It's no secret, Stephen Colbert based his wildly popular fake news pundit on America’s most popular Fox News pundit Bill 'Papa Bear' O'Reilly.
According to the Huffington Post, on his opening show of 2013 Colbert took the opportunity to lampoon O'Reilly's latest racial gaffe: that he's surprised by how much of Hawaii's 35% Asian population is 'liberal,' considering 'Asian people are not liberal, you know, by nature. They're usually more industrious and hard-working.'
Wisely anticipating the avalanche of incoming criticism, Colbert instantly defended O'Reilly from 'the liberal media,' which in this case turned out to be Ed Schultz, and he stood firm against accusations that O'Reilly had made insensitive, racially generalizing comments:
'Folks, Bill was not being racist. He was simply painting an entire race with one brush,' Colbert joked.
According to the Huffington Post, O'Reilly was actually making informed comments when it came to Hawaii's demographics, which he suggested presented the true picture about the issues facing the island state.
Read more: Fox’s Bill O’Reilly is now the most popular historian in America today
The island state’s relatively high levels of social ills, such as drug addiction and crime, reportedly surprised O'Reilly, who noted 35 percent of Hawaii's population is Asian.
O'Reilly added that white people are outnumbered 'by more than two to one' there, which he claimed explained the state's 'big time' margin of votes for President Obama in the 2012 election.
According to US Census data from 2011, Asians constitute 38.5 percent of Hawaii's population, with Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders accounting for another 10.1 percent. White people actually comprise just over a quarter of the island's demographics, at 26 percent. In the 2012 US Presidential election, President Obama won Hawaii by a more than 40 percent margin.
But demographics are one issue, extrapolating the racial character of the biggest percentage of the world’s population from them is something Colbert probably wishes O'Reilly will continue to do, even if Asians themselves cringe or take offense at his effort.
Bill O'Reilly Confused By 'Liberal' Asians Who Don't Meet His Stereotype -
10 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.hollabackgurl | Jan 10, 2013, 12:02 AM EST
The GOP don't have an 'image problem' they have an 'ideas problem' and a 'time problem.' They don't have any ideas other than welfare cuts for the poor and tax cuts for the rich and they haven't realized that it's not 1950.
irishpjk | Jan 09, 2013, 05:07 PM EST
wtf.If the people of this great nation don’t stop concentrating on the O’Reillys, Colbert’s and Limbaugh’s and look at where we are headed we will end up just like the former USSR and Europe. Then who is going to bail out the world. Look at Washington, your state and local government and force the changes needed.
Porickseantuny | Jan 09, 2013, 03:10 PM EST
Why all the sensitivity? The Irish are characterized as "fighting" as in Notre Dame, drunkards see Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon. Maybe because there are genetic and cultural differences and except for the Irish it's not PC to note them
Nicomax | Jan 09, 2013, 02:04 PM EST
The Asian voter obviously found the GOP candidates not meeting today's challenges. e i
michaelidaho | Jan 09, 2013, 12:13 PM EST
Wow. This was a pretty dumb remark by O'Reilly. Anybody with half a brain realizes from the last election that the GOP has an image problem among immigrants and non whites. Try adopting a more pro-immigrant and inclusive message and then maybe more Asians (and Latinos for that matter) will vote Republican.
FastEddy | Jan 09, 2013, 11:58 AM EST
Well, mildly amusing anyway. Of course anytime the mean scream media has something to say about any of the competition, they come out with both barrels (there aught to be a law?): Colbert, the smart-a, liberal loony tunes, wienie who couldn't quite get it up to actually call O'Reilly an outright racist, could spew enough mixed metaphors to tie his tongue ... blah, blah, blah ...
Scrivner | Jan 09, 2013, 11:53 AM EST
This is newsworthy? Colbert's meat & potatoes target has been O'Reilly for a long time, in fact they feed off each other in a symbiotic relationship.
johnshiel | Jan 09, 2013, 11:19 AM EST
sharp guy, that Colbert... he definces the razor sharp edge of polical correctness even as he rather effectively mock t... rather impressive, eh??
slainte9 | Jan 09, 2013, 09:58 AM EST
Saying everything is about race is worse. There are in fact cultural differences between people from Asia that might lead us to believe they are deeply conservative in their view of family and being serious about work. Why do we have to pretend these cultural differences don't exist because people love to play the "race card." By the way, scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as race.
darragh S | Jan 09, 2013, 08:56 AM EST
Nothing worse than news about politics and religion constantly, not really entertaining and just entertains peoples tendency to be numbed by fear and impending doom, accept maybe Fake news about politics and religion. Pfffftttt get a real job you Fake bums.