Bill Maher

[rso]

Bill is letting right wing bimbo Megyn Kelly go on and on about conservative grievances. Sickening.

[Johnny2X2X]

1. She lives in a fantasy land

She thinks white people are the biggest victims. It’s maddening he didn’t challenge her at all.

[CatWoman]

2. isn't she the idiot who loudly proclaimed Santa Claus is white?

[SoonerPride]

3. Yes. She is a racist moron.

Giving her 5 minutes or 30 seconds is a waste of valuable air time

[Skittles]

12. I remember when she said that

it was the same day I saw a signing Santa.....no doubt she thinks Santas cannot be deaf either

[edhopper]

4. What fucking school

does she send her kids to?
Most parents worry about their kids just getting an education in underfunded schools.

Her kids went to a $50k a year private school.

[SlogginThroughIt]

5. As always I have no idea why people watch his show.

He is an absolute attention whore. And that is all he is.

[radius777]

93. +1. Maher is a smug libertarian,

one who I will remind people has always given a platform to alt-right types like Coulter and others under the guise of 'being politically incorrect'.

Maher thought after 9-11 that only Muslims should get screened at the airport, and was quite put off by the fact that he had to get screened.

Maher was very anti-lockdown.

Maher is another one who excuses alot of Trumpism on the basis of 'economic anxiety' arguments.

Basically he sucks and it's amazing anyone thinks he's on our side.

[Kid Berwyn]

6. White Privileged Victim

She’s a real pro.

[sfstaxprep]

7. Can't Understand Why DU'ers Watch Him

He gives these Right Wingers air time, EVERY WEEK. Lets them have airtime to spew their Bullshit. He has a love affair with good ol' Ann Coulter.

And yet, people watch him, as if he's on our side. I'll haven't watched his show for years, and will NEVER watch it in the future. Not worth my time or energy.

[edhopper]

9. Ezra Klein

and JonnTester also on.

[sfstaxprep]

13. He Diminishes Those Guests When He Has The Crackpots On And Lets Them Spew Bullshit nt

[edhopper]

15. I agree

[Maru Kitteh]

8. When will people learn? Turn that shit off. He's an idiot.

No really. Turn it off. Bill is just an asshole, a very lucky man of extremely limited and swiftly vanishing utility.

[Skittles]

10. is that the White Santa gal?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Johnny2X2X]

11. He hair said wearing masks is unhealthy

Seriously. He is an idiot.

[LessAspin]

14. Bill & Megyn whining about losing White Privilege

Maher is the worst...

Link to tweet

https://upload.democraticunderground.com/1016240318

[Hamlette]

36. she compared lou Dobbs to Don Lemon?????

later in the show Bill was bitching about his inability to get solar power and trashing Dems so I turned it off.

[betsuni]

39. Maher said it was a false equivalency.

http://www.rawstory.com/megyn-kelly

[Faux pas]

16. I

don't watch him any more. He's lost his luster imho.

[jcgoldie]

17. he sucks.

[misanthrope]

18. Maher sounds more and more like

[Johnny2X2X]

19. He's not funny anymore.

His joke writers should be fired.

He’s becoming a white grievance spokesperson.

And cancel culture is so overblown. They’re taking these rare cases that are wrong and making them seem like it’s happening everywhere all the time. There’s 330 Million people in the country. Virtually none of them have been victims of cancel culture or know someone who has.

[demosincebirth]

20. I watch him every week.

[kcr]

52. Points for honesty, I guess n/t

[demosincebirth]

74. Many don't like to hear the truth about ourselves - do we?

[gulliver]

21. He let her cherry pick and exaggerate (or make up) horror stories of "far left" foolishness

The stories she was relating about overzealous numbskulls abusing schoolchildren by dragging them into politics are surely rare. No thinking person, Dem or otherwise, would support them. Tester said it best a few minutes later. Republicans are good at picking out vaguely (and unreliably) Dem-associated oddballs and making them representative of us. Bill helped Kelly do that on his show tonight. Very disappointing.

Also, more idiocy about Covid. He actually put down Fauci. Bill is losing it. I think he's just bummed about not being able to do standup in the waning years of his career and not thinking right. But he's never been good on vaccines.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

22. He's a science denialist.

And he cares more about this fake "cancel culture" (aka the new war on Christmas) than the war on our poor and marginalized.

