Bill Maher on Larry King 9:00 EDT

[demnan]

You know, Bill is pretty bland and middle of the road, defending Bush doesn't want an impeachment trial. Even though on his show last week, Arron McGruder said, "This isn't a blow job, it's a war!"

I hate to say this, but I think Bill can be bought.

[Momof1]

1. I love Maher

If I had never found PI, I would be one of those mindless idiots walking around uninformed. Maher has spotlighted the Bush administrationm, when no one else was.

Like Maher I admired Clinton for his multi-tasking...pizza, talking to a congressman, and Monica..all at the same time.

[cthrumatrix]

20. If his son were over there...I think he might have a different "tone".

No sense of urgency in dealing with a corrupt administration got us to where we are.

[RummyTheDummy]

46. Damn straight.

NT

[dennis4868]

2. I HATE IT WHEN...

he says that we should all move on regarding Bush's lies about Iraq. I think he would feel differently if he lost a son or daughter in the war. It's easy and selfish of him to say that. He also says that the evidence for going to war was a close call. Huh? Isn't that what the whole Iraq controversy is all about....the lies about AlQueda/Iraq connection, no nuclear program, etc....all lies! So how was it a close call? Sheesh!

[Mika]

4. Even he's connecting Iraq to 911

He's an idiot.

[Bombtrack]

18. did you even listen to what he was saying?

he thought is was outgrageous that Americans thought Iraq was connected to it.

[playahata1]

39. Absolutely.

On "Real Time" last week, Maher tried to pin down Bob Graham about Saudi Arabia. Graham, for obvious reasons, would not say the magic words. No way was Maher kissing up to *.

[Bombtrack]

17. He said it's not that outrageous to see Iraq as a needed step

in the war on terror and cleaning up the middle east. The controversy is about the 16 words, and Maher is pointing out that nobody decided to vote or support the war based on those words, and that democrats should be better than the republicans about this kind of thing.

[Mika]

3. Bill's line to the left: Get over it

:puke:

[dennis4868]

6. I don't understand why....

anyone should get over it when there were thousands of lives lost because of the Bush lies. I don't understand his thinking. Really!

[glarius]

5. Maher is SO FULL OF HIMSELF...He sloughs off the Iraq war with..."oh

well, I didn't want the war but now that we have it let's just forget we were against it and get on with it."...So what if thousands of Iraqis were killed...not to mention the Americans and British....What is this shit he's spouting about let's give Bush a chance...He's contradicting himself all over the place....IMO

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Maher's a good voice.

Slightly misogynistic. A hair reactionary. Nobody's perfect.

[Mika]

8. Bill M is a kindred spirit of Ann the man

His babbling about Man C really is nuts.

[glarius]

9. Now he's praising Ann Coulter because she SAYS WHAT SHE THINKS?

SO DID HITLER YOU DUMB ASSHOLE, MAHER!!!!

[Democat]

10. If he was around during Watergate or Pearl Harbor, Maher would say...

Get over it.

[Mari333]

11. Bill Maher can Kiss My Ass

Literally.
IMPEACH BUSH AND BRING IN A SPECIAL PROSECUTER . PERIOD.

He is a has been.

[Mika]

12. Bill thinks a BJ is the same as war

He really is going wingnut. :spank:

Doesn't he know that the congressional vote for war powers was made on a false case?

[dennis4868]

14. He is very....

narrowminded....people are dieing for crying out liud over a fucking lie by Bush and he says, "lets move on." What an asshole!

[demnan]

13. thank you for agreeing with me - I thought I might be really flamed

I just sense this snobbishness in him that is so wrong. Even his attitude toward the war is so abstract - like he doesn't relate to those poor "unwashed" people over ther fighting this war.

Look I come from a good working class family, was the first in my family to graduate from a college and I can't abide this kind of snobbish, cold-blooded fake liberalism that could so easily whore over to Dennis Miller land.

[stopbush]

15. I've given up on Maher

He seems to be just like the bushies, ie: he's a philosophy in search of justification.

