harper Collins press (Murdoch, of course, is also the owner of FauxNews). More recently, Tom Daschle reputedly took a $500,000 advance for a book about his two years as majority leader in the Senate. One thing you can say about O’Reilly though is that for whatever reason, his book is published by a subsidiary of Random House, rather than another one of Murdoch’s media tentacles. If I recall correctly, O’Reilly refuses to discuss how much his own advance was. After all, he’s not a(n elected) politician. ---
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/42 "2003-12-29T21:59:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > In 1989, Newt Gingrich managed to secure the resignation of House Speaker Jim Wright for accepting a huge royalty return on one of his books. This is not correct. Wright’s troubles stemmed from his end run around House limits on speaking fees by having groups inviting him to speak make bulk purchases of his (totally obscure) book instead of direct payments. I can understand your motivation (or that of whoever fed you the information) in presenting it the way you did - to make Gingrich seem like a hypocrite. Still, fact are facts. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/43 "2003-12-29T22:32:40Z")
> [@](#): > > …to make Gingrich seem like a hypocrite… _Seem_ like a hypocrite? What droll irony! As much as I appreciate it, I hasten to warn you that such subtle underplay may well be lost in the clamor of the pit. _Seem_ like a hypocrite! That’s rich! ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/44 "2003-12-29T23:31:23Z")
Aw, you’re right, **Izzy**. I shouldn’t have focused solely upon the Gingrich book deal. It’s true that he didn’t run the same royalty-kickback routine that Wright did, as I _did not say_ above. Gingrich instead got a $4.5 million advance for his 1994 book. Of course, back in 1984, before Wright had even published his book, Gingrich [published a book using what looks suspiciously like campaign contributions](http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1989/09/beers.3.html). In fact, he was charged with [eighty-fucking-four](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/101198.htm) ethics violations which included hiring outside consultants to formulate the Republican political agenda, making “[misstatements](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/011997.htm)” to the Ethics Committee itself, and [using tax-deductible donations](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/010797.htm) for political goals. Yes, he weaseled out of 83 of those 84 charges, so I suppose he ranks right up there with Bill Clinton as far as his innocence goes. Speaking of which, did I mention that Gingrich was [fucking his intern](http://www.salon.com/people/col/reit/1999/08/17/gingrich/) while howling for Bill Clinton’s head? He divorced his second wife and married young Ms. Bissek in 2000. Gingrich also delivered divorce papers to his first wife while [she was in the hospital](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/boyernewt3.html) recovering from uterine cancer surgery so that he could marry his second wife, with whom he was cheating at the time. And if you want to go straight to the black heart of hypocrisy, Gingrich almost single-handedly invented the practice of [giving speeches to an empty House](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/newt/newtintwshtml/weber3.html) in order to make it appear to CSPAN viewers as if he was actually being listened to by his fellow Representatives. Newt Gingrich is amongst the most hypocritical scum to ever slither through the halls of Congress. And _nobody_ “feeds” me this stuff. It grows like mushrooms on the cowshit that is the man’s vile reputation, ripe for the picking. ---
**Author:** ![665\_aka\_The\_Semi-Christ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/2bfe46/32.png) [@665\_aka\_The\_Semi-Christ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/665_aka_The_Semi-Christ)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/45 "2003-12-30T01:45:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > **I’m starting to get the impression that liberals would defend Hillary Clinton if she marched into a room, Uday Hussein style, and began clubbing to death the food taster.** Would she be wearing fatigues? A sundress and FMP’s? A leather catsuit? ---
**Author:** ![665\_aka\_The\_Semi-Christ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/2bfe46/32.png) [@665\_aka\_The\_Semi-Christ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/665_aka_The_Semi-Christ)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/46 "2003-12-30T02:07:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > **Why would you trust what her publisher says anyway? They already lied about the number sold. Why wouldn’t they lie about their dealings with the DNC?** You do have a cite for this, right? Do show it to us. And they wouldn’t lie about their dealings with the DNC because if they were caught doing so it would be disasterous for both them and the DNC. Now, about that cite for the publisher lying about the number of copies sold. We’re waiting. With semi-baited breath. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/47 "2003-12-30T04:01:29Z")
Newt Gingrich was fucking an aide, not an intern. The aide was 33. Read your own cites. Please note this is a correction of a factual error, and Newt shall burn in a brand new level of hell for all I care. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/48 "2003-12-30T04:28:52Z")
