Brendan Nyhan

Laura Ingraham and Bill O’Reilly on “regular” people

Media Matters catches conservative pundit Laura Ingraham suggesting that President Bush was supported by “regular people,” which she offensively defines as white and middle class:

Well, I think it’s interesting that people like [New York Daily News chairman and publisher Mort] Zuckerman [who wrote a June 2 op-ed suggesting that religious conservatives may hurt the Republican Party] would be saying this now, coming off of an election where President Bush was elected with middle-class support, Bill [O’Reilly, host], from about $23,000 to about $50,000 bracket for annual salary. Bush won by six points in all Americans and 22 points in white middle-class voters. So the Republicans are clearly connecting with the regular people, where the Democrats aren’t.

A couple of weeks ago, substitute Wonkette Greg Beato caught Bill O’Reilly using the same kind of racial code — here’s the graphic he created:

Ojury