Hitchens, by proxy, showed us all how Maher feels about his "fans".

[Beelzebud]

I was stunned watching this weeks Real Time...

Stunned.

Hitchens drunk ass has the nerve to shout FUCK YOU to Maher's studio audience, and then flip them all off numerous times. Then he leaves before the show is even over.

What was Bill's reaction?

Nothing. Not a god damned thing.

When Hitchens shouted FUCK YOU, Maher laughed at it. I remember last season Bill kept telling his audience to shut up. I remember him defending Ann Coulter and proclaiming her a "good friend" of his. I remember Andrew Sullivan completely disrespecting Noam Chomsky minutes after Chomsky was on the show, and not a word from Maher. I remember Bill Maher, the guy who talks about how much he loves the environment, campaign AGAINST Al Gore in 2000. I remember Bill Maher having Richard Pearle on to congradulate him on how well the neo-conservative dream in Iraq was playing out after thier sham elections.

One thing that totally irritated me was that he had the gaul to criticise Americans for buying into terror threats, when last season he repeated numerous times how much he LOVED the illegal wiretapping because he "lives near the port in Los Angelas."

The more I really step back and look at Maher the more I see the real person there. Rich gated community dwelling, failed actor turned comedian, Libertarian wanna-be sell out. He's more aligned with Andrew Sullivan and Christopher Hitchens than he is with any of us, so why do so many liberals give him credit and pretend he's actually one of us?

I think I'm done watching Maher's show. I was getting there last season at the way he reacted to his audience, and how much conservative ass he kissed. The opening show for this season sealed the deal.

[bunkerbuster1]

1. Maher loves him some Social Security privatization

Fuck him.

[Beelzebud]

2. Exactly. See. Another example of him just not getting it.

It's easy to trash SSI when you are a millionaire like Maher.

[Cha]

23. Oh really? Has he even bothered

to study it and see how privatizaion is actually Wall Street stealing our money? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

[Beelzebud]

25. He has millions, he could care less about SSI.

He sees no need for it.

Just like a typical selfish libertarian.

[Cha]

59. Then he is my

sworn enemy cause that's goin' really help me in my retirement. I've been payin' into for decades and can't wait until I see my returns if I don't get zapped before then! :o

[NoodleyAppendage]

3. His purpose is to entertain, not crusade. Pissed off people = TV ratings.

I can't think of anyone on TV today that actually gives a shit. This is their business and the best way to insure their business is to drum up controversy (that goes for liberal commentators, as well).

J

[Cha]

26. Try Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert..

they give a shit!

[CollegeDUer]

78. Stewart and Colbert believe in their social responsibility

You can tell this with the work they do outside of their immediate shows.`

[Cha]

87. Yeah, they're fine and we are

Lucky to have them on our side!

[Berserker]

32. Pissed off people = people

not watching him I stopped last year. I don't even think that asshole is funny.

[nam78_two]

34. Two words=Stephen Colbert!

God I love that man...
And I certainly pick up on the fact too, that as much as I like Stewart, Colbert is way more lefty :D!

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

4. Who? See, I ignore them all

blow up your TV.

Live free.

[razors edge]

5. what is this tv of which you speak?

[Swamp Rat]

13. AMEN brother!!

:thumbsup:

[ChiciB1]

6. I Posted Right After The Show How Disappointed I Was With The

show I waited to return. It wasn't even that funny to me. Had it been me, and I said this at the other post I would have challenged him in some way. I also said, even with Max there all four men.... that there wasn't a "pair" of those bear thingeys he talked about at the table!!!!

[Human Torch]

7. Maher cares about Maher. That's it.

Read "Bill Maher's America" in Rolling Stone #1007 (with Christina Aguilera on the cover).

Bill Maher wants to be on TV. Bill Maher wants to fuck porn stars. Bill Maher wants to get high. Bill Maher could give a flying fuck if you or I live or die.

That's Bill Maher. Mystery solved.

:toast:

[larrysh]

9. The Jerry Springer Show of Politics......

[AX10]

14. You said it right there:

"Bill Maher wants to be on TV. Bill Maher wants to fuck porn stars. Bill Maher wants to get high. Bill Maher could give a flying fuck if you or I live or die." Mahar is for Mahar. He is a hardcore scumbag libertarian.