[Marie Marie]

23. I take comfort in the fact that she went from a prime time anchor on

Fox, to a failed show on NBC(?) to now podcasting. Don't get me wrong, I love podcasts and listen to many but for a woman extremely self-impressed with her looks and her status, that is a real downturn.

[UTUSN]

26. "failed" yet picked up ($15-30? ) millions to do nothing. She & Bill got jollies flirting. But I

like his contrarian and irreligious skew and his comedy (much funnier than CARLIN ever was), and I dispute many of our co-DUers who detest that he hosts wingnuts. He goes toe to toe with most of them. I do more Opposition Research than I listen to those who tell me what I already know.

[quickesst]

24. I have found over the years....

.... that when it comes to Bill Maher, what is posted here is rarely in proper context to the segment which is being referred to. It is always better to form one's own opinion based upon a first-hand account which is always readily available on YouTube.
Bill Maher continues to be one of HBO's top draws which is reflected by his fans, which I am positive Ted Cruz, and Mitch McConnell are not a part of.

[betsuni]

25. So true.

I see these threads filled with knee-jerk negativity and then see the show on YouTube and I think, oh, that was a discussion about things between people who are not me. Listening to it didn't turn me into a monster or Republican or anything. I dread Fridays when Real Time is on because I know the scheduled Maher Attack is coming. I guess it's supposed to discourage viewing? Why anyone wouldn't want to form their own opinion is a mystery to me.

[quickesst]

53. of the numerous occasions....

.... that I have responded to Bill Maher bashing threads, and set the record of context in its proper place, I can honestly say I have never received a reply in defense of their position. It has been crickets every single time. I suspect that one reason this happens is for a boost to the ego knowing that there are people here who will jump on the bashing bandwagon without ever having viewed the segment that is being referenced, and actually forming an opinion based upon first hand knowledge. I'm sure there are other reasons, but this is the one that, as my Uncle JT used to say, sticks in my craw.

[ChubbyStar]

27. Maher is complicated

I like that in a man.

[quickesst]

54. "I like that in a man"....

....or a woman. So do I ChubbyStar. He is a public figure that is absolutely comfortable in his own skin.

[Dem4Life1102]

28. How dare anyone criticize a

rich, white, bigoted and sexist TV celebrity who likes to demonize democrats.

[USALiberal]

56. lol, nice try! Nt

[Dem4Life1102]

58. The truth hurts sometimes

[11 Bravo]

69. He's a sexist because he allows Coulter and Kelly to spew wingnut bullshit ...

without interrupting or talking over them?

If you say so.

[Dem4Life1102]

79. No it's more stuff like this

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-maher-defends-chris-matthews-and-mocks-his-sexual-harassment-accuser-thank-you-rosa-parks

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/opinion/bill-mahers-attacks-on-women.html

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/07/bill-maher-s-sexist-tweet-the-so-called-progressive-makes-light-of-domestic-violence.html

[demosincebirth]

75. You just stepped off the cliff! Get real.

[Dem4Life1102]

78. I am "getting real"

about Maher. Just being honest about him.

[demosincebirth]

87. Just an opposing view, my friend.

[tonedevil]

92. Just like yours. /nt

[USALiberal]

50. +100000 nt

[quickesst]

55. USALiberal

[edhopper]

67. I watched it

and this thread is largely accurate. His talk with Ezra Klein and John Tester was good, but the thing with Kelly and her kids at the "leftist" Upper West Side private school was a shit show.

[quickesst]

81. well gosh dang it....

.... It's a good thing I included the word "rarely" in my first post.

[JonLP24]

70. He brought on Megyn 'blackface' Kelly for a 1-on-1 interview

That was Maher's choice.

[quickesst]

82. it certainly was his choice....

... and I didn't feel threatened by it at all.

[JonLP24]

83. You understand why Democrats would criticize Megyn Kelly

Especially if Bill Maher gave her a softball interview. He should have brought Megyn Kelly on the panel with some liberal/progressive Democrats but I doubt Kelly would agree to that.

From what I understand the 1 Democrat was Jon Tester.

[quickesst]

84. Hmmm....

"From what I understand the 1 Democrat was Jon Tester."

Can I take it you did not watch the segment?

When I watched the Megyn Kelly interview, my first thought was..."You gotta be kidding! Democrats are having a shit fit over that?"

