Bill Maher rose from being an “edgy,” opinionated comedian to becoming one of the most influential and recognizable faces in our media. His political talk show, Real Time With Bill Maher, has been on HBO since 2003, spanning 17 seasons with over 500 episodes to date. Real Time continues to be one of the most popular shows on cable TV, drawing in more than 4 million viewers per episode, according to a new New York Times interview (9/30/19), which frames him as a straight-shooting satirist on an “antihypocrisy crusade,” with Maher presenting himself as the voice of liberals across the country fed up with PC culture. Certainly, he has a legion of dedicated, primarily Democrat-voting Baby Boomer and Generation X fans, who take seriously his every pronouncement.
That is why his latest outbursts are noteworthy. On the September 20 edition of Real Time, he condemned the Democrats for reviving their opposition to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, claiming that continuing to “go after a guy for what he did in high school” “looks bad.” He implied that Democrats lost seats in the Senate for their “preposterous” opposition to what Kavanaugh did when he was just 17 (which, for the record, was multiple alleged attempted rapes or sexual assaults).
A week previously, Maher appeared on MSNBC’s flagship breakfast show, Morning Joe (9/12/19), where he claimed that the Democrats’ left-wing (i.e., Bernie Sanders) was a “cancer” destroying the party, warning that the left is “scarier and crazier than Trump,” and nominating a leftist as its presidential candidate would spell disaster in the next election. (Decrying the supposed unelectability of the left is a favorite pastime of elite pundits—FAIR.org, 2/26/19, 7/2/19, 8/21/19.)
Media almost unanimously present Maher as a “liberal” (e.g. Salon, 10/11/14, 9/21/19; USA Today, 7/8/18; New York Post, 6/29/19) or even a “progressive” (The Hill, 2/2/17) comedian. Yet any inspection of his political positions dispels this illusion. To be sure, he generally supported President Barack Obama and opposes Donald Trump (although he has been known to do the opposite of both). But he also has a long history of repeatedly taking reactionary positions on many subjects, especially war.
On his previous Comedy Central show Politically Incorrect, Maher praised the Vietnam War as “necessary,” arguing it helped end the Cold War. (The US officially began its involvement in Vietnam 36 years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union.) In 2013, he joked about killing antiwar activist Medea Benjamin after she interrupted Obama, and recanted his anti-Iraq War position, claiming, “Iraq is doing better than I thought it would be.” He praised George W. Bush for “creating a country” there.
And he championed Israel’s 2014 assault on Gaza, tweeting:
Dealing w/ Hamas is like dealing w/ a crazy woman who’s trying to kill u — u can only hold her wrists so long before you have to slap her.
Bill Maher (Twitter, 7/17/14) puts the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in terms a domestic abuser can understand.
As that last comment suggests, sexism and rampant Islamophobia are also constant features of Maher’s ideology. In 2009, he called a woman who was reportedly choked by her boyfriend a “bitch,” claiming that it was surprising he did not attack her sooner.
He has also described Islam as a “cancer,” and told Rep. Keith Ellison, a Muslim, that the Quran is a “hate-filled holy book.” He defended the arrest of 14-year-old Ahmed Mohammed for bringing a clock into school, comparing him to an ISIS fighter, and expressed alarm over the rising popularity of the name “Mohammed,” worrying that the Western world was being “taken over by Islam.” He also offered advice to Western women: “Talk to women who have ever dated an Arab man,” he insisted: “The reviews are not good.”
Maher fully supports the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “I love Israel,” declared the celebrity atheist, professing his affection for the ethno-religious state.
The point is that Maher’s beliefs, actions and outbursts, if they are coherent at all, are not consistent with liberalism and are, if anything, more in keeping with a right-wing shock jock like Rush Limbaugh.
Indeed, when asked, he has been explicit about his ideology: “I’m a libertarian,” he said to Rolling Stone (4/13/11). “I would be a Republican if they would. Which means that I like the Barry Goldwater Republican Party, even the Reagan Republican Party.” His choice in naming the two figures whose mission was to upend the liberal order, often through appeals to racism and white nationalism, is telling.
“I want a mean old man to watch my money,” he added. “Because government is a sieve that takes as much money as it can and gives it away, usually needlessly.”
Newsweek (3/16/19) quotes Fox News‘ praise of “liberal comedian Bill Maher” for telling Democratic candidates to “grow a pair” and appear on Fox News.
Yet corporate media continue to describe him as a liberal. Newsweek (3/16/19) did so in a story about him criticizing the Democratic Party, the Washington Times (9/13/19) did the same when it reported on his recent claim that the new “far-left” Democrats’ ideas are a “cancer” and they look “crazier” than Trump to him, while Fox News (5/11/19) reminded its readers twice that Maher was a liberal in a story about him praising Trump’s handling of the economy.
And therein lies the utility for the media in persisting to describe the self-described libertarian as a liberal: It allows media to formulate “he’s a liberal but” stories. “Conservative Criticizes Democrats” is not going to drive any clicks, whereas “Liberal Praises Trump” does. It is a classic example of the “Man Bites Dog” phenomenon.
Ultimately, Maher has built up an impressive following and continues to espouse snarky elitist hot takes weekly for HBO, earning an estimated $10 million per year doing so. Call him a racist, a bigot or an astute businessman; just don’t call him a liberal.
The worst thing you can be in our sociopolitical culture is “politically correct”, as expansively defined by the hallowed “politically incorrect”.
Put another way, if you say you give a shit
You’ll be sure to catch it.
Thank you I have been saying exactly the same thing for many years.
you’re right and it’s intriguing to see all the temper tantrums in the comments by bloviating dimbulbs too daft to decode Maher’s racism & atheism & Zionism for the hatred & anger they express. worse, he’s stupid and this is simply objectively true. there is no evidence he has ever read or listened to any criticisms of his views. he’s a barely literate preacher who panders and preens and trolls for money. even worse, as a comedian he’s a disgrace.
You are the stupid one. Islam is not a race, therefor he can not be racist as you so falsely claim.
Well he may not be a racist on purpose but you know he’s partial to Jews because he’s a Jew…by injection.
If he was impartial and a true hater of ALL religions and the horrific stuff religious leaders do, then he’d let it be known all the stuff The Hassidic Rabbis do in America and especially in Isreal. They have COMPLETE control politically in isreal and they are waaay worse then Arabs. Pedofilia is rampant and even worse then in the Catholic priesthood. They treat their woman terribly have over ten kids while they are on welfare, Medicaid the whole shebang while our taxes pay for their freeloading so they can read the Talmud. They cost isreal and the USA millions in freeloading. They are extremely RACIST. Recently a chief Rabbi wrote a book calling all Jews to suffocate gentile babies in their cribs! …
Isreal didn’t EVEN take away his rabbinical rabbihood. Nothing.