[Cosmocat]

56. Yeah ...

and the guy is endlessly obsessed with early 90s blackism ... Never have I seen a pasty white guy get more mileage out of funning black quips ...

[zanne]

58. He's a self-confessed Libertarian.

When it suits him, he's a liberal libertarian. At other times, he's a conservative Libertarian. He's a member of the Lieberman Party.:shrug:

[RedStateShame]

80. 2 out of 4 ain't bad

I'm not gonna argue on the porn stars or getting high. As the old song goes, "nice work if you can get it."

[Mabus]

8. Remember how he treated Belzer last season?

Belzer: “You think everyone over there is a college graduate? They're 19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job-”

Ros-Lehtinen: “Yeah, you know because you've been there and-”

Belzer: “What, I don't fucking read!? Don't do that!”

Maher, over Belzer: “Woe, woe, woe. Come on. Wait, wait, wait. That, don't.”

Belzer: “Pardon my French.”

Maher: “That was over the line and now you're going to lose-”

Belzer: “It's this patronizing thing that people have about if you're against the war everyone's lumped together. You know, the soldiers are not scholars, they're not war experts-”

Maher: “You're going to lose even me like Michael Moore did when he came down on Charlton Heston in Columbine.”

http://newsbusters.org/node/4503

Then he wanted Belzer to apologize. When has he ever asked Hitchens or Coulter to apologize for going over the line?

[Beelzebud]

11. Yes I remember that... His comment about Moore is so fake...

He had Moore on his show, in 2004, about 3 times. To say what he did is just a complete lie. It's like he had to come up with a comparison where he had to cut off a liberal, so he just used Moore as the scapegoat....

So Belzer is asked to apologize for freaking out on some right-wing moron, but it's ok for Hitchens to come on his show drunk, shout Fuck You to his audience, flip them all of a few times, and then leave before the show is over.

[Mabus]

30. I also remember Maher telling the audience to cool it

several times last season. He said several times that he was trying to attract more conservatives amd chastized the audience for expressing their viewpoint. Below is an interview I found on-line. The questions are italicized and Maher's answers follow.

Are there still limits for what you can and can't say on HBO?

The rules and limits are self-imposed. You know, you don't want to say "motherfucker" in front of Janet Reno too many times. I think it's a bit of a misconception that I was somehow stifled on ABC. I always said exactly what I wanted. The difference is I got fired for it.

***

As you've pointed out on Real Time, you tend to attract a liberal audience because it tapes in Los Angeles. On a recent show you tried to get an all-conservative audience.

We couldn't get all (conservative), but at least half. We live in a pretty blue city in a pretty blue state, and it's hard to get them. I sympathize with (their) plight. I've been in that position on a few occasions, where I was speaking to a conservative group. You can feel the tension and the groaning. And when someone from the other point of view says anything at all, the crowd erupts into applause. That's not fair. I wish we could have a half-and-half audience every time. http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3120/6141/

So, Maher gets to the arbiter of what's permissible on his show. He cuts off Belzer for expressing himself with profanity to another guest. Maher doesn't challenge what was said but how Belzer was saying it. Last Friday, Hitchens was rude to the other guests and to the audience but gets a pass.

I was also pissed Maher let Hitchens get away with that bullshit about MoveOn.org being behind/promoting Bush as Hitler (a RW talking point if there ever was one) and then let Hitchens challenge Max Cleland over it. This is exactly the type of thing that Belzer was talking about (painting liberals with a broad brush) when he was stopped and chastized by Maher for going over the line.

[JI7]

44. i don't really get what Maher is objecting to here

was it the way Belzer spoke ? or something he said ?

i'm guessing it wasn't the comments on soldiers as Bill said he went over the line before then .

i didn't watch the clip or the show so maybe someone can tell me .

