Gabriel Winant argues on Salon today that Bill O’Reilly’s ongoing crusade against abortion doctor George Tiller was “sensationally irresponsible.” O’Reilly has railed regularly against Tiller, who was murdered in church yesterday, alleging that he “has blood on his hands” and is “a disgrace upon everyone who lives in Kansas.” Winant argues that “O’Reilly didn’t tell anyone to do anything violent, but he did put Tiller in the public eye, and help make him the focus of a movement with a history of violence against exactly these kinds of targets (including Tiller himself, who had already been shot).” Had O’Reilly not come up yet with a way to address the murder on his show tonight, now he’ll at least be able to devote significant time to addressing this claim — giving him something to be mad about rather than awkwardly muffled. There’s certainly plenty to be said in O’Reilly defense on this, and we expect to hear all of it. What do you guys think of Winant’s argument?