Yet not a peep outta these horrors from Bill Maher. Hmmm. I wonder what he’d of said on his show if an Imam had done this? Hassidic Chief Rabbi in isreal ALSO came out saying that gentiles are nothing but beasts of burden who have no souls and we’re out here only to be the slaves of the chosen people Jews. He said Jews should try as much as possible to hurt gentiles either directly or indirectly. Wow. I’ll remember that next time I go to a doctor..
So You see, if Bill was truly fair, he’d bash these pigs as badly as he does Arabs and Christians.
Except for his racist comments about e.g. arabs- oops. Better luck next time, I guess. At least you tried, though, eh? Participation trophy ftw!
And of course, prejudice against a religious demographic is a form of bigotry no less than racism, sexism, ageism, or homophobia. Maher’s a reactionary anti-intellectual bigot, who hosts a political show because he’s not funny, but is on HBO instead of a political network because he doesn’t actually know squat (or have anything to say) about politics either.
Sorry, but this article took almost every example (intentionally?) out of context with the transparent target of bloviating dimbulbs such as yourself getting riled up over exactly.what.maher.is complaining about. Textbook. Bravo!
Yes, he is in fact Trumpian in his “well I know I’m right so I don’t need to read some shit” attitude. He’s a sneering conservative insult comic who isn’t even funny.
And on the comments, probably just attracted the attention of a Hasbara squad- Maher is an outstanding Israel shill- have no doubt he will be a big fan if they annex the West Bank and ethnically cleanse it.
One of the biggest scumbags in media, which is saying something. Incredibly self-absorbed and self-impressed- I find him nearly nauseating.
@sayres Rudy. Barely literate?? Respectively speaking: YOU are the stupid, nauseating scumbag who can’t even compose a grammatically correct paragraph. #GoBacktoSchool Ass****!
He is ugly but funny
Calling Bill Maher a ‘liberal’ is like calling a duck a bird of prey. Just because he’s an atheist who smokes pot doesn’t make him a liberal. He’s made it clear that he despises liberals for one reason or another, regularly mocks his studio audience, and supports the most retrograde policies. Basically, he’s a centrist libertarian who caucuses with Dems.
Plus, his opinion is of zero consequence.
Sorry, but it appears you don’t know the definition of liberal. Try googling “classic liberal” or “social liberal” Progressives have hijacked the word.
Maher’s shtick is to essentially “bribe” his audience with the feeling that they can enjoy violating certain (“PC”) social norms so long as that same audience does not question the prevailing capitalist hierarchy with all its religious bigotry, racism, sexism, etc. (“The Libidinal Economy of Singularity” Philosophical Salon 8/5/19). This explains his anti-communism, his pro-business religious agnosticism, and his all-too-familiar “libertarian” endorsement of militarism and imperialism. I think, though, this is “liberalism”, per Domenico Losurdo’s useful book, “Liberalism: A Counter-History”. Liberalism has always been against the “left”.
I don’t agree with everything Maher says, and whether or not he fits your definition of a liberal, doesn’t matter to me, especially since you seem to indicate that even opposing Hamas isn’t liberal by your standards. But I agree with other things he says, esp when he opposes the classical tyranny of religion. Does this make me a liberal, a non-liberal? Who cares? Nice try, but you’ll never amount to any more than a tiny tick on the vast bulk of Bill.
Your attempts to smear him are transparent, too transparent, and I don’t have time to track down every quote out of context here, but you’ve most likely played fast and loose with some of this, if not most of it.
And calling out the truth of Hamas and the orthodox tyranny of Islam over women isn’t phobic, it’s courageous. To defend it with labeling is really kinda evil.
He should also try calling out the tyranny of ultra Orthodox Hasdidism and jewdaism if he is a true atheist. The ultra Orthodox are in control of isreal and are as racist and evil as any Muslim. That’s being fair.
Blanket smears against entire religions or religious demographics is the exact opposite of courage, its textbook ignorant bigotry- the irrational fear of the other. For all his crying about Trump, Maher and Trump are kindred spirits: celebrating irrationality and authoritarianism, adhering to only one value or principle: self-interest.
Its also telling that you find clearly sourced facts and quotes “smears”. I guess when a person is an angry little bigot, you can’t really state facts about them without also impugning their character? That’s more a commentary about Maher, though, not FAIR’s characteristically unimpeachable journalism.
“out of context” is also Sam Harris’ and his sycophants’ way to excuse his bigotry and bias. At this point it’s a joke and so are Harris and Maher. Any defender of the two exposes theirself.
Garbage article, using the same old tactics of accusing people (usually white males) of racism, sexism etc..There are too many inaccuracies in this article to address in the space given, the fact that this rubbish is published is an indictment of the new cultural phenomena of accuse, defame, and crush/cancel any voice that isnt in line with the “progessive” party line. Sir, I respectfully submit that you go fuck yourself
Thanks for once again proving the accuracy of the old adage: truth hurts!
“Politically Incorrect” was ABC show.
It premiered on Comedy Central in 1993, moved to ABC in January 1997, and was canceled in 2002.
This error-ridden, obscurantist, Salon-esque hit piece is pretty pathetic stuff for a journal like FAIR to be indulging in. Woof.
Noticed that nobody who makes accusations of errors and mis-quotes “has time” to point them out and correct them. Hmmm…Meow.
Convenient, ain’t it?
So error-ridden that you couldn’t enumerate a single error! (just like the other snowflake Maher apologists here)
Jerry and Jimmy are completely accurate in saying this article is nothing more than a hit job another sad snowflake (probably an incel) trying to put another name in the cancel culture book.. You are the hardcore sympathizer that gets more offended than the person or persons that are supposed to be offended. I also respectfully submit that you go fuck yourself as well.
Feels like you walked into his point. Your immediate response….dig into his past. Imply people don’t change , and can not change unless to face backlash. Hinting it’s bad that he both supports and disagrees with standing presents is a virtue. He is able to review on each instance. You describe this as reactionairy, but it’s called being honest and in the moment. Your piece feels frustrated, and upset.
Bill Maher rails against all religions, not just Islam. Not sure why criticizing Islam is anti-liberal but criticizing Christianity or Judaism is liberal, but you folks just make shit up as you go. I can only assume its not the religion but rather the ethnicity commonly associated with it that you actually care about, but maybe you actively cheer for organized religions that act as the face for authoritarian regimes that have horrific human rights records. But if that’s the case, why do you get to define “liberalism?” I guess hand picking a few quotes out of context from a person with decades of public statements qualifies as journalism these days. Maher has been pushing liberal ideals back when they still carried a stigma and paved the way for ungrateful turds like yourself. What a joke you are to the profession of journalism. Hope linking your stupid comments to a personality people actually follow gets your book sales up though.
Liberalism is no longer what it was, which is why many outlets still consider Maher a liberal. It’s no longer about the pursuit of truth and forward progress, but rather “leftist” ideology.
The problem with this new “leftist” ideology is its reactionary knee-jerk support of the underdog.
It doesnt matter why an entity is the underdog, just so long as it is.
It’s a genuine form of mental illness and unfortunately, most of the mentally ill dont recognize that they’re mentally ill.
