During a discussion about Michele Bachmann's "Tea Party" response to the official GOP response to the State of the Union address by Paul Ryan, Bachmann was asked by Bill O'Reilly about how she felt after hearing that her fellow Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot. Bachmann of course doesn't think she's been irresponsible with her rhetoric but blames the media for daring to point out her words.
O'REILLY: Ok, so she gets shot. And then I'm sure because she is your friend, as soon as you hear that she is shot, I mean, you are emotionally you know, going "what can I do? And you know, sure, anybody's friend who gets shot reacts that way.
And then within hours, then, your picture is up there along with Sarah Palin and me and Glenn Beck and other people as accessories to the murder because other people were murdered, six people were murdered and her -- her wound.
And -- and I just wondering, and I want you to be honest with me Congresswoman. And you're always honest. But I want you to go a little bit further than you usually do. When you first heard that, those vile accusations, what went through your mind?
BACHMANN: Well, I was horrified because they were politicizing a tragedy that had happened to my friend. And I was almost rendered speechless. I -- I didn't go on TV for a long time after that because I was appalled that the media would completely abandon the truth in this situation. Anyone watching this within two minutes knew that this was a deranged lunatic. And to -- to use names of people in the media that people had a political grudge against just struck me as so not only unhelpful but just wrong. It was wrong. And this is Gabrielle....
(CROSS TALK)
O'REILLY: Ok so when you -- when you Michele Bachmann -- when you see an injustice like this do you get angry? Do you get sad? What -- how do you -- what happens to you as a person?
BACHMANN: Well, first of all, I was crying. When I heard about this I was crying. My tears were flowing. I -- I couldn't believe that this has happened to someone that I knew, that I respected. And, again, I can't wait to give her a standing ovation when hopefully she marches through those doors in the House of Representatives.
But I was just appalled at the way they treated her. I felt like we needed a sacred interval of time. Gabrielle deserved a sacred interval of time, because this should be about finding the truth. And the media seemed like they could care less. They wanted to pin your name, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin. All they could do is look for someone that they could point their finger to but they could care less about the truth. And anybody could see that. And it was just appalling to watch it happen.
(CROSS TALK)
O'REILLY: All right --
BACHMANN: So I didn't want to get into it, I didn't want to get into the middle of it and dignify what they were saying.
(CROSS TALK)
O'REILLY: -- so -- so you -- and I can understand that. All right, because you knew her. Now -- so you get sad and you -- all right. Now, I get angry. That's how I deal with injustice. I get angry. That's me.
So then I came on Monday night and I don't know whether you saw it or not and I just ripped them. I -- I just, bang. "New York Times," Krugman, MSNBC, just missile after missile after missile. And then the game was on; the game of who was right and who was wrong and this and that. They lost as President Obama's speech indicated, they being the far left.
BACHMANN: Ok.
O'REILLY: They lost. So, do you think that the victory is temporary or is the far left damaged now forever in this country?
BACHMANN: Well, I think already quite a few people in the media are somewhat discounted or seen as dinosaurs because they aren't truthful. And again, I think shows like yours, for instance, I think are highly rated because people feel they can come here and they can get a big dose of the truth. That's what people want.
And so for all of those people that were out there with their wild hair ideas, I really think that they have hurt their credibility enormously because people simply want the truth. That's the casualty out of all of this.
(CROSS TALK)
O'REILLY: All right, well, I think you're right.
BACHMANN: -- aside from Gabrielle.
O'REILLY: Because that MSNBC outfit; big, big reorganization over there.
BACHMANN: Yes.
O'REILLY: Bernie Goldberg is going to deal with a little while.
Congresswoman thanks very much. We appreciate it, we'll be watching you tomorrow night.
BACHMANN: Bill thanks.
