Stop the Limbaugh - Maher comparisons NOW.

[Initech]

There's absolutely no reason for these. Maher is on a paid cable network that no one is twisting your arm to subscribe to. He got dropped from ABC once over comments he made. Limbaugh on the other hand is on free radio with a huge audience and a wide sponsorship base. He is also on Armed Forces Network. Maher isn't. Don't you think anyone who speaks to our troops on a daily basis should be held to a higher standard than someone on a paid-for cable network? Say what you want.

[The Magistrate]

1. Remember The Old Definition Of A Liberal, Sir: A Man Who Won't Take His Own Side In A Fight

Some people are just too invested in an ideal concept of fairness to show any sense or be of any use.

Then there are trolls who simply want to stir trouble or dilute a shrewd blow against the right being struck right now by the public.

[Zalatix]

28. Trolls? Like the African Americans who got mad at Don Imus and then used him

as an inspiration to attack not only Don Imus but also rap music and other racist, misogynistic crap? Were they trolls for taking the opportunity to try to clean house?

The trolls are the ones who want to make excuses for Limbaugh by bringing up Maher.

The real equal rights activists are the ones who are determined that Limbaugh will metaphorically hang, but he will not hang alone. It's time to clean house, totally.

Limbaugh is going down. We're all going to make sure he pays for this. After that some of us are going after every other name on the list, with boycotts. We're gonna clean house.

[arcane1]

2. And you won't see liberal politicians kissing Maher's ass either

Thank you for this!

[pnwest]

5. Zakly. Dems don't take their marching orders from Maher.

[CAPHAVOC]

3. But

People can switch to another movie channel. Capiche.

[Uncle Joe]

4. I could agree more with your sentiments if cable were Ala Carte, unfortunately

you must buy a bunch of useless or unwanted channels to get the ones you want, so the coporate media can and does manipulate what the people see and hear in that manner.

Having said that, even though I don't agree with all of Maher's opinions, I've enjoyed watching his program on occasion in the past.

Thanks for the thread, Initech.

[karynnj]

6. I agree that the public airways are different and that what the troops get is different

However, I think that when attacks go beyond the pale on our side, it puts us in a bad position. For instance all the photoshopped pictures turning GWB into a monkey give the Conservatives the right to say that the left does the same thing when they attack Obama.

The Maher and Limbaugh analogy is not good as both Palin and Dr Laura are public figures, which Flute was not. I do think that our politicians are more ready to say that things in bad taste are in bad taste - and some have been attacked here for doing so. (I remember even after the election that Whoopie Goldberg was angry that Kerry said her tasteless joke was in bad taste and should not have been told and that he did not hear it at a fund raiser.)

Another problem with the analogy is that Maher is not a Democrat or a liberal - he is basically a libertarian. Limbaugh is a leader of conservatives.

[godai]

7. Limbaugh didn't donate $1M to Obama. Maher DID. Maybe cut him some slack? n/t

[Luminous Animal]

9. And? Libertarian misogynists should be barred from donating to party and president of their

choice? They don't deserve representation?

I'd have no problem with Rush donating a million to the Republican candidate and it would be stupid to ask that candidate to return the money.

[godai]

11. Maher's donation was a good thing.

He donated to the Democrats. He's not so Libertarian to donate to Paul. Have you even watched his show? The panels are great and New Rules are hilarious. I don't require comedians that I enjoy to be 100% in agreement with my political views. I'm kind of open-mindedly funny that way.

[Luminous Animal]

15. I misunderstood your post. I though it was criticism. But thanks for letting me know

how open minded you are.

[godai]

16. I edited it to clarify. n/t

[democrat_patriot]

10. So what? I'm sure Limbaugh has donated much more to women hating Republicans.

Maher actually fights for liberal values.

Maher has one of the few liberal slanted shows out there.

Maher rocks.

[godai]

13. Yes, Maher rocks. The donation was a GOOD thing. n/t

[ProfessionalLeftist]

8. Definitely a big difference: Limbaugh uses public airwaves

Maher doesn't.