It can be phrased another way as “evil doesn’t recognize itself”. In this context, I define evil as irrational, emotionally driven logic.
This piece is simply a symptom of the new left’s compulsion to support the underdog. It’s a mirror image of the Rush Limbaugh “right”.
are you maher’s boyfriend? this really hurt u
poor snowflake :'(
I’d like to share this with my friends on Facebook. How do you suggest I do that?
Print it out and mail it to them.
Copy this url (https://fair.org/home/the-phony-liberalism-of-bill-maher/)
and then paste in into your facebook where you would normally write a post.
Strange changes in Maher tone and views. Almost as if he is under hidden attacks himself….by those that have more on him to the point that he will be outed? Everyone has hidden “skeletons” from the mighty to the poorest. Judging is a very serious offence.
Its about Plucking time y’all got around to this blow hard. This dude recently, convict the Squad members of Congress of Antisemitism with no evidence. He followed that up with the innuendo that Muslim are expelling their Jewish citizen by siting the number of Jewish people who no longer live in those countries. He is calling the BDS movement antisemitic for real reason and has implied that Muslims have some sort of cabal where all of them agree on everything but have not welcomed Palestinians. This dude is one serious incident from going full Dennis Miller.
Bill is a good reminder that being a blatant Islamophobe is very much acceptable in polite Western society, including among fake left liberals/neoliberals. And Palestinians are essentially non-people, who deserve every abuse heaped upon them.
A very close to spot on read.
I’ve found Bill to be an elitist, overbearing, comedic windbag at times or simply an ill informed and hyper-opinionated buffoon at others.
His poorly articulated position and support for the “Humane Society Of The US” was positively grating to me personally, but understandable as they pay 90% of their $$ to exec. salaries and pundits like Maher who they can call on for support; while euthanizing as many animals as they can conceivably get away with.
His facility to change his opinions to the latest fads or anti-fads as the case may be truly represents who this “Entertainer” is.
Just another pompous windbag with an HBO platform that allows him to direct the marionettes on his stage to push whatever his Liberal (?) opinion “Du jour” may be.
I watch Bill Mahr and while he eschews liberal orthodoxy (extremism) and is sometimes over-the-top snarky and condescending, he’s still a liberal.
The article was pretty good about it’s characterization of current Maher’s beliefs. However, I agree with you, he is a liberal, very right-leaning, condescending, and bigoted against certain groups, but still liberal.
What kills me is the name of this rag, FAIR….what hypocrisy this is. Fair is allowing others to have differing opions without belittling them. Maher criticizes our country and sometimes praises it. Im not a Bill Maher fan at all but this article is all about taking Maher out for not being a lockstep liberal. Progressives arent liberals either, they are whinig fascists. Oh and bybthe way, it was the Republicans who voted in a majority for the 1964 equal rights amendment and Republicans who freed the slaves.Go read history you fucking biased dolt.
You people seem to have trouble realizing that this is a MEDIA CRITICISM site. Hence, Maher’s not the one whose views/statements are being criticized – the media is for calling him “liberal” and bringing him on in place of actual “liberals” or members of the “left” – The rest of your comment is a total waste of time, since it goes down the exact wrong path. Common issue around here. Again, Maher’s Pro-Israel and other statements are presented as they were given, and they demonstrate that the rest of the media is wrong – NOT for citing him or having him on the air, but for doing so IN PLACE OF someone who espouses actual “liberal” positions. I know nuance is hard for some people, but Glenn Greenwald’s work used to get the same phony criticisms as you’re giving FAIR here. They are critiquing media for continually putting forth CENTRIST or RIGHT-leaning voices and content while calling these persons/content “liberal”, not Bill Maher personally.
Its a fact-checking website. They have fact checked the frequent media characterization of Bill Maher as a liberal, progressive, or just NOT a whiny little bigot. Sorry if the truth hurts, but facts don’t care about your feelings.
I don’t watch his show anymore. Maher has become a millionaire know it all. A lot of people I know are turning him off. He is bad news for Democrats that want real change. He is sooo out of touch with the world of today.
Heads up, the term refers to “classical liberal” & is close in connotation to “libertarian.” It does not refer to the relatively new pop culture connotations of the word “liberal” – or to a lock in step with the current zeitgeist of the American Democratic Party.
He’s to the left of the last 5 Democratic presidential candidates. I think you analysis in incorrect.
I like Maher and I have an issue with many of his stances. He seems particularly obsessed with Islam as the author notes.
Another issue is he calls all 9/11 conspiracies “fake” but has not once looked at any of the thousands of pieces of evidence that at the very least call into question the “official story”, I’m guessing is because it implicates Islam. (Evidence of termite at ground zero, free fall collapse of building 7, despite not being hit by anything-but oddly contained much evidence and Rudy’s command bunker, the fact that the alleged pilot who hit the Pentagon was barely able to control a Cessna and then executed a dive and turn that military pilots say they couldn’t do in a commercial airplane – to hit a largely unoccupied part of the Pentagon… just a start.)
I do think he chose the easy money making path instead of a real truth seeker.
Anyone that believes Maher isn’t a liberal is one sick mofo.
Maher is a pro-war, pro-Israel/Zionism hawk who hates Trump. That doesn’t make him a “liberal” – it makes him a comedian with opinions. The “smears” here are not by FAIR against Bill Maher, the are the rest of the media smearing “liberalism” in general by associating it with Bill Maher.
Some of you Maherbots should also figure out that FAIR.org is a MEDIA criticism site, hence Maher himself was not under attack here – merely his being consistently labeled as “liberal” and his opinions being included in the discourse as “liberal” by the media at large rather than those of someone whose opinions are actually “liberal” or “left-leaning.” It’s a clever ruse in use for decades to drag the narrative/discourse ever more to the right of center.
Correct. Setting the Overton Window. Which is part of the reason Bernie drives them nuts- they can’t completely ignore him anymore, which allows genuine left wing views to get through- ideas they find incredibly threatening.
I guess ucking Ann Coulter has infected his brain,,, among other things
He is a liberal, or at least he was before liberals became whiney socialists. Just like I was a conservative before showed up and they all became fascists. Now a days, Both sides have a tendency towards hypocrisy and are just fighting to just stay in power. But really, he’s a liberal that leans libertarian. Just because we agree occasionally, doesn’t make him a conservative
He has a good point on some things, like cancel ism… He’s entitled to his opinion, I don’t agree with him and alot of people don’t. That’s the whole point. I still think he’s funny and will watch him. I think he’s wrong on Bernie and I think isreal is run by a bunch of ultra Orthodox monsters and Bill should call those creeps out for what they are, just like he dies Muslims and Christians. He should do the same with Jews..I mean, if he was truly an impartial atheist.
Bill Maher is an intellectual hunchback, too stupid to be an academic, journalist, or politician, but not charismatic or witty enough to be a comedian. So he found the perfect gig, doing a little bit of neither. When he doesn’t have funny or insightful guests, his show is about as entertaining as drying paint- how it is still in production is beyond me.
