Updated: November 11, 2005 at 4:50 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Supervisor Chris Daly is
firing back at Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly for comments he made on
his radio show Wednesday that encouraged al-Qaida to "blow up" Coit Tower.
O'Reilly reacted to San Franciscans' approval of
Proposition I, which discourages military recruiters on public high school
and college campuses.
He advised President George W. Bush to react by
withdrawing any military protection for the city. "...If al-Qaida comes in
here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going
to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San
Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead," O'Reilly said.
Daly responded on the KRON 4 Morning News, "Coit
Tower's a monument to San Francisco's firefighters. They put out the fires
in San Francisco after the great quake. American heroes -- they were there
on Sept. 11 and now you want al-Qaida to blow up Coit Tower? Give us a
break. You are out of line."
John Hanley, president of the San Francisco Firefighter's Union Local 798,
was incensed.
"Coit Tower is a monument to the bravery of the
men and women of the San Francisco Fire Department," Hanley said. "When Bill
O'Reilly makes an attack on Coit Tower, he's attacking us and our bravery."
He added, "Mr. O'Reilly, maybe we should bring
you into some of our burning buildings and see how brave you are."
Proposition I got 60 percent of the vote in
Tuesday's election. It does not ban recruiters, but it does urge schools to
reject them.
Next week, Daly will introduce a resolution
before the Board of Supervisors asking that Fox News fire Bill O'Reilly.