Bill O’Reilly has begun a campaign to get MSNBC to fire Keith Olbermann and reinstate Phil Donahue. redheadedwoman reported it on dailykos, including the text of the petition:
February 22, 2006
Chairman Robert Wright
National Broadcasting Company
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112Dear Chairman Wright:
We, the undersigned, are becoming increasingly concerned about the well-being of MSNBC and, in particular, note the continuing ratings failure of the program currently airing weeknights on that network at 8:00 PM EST.
It is now apparent to everyone that a grave injustice has been done to the previous host for that time slot, Phil Donahue, whose ratings, at the time of his show’s cancellation three years ago, were demonstrably stronger than those of the current host.
Therefore, in an effort to rescue MSNBC from the ratings basement and to restore the honor and dignity of Mr. Donahue, who was ignobly removed as host three years ago, we ask that you immediately bring Phil Donahue’s show back at 8:00 PM EST before any more damage is done.
This is a transparently self-serving campaign couched entirely in altruistic terms, putatively for the good of his competitor. In other words, the present-day Republican Party in a single sentence.
Olbermann’s response, courtesy of Crooks & Liars, is a delight.
I signed the petition as “Hugh R. Kidding-Wright,” joining a slew of others who signed in something other than dead earnest. A friend grabbed some sample signatures from the site before they changed the code to stop displaying the 100 most recent signatures:
She’s A Witch! .. Burn Her! -1
J Jonah Jamison .. Daily Bugle -1
Keith is great !. Shut Up Bill GA
Republicans_hate_science E. Darwin RI
Only I speak the Truth .. https://www.outfoxed.org/ -1
Rightwing_idiots_love_oil Q. Exxon SD
Keith_is_the_Best !. Shut_Up_Bill AR
joseph_goebbels B. Berlin AS
Bwahahahahaha_Billy_about_to_get_canned! H.
maggots_look_better_than_Bill OH
ima n. fauxnews/pravda TX
Are You Going to Talk About us .. On Your little TV “show”? -1
Fire Bill .. Please Fire Bill -1
Keith_is_Great !. Faloofah MT
Fire Bill .. Please Fire Bill -1
Bwahahaha !. Rotfalafel UT
AndreaMackris R. HasYourCash PW
YOU ARE A .. WORTHLESS HUMAN BEING -1
I_Love_Keith ‘. Fire_O;Lielly WI
blotchyskin o. falafelscrub VI
For the Love of God .. Please Fire Bill -1
OLielly_is_a_Fool i. Shut_Up OR
what_a_little_baby_you_are y. please_kill_yourself OH
ORielly_is_a_Crybaby i. Big_Pussy TN
Look At My R. Ratings Drop! NC
I don’t get it. Phil recently made a complete fool of Bill on the Factor. Then again, maybe it was just “good TV”. What a dork.
Bill doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Phil Donahue or MSNBC – he just wants to get rid of Olbermann, who commits the unpardonable sin of laughing at O’Reilly.