You’re absolutely correct Mr.MacLeod. Up to this point I’ve supported Maher but found myself increasingly disillusioned with him the last few years.
You’ve put into words what i had not yet the courage to think. Thank you.
He may not be liberal enough for you but firstly he is a comic entertainer leaning left more than right so call him what you may “frankly I don’t give a dam” and neither does Maher.
Last week he made a joke out of white people showing compassion for black suffering in the United States. He literaly made a joke using urban slang. I would like to see him use that same sentiment when describing Jewish pain if that exist
I know Maxine. Jews don’t get enough shit. Unless they read this stupid site.
Wht’s FAIR Alan? l thnk most Libs consider BM a Lib, he takes some trublng positns @ times, & some of hs comnts chafe, but he can reason, & he evolvs, some of ur xampls badly lack contxt, & let’s not 4get he’s a comic, & genraly prty coherent!
The examples of Maher’s breaks with the left are one of the reasons people trust him and enjoy his show. He doesn’t feel the need to toe the line with every single liberal or progressive ideal in order to count himself as liberal. No political party or movement gets everything 100% right, and he’s right to call out the wrongs both sides commit. So just because you can come up with more than two examples of how he doesn’t toe the progressive line doesn’t mean Bill Maher isn’t still entrenched to the left of center.
Amen.
For the most part, he IS a liberal, albeit an old school one. What you and those like you fail to accept is that the left in this country is absolutely losing its collective mind and going right over the social and emotional leftist cliff. Most of the “liberals” who claim that Maher isn’t a liberal aren’t liberals, they’re leftists. Maher realizes this, as does over half the country.
This story is SO full with inaccuracy (some being the exact opposite of the fact) that I didn’t bother reading anymore, that was before I got to the middle of it… I guess factual info is a nuisance, or at least isn’t important, when you’re trying to sell an agenda… and I won’t even touch on the mischaracterizations. Truly pathetic
Excellent !
Right on the nose.
Lol, yes eat your own, you can never be left enough!
You guys are crazy. Because he’s not completely off the cliff on the left, you compare him to Rush? God forbid there’s taking the middle. You don’t have to agree with every extreme left idea to be liberal. I believe he also says some of the things that people think and don’t want to say out loud because of PC. And remember, he’s a comedian, he’s going to make jokes. If you’re sensitive, you should never watch comedy. Jesus Christ.
Bill will attack a liberal for having an opinions that he considers too rigid, usually citing some ridiculous example from the media. Yet, to demonstrate his ‘fairness’, he allows, anti-choice guests to argue against the constitutional guarantee of a woman’s right to abortion. For some reason Bill believes that liberal opinions are more detrimental and deserving of more criticism than those promoting conservative tyranny.
Israel’s “attack” on Gaza in 2014 was actually in response to hundreds of missiles shot over a 24-hour period. Those missile strikes came without any notice. They were acts of war committed by Hamas, and yet, according to FAIR, in order to be a liberal, one has to support the actual of Jews. Just amazing.
Fucking Aggravating Imbeciles, Right?
The Left eating itself again. You can’t be a moderate, sensible Leftist anymore. If you attempt to be a reasonable atheist like Mahr or Sam Harris or Joe Rogan then you’re looked at as almost worst than Trump. You are the same kind of far Left progressive who attacks me (a middle class POC) for being “privileged” bc I have a penis while being a white female w a trust fund who acts like you’re purely a victim w no privilege yourself. Have your far Left view but stop attacking moderates looking to help end Trump’s 2020 chances through moderate views, not equal opposite extremism.
This article is trash, the write isn’t even considered a real journalist. This is one man asinine opinion on a public figure who bothers him because he threatens his very delegate sensibility of what political stance bill takes it’s a joke, this site is a joke it should be a blog because it’s one’s asshole opinion pulled on by worthless turd comments get Bent you political correctness junkies
What a load of horse manure. Maher has been carrying water for liberals for years now. Just because he doesn’t toe the new progressive BS now he’s not a liberal? Give me a break!
“Yet corporate media continue to describe him as a liberal.”
As well as most Democrats but they’re not. As far as supporting the Occupation of Palestine, so do the Democrats. The “liberal” Hillary Clinton told AIPAC she would make it a crime to support BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions). So that makes her a liberal? I’ve never heard of any main stream liberals threatening Israel with welfare cuts when new settlements are being illegally built.
I originally posted this as a response to someone but then decided to address the entire forum.
It occurs to me that lberalism is no longer what it was, which is why many outlets still consider Maher a liberal. Liberalism is no longer about the pursuit of truth and forward progress, but rather “leftist” ideology.
The problem with this new “leftist” ideology is its reactionary knee-jerk support of the underdog, which is absolutely antithetical to the values of true lberalism/progressivism.
This new leftist based liberalism doesnt care why an entity is the underdog, just so long as it is.
It’s a genuine form of mental illness and unfortunately, most of the mentally ill dont recognize that they’re mentally ill. They instead, rationalize and justify their perspective as “normal”.
It can be phrased another way as “evil doesn’t recognize itself”. In this context, I define evil as irrational, emotionally driven logic, which applies equally to any political or philosophical ideology on the left or right.
This piece and the author’s entire premise, is simply a symptom of the new left’s compulsion to support the underdog. It’s simply a mirror image of the Rush Limbaugh “right”. So congratulations to all the Bill Maher haters for helping to further clarify the (not-so-subtle) difference between liberalism and the relatively new phenomena of left-ism.
So he doesn’t toe the line and raises observations and questions….sounds like he’s more liberal and free thinking than you
Extraordinarily shallow take on Maher, mostly cherry-picking his occasional violations of the standard liberal purity test, which is never offer any criticism about anybody who isn’t a white, Christian, heterosexual male. I don’t agree with Maher about everything but that’s the point. Maher is a champion of liberal causes not because he is the most strident adherent to the liberal dogma du jour, but because he is a sharp-minded critical thinker who’s unafraid to find common ground among people with whom he otherwise disagrees. And THAT is political discourse. Not exclusionary nodding parties where everyone is pressure d to agree. You’ve got a lot to learn, junior.
Just so the “writer” of this article understands, Bill Maher is a satirist. You’re really reaching here- Bill is enormously entertaining. So just have a nice cup of shut the f*ck up.
Have a nice day.
Yep, this article is exactly what Maher means… stuff like this makes independents gag… hell, it made my liberal ass gag (or will you tell me how not-liberal I am?). I agree with about 70% of what Maher says (number taken out of thin air). I do not agree with all, nor do I write a strongly worded piece over the 30% that is different.
Bill Maher calls out hypocrisy wherever he sees it. Republicans are not the exclusive actors in this regard, sometimes the Dems look just as stupid although not as often and not as serious. One thing is certain however, Trump does not deserve to be President. He was elected because Americans in general worship celebrity. I bet that if Oprah Winfrey or Tom Hanks ran for office, either one would win in a landslide, and either one would do much better for the country than this current idiot.