[Mabus]

77. There's more of the transcript at the link

that I provided in the posting that you responded to that gives you what they were actually saying before Maher told Belzer to cool it. If I had to describe it I would say that Ros-Lehtinen talked about how the troops in the ME were determined to finish their mission and they are proud to be fighting over there. Belzer said many of the volunteers were young, uneducated and volunteered because they needed jobs. He also said that it wasn't fair to the troops to have them volunteer and to place them in the middle of a civil war in Iraq. Ros-Lehtinin then started talking about her step-son who is a college graduate and volunteered. Belzer congratulated her but said, just because her son was a college graduate it didn't mean he was some sort of military scholar. Ros-Lehtinin then implied that there were a lot of college graduates who volunteered. Belzer said he didn't believe that because he read the newspapers and that's where the excerpt above picks up.

FYI: here are some contemporaneous threads that were posted on DU during/before/after the show originally aired. Some of the threads give

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=733431
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=692207
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=698799
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=693884
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=691848

The last citation contains a running commentary while the show was on-air. You can get a sense of what was happening throughout the show from it.

[ThomWV]

10. I Don't Watch Maher ... I Do Not Find Him Either Funny or Entertaining

[AX10]

12. Bill Mahar has always been an ass!

He always bends over for the right and plays along. As you said, he is a "libertatian wannabe".
I think very little of libertarians. They don't want any social responsibility for anything.

[insane_cratic_gal]

15. I'm pretty sure the Maher's audience are grown ups

and can handle themselves when it came to hitchens. I think Maher laughed at the Audiences reaction to Hitchens which was probably a sea full of Birds flying right back at him.


2ndly Maher is trying to run a show were two sides are heard, it's hard to do that when the audience is booing, hissy etc. Even Stewart gets annoyed with his Audience for doing it.

While I don't agree with Sullivan, or Hitchens they are there to represent a counter point of view then my own. If my opinions are not challenged by someone or I hear only one sided arguments, how much do I grow as a person or even hold dearer my convictions?


I watch Bill Maher to laugh, I watch Stewart to laugh, I watch Colbert to laugh, these guys seem to shine some light in all of this absurdity and chaos.
If I want my ideas echoed to me or I want a heated debate, all at one time, I come here.

You forget Maher was the fist one to get hung over 9/11 comments, in retrospect he was exactly right and should feel vindicated

We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly.

— Bill Maher, Politically Incorrect (2001


He tears into every administration and probably any politician, I think at times he's right other times I don't' agree at all, but I hardly think he's a defender of the right.

[Beelzebud]

17. I watched Maher to laugh too. But when I stop laughing, I stop watching.

The difference between Stewart and Maher is enormous. Stewart can respectfully quiet his crowd down without throwing insults at them, and treating them like kids he's being forced to babysit.

To each his own. At one time I really liked his show. It's just not a fun thing for me anymore.

[robbedvoter]

67. After that incident he said "only Coulter, Limbaugh were on my side"

during the brou-ha-ha that ensued - liberals are hypocrites"
In effect, this website and many others organized a support Maher letter campaign. From that moment on (and even before) I knew what an opportunistic jerk he always was - yeah, always. Even when finding the occasional mot juste for us.
he thinks "Kerry lost" so, is turning coat again. Like Snitchens turned coats so many times. They're birds of a feather.
yeah, his audience is grown up. Enough to understand this manipulation.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

16. It's A Shame....

He does a good job pretending to be a friend of the left. But he clearly has great respect for Many on the right, and will even compliment King george from time to time.

I don't really get much enjoyment watching his show anymore. Perhaps if he has a really good guest, I'll watch this season, but as a whole, it leaves much to be desired, and I am definitely not watching to see or hear him.

[peacetalksforall]

18. I think there is a hint of schizophrenia running through the "xxxxosophy"

of Libertarians. Their logic is hard to follow. They totter. They are all over the place. I can't get a good reading of where they are coming from and it's mentally uncomfortable and tiring. I'm not a black and white person - I honor grays, but they're not talking shades, they're talking contradictions - there is nothing to hold on to for me. It's like a ping-pong game played by one person. Just my experience. I don't like to be tired.

I've asked to have Libertarianism explained to me. Hasn't happened yet. A measure of understanding it is explaining it to someone else. I can't.