Here's what strikes me as incredibly hypocritical about this: Obama's policy requiring insurance cos to cover birth control does NOT use "public" money for this coverage. These are private corporations. Furthermore, women who purchase that coverage do so via their employers or other means -- and are doing so with THEIR money, not the public's money.

In contrast, we have to be subjected to the blazing ignorance and insulting hatred of Limbaugh on PUBLIC airwaves (am radio) funded by PUBLIC money ie: taxpayers. So while he's lambasting Ms. Fluke for something she isn't even asking for and that Obama in fact did not mandate, he's doing that very same thing HIMSELF ie: the public is paying him to verbally masturbate himself on public airwaves. And he certainly thinks THAT is OK.

This is the height of both ignorance and hypocrisy. So, yes this is a HUGE difference.

[LanternWaste]

12. The mechanisms they use to promote their vulgarity and misogyny are completely different...

Precisely right. The mechanisms they use to promote their vulgarity and misogyny are completely different-- one's a public mechanism and the other is a private mechanism.

And no one should conflate or confuse their boorish and over-preening sense of self-righteousness at all because one's a libertarian and the other is a republican, and it's perfectly acceptable to be vulgar if you're not an (R).

[godai]

17. And one's a comedian. n/t

[backscatter712]

14. Bringing up Maher is a tu quoque fallacy.

Or in other words, "Appeal to hypocrisy".

How does tu quoque work?
A accuses B of X.
B responds by accusing A of X too.
Therefore A's accusation is invalid (FALLACY!)

The correct response is to say "We don't care about Bill Maher. Rush is still guilty of going Radio Rwanda on Sandra Fluke for three straight days, with only a weasel apology given when called out on it."

[mac56]

34. +1000

[Canuckistanian]

38. Excellent!

I never knew the name of that particular fallacy.

[Walk away]

18. This is easy. Bill Maher is funny (laugh with)...Rush Limbaugh is funny (laugh at).

Lest you think I am just being facetious (and I am being a little facetious) it makes a difference. A jokey slur is worth a slap on the wrist, an all out vicious attack is really different.

The good news? Nobody but the rebublican base cares what Maher said.....everyone else who can hear or read cares about Sandra Fluke and they don't like Rush or the people he represents!

[Initech]

22. Exactly.

[TeamsterDem]

19. Agreed 100%. nt

[SCantiGOP]

20. I agree

One acknowledges he is a comic, and is using shocking language at times to get a reaction. Limbaugh claims to be a serious political observer.

[Taverner]

21. Please realize there is no reasoning with these people

They hate Maher and consider him as bad as Limbaugh. They're way off base, but that's an argument grounded in logic, not emotional outbursts.

Let me add that there is a difference between supporting Limbaugh and merely calling for us to stick a fork in it.

But our "friends" here don't use logic or reason. Only knee jerk sentiment and panic.

[Initech]

23. I'm a supporter of Maher.

I agree that there's no reasoning with some people but there's no way we have anything even remotely close to what the right has with Limbaugh. I'm not happy that Maher is siding with Limbaugh but he has his own opinions. It's no reason that he deserves the reaction this is getting.

[Union Scribe]

30. Unless you're a libertarian, he's not your "we" nt

[Union Scribe]

29. Why does he need to be "as bad as" Limbaugh to be condemned?

Imus wasn't "as bad as" David Duke but I sure as fuck could call him a racist.

It's interesting that you find consistency "unreasonable" though.

[applegrove]

24. Also that Maher punches through to truths like all great comediens. Rush smears and misleads his

listeners. He gives them an un-education.

[GeorgeGist]

25. Clarification please.

Are troops forced to listen to Limbaugh?

Or are you just throwing out a red herring?

[shcrane71]

26. I've been in many situations where I've been forced to listen to Limbaugh

Picking up a friend at her dentist office (who was playing it). Diners, cafe's, people's homes, other people's cars that weren't mine, florist shops... I wouldn't be surprised if our troops weren't in offices where everyone but them wanted to listen to Rush. In close living and working quarters, do you really want to be labelled as the person who doesn't want to listen to Rush? Have you seen what a bully he and his followers are?