Bill Maher calls out hypocrisy wherever he sees it. Republicans are not the exclusive actors in this regard, sometimes the Dems look just as stupid although not as often and not as serious. One thing is certain however, Trump does not deserve to be President. He was elected because Americans in general worship celebrity. I bet that if Oprah Winfrey or Tom Hanks ran for office, either one would win in a landslide, and either one would do much better for the country than this current idiot.
Sorry buddy, you are a regressive so don’t recognize true liberalism.
He is either a millennial who believes that to be a liberal is to adhere to a b.s. purity creed or he is simply not smart enough to appreciate the genius of Bill Maher. Otherwise, what is the point of even writing this article? Are we not even allowed to decide for ourselves what to watch? Censorship should never be a “liberal” talking point.
I found this to be Very Informative. I appreciate different points of view. I still like him and I see him in a more realistic picture, which shows the complexity of us human beings. It’s still very sad for anyone to hold pictures with Bigotry, Greed, Ignorance/Stupidity, when people always have the opportunity to look at themselves and they don’t take responsibility to change. :(
His views on Islam are liberal in regards to women’s rights which you should have mentioned. He’s a complicated human and frequently wrong. But he states thousands of opinions and is an American treasure. But you’ve proven one thing with this phony article: He’s not an ideologue.
Good article . Maher is a phony pseudo liberal and a right wing Republican at heart. And….he’s not funny.
You are nuckinfutz
You WISH you had one tenth his wit and understanding…
And audience
Correct he’s hilarious
Thank you…thanks for pointing that out about the baked-out-of-his-mind-to-the-point-of-being-lost-in-the-sauce, shock jock Bill Maher. He’s been Trumpboozled! Seriously though, I’ve always had a problem with his boorish religious bigotry and Islamophobia (not because I’m religious, instead knowing that his type of telecasted intolerance and hubris is the type that can be the most insidious…’if a liberal like him can be that way and make $10 million a year, then surely me and others spreading the same intolerance are okay to do so too’, type crap) His blatant reactionary hypocrisy has thankfully been getting put on blast lately. Hearing that the bs meter rang out at FAIR (picturing an actual bomb shelter horn blasting with flashing yellow lights blinking and fastidious fingers typing away) about Bill Maher, is on par with the many times that guests of the show have been refuted and corrected in articles at Fair.org as well…
So many errors and biases in this story. Maher is an entertainer, who many people, myself included, find entertaining most of the time. He is not a leader nor do people take everything (or anything) he says seriously. Sometimes he hits things on the nose, sometimes he’s way off the mark. This is just another right wing characterization of Democrats as mindless followers, which is exactly what most conservatives are in my frequent experience. A site calling itself “Fair” is a clear tipoff that it is anything but. Just like the “I am not a racist” pronouncement of people is a sign that those who say this almost always hold white supremacist (racist) views. If Democrats resembled what the right says they are, I wouldn’t be one.
Yes, we GenXers like Bill… because he is able to see more than (1) side of an issue and can illustrate the ridiculousness of multiple ideologies.
Do we “…take seriously his every pronouncement.” ? Hardly, he is a talking head on TV. I take people like Noam Chomksy and Thomas Piketty more seriously. But picking on Bill (and plagiarizing Noam’s phrase in your book’s title) will not endear you to any logical liberals – and does appear as a shameless plug/clickbait for your book.
Take a shower, drink some chamomile tea, and then direct your energy towards our current existential threats: Trump & climate change. Once we remove Trump and begin to mitigate climate change, we can jump-start our suspended societal evolution and continue to address our other pressing global ills (wealth inequality and it’s trickle down evils of racism, sexism, climate science denial and oil dependency). Your ‘outing’ of Maher as a fake liberal… was a waste of both of our time.
Titles are often plagiarized…it’s allowed. Is it really a productive venture to see all of the angles of a bigoted and false outlook of the world? Why do you object to the author of this article baiting readers into being educated about propaganda? Are you suggesting that just because of a veneer of comedy we should wave our hand at the number of viewers Bill Maher reaches? I think he is a member of the same Democratic Party that tricks us into voting for them and never delivers on their campaign promises of change and progress. The DNC has never been left or liberal, if you follow Chomsky you ought to know that. Speaking of Noam, he too has dissed the fakery of Bill Maher, pointing out the comedy disguised bs that is indistinguishable from hard right reactionary positions. Noticing that Maher’s self-proclaimed libertarianism is broadly conflated by the MSM as liberalism, and writing about it, is totally FAIR.
I’m also a gen X’r who still watches Real Time, and lately I have noticed Bill is being more unapologetic about his true positions (which I see as right of center) It really does make me wish for a real left-wing, whack-job liberal party to balance the right-wing junk out…and not one that bandwagons the next trendy topic of disunity and played out rugged individualism the way Maher often does…call me what you want, but I think this country has gone off the cliff when Archie Bunker types are being taken seriously in all realms of discourse.
I will call you what I want. You are a left fringe idiot who seems think your version of liberalism is more true than the majority of liberals, as a result label anyone not as out of touch as you as being fake liberals.
I see Bill M. Really caught floating in the middle now: between the parties.
1. I don’t agree with a lot of what Bill Mayer says. That doesn’t mean he’s not predominantly liberal in his thinking.
2. Quit your f’ing gate keeping. Nouveau liberals keep trying to redefine liberalism in to increasingly narrow terms. If you want every liberal to walk in lock step and pass a litmus test join the GOP. They’re good at that.
3. He’s an atheist. He thinks all religion is crazy. More so, Islam because it apparently produces more terrorists currently and Bill defends Isreal. (I personally think he is a little bias towards Isreal. Doesn’t mean he’s not liberal.)
4. What happened to freedom of speech, expression, and debate as a pinnacle of liberal ideology. Now it’s, “you don’t agree on this point, so you must be a fascist.”
5. Yes. There is a difference between debate and bull horning talking points. But, know the difference.
How is this site a .org? Bill is very liberal, it’s sickening to see any site especially a site that claims to fairly report and be a .org basically label Maher as a right wing Islamaphobic sexist. He’s against ALL religions and always has been, and he’s a comedian, and pushes boundaries with jokes that’s what comedians do. The same sort of outrage culture that use to exist on the right in the 90’s,80’s,70’s so on and so on is far beyond that at this point on the left. This is why trump won, and the fact that people on the left other than pretty much just Bill Maher and Joe Rogan, refuse to even acknowledge anything that isn’t cow towing to this religious like ideology of left shows that some how the left has become more closed minded and out of touch than the still awful right, seems impossible, but it’s just the nature of the beast in 2019!!!
Dear Cancel-culture boy,
You suck because you don’t care about nuance, therefore you are cancelled.