Libertarians can get angry in a nano-second about 'some' things said against Republican policies, but other things are OK. I have no idea where the line is.

Gossip question - didn't Maher and Coulter date?

[Beelzebud]

20. That does sum up Libertarianism. They contradict themselves constantly.

Like Maher criticizing the American people for believing the terror hype, when he himself said last season that the NSA illegal wiretapping program was fine and dandy. He didn't agree with it because it was constitutional. In fact, he never mentioned the Constitution. The reason he liked it was because he "lives hear the port of los Angeles". That is hypocrisy that knows no heights...

[FormerDittoHead]

71. or: Libertarians are Republicans who want to smoke pot. (Penn Jillette)

If you think that Chris Hitchens was abrasive, tune in this week for the talking half of Penn & Teller...

[Atman]

63. Libertarians are republicans too embarrassed to admit the voted for Bush

Period. The only Libertarians I know couldn't even name the Libertarian candidate who ran in 2004. I KNOW they voted for Bush, but suddenly they never heard of him.

They say they hate government and taxes, but they'll be the first ones whining and screaming when their street is in disrepair, or they find themselves in need of services that will cost them money. Libertarianism may be real, but I've never seen a real Libertarian.

[MazeRat7]

19. I like Bill and plan to continue watching & enjoying him...

To each his own. I guess.

MZr7

[Beelzebud]

22. To each his own for sure. I'm not here to convert. :)

I used to be a big fan too, but the more I really think about past things he says, and look at what he says and does now... I just don't think he has a very coherent view on politics.

[Kajsa]

24. I'm with you, MazeRat7.

I still like him.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

21. Don't like him don't watch him and w/o liberals viewers he's gone.

Just another media whore cashing chips by pretending he knows what time it is. The more we talk about these clowns the more money they make, negative buzz is better than no buzz and any e-mails means he is attracting interest and that's money in his bank account. How many incensed people will watch again like trained monkeys.

[rhiannon55]

27. He was just on Larry King, and you're right

Bill Maher doesn't get it on some important issues. I just heard him repeat the incredibly clueless mantra when talking about the recent aggression against Lebanon that Israel has a right to defend itself. As if kicking the shit out of thousands of innocent people who had nothing to do with those kidnapped soldiers was justified. He's smart and funny most of the time, but I've never fully believed his schtick. There's a coldness behind his humor that I don't get from Jon Stewart, for instance.

Jon Stewart FEELS real, if you know what I mean. Bill Maher doesn't. :shrug:

[Beelzebud]

28. On Real Time he said he was 1/2 Jewish. This from a guy that slams--

This from a guy that slams religion EVERY chance he gets, any other time.

But now that Israel is kicking the shit out of Lebanon, he suddenly gives a shit about being Jewish. I swear that was the first time I EVER heard him say he was Jewish. Normally he says all religions are bullshit.

[QuestionAll...]

31. on larry king tonite, I thot he said he wasn't jewish...

kind of mutterly so I could have misunderstood.

but yes, I generally like Bill and think he is quite quick on his feet. But his sometimes bushkissass really bugs me and his schpeil tonite on the Lebanon/Israeli war was way off the mark - I was shouting at him I was so angry.

But he did have a good summation at the end of the show answering to Kings 'are we better off without Saddam?'.. bill had some good answers - Saddam would have Never allowed Al Quada in Iraq, hated Bin Laden and at least could control the country, something the Americans aren't able to do.

for lighter moments, the clip where he was holding up products//liquids that are not allowed on airlines:

Pray n' Wash
Pezbollah
Behead & Shoulders

and a few others, made the house chuckle.

[NYCGirl]

72. He's not Jewish. He was raised Catholic. NT

[NashVegas]

55. Gee, It Sounds Like He's Gearing Up for a Democratic President

Maher is a whore. He will go where his bread is buttered. If tongue-lashing Repukes is in, he will tongue-lash Repukes.

[Liberal Dose]

69. Bill isn't human. He's a bot created by the RWingers in an attempt to

brainwash the rest of us into thinking that the extreme right is actually the center. The Billbot, or the Maherbot. YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE! How else could he claim Mann Coulter as his best friend? Nothing inside but wires.