[mac56]

35. "Have you seen what a bully he and his followers are?"

yup

[progressoid]

33. More importantly,

Rush is being broadcast on taxpayer funded radio stations (AFR).

[IggleDoer]

37. Troops often have no choice

If you're stationed in a foreign country, Rush may be the only thing on radio that's in English. If one person in the office or barracks wants to listen, we all listen.

[JDPriestly]

27. Has Maher lied about the statements of a young person like Sandra Fluke?

Limbaugh's joking and offensive choice of language to describe Sandra Fluke that should result in his being fired. It was the fact that he lied when he said that Sandra Fluke had testified that she was having sex so much. She never mentioned her sex life during her testimony to Congress.

Maher sometimes says offensive things, but I am unaware that he lied in such an ugly but obvious way and did not apologize for it.

If you know of any instance in which Maher lied that way, please let all of us on DU know.

Limbaugh lied when he claimed to be quoting Sandra Fluke: She says were his words. She did not say what he said she said. That's not a joke. That is a lie that has not been retracted.

[CrawlingChaos]

31. Maher is a scumbag who lies all the time

In addition to being a scathing misogynist, Maher is also a raging bigot against Arab Muslims and he lies about them constantly in an attempt to portray them as OMG SO MUCH WORSE than any other religion (if you think Maher hates all religions equally, you don't know Maher). He uses demeaning and dehumanizing stereotypes -- it's so bad it approaches Pamela Geller at times.

If you need links, I'll try to find some -- or you could just search "Maher + Muslims" on youtube and a ton of his hateful garbage should come right up.

He's also a card carrying member of the Israel Can Do No Wrong Club.

[JDPriestly]

39. I support Israel, so maybe that is why Maher does not offend me.

[CrawlingChaos]

40. You're not offended by degrading racist stereotypes?

How do you feel about Pamela Geller and her ilk? Because Bill Maher blows the same dog whistle.

[JDPriestly]

41. The problem with Limbaugh is not that he jokes about women.

That he can do. That is permitted. What you can't do is lie about something someone said if your lie casts that person's sex life in a untrue and damaging light.

Limbaugh claimed that Sandra Fluke had made statements in her testimony about her sex life. In Fact, in her testimony, she did not talk about her sex life at all.

The statements that Limbaugh attributed to Sandra Fluke made her sound like a sexually careless, promiscuous person. Limbaugh was not just joking and using disparaging, insulting sexist words to describe Sandra Fluke. That is quite common. A lot of comedians think that is funny and do it. It has become a custom. The problem is that Limbaugh lied about what Sandra Fluke said about her sex life. That is truly damaging to her reputation. Limbaugh has never retracted his claims in this regard, and he has not apologized for his lies about her sexual behavior.

That is why Limbaugh should go. I could be wrong, but I am not aware that Maher for all of his obnoxious insults ever did such a thing.

[CrawlingChaos]

42. I wasn't talking about Limbaugh

I was taking issue with your comment about Maher, and I find it troubling that you're so eager to excuse his reprehensible behavior.

Perhaps you're not aware of how awful Bill Maher actually is. Here's a tumbler compilation someone put together that might shed some light:

http://billmahersucks.tumblr.com/

This is no means an inclusive list! His racist smears against Arab Muslims go back to his Politically Incorrect days and they are innumerable. And think of the staggering hypocrisy of it -- he claims to be aghast at the treatment of women in Middle Eastern culture, yet he himself is easily one of the biggest misogynists in popular media.

Here's a Muslim woman responding to Maher's BS:

http://muslimah.femagination.com/3576/bill-maher-misinformed-islamophobe/

I could go on all day with this. It's not the occasional slip with Maher - he's a truly prolific hatemonger. The question is, why do so many make excuses for him? Disturbing.

[TorchTheWitch]

32. No

Stop the excuses for Maher being a disgusting misogynist shithead as bad as Limbaugh.

[tosh]

36. HATE.

You left out the part about HATE.