Eat dicks loser,
Kenny
Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, has repeatedly commented that, “during its operation in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.” Furthermore, he points out that the steps taken in that conflict by the Israeli Defence Forces to avoid civilian deaths are shown by a study published by the United Nations to have resulted in, by far, the lowest 18of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare. Kemp explains that by UN estimates, the average ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide is 3:1 — three civilians for every combatant killed. That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan. But in Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to have been 4:1. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia. In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one.
Stop condemning people for being the complex beings they are. Not all things the right/Republicans/conservatives say and do are bad and not all things the left liberals say and do are good. Look at yourself and your life and think about where you fall short of the ideal, and then consider that it’s like that for pretty much everbody. Yes, there are complete a–holes and jerks in the world, but there are also people who mostly do the right thing and still have character flaws and sometimes behave badly. I think Bill Maher (and myself, for that matter) belongs to the latter group.
I’ve been very disappointed in him in the last episodes . I find myself wanting to fall asleep it’s not funny anymore and he’s not a liberal anymore. . He was the only reason I had HBO and I’m beginning to think I should just not see him anymore it’s not worth it
Look at your own flaws.
Bill Maher has never called himself as a pure liberal. He defines who he is mostly by what he is not. That is mostly what Republicans are spewing these days. If it were 40 years ago , before the religious right took over, he would have been a Republican imo. Back then they were mostly rational.
I actually feel stupider having read this terrible ‘article.’
Jesus Christ, when will you people stop with this nonsense?
Your obsession with every word Bill says is pathetic and a cause for concern. He is a comedian! Sometimes comedians say things they don’t literally think for *gasp* a laugh. Get a friggin hobby.
You’d think that the massive and shameful defeat the left underwent in 2016 would wake them up about how ugly and absurd their PC BS is. But no. You guys just dug in deeper than ever. The reason Bill Maher has such a large fan base, and why no one has ever heard of you, is because he actually thinks critically. (You should try it) He doesn’t just blindly follow every moronic thing the woke folks on Twitter say.
News flash Alan! The culture war is over! Your team lost! Now go crawl back into your parent’s basement and leave the rest of us alone.
I will admit that your article has changed my positions on several different issues. For example, I now believe that abortion should be legal and widely available so that there might be less people like you in the world. I also now believe we should have open borders because any immigrant will, by default, be smarter than you and therefore help prevent people like you from having any influence on our society. I believe that prostitution should be legal so that incels like yourself can get laid and do something besides ruin other people’s days.
I’m curious. How does it feel to have actually made the world a worse place by just using your fingers? Fingers which, by all accounts, have never felt a woman.
Go take a long walk off a short pier.
This article manifests the epitome of Bill’s crusade against narrow thinking, “woke” communities, co-opting true liberalism. True liberalism explores individual thought and allows for differences of opinion. Today’s left is like a cult, with lock-step mind numbing fragility. Lest you think I am not a left enough, Che would be to my right politically. I am a micro communist, free market macro economist.
Further Bill is a comedian, and yes they use over the top statements to shock and cause laughter. Yet, name one other political show, comedic or serious, that regularly invites the “other side” to discuss and debate? I am not an atheistic like Bill, but a Buddhist monk, so we differ on region; however, I appreciate his humor and candid statements on religion, even though I disagree. That is true liberalism. Get un-woke, and wake up.
An obviously one-sided article, deliberately omitting the many “liberal” and “progressive” views expressed by Maher. Yes, he has articulated some retrograde views. (He’s also changed over time — a sign of openness and flexibility, not a weakness). But overall, he’s neither starkly left nor right.
You leave out that he supports womens’ rights, gay rights, abortion rights, the primacy of science of religion in setting governmental priorities, climate change science, teaching of evolution, etc., etc. And you compare him to Rush Limbaugh? How ironic that this hatchet job is published on a website with the laughably inappropriate name, FAIR.
.
Liberals are hypocrites and have a bias in favour of Islam and Muslims despite their practice of executing homosexual men. The Left could denounce both Islam as a religion and Muslims as a people — but it never does.
And it’s not a small problem. In the UK, 52% of Muslims believe homosexuals should be incarcerated. And if you’re gay that is terrifying. But who on the Left ever talks about it? Bill Maher.
In Muslim countries it’s worse. Almost 100 percent of the populations from Morocco to Malaysia want homosexuals dead.
Bill Maher is right about the pro Islamic agenda, particularly on University campuses. Some how when gay men are executed or rot in jail for decades, the Left yawns and looks the other way. Why? They don’t want to offend their real allies, Muslims.
You neither own the Left nor can monopolize its definition.
Thank God for Bill Maher.
(That’s called ironic humour — something else the Left seems to have lost.)
.
Very good assessment.
Let’s not refer to fringe leftist idiots as liberals or even as simply Left please?
I am not able to watch the program anymore. My observation is that the host entertains some nasty guests who espouse ugly prejudices to build up their egos. In a subseqent segment the host becomes boarderline affectionate to the nasty one, making jokes validating the NG and derisive of Democrats and “liberals.” It is painful to watch the orgy of approval and affection of the vile.
You are an ignorant piece of s**t and an anti-semite. Perhaps your stupidest statement was that Bill Maher is like Rush Limbaugh; true about as much as you are like a real journalist, which is to say not.
The Internet would be better off if you would stop polluting it with your ridiculous garbage, perhaps you could k**l yourself or get a job cleaning toilets instead. Clearly excrement is really your forte anyway.
Maher is not a Marxist leftist. And yes, far-left “Democrats” these days are a cancer that is ruining the US.
Amazing! Liberals eating their own.
I’ve been watching Bill Maher for years. His editorials and opinions are what I call common sense. What has he done, but champion true liberalism in an era of overgrown semi-literate adolescence?I agree on everything he has said most recently, we need to fat-shame people, tax stupid white people and above all, study something in college that will give you a job, as opposed to getting a useless education and then blaming Corporate america. One more thing, Im sure GEN X does watch him, but just remember GEN X was the one whore planted the seed to have a better society. Instead, its turned into a 24/7 diaper genie fest for all of the precious little flowers who know nothing about life, people, challenges, making mistakes, working, money etc. Please dont ask me if there’s an app for that. LOL LOL
What a stupid article. Its quite clear that you’ve never watched Bill Maher’s show if you think he’s ever praised Trump or his handing of the economy.
You need to actually research rather than just google stuff.
I appreciate this article because I think it’s accurate. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time but our opinions don’t mix much of the time. I still watch him if he’s on at someone’s house. I don’t dislike Bill but he’s no liberal! He’s not a big cheer leader for strong women, he talks bad about Muslims, total Zionist prick but I can always turn him off when he becomes that!
Maher is no more a Zionist prick than you are an antisemite. He is a liberal. You aren’t. You fringe piece of trash.
Eating your own now. I knew it would come to this. He talks common sense sometimes as does John Oliver. I am republican but respect their viewpoints even though they usually do not align with my own.