:smoke:

[BeyondGeography]

29. Yeah, fuck Bill Maher, all he does is rip George Bush and the Iraq war

Who cares if he's not "one of us" (whatever that means)? His show gives both sides a chance to have their say (and the deck is almost always stacked 2-to-1 in our favor). A sense of humour and a thick skin are required, two pretty useful traits for survival in this crazy, mixed-up world, I might add.

As for Hitchens giving the audience the finger, he's basically saying we win! His position on Iraq has been exposed as completely wrong-headed, and events dig a deeper hole for the man every day. Only a loser resorts to such gestures in the heat of debate. He'll pretend he's right and we're wrong until he's dead, and he'll wind up talking to himself in the street in the end (which he has been spotted doing occasionally).

[TahitiNut]

35. Giving anyone credit for regarding Junior as an ass and Iraq as a crime

... is like giving a 12-year-old credit for being potty-trained. It's about time we stopped handing out medals for a vague sense of the obvious.

Sheesh!

[BeyondGeography]

46. Right, TV is filled with people like Maher

who consistently rip Junior and oppose the war...Sheesh yourself.

[Selatius]

48. Maher half-way supported the war

I remember watching him argue that if the end turns out good, then what fucking difference does it make how we got to that point? He hit this point after the parliamentary elections and the draft constitution was instituted. The fact is it makes a lot of difference. Launching an unprovoked war of aggression is considered the supreme war crime regardless if Iraq turns out better or worse in the end.

[BeyondGeography]

50. He's an entertainer, not a political thinker

And, being a careerist of the Hollywood genre, you wouldn't want him in a foxhole, that's for sure. But Bushbots would love nothing better than to see him off the air, as I guess would a number of people on this thread who can't stand anyone who isn't in agreement with them ALL of the time. On balance, his show is a thorn in the side of the crowd we fundamentally disagree with. Some of his statements are wrongheaded and absurd, but the man is a comedian first and an intellectual second or third or fourth.

Here's a wingnut who calls him an aetheistic piece of liberal crap. Go bond with him, Maher haters:

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/184442.php

[A-Schwarzenegger]

70. Yes, Maher mans the lonely line between us and fascism.

He may be an ego-drunk creep you can't count on from moment to moment,
but let's not bring that up because the freepers might be listening.

[BeyondGeography]

81. Like that one? Here's more:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1630301/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1611072/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1590474/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1516583/posts

Now we've got people at DU who hate Maher as much as the freepers do; his claims to bipartisanship are secure.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

82. I give a minus flying fuck what the droolwads at FR are mumbling.

Ooooo scary!
Maher is a halfwit.

[BeyondGeography]

84. Thank you for that attempt at a coherent response

and good luck in future articulations.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

85. Your slumming on FR has clogged your mental pathways.

Stop caring so much what freeper drooltards think of you
and you'll have a happier life.

[deaniac21]

86. Shouldn't that be

flying fuck at a rolling donut...?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

88. That's how a true intellectual would say it.

:hi:

[ComerPerro]

37. just remember, not everyone who trashes Bush is your ally

[gort]

33. I gave up on him a long time ago

When HBO hired him for Real Time, he would make a point of saying it was Rush Limbuagh who stood up for him when ABC fired him and that no liberals gave him any support at all.

That really pissed me off, because I remember all the e-mails I had written to ABC and affiliates telling them that they were cowards for cancelling Politically Incorrect.

Guess I should've remembered to CC Bill.

He would love to tell us all to fuck off. Little shit that he is.

[tsuki]

45. Those emails did not count. They were from the "little" people.

Maher has an elitist outlook on life. It's the libertarian thing. All wealth is created from the top, so they should keep it. He has no respect for the plumber who keeps his pipes flowing.

[GregNewYork]

36. This is how the 'Golf Club Exec Circle' Wants it , notice Alan Colmes..

Alan Colmes is a weak oasis for Anti Republic rhetoric, but Alan Colmes is a former Comedian. He is also a fraud for those who seek a real view that will combat right wing rhetoric.