Meanwhile, Steve Schmidt, the person who brought us Sarah Palin, and was almost single-handedly responsible 4 torpedoing John Kerry's presidential campaign is now a darling of Democratic Underground. Just to be clear, I for one am glad he's on our side now. I only use him as an example for perspective.

[JonLP24]

86. I actually don't like The Lincoln Project

This is one of my favorite recent op-eds.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/21/andrew-cuomo-lincoln-project-disasters

I actually recently cancelled HBO. I didn't watch Maher but I like other content on HBO but Maher had 3 bad shows in a row after the insurrection. Plus I was cutting expenses at the time. I often find out what Maher says anyway.

Bill Maher and Megyn Kelly Argue White People Are Being Targeted

(Snip)

Then, they got down to the real reason Maher invited Kelly onto the program: her recent decision to pull her kids from New York City private school, citing how the “leftist” school was teaching her children critical race theory at too young an age. Kelly has been shouting from the rooftops about this school situation in an apparent effort to draw attention to her new podcast.

“You took your kids out of the school in New York, and I’ve been hearing—anecdotally—very much the same thing from many parents,” said Maher, who surely hangs out with a bunch of New York parents. “Just tell us why, basically, you did this.”

“We were in the New York City private school system,” explained Kelly, “and they were definitely leftist, we’re more center-right, and that’s fine… then they started taking a really hard turn toward social justice stuff.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bill-maher-and-megyn-kelly-argue-white-people-are-being-targeted

Bill Maher is about 30 years older than I am so it has probably been awhile since he's been in school. I went to school under the Clinton administration and I learned about MLK and the Civil Rights movement. I also learned about Hitler & Nazi propaganda. I read The Diary of Anne Frank in school. I guess you could say this was the Antifa part of my education.

I also served in the Army under Bush and Bill Maher would be very uncomfortable in Equal Opportunity briefings in the military.

[quickesst]

88. with everything that's happening....

.... in our country these days, it's hard for me to get worked up about Bill Maher interviewing Megyn Kelly.

"I went to school under the Clinton administration and I learned about MLK and the Civil Rights movement. I also learned about Hitler & Nazi propaganda. I read The Diary of Anne Frank in school."

Well, there you have it. I went to school long before Bill Clinton was ever president or governor of Arkansas. They didn't teach any of that back then.

[JonLP24]

90. Just addressing what Kelly & Maher said about schools

And giving my opinion.

Here are Bishop Talbert Swan's thoughts.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[quickesst]

96. I get it

Megyn Kelly is not a good person and Bill Maher was unfortunately, nice to her. After watching the segment, which I found quite boring, I asked myself, what impact will this interview have on society, or any individual. The answer I came up with was.... none whatsoever. What surprises me is the number of people dedicating so much time to someone so inconsequential.

[Initech]

29. Yeah he was unbearable this week.

I get that he has complaints about "cancel culture" and "wokeness" but the thing is people should be held accountable for their actions and right now the Trump administration made it OK to be an insufferable asshole. It's going to take a lot to reverse that course. And the real irony of this? The right practices "cancel culture" far more than we do. Oreos makes a tweet about supporting trans rights? They boycott Oreos. Mr. Potato Head is no longer going to be called "Mr"? They will boycott the product and have endless debates about it. So yeah before you complain, Bill, take a look at who's really doing the complaining.

[Silent3]

30. Maher said those very words, or close to it, "people should be held accountable"...

...in criticizing whiny right wingers who use the term "cancel culture" for... simply being held accountable.

Then he switched gears to what he thinks (and you may or may not agree) is excessive cancel culture. So he definitely didn't please everyone on the left, but he hardly went far right either.

[Initech]

31. I think it kind of works both ways.

We get pissed at them for racist and sexist comments, they get pissed at us when Oreos tweets in support of trans people and Hasbro decides to sell a genderless Potato Head doll. It's kind of the ultimate circular firing squad.

[Dem4Life1102]

32. Cancel culture is a right wing talking point

Always has been. It use to be called being held accountable for your actions.

[betsuni]

33. "The phrase ... experienced notable growth in 2016 and 2017, particularly on Black Twitter."

http://www.insider.com/cancel-culture-meaning-history-origin-phrase-used-negatively-2020-7

[Dem4Life1102]

35. Interesting article

Thanks for posting.