This last season of Bill Maher Real Time, has been rather distasteful
regarding his outbursts of anger towards guests who have differing opinions and his outlandish not so subtle put downs of the audience. For a few episodes I’ve felt very differently about the show. I’ve always loved watching his show for his knowledge and wit and the good feeling I’m left with afterwards. Eager to watch his after show and looking forward to the following week. There’s been a change for sure. Trump has affected all of us negatively and we are petrified at the prospect of him cheating his way to another 4 years…maybe that’s it. I miss the other Bill Maher, the outspoken, smart knowledgeable funny guy!
This article was total garbage. “Wah he’s not really one of us!” Complete woke tribalism. I love how in the list of his no-no comments you compiled you add the “I love Israel” quote, as if that’s something controversial to say. How can you not see that this is part of the problem?
Because to you if anyone challenges some of the twisted ideas and ideologies of the progressive left:for example aligning themselves with political Islam, making government larger and curbing free speech in universities, under the banner of political correctness; brings up the narcissism wrapped in humility we see today in the post modern marxists compassion movement.
Wait….Irish and anti Israel! What a surprise there.
Scottish I mean…
Not a liberal? Because he has a brain? You Woke Culturists are whats gonna win it for Trump in 2020. The blaming, shaming and historical finger pointing.
I agree with Maher lets be more like MLK than the BLM movement
Maher always reminds me of Leni Riefenstahl. He spews hate and lies about minorities and hides behind the First Amendment to justify his rantings. It all started when younger generations did’t find him so funny anymore. So he blames “woke culture” for that in the way that DJT blames everybody else for his incompetence. He is openly contemptuous of his live audience for not laughing enough at his jokes and now is notorious for interrupting his guests. Last week’s show was a shouting disaster, but it’s not his fault. Everybody else it to blame for everything Maher and Trump do. They are flip sides of the same coin and equally nauseating. Maher is dwindling before out eyes.
Ah…so happy to see that Bill is right; he has claimed repeatedly that his audience is the smartest audience…ever.
Clearly by the majority of these comments…he’s got THAT at least pegged right. Those of us who have watched him since the 80s get who he really is.
He has also repeated…that humans evolve over time. In the 80s…70s…whathaveyou, if you are a true Progressive your values, opinions and actions will evolve over time, and not be still stuck back in those regressive times…such as it is with a certain party. And Bill is no exception to that claim.
Finally, the Democratic party SHOULD be relentlessly criticized…they screw it up…a lot.
Macleod…try it. You’ll like it. It’s a very freeing thing to thoughtfully weigh and balance several points in your writing.
The appeal of Bill Maher, in addition to the laughs, is that he is not a cookie cutter liberal. For you to make judgement calls on his views because he doesn’t follow far-left ideologies all the time or isn’t left enough for you is the kind of thinking that has largely led to the polarizing of this country. Instead of you trying to decide what label belongs on his head, why not open your mind & realize that being a Democrat, liberal, libertarian or Republican, should not mean that there is never an idea or philosophy that crosses over the fence. A voter should be open to examining policy & making decisions without first checking to be sure they are on the right “side”. Maher encourages independent thought and yeah, sometimes I wish I could argue with him face to face, but I am always glad he gave me something to think, and laugh about.
I don’t know where this falls on the liberal/conservative scale, but I would like Maher’s recent soliloquy on the benefits of fat shaming to be included when criticizing him. He sure has a lot to say about things he doesn’t understand and has gotten on my last nerve lately. I find his hatred for fat, coupled with his insistence that people should be allowed to market 64 oz sugar drinks to kids particularly annoying.
So… What your saying is your day and it’s because of energy drinks?
*fat not day
Fat is unhealthy. It is prime breeding ground for cancer. What I am noticing is the people like you in this reply section who have a problem with Bill all seem to be very self-centered and delusional.
WOW MacLoed…
you are sooo lost…
unfortunately you will learn the painful way when Orange face gets reelected.
You misspelled Joe Rogan
Bill Maher is an entertainer and not a representative of any party. He can say what he wants as long as he labels opinions as opinions and not as facts. That alone makes him not a conservative. Liberalism and progressivism are not a cult. If they can’t take criticism and demand only Group-Think they are no better than the alternatives.
Bill Maher is one of the few public figures that actually thinks for himself and not down the party line. He calls it as he sees it and I almost always agree with him. I love that he isn’t afraid to stand up and help normalize those of us that are more secular. He is hilarious with his biting humor. It is ridiculous that this article is basically accusing him of being a crazy right wing Trump supporter. Don’t get it twisted, Bill Maher is a true liberal in every way that counts.
Never forget he is a comedian. I need to see the context of these “quotes”.
Another example of the Left eating their own.
If I was from Mars and had not watched Maher for the past couple of decades, I might find this article’s descriptions of Maher as a bigot, racist and apologist for Trump plausible. Having seen countless antiTrump rants of Mahers’, I have formed a different opinion.
I would recommend actually watching a few Maher shows so you can put in context the ‘damning’ quotes extracted by this article. (Click on the links for right wing discredited ‘news sources’ Fox and Washingtontimes to see similarly context-free quoting of Maher, such as this:
“Originally, it went up big,” Maher said. “Wages did finally rise. We have to … ”
“After how many years? After how many decades?” Ryan interrupted.
“All right, but Trump has been president for two years. We can’t ignore that fact,” Maher shot back. “Finally, wages went up. He’s the guy in the Oval Office. He’s gonna run on that.”
In fact, Maher’s hobby horse on display here is the Dems’ tendency to shoot itself in the foot by misreading the public. Here Maher is supporting the Dems by warning them that running against Trump on the economy in the current relatively ‘good’ times is a losing proposition. Maher is not defending Trump’s economy, as one is misled to believe in this article.
—
Check the sources for this article – for example, para 2 the link to show Maher “condemned the Democrats links not to Maher, but to a Fox news report making the same claim! If FAIR thinks they need to follow the journalistic principle of citing to verifiable fact, why would they offer us Fox News instead of Maher himself?
Anyone else having trouble with the sources for this story? I checked a few other links and found the same thing…
Wtf how dare you actually check the sources for validity!! Fucking reasoning rational assholes like you!
Now Penn and Teller Bullshit was a very Libertarian show!
“To be sure, he generally supported President Barack Obama and opposes Donald Trump (although he has been known to do the opposite of both)” implying that supporting liar and murderer (Jeremy Scahill) Obama is someone progressives would vote for. Some self-identified progressives would, because they are faithless and take the view that if we only have scoundrels to choose from in our elections, then we must vote for the least evil scoundrel. (Chomsky voting for monster Clinton is an example) Call it principled or pragmatic or both, but for me it’s certainly not progressive. Such faithless ones have found enlightement on their chosen path – that I have zero use for.
Every passing year he gets more stupid (not that he was smart before, he’s never been), maybe is the pot.
You’re a fucking idiot.