Bill Maher - Libertarian? - Come on, face it, he is a BURN OUT!

George Carlin - Gets TV Press 2 weeks before the 04 elections telling his fans 'don't vote, it's a waste of time'

Paul Begala - nice guy, but another Corporate LIAR who 2 weeks ago on CNN said 'Hillary Clinton doesn't have a Democratic Challenger' when in fact she does, his name is Jonathan Tasini.
http://www.TasiniforNewYork.org

You can go on and on with your own list and you will realize that most people who are given the light to go up against right wing machine are themselves self hating whacko's.

More Examples: Geraldo, and that guy from ABC, John Stossel is his name? .. Didn't he turn out to be a F*cking double crosser to those who thought he was a liberal? Am I right.. come on , admit it!

Back to Bill Maher, now I am going to have to watch the rerun to see what all the commotion is, I heard about this on another blog yesterday, but I realized last year that Bill Maher is a total fraud, playing up to the 'Lie was really worth it regarding Iraq'.

He might be able to make you laugh, but he is on no one's side except his own.

[rhiannon55]

38. Yep...you're right

these are all people who are really just in it (whatever it is) for themselves. They may have some liberal ideas, but they're wealthy because of Republican policies.

And this may get me flamed, but I would add Keith Olbermann to the list...Remember when "Countdown" was called "Coundown to War"? Maybe I'm becoming too cynical (gods, we've all seen so much!) but I don't trust him, either.

[GregNewYork]

40. Olderman is a former Sports Broadcaster if I am correct.

And,,

If I am correct that he was a former Sports Broadcaster (for ESPN I Believe), that would then bolster my analysis, that the 'Gold Club Execs' give anti Right viewers un-informed TV personalities for the masses to feed on, but not really get an intelligent response to the right wing rhetoric.

Keith Olbermann's show is ok, but honestly, I don't watch it anymore because it's beyond predictable.

The show that has really shocked me for the last few months has been, believe it or not,
Chris Mathews Hardball.

I know Chris has GOP tattooed on his testicles, but ever since his interview with Jack Welch, during which Jack ripped apart George W Bush and his administrations handling of the Iraq war, Chris has been on a mission to just pull down George Bush's Pants every chance he gets.

From CIA guys who have outed Cheney as a Liar, to dwelling on the NSA warrentless wiretaps, to the lies told by team bush leading up to war, to the fact that Iraq is now ''IRAN LIGHT'', courtesy of Bush/Cheney... Chris Mathews has just been beating up team bush just about every show, and during each show for at least 40 minutes of the one hour show. He still hits at the Dems, but again, lately it has been amazing.

Chris Mathews had American Hero PAUL HACKETT on recently and let him just rip apart some GOP candidate from Texas, I mean Paul just pulled this guy apart, limb by limb, and then when the GOP'er thought he could get a lifeline from Chris Mathews, Chris just slammed down on him.

(Chuck Schumer backstabbed Paul Hackett when running for senate, I hope to see Paul Hackett by on someones Presidential Ticket as VP in 08 - hint hint hint )

I think it was back in June when Jack Welch was on, my wife was doing her needlepoint or something, and I said, 'honey, listen to this', and she started watching. When the interview was over she said something like 'that guy isn't going to be invited to any Bush Parties'... I laughed, and in amazement said ' the powerbase has had it with Bush, the War Machine's reconstruction tenticles have been double crossed or let down, but eitherway, team Bush is done.

But yeah, back to Olbermann, it's feed for the masses but it could be so much better.

[misanthrope]

43. How did Matthews' change of heart correspond...

...with the drop in Shrub's poll numbers?

[PassingFair]

39. Maher has been a misogynist, self-centered dickhead

since day one.

I have not been able to watch him since the dem primaries. AT ALL.

I will break a leg going for the clicker when his filthy mug shows up on the screen.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

49. The misogyny reeks off of him

For the life of me I cannot figure out why progressive women watch him. He's never got one nice thing to say about women unless it's some young hottie or a RW sellout hack like Coulter.