[betsuni]

38. What's the keyword?

[Dem4Life1102]

44. ???

[JonLP24]

71. Not the first time white people use something from the black community and twist it

“Canceling” came out of the unlikeliest place: a misogynistic joke

Given how frequently it’s been used to repudiate sexism and misogyny, it’s ironic that the concept of “canceling” shares its DNA with a misogynistic joke. Possibly the first reference to canceling someone comes with the 1991 film New Jack City, in which Wesley Snipes plays a gangster named Nino Brown. In one scene, after his girlfriend breaks down because of all the violence he’s causing, he dumps her by saying, “Cancel that bitch. I’ll buy another one.” (We reportedly owe this witticism to screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper.)

https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/12/30/20879720/what-is-cancel-culture-explained-history-debate

It is like the word "woke"

‘WOKE WITH A HARD R’: HOW THE RIGHT CREATED A NEW DOG WHISTLE

The word first blossomed in pop culture in an Erykah Badu track back in 2008. On “Master Teacher,” she breathily whispers about how she’s trying to find her way to a beautiful world (and herself). As the afro-crowned crooner goes on to dream about this world, she poses and answers a question: “What if it were no niggas / Only master teachers? / I stay woke.”

Throughout the rest of the song, Badu uses this refrain, “I stay woke,” imbuing it with a mystical yet practical meaning. It’s a way to speak to the dual social consciousness of Black Americans. We can never be just one thing. Even when we chase the American Dream, we must “stay woke.”

(Snip)

Then, Ferguson happened. After Michael Brown’s murder, the BLM movement leapt into the national consciousness. With it came wokeness, a culture unto itself. “Woke” soon started to serve as a shorthand among people calling for the world to wake up to the systemic racism that was causing Black men and women to become hashtags at an alarming rate. Next, as often happens, white people seized on woke as a handy catchall. As such, woke morphed into an online signifier, but one generally used by young, well-meaning white people who were urging others to become aware of the racist agendas operating against Black life. Woke became a semi-hip racist critique.

Quickly, though, woke also became the opposite. It became a polite slur, a dog whistle used to mock anyone who dares to suggest that American history and culture is racist, and argues that life in America should radically change based on that understanding. This new cultural meaning for “woke” helps to explain why, when Senator Josh Hawley recently lost a big book deal, he didn’t pause to reflect on the fact that he’d incited a riot in the nation’s capitol that claimed five lives; instead, he blamed “woke culture.”

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/woke-with-a-hard-r-how-the-right-created-a-new-dogwhistle

[BootinUp]

76. If it weren't those words used negatively

It would be some others where the meaning is twisted. This is how the culture war is kept going. I’m still hoping that with the last 5 years behind us, and RW warriors exposed as anything but patriots, that the popularity of the culture war ratchets down a few notches. We shall see.

[Silent3]

42. The phrase "cancel culture" is definitely used as a right wing talking point...

Last edited Sat Feb 27, 2021, 12:02 PM - Edit history (1)

...but that's not the only thing it is.

Some people do sometimes pay ridiculously high consequences for fairly minor transgressions, or things in their past that aren't so terrible that they don't at the very least deserve a second chance before being fired or publicly shamed.

Do you simply disagree that this happens, or do you think it happens but should be called something else?

[Dem4Life1102]

43. I would need to judge on a case by case basis

[tonedevil]

77. You mean like Shirley Sherrod? /nt

[Silent3]

80. That's a good example

Democrats and liberals and progressives are way, way to eager to eat their own to demonstrate purity.

Republicans are way too eager to ignore all wrong doing of their own -- except for disloyalty to the party, and now disloyalty to Trump. Those are unforgivable. This is how they demonstrate purity.

[JonLP24]

85. It was Tom Vilsack that fired Sherrod over a Brietbart smear

He was recently confirmed by the Senate.

---------------


On March 27, 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod addressed the NAACP’s 20th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet. Months later, a small excerpt from Sherrod’s speech was posted by Tea Partier Andrew Breitbart on the Internet. The excerpt went viral, stirring up controversy over Sherrod’s racially biased statements. As a result, Sherrod was forced to resign by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Later, however, further footage of the speech showed Sherrod’s comments to be taken out of context, prompting the USDA to offer Sherrod a new position.