Larry asked him about the Dem candidate field. Bill sez "all they have to run on is that they're anti-bush." So, Larry asks Bill, "what would you run on?" Bill answers, "well, I'd repeal that tax cut for the rich, for one thing." Then, Larry sez, "well, I think they (ie: the Dem prez candidates) have all come out for doing that." "Oh, have they?" sez Bill.

OMG - Bill, you just got corrected on national TV by Lary King! LARRY KING! Bill should read a newspaper once in a while...or read DU.

So, what does Bill say after he gets smoked by Larry? Well, he says that if HE was running as a Dem, he'd end the war on drugs as part of his platform. Now, I'm all for ending that particular expensive, useless PR stunt, too. BUT, does Bill think that anyone running on THAT issue has a snowball's chance of being elected? Look what Bill just did - he got caught not knowing something that even Larry knew, so he goes to the total wack-o extreme that he KNOWS NO politician of ANY party would endorse. By doing so, he is trying to show how he is progressive and libertarian while the Dems are gutless and merely "anti-bush." And, geez, Bill, with all that's wrong with this country (unemployment, lack of health care, erosion of civil liberties, illegal wars, stolen elections, etc.) the best you can come up with is "legalize pot?" GMAB!

Next caller up, Bill starts in on the "16 words." When will Bill realize that it isn't the DEMS harping on the "16 words," it's a feigning ploy by the repigs - which was started by Condi Rice - to MINIMIZE the sum total of lying that bush presented in the SOTU? Bill has once again bought into and swallowed whole a repig talking point. He's even done them the favor of pinning it on the Dems! Boy, isn't he smart!!

Then he says that he dislikes bush, but that he likes tony blair. When bush speaks, he doesn't want to believe him, but when tony speaks, he sort of wants to believe HIM. Wha?

At this point, I turned him off. He was visibly going through his one-liners in his head, trying to get back on the high ground, the all-knowing, libertarian ground. He doesn't LISTEN, he just talks.

Bill should read the foreign newspapers, read the political boards and get over himself before he slips into a parody of the open-minded libertarian. If he really wants to make a living being a contrarian and faulting other people's positions, he should spend some time learning what, exactly, those positions are beforehand, n'est pas?

[demnan]

19. Thank you

You really stated the case very well. Not only is Maher elitist in his outlook, it's a simple-minded elitism - like "you really have to ask why I'm so much smarter than you?" And he's not. He's not half as informed as the occasional poster here on DU. He has no really unique viewpoint. He has no soul or convictions. Well I guess this is what we do with this smart-mouthed no real talent:

:hurts:

goodbye "funny" man!

[liberalmuse]

16. Sometimes Maher irks me...

but he makes a helluva lot of clear, logical sense, most of the time. I just finished his book, 'When You Ride Alone...' It's a quick, but enjoyable read. There's a lot of the conservative in him--but it's the kind I used to respect, before the wingnuts severely corrupted that kind of ideology. I think we need more people like him, and Lewis Lapham to point out the absurdities of current American culture. I really hope he's not turning into a pansy.

[demnan]

23. Freepers on pot

can sometimes sound like they make sense too.

[Bombtrack]

26. amen

I wouldn't say there is alot of conservative in him, but he's definitly objective. I don't think alot of people here ever listen to the other side of any issue enough . They probably here it alot, but not listen and think about it.

People here really can be everything that is wrong with the Bushies. They can be hostile to anybody who disagrees on any issue that is part of there orthidoxy, and they lump people and ideas into simplistic groups, as you can see here. Maher isn't Aaron McGruder, but at least he showcases people like Aaron McGruder and his opinions.

I think alot of these anti-Maher posters need to watch the repeat of Larry King, the whole thing, and think about everything Maher says. Why would you turn him off just because you didn't like what he had to say, how do you know you won't like something else

[Walt Starr]

27. He's going to Dennis Miller himself

I watched this same crap happen to Miller.

In another 12 months, Maher is going to be praising Dumbass*, mark my words.