[Stardust]

41. I agree but will drawn to watching him anyway, kinda like a trainwreck.

Sometimes his guests are well worth watching. Bill Maher is snide and conceited, but right now, he's all we've got for a liberal forum. I'd love to see someone put him in his place, but it'll never happen on his own show.

[misanthrope]

42. DING! DING! DING!...

...Don Pardo, tell him what he's won!

[Selatius]

47. He's a right-libertarian. That should explain it all to you.

I think that has been the consensus for quite some time now.

[Crankie Avalon]

51. I didn't see the show, but hearing about Hitchens being reduced to...

...making obscene gestures and drunkenly storming off the show sounds pretty funny.

I'm surprised if anyone ever mistook Bill Maher for a liberal, much less a leftist. His studio audience might be liberal, but he's always been a self-interested smartass. That sort is often entertaining, especially with a good mix of guests. I'll never forget how Michelle Malkin was ready to cry after being pushed around the whole hour on one of his shows.

I hate the way he always says, "But I kid the president" (it's really lame), but otherwise Bill Maher just can't disappoint me the way he seems others. He's got a point of view that isn't liberal and not quite conservative, either, and it takes all kinds to make a world.

[noonwitch]

52. I thought it was a good show

Maher never claimed to be a liberal, or anything but a critic of everyone. His original show was called "Politically Incorrect" for a reason.

Hitchens is an asshole, and I thought his flipping off the audience was the kind of thing a drunk asshole would do. The panelists who get on the show get on there because they are willing to say whatever they want or think, whether we like it or not. That's the nature of the show.

[immoderate]

66. You have it right AFAIC.

Maher would like to be standing back, pointing and saying, "See, they're all stupid!" Except it's hard for even him to ignore how terrible the Republicans are. Plus the repubs have the silly hangups about sex and drugs that Maher as a libertarian abhors. And of course Republicans generally lack a sense of humor.

As shows go, it wasn't his best. Some of the bits worked OK (soap on a fuse, LOL.) Maher is not ingratiating like Stewart, but he can be funny.

--IMM

[leftchick]

53. I read an interview last month with him in RS....

I realized then what a jackass he truly is. I won't watch the show anymore either...

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/11128590/bill_maher_a_man_for_our_time

[stillrockin]

54. Bill Maher is no genius--

I was channel-surfing last night and happened to catch him on "Larry King" equating Hezbolah's actions against Israel to hypothetical attacks by Canadian terrorists launching missiles into Montana. What he conveniently left out was WHY PEOPLE LAUNCH ROCKETS . . . No, just dumb it down and spoon feed the pablum to the shallow thinkers watching that dumb ass show. (I defend neither Hezbolah's nor Israel's actions. Violence begets only more violence.)

I said goodbye to Bill during his last season and goodbye to HBO after the "Six Feet Under" finale.

:thumbsdown:

[deaniac21]

57. Maher is a true intellectual and so are all of his viewers.

[Marie26]

60. Can't stand either of 'em. nt

[Atman]

61. Maher is getting into that stellar tax bracket that tends to love repubs.

He's always been slightly more right than left, if you ask me. I like his show, partly because it IS more balanced than most that way. I mean, I'm never actually surprised at anything Limballs or O'Falafel say, no matter how bizarro, because they're both certifiable crazies. But I continually find myself not knowing what Maher is going to say next, or what his stance on a given issue is. I don't really think that's a bad thing.

However, I do agree with the main point in your post...Hitchens was a total asshole (although he seemed noticably sober Friday night, even had his hair combed), and Maher should have told him to STFU or get off his show. His behavior was inexcusable.

I won't stop watching. There is a lot of good stuff on the show. If I sink my feet in concrete, then I'll never get anywhere but where I'm at. Hearing other's opinions is a good thing. It expands minds. And Maher, as much of a tool that he is, is still a funny political comedian. His stances on MIHOP and election fraud are pretty naive to many here on DU, but remember, his positions are much closer to the mainstream than the far-left conspiracy fans here want to admit.

[eliphaiku]

62. $

These matters routinely reduce to money.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

64. I was literally screaming at the tv when Maher let Hitchens' lies go

undisputed in regard to Zarqawi and the guy that the FBI let go who returned to Iraq in regard to the 1993 bombing of the WTC.