(Snip)

Sherrod explains that when word of her speech reached the White House, she received three phone calls while driving, asking her to pull over to the side of the road and submit her immediate resignation. Sherrod said she was told, “You will be on Glenn Beck tonight,” as a semi-explanation for her forced resignation.

https://thenewamerican.com/shirley-sherrod-fiasco/

[Crunchy Frog]

37. Sounds pretty typical of him. I don't know why anyone is still watching him at this point. nt

[eShirl]

40. Anne Coulter was a regular guest on his old show.

They used to date.

[betsuni]

41. When asked, "Could you ever imagine dating Bill Maher" she said "If you were interviewing

Last edited Sat Feb 27, 2021, 08:49 AM - Edit history (1)

Margaret Thatcher, would you ask her that? 'No, I think not.'" The nineties called, they say "So what?"

Bill Maher: "No, I have never dated a Republican. I never have."

Why would anyone not want people to watch a show that urges everyone to vote for Democrats?

[Dem4Life1102]

45. Sometimes urges people to vote for Democrats

and sometimes pushes right wing talking points and attacks Democrats.

[betsuni]

46. Wrong. Who always says Democrats are corrupt and the same as Republicans?

Not Maher.

[Dem4Life1102]

47. No Reality

[betsuni]

48. Oh, mel...

[Dem4Life1102]

49. Oh my!

[USALiberal]

51. Every week someone whines about maher! Nt

[Paladin]

59. With good reason. (nt)

[USALiberal]

60. The stop watching!!!!! Easy solution!!! Nt

[Paladin]

62. I stopped watching him years ago.

The only thing I've gone by since is the weekly DU commentary on his show---confirming that I made the correct decision.

Maher is one season of liberal-trashing rants and right-wing guests away from appearing at CPAC. People need to find a better use of their time than watching his show. Trust me, you'll feel better for it.

[rso]

57. Maher

The segment on the “Pillow Guy” was funny and some of the lines in “New Rules” as well, but he definitely uses “bothsiderism” way too much. The parties are not the same.

[betsuni]

61. New Rule: The Republicans are the Problem

He does not say both sides are the same, that Democrats are establishment neoliberal corrupt status quo elites lesser-of-two-evils as others do.

[MarcATL]

63. When you CONSISTENTLY harbor one side, while agreeing w/them...

AND are OPENLY hostile to another side, and CONSTANTLY berate them.

Fact is, the SOB doesn't even have lefties on his show.

You're proclaiming to the world what side you're on.

[maximusveritas]

64. The guy donated $1 million in a single cycle to Obama and to Democrats

Actions speak louder than words.
And this SOB's actions are likely way more than you or anyone else on this site.

[Elessar Zappa]

65. He's an anti-Muslim bigot.

I don’t give anyone a pass for that, I don’t care how much they support our side. Bigotry is intolerable from anyone.

[betsuni]

66. He gave at least three million to get Democrats elected, and continually calls on other wealthy

people to give more than they do. According to what some people say, the Democratic Party is, like, totally beholden to "wealthy donor class" Maher and has to do whatever he says.

[MarcATL]

68. His weekly platform attacking the left does way more harm than a measly 1 million.

And I use the term "measly" consciously.

[jalan48]

72. I watched last night's show and found it kinda boring. Not sure what Megyn was talking about

regarding her kids schools. Was it even true?

[lanlady]

73. Megyn brings nothing to the table

I never understood why anyone, left or right, gives her airtime. She's a fake journalist with no evident talent. There's more pan makeup there than brain matter.

Bill can be maddening at times. This was one of them. He didn't challenge Kelly when she said Rachel Maddow was wrong to pursue the Trump-Russia matter. Rachel was completely vindicated by the Mueller report - it's not her fault that a corrupt AG tried to bury the report and mislead the public about its conclusions.

[brooklynite]

89. Why do this many people care?

[Willto]

91. Extreme Exaggeration

One of my weekly rituals is watching Maher's show and then coming here to read the ridiculous exaggerations of how anti left and anti Democrat his show was. A good analogy for the extent of the overstatement would be watching someone trim their fingernails with a pair of clippers and then coming here to see it described as a beheading by guillotine. LOL!

You Maher bashers are good for a weekly laugh though. Thanks!

[demosincebirth]

95. Totally agree.

[budkin]

94. Bill Maher absolutely sucks

He just does.