[stopbush]

28. Maher Makes Logical Sense

the same way bush has the common touch. That is to say, it's easy to sound "logical" and "sensible" when you frame an argument by ignoring (or worse, not even knowing) the evidence that gives the lie to your ideology.

John Stossel does it in ABC in his reports.

Bush does it every day of his life.

And, IMO, Bill Maher is guilty of the same sophomoric debating style. A great debater - like Clinton - learns his opponent's position inside and out and dismantles it with the art of a surgeon. He is bolstered by facts, not fable; by sound policy, not soundbites.

So, Maher often disses the bushies? What's the old saying about a broken clock being right twice a day?

[Imajika]

21. You know...

...not everyone is going to tow the party line all the time.

Bill Maher is not perfect, but he has no trouble criticizing the Bush Administration whenever he gets the urge to. Maher is basically a libertarian - he speaks his mind regardless of who likes what he has to say. I certainly don't agree with Maher much of the time, but he is a thoughtful, well spoken person and personally I wish there were more voices like his heard regularly in the media.

"I hate to say this, but I think Bill can be bought."

This is not necessarily aimed at demnan - but it truly amazes me how a journalist, reporter, politician or media personality can be loved here one week and detested the next. If someone doesn't stick to the exact DU program they are suddenly called an idiot, accused of being "bought" off or have somehow otherwise gone over to the dark side via threats from Karl Rove.

One day Chris Matthews is defending Bush and he is a slobbering moron. A week later he is criticizing Bush and suddenly he's seen the light so the "worm must be turning". Lou Dobbs goes after the Enron story and he is widely acclaimed for being an honest journalist, a few days later the same Lou Dobbs defends something the Bush Administration does and he's transformed into a GOP shill. The list goes on and on.

What these people say is usually not part of some master plan. They have some opinions we like, and some we don't. When a journalist, comedian or commentator attacks Bush for something it doesn't mean the "corporate media" has orders to turn on the Administration - it just means that particular person has a gripe with something Bush has done. When the same media personality praises something the Republicans do it doesn't mean that Rove has got the goods on them - it probably just means they liked that specific thing the GOP did.

It just seems silly to me to believe someone is (or can be) bought off one week, and a few days later when they say something that this forum would approve of the same person suddenly is thought to "get it" or be on "our side".

I like listening to and reading the work of lots of people I don't necessarily agree with all the time. This forum boasts a great contributer in Will Pitt - someone whom I don't agree with much of the time, yet I really enjoy reading his commentary and posts anyway because I think they are usually very thought provoking and well written. I just think we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss people because we don't happen to like what they are saying or writing at one particular point of time.

Imajika

[demnan]

25. I appeciate and respect your comments

but what I sense with Maher goes beyond the objective of his views, which are intelligently phrased. My opposition is to his basic morals, and how he views the world. He really doesn't have a care about the unfortunate among us. He has no real feeling. I don't trust a person who has no feeling. He will make a rational case for something, but he doesn't have any feeling or moral stance to take. That is why I distrust him.

[Bombtrack]

29. "he really doesn't care about the unfortunate among us"

that's a pretty rediculous statement if you've listened to his opinions. I don't know of anyone who talks about gluttony and how bad it is right now and so on. He clearly cares about improving the world( and the unfortunate who populate it) and you'd know that if you followed him. Occasionally he has made a comment that shows he is a bit pretentios, which is probably a by product of being and Ivy Leaguer, and presumably well off as a kid, but that's minor.

[Imajika]

30. Thanks for the response demnan

My post really wasn't directed specifically at you.

I do understand your point about Maher. I can see how you can think he comes across as a cold fish and if you've always gotten that sense about him then I respect your opinion. I just find it somewhat amusing how quickly these people fall in and out of favor with the majority on the forum.

What amazes me is how some of these media types can be celebrated as almost heroes one day, and castigated as Rove plants the next.