Something about the OP’s tone is familiar. Hopefully i can determine it While Supplies Last… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/49 "2003-12-30T06:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*I’m starting to get the impression that liberals would defend Hillary Clinton if she marched into a room, Uday Hussein style, and began clubbing to death the food taster. > > All I did was contradict this statment: > > There is **no evidence** that the DNC is buying **any bulk orders at all**. > > Well, in fact, there is some evidence from the DNC’s own site. I didn’t say that I proved anything. I said that I corrected a factual error, and I did. I also said that I wasn’t defending O’Reilly, and I’m not. So you can save your sanctimoniousness for someone who gives a shit. Why would you trust what her publisher says anyway? They already lied about the number sold. Why wouldn’t they lie about their dealings with the DNC? > > I’m frankly amazed that a man of Diogenes’ character has not already admitted his error. \*\* Sorry, **Lib** , I haven’t checked into the thread for a while. I concede that you showed some evidence that the DNC may have purchased a bulk order. I thought I did acknowledge your cite with my curt “ok” but obviously I should have been more clear about acknowledging that I was too categorical in my claims. FTR, my intention was not so much to defend Hillary but to call bullshit on O’Reilly’s implication that minus the DNC’s bulk order (still to be proven definitively) he would be selling more books than Hillary. i actually don’t think it matters who sells more books and book sales don’t prove anything about who’s right or wrong. I just think that O’Reilly is being petty and obsessive about this thing. He just can’t seem to accept that his political _bete noirs_ have sold more books than him, especially after he shot his mouth off about how he would outsell everybody. Honestly, he should just be a man and admit that Hillary’s book generated more interest than _anybody_ thought it would. He should take a page from Tucker Carlson who admitted he was wrong with humor and good grace. I also think that Carlson wrote a better book than either of them even though his sales were nowhere near the same. Big sales does not equal quality or validity. _The DaVinci Code_ is a giant bestseller and it’s total crap. I don’t think that Hillary’s book is all that compelling or revealing but it sold a lot of copies. Michael Moore sells a lot of books but I’ve been persuaded (largely from reading this MB) that Moore is every bit the dishonest demagogue that O’Reilly is. I might call him the left-wing Coulter but she’s in a class of her own. Bill is such a self-important crybaby that he can’t admit he’s wrong about _anything_. So he got outsold. It’s no big deal, it’s his third book. The mystique is worn off. There tends to be a law oof vanishing returns with these kinds of books. After a while it’s the same old bullshit in every book. Bill still sold an impressive number of books. Why can’t he just be happy with that.? Anyway, sorry about not acknowledging you more explicitly, **Lib**. I think you posted a valid cite. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/50 "2003-12-30T12:22:23Z")
Thanks for responding, my friend. Your points are all valid. MM and BO are two peas in a pod. They’re like creationists and astrologers, always in search of an angle that they hope will make observations match up with their assumptions. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/51 "2003-12-30T12:29:42Z")
thats just, like, your opinion, man. ---
**Author:** ![Lesbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Lesbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lesbia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/52 "2003-12-30T12:56:50Z")
Can I ask? Has Hillary responded to O’Reilly’s ranting? Does she even care? Has she said anything about this? I kinda picture her laughing at him and then just moving on, going to lunch, attending Senate meetings, calling her daughter, . . . etc . . . and never giving him a second thought. Except to laugh at him again. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/53 "2003-12-30T13:14:12Z")
I wish she’d grant him a live interview. She’d rip him to shreds. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390/54 "2003-12-30T13:48:02Z")
Just in case anyone wonders, the OP is now banned because he is **WSLer** , who’s a very slow learner. This thread is closed, as it’s not really discussing the OP anymore anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oreilly-you-do-have-some-actual-facts-to-back-up-that-claim-right-right/221390.md?page=2)