Zarqawi was in northern Iraq..in the no fly zøne and the 1993 WTC bombing person was offered by Iraq to be returned 3 times and the US didn't want him.

Yet Maher let Hitchens win on both points because Maher hadn't enough knowledge to dispute him.

[UTUSN]

65. Excellent assessment and summary thereof

The few times I've seen him guesting on other shows, he reminds me of college bullshit sessions, "If I ruled the world..."

[Liberal Dose]

68. Not for nothing, but I blasted a rant to HBO concerning Maher - link

http://www.hbo.com/apps/submitinfo/contactus/submit.do?title=Real%20Time%20with%20Bill%20Maher&questiontype=realtimewithbillmaher

It felt good, so I did it. :D

[WiseButAngrySara]

73. We have Maher's Politically Incorrect to thank for Ann Coulter. His

interviews of her literally 'made' her. He has always been politically 'correct' with the likes of Annorexia Coulters.

[The Backlash Cometh]

74. How much does he have to pay his audience to stay there?

Boycott the damn show if it's so bad.

[NobleCynic]

75. Oh come on

If you're thinking Maher's a conservative you're just overreacting to when he isn't lockstep with the left. Get over it. He plays the middle, is in it for laughs as much as for politics, but is still on our side of the fence more often than not.

[Fleshdancer]

76. I have a different take on things....

When the nutjobs go completely insane in public (Hitchens, Coulter, etc) the best thing to do is sit back and let them ramble and self destruct. At least everyone who watched now knows that Hitchens is not worth taking seriously.

[wryter2000]

79. I stopped watching him ages ago

Misogynist creep. He called tailhook "boys being boys," and every single one of his guests, male and female, told him he was full of shit. He claimed that women are genetically incapable of mastering science and math. Then, he and that asshole friend of his would "empty their notebooks" of lots of lame jokes that went flat.

He's a waste of protoplasm.

[returnable]

83. I enjoy Bill Maher. So what?

I love these kinds of "is he or isn't he one of us?" threads on DU. See 'em all the time regarding celebrities. Letterman tells a bunch of Bush jokes, and the board lights up with "Letterman is ONE OF US!" threads. But the minute Dave uncorks a well-worn "Clinton digs fat chicks" jokes, suddenly we see a bunch of "Letterman is a GOP kiss-ass!" threads.

Get a grip.

So Maher didn't defend Chomsky after Sullivan made a few cracks? So what? At least Maher HAD CHOMSKY ON HIS SHOW! And he didn't exactly grill Noam, either. In fact, he gave him an open platform to air his views. You have a problem with that? Where else are you gonna see that in mainstream media?

Why didn't anyone take Jon Stewart to the woodshed after he let Dennis Miller just roll his usual BS on his show without calling him out?

Face it, folks, these guys are ENTERTAINERS. Their primary interest is scoring some ratings. If you're expecting them to be idealogically "pure" - whatever the hell that means, you're gonna be disappointed. Every time.

I for one am glad that Bill Maher is at least willing to engage both sides in the debate. We could use more, not less, of that type of program.

[Laurab]

89. Thank you, I agree - although I think Jon Stewart is more "pure"

than Bill Maher, Bill has said some things that I can't believe he's said out loud on television about this administration. He's had Barbara Boxer on his show, Jeff Gannon, he gave EXTRA time to Wes Clark last year in a special prior-to-the panel interview. Last year he had a lot of really good shows. His first show this year sucked. Hitchens took it over.

Hitchens made an ass of himself - Maher was getting really mad AND trying to get a word in edgewise, but couldn't. Aside from calling security, I don't think there was a whole lot he could do.

I do agree that Bill has an ego, and some personal "quirks", and I don't always agree with him, but I do more often than not. I like him and will continue to watch. I LOVE Stewart and Colbert, and think they are actually trying to do some good in the world. I don't really think they're totally motivated by ratings. Maher might be.

He's still a voice, and he says things no one else is saying, and gives liberals a platform to talk far more than he does conservatives. IMO the good far outweighs the bad with him.