I really think people just read way to much into every single things these people say. In the case of Bill Maher, I watch him whenever I see him on the tube and he will fairly reliably make fun of religious nuts, the Republican party and stupid moral laws - all things I generally agree with him about. Sometimes, however, Maher will go on a show like O'Reilly or Larry King and spout a lot that I just don't agree with - but I don't suddenly think he's been "bought off" or believe he has sold out just because on one particular day I didn't like what he had to say.

Imajika

[Walt Starr]

22. Well, Maher has lost this long time fan

I started being a Maher fan when he was still doing standup.

Watched every episode of PI when it was on Comedy Central.

As far as I'm concerned, he's preparing to Miller himself.

No more watching his crap on HBO.

[robbedvoter]

24. Maher is a self centered spoiled mysoginistic Hollywood brat

The reason pot is his platform is because it's the Nr 1 thing HE misses (smoking openly). War ? He ain't fighting. Recession? He's rich. The other concern: the chicks seem to dig Woody Allen, firefighters, other men more than him. He was with Ralphie in 2000 and consequently attacked Gore much more than he did W (whom he praised as "brave" - for refusing to answer coke questions). I take Maher like Maureen Dowd: occasionally good one liners on bush, but no soul - just a big mouth.

[glarius]

35. I think you've pegged him!

Maher really showed what a mindless person he is when he said Ann Coulter is admirable because she speaks out and says what is on her mind....HITLER DID THAT TOO!!

[drdigi420]

31. I wouldn't write bill off

sometimes he is less than thoughtful on some issues, but a lot of time I think he bends his ideals for the impact of the joke.

He does get credit for calling the drug war what it is.

Some people here at DU don't see how the war on drugs affects EVERY issue that we supposedly care about, from civil rights to education to the environment and much more.

[Composed Thinker]

32. Mixed feelings

He speaks with so genuinely that I couldn't help but like him even if disagreed with him. And I agree with him, at least on some things.

What annoyed me was that he is friendly with Ann Coulter. I can't imagine that he has professional respect for her.

[Phatfish]

33. speaking of cry-babies...

I love you guys but listen to yourselves:

"Now he's praising Ann Coulter because she SAYS WHAT SHE THINKS? SO DID HITLER YOU DUMB ASSHOLE, MAHER!!!!"

"... I can't abide this kind of snobbish, cold-blooded fake liberalism that could so easily whore over to Dennis Miller land."

"He has no really unique viewpoint. He has no soul or convictions."

"Freepers on pot can sometimes sound like they make sense too."

I enjoy Maher's comedy (especially the anti-catholicism) and I agree with a good chucnk of his views. However, I don't try to presonally attack him just because he has viewpoints that may differ to yours. He has never called himself a democrat or liberal. He has always stated he is a libertarian and he will point out flaws on both sides of the isle. In all accounts, he can actually look past the ideoloical differences and be friends with someone like Ann Coulter. I love how he said that "that is what we call maturity" and I feel he is right. Obviously many of you here either lack that or haven't gotten enough of sleep. Disagree with him on views but don't attack the man because then, you have no right to complain if someone attacks you. You are sinking down to their level ::points to freerepublic.com::

Many of us fight for people to be open with their minds and their hearts and a thread like this really gives me questions about some of your convictions.

[glarius]

36. What cry-babies?

According to you "I enjoy Maher's comedy (especially the anti-catholicism) and I agree with a good chucnk of his views."...Well...bully for you...but because we attack his "ideas" or "beliefs" does not mean we are personally attacking him....I mention his championing of Ann Coulter merely to point out that his admiration for her seems to be because she makes outlandish statements. Apparently he is unconcerned how hurtful or incorrect her statements are... I have seen Maher often enough to have formed the opinion that he will say ANYTHING...He seems to want to say things for shock value....And as for him saying "that is what we call maturity."....Well that statement might have a little more weight if he wasn't so immature in his frequent rants against marriage and children....This is not an attack against him, but his IDEAS...

:)

[Phatfish]

42. championing of ann coulter? what?

To my knowledge he has said he is friends with her yet he disagrees with many of her political viewpoints. I know I have good friends that I feel are clueless and ignorant to certain issues that are important to me; maybe you don't. I am sorry but none of you can judge that his friendship is wrong for the sole fact that you have never met the woman and have no idea what she is like on a personal basis.

"...He wants to say things for SHOCK VALUE..."

By that definition, many of the things I quoted from other people in my previous post were said for shock value. Shock value is such a contrived term because it only comprises of how much the statement deviates from an audiences' way of thinking, and how many people are in that audience. I could say "JESUS was a whore!" to three people and it could get a bit of "shock value" but if I said the same thing to an audience of 1000 people then the "SV" would go way up.

You may call the man immature becasue he thinks differently about the institution of marrigae and children, but what makes you more superior than him in that aspect? I applaud the man for actually thinking about the world differently than we are told to by the brass upstairs even though I may disagree with him.

I don't know Bill Maher personally, so he may be a snobbish, pompous asshole for all I know. However, I try to reserve judgement on his character until REAL evidence comes forward in either direction.

PS What the heck is "Well... bully for you???"

[glarius]

45. Sorry....I don't know how to answer you because

No hard feelings...but I'm afraid you don't make much sense....

You haven't heard the exprssion "bully for you?"....It's the same as saying "good for you".....

[Ein]

34. Arron rocks!

C-Span paraphrase of him: "It's time to admit... Howard Zinn was right, Noam Chomsky was right...."

Love his comics, too.

Bill Maher is a media personality, he can obviously be bought

[Paragon]

37. I thought he was fantastic

Sorry, but he was RIGHT about the "impeach Bush" business. Is lying about Iraq ("an itch that had to be scratched" - great quote) worse than getting a blowjob from an intern? Obviously.

Will the Repukes and the media see an attempt at impeachment as payback for Clinton? Obviously. Like Bill said, we should be above these desperate impeachment/recall/scandal tactics that are helping the Repukes bring themselves down.

[mitchtv]

38. turned me off when he trashed Harvey milk HS

tyical straight person making a snap judgment on something he doesn't well understand. He is generally quite condescending towards Gays.

[Boudicea]

47. I didn't think he trashed Harvey Milk HS

I thought he expressed a concern that makes sense to me. What if the proponents of a gay HS were the right wingers? I live in podunk TN and know and love my kids' gay friends, who have made it through HS in this culturally backward place. I used to be gay, if that's possible, so I have thought about these issues. But it worries me that once you've segregated yourselves like this you may be one huge target. I hope this isn't flameworthy, but if so, educate me, don't hate me. :)

[hotphlash]

40. I thought his ' Dems should not be about Bush-bashing'

followed closely by the 'Dems problem is that they don't challenge what Bush says' is proof that Maher talks out of his ass sometimes. Hey, Bill...Those 16 words, all that Bush Bashing...Isn't that challenging what he says??????

[ElsewheresDaughter]

41. phuck bill mahar..he has been poking

ann(doesn't have a shred of deceny)coulter ...coulter snatch sucked his soul along with his brains from him

[Phatfish]

43. whoa!!!

keep the high-level philosophy out of the General Discussion Room. I don't think we can handle it.

[samsingh]

i couldn't stand Maher's defense of shrub

and his attack on Democrats.

[RummyTheDummy]

49. Such a broad generalization you had to say it twice.

NT

[samsingh]

44. i couldn't stand Maher's defense of shrub

and his attack on Democrats.

[Friar]

48. Maher sorta sucked on King but

check out the transcripts on his website. Good stuff.

[Boudicea]

50. I didn't think he trashed Harvey Milk HS

I thought he expressed a concern that makes sense to me. What if the proponents of a gay HS were the right wingers? I live in podunk TN and know and love my kids' gay friends, who have made it through HS in this culturally backward place. I used to be gay, if that's possible, so I have thought about these issues. But it worries me that once you've segregated yourselves like this you may be one huge target. I hope this isn't flameworthy, but if so, educate me, don't hate me. :)

Sorry about duplicate posts but I thought I put it in the wrong place.