This is why liberals lose so much….liberals eat each other and lose sight of the big picture. It’s a culture of isolation, condemnation and flagellation….push out anyone who doesn’t agree with you fully,condemn him or her for their beliefs and try to get people to join your ideology instead of theirs,the then beat them with a ideological fury until you satisfy your own personal need. Sad, in so many ways. You know why liberals lose even when they’re running against trump;. Infighting pettiness,a and a god awful need to be right at the expense of actually getting things done. Conservatives for all of the idiotic ideas know how to circle the wagons against the other side. Once their candidate is chosen they will support him. Liberals claimed to have the biggest tent but the actions and voices don’t support this.
You are a moron Sir. Not one thing you mention about Bill Mahrer was accurate. Sure he said some things as a joke but in typical conservative fashion you think when he states “you can only take so much before you have to slap her” means he is sexist. It’s not. You clearly missed the point. Also, it is not a bad thing to have differing opinions than the party you most relate to or vote for. Democrats do need a kick in the ass for many things but saying so does not mean I am floundering on my Democratic stance. A great many things are wrong in the current world of politics whether it is Republican or Democrat. Speaking up against a few crazy platforms is a not a bad thing and should not be frowned upon. Far to many sensitive crying finger pointers in this world today and you Sir are one of them. You muddy the waters and pollute the minds of those who are not ready to recognize your brand of journalism for what it is, GARBAGE. It is you and those like you who cant wait to slander a comedian and treat him as a politician if they dont tow the line you expect of them to. As far as I know Bill Mahrer has not ever asked for a vote from anyone. Oh, wait yes he did as a joke in one or more of his bits over the years. Being that you do not recognize fun humor or comedy at all I guess to you it means he is a politician because you do not understand sarcasm. You Republican mud whistles should focus more on that fleshy orange tater tot brained nitwit currently holding the country hostage with his lunacy and lies. How is it you can criticize a man who is a comedian for being a comedian but you wont criticize the criminal currently playing at being President of our country for all that makes him the horrible man he is. I suspect years will pass by before you and those like you realize how big a mistake you made in supporting the carrot with legs. I will never call that man President. He is a disgrace.
Here on earth it’s good to be pragmatic about how the world really functions. I’m a lifelong Democrat and liberal guy, but this is 2019 not 1969.
Bill Meher is trying to save Liberalism from extinction. Liberals love affair with illiberal Islam is destroying them
Maher is an arrogant twit and a bought and paid for servant of fascistic Israel!!
Good. I like Israel.
Why ?, they are the leading cause of terrorism in the world today..
Really? Not the Islamists?
Call him whatever you want, his show is some of the best discourse on TV in the US.
I don’t agree with him on everything, but the conversations on his show are engaging and cut through the BS. Who gives a fuck if you call him a liberal or not.
You nailed it brother
That you describe his show as “some of the best discourse on TV in the U.S.” reveals your appalling ignorance. The man is a fraud, a con artist madly in love with himself.
Hey Justin, I can see all that great “discourse” did wonders for you. Seems like you “cut through the BS” face first with your mouth open.
He wants his party to pick its battles you fucking potato. Not spread itself thin… which is an issue. I’m not liberal, i cant call myself that bc quite frankly this party is too damn pragmatic. When everything is a cause, nothing is.
It’s called fraud.
There is no “liberal” party.
Alan McLeod your self-righteousness is nauseating.
I agree I still enjoy watching but I never thought him a liberal nor Obama liberal which shows you how effective the right has been framing the debate of issues within our national discourse.
Oh shut up. You can’t stand real dialog.
Bill Maher is correct on a lot of things he says about Liberals. And that makes me so happy that I’m not a Liberal.
However, as a fan of Maher, you are obviously dim-witted.
I think AM pretty much makes some good points, especially the fact that BM is at heart a libertarian. As BM himself had noted in one of his interviews I saw, he has writers who write the jokes for his monologues, so I wouldn’t put much stock in those actually reflecting his real views, but —- much like Jon Stewart was on the ‘The Daily Show’ — he’s first and foremost an ENTERTAINER, where RATINGS are paramount. He obviously knows how to tap into an audience, but on one show (pre-Trump’s election), he’s badgering a liberal for supposedly being an Islamist apologist, then after Trump gets elected and starts being anti-Islam, all of a sudden BM jumps on the Dems bandwagon and starts complaining that Trump is Islamaphobic. But, since he donated $1,000,000 to Obama’s last campaign, I guess that’s not surprising.
My thought is that BM learned his show business lesson after he was fired from ‘Politically Incorrect’, and became more ‘politically correct’ as required by the network brass. That’s worked out nicely for him.
(Ken K – can you please swear at me and call-into question my intelligence too? I’ll feel SOOOoooo left-out if you don’t! Pretty-please??)
Naw, BS. I’ve been watching Maher for a long time. He’s just an independent thinker, doesn’t tow the standard leftist dictates. People call Jordan Peterson a right winger but he is not. Maher is a bonafide liberal.
Call him what you want; 9 times out of 10 his statements make sense.
And anti-islam?
He states the same type of things about Christianity.
Religulous wasn’t that long ago.
I’d love to be a guest on his show
You want to know what side of the fence he’s really on ? I have three questions
To ask him? By the time he answers the third there will be no doubt in any ones mind what he truly believes.
The meaning of liberalism has changed over the years. Or more to the point, liberalism remains liberalism, but people love to hijack words for their own use and therefore try to change the meaning. So while liberalism means tolerance, equality before the law and the consent of the governed, your ilk tweaks this to mean believe what I believe, this group over here is more equal than the others, and I can take away your consent and freedom any time I wish. You just want Bill Maher to disappear, you just want him to be punished… you just want to take away Bill Maher’s constant championing of actual liberalism so you can basterdize a noble concept and a decent man. You can call Maher or anyone else whatever the hell you want – because you will – but don’t delude yourself into thinking that you are a liberal.
Hmmmm, I find him offensive and do not listen to him at all. But then, what woman would?
I don’t think many women would waste the time to listen to him. He does seemed to be overpaid considering his lack of depth of thought. But then,I believe a lot of women feel that way towards him. : )
So weary of your generation of liberals chastising us old liberals who actually put our political asses on the line for real causes. You sit in judgement of Israel (classic Brit anti semitism) when the so called Palestinians have had plenty of opportunities to have their own country….in the name of academic integrity you owe it to yourself and your readers to READ up on history,..however, you do not want to get confused with actual reality. Do ya?..puts a damper on your indoctrination
That’s BS. Palestine has never had a chance to have their own country. The British mandate set up 3 areas. A Jewish state, a Palestinian state, and a neutral Jerusalem. Israel has ignored it from the beginning. Israel was only allowed in the UN under the condition they recognized the British mandate which – after entry- they refused. We can go over each conflict Israel has had, 6 day war, Camp David, etc and show Israel and the US never intended to set up a Palestinian state. Israel is a mercenary state of the US and we here need Israel to stay embattled in the Middle East so they need our aid. So they remain a mercenary state. Remember their role in Nicaragua under the Iran/Contra fiasco. But after the Oslo Agreement Israel has instituted a worse form of apartheid in Palestine then was put in place in S Africa.
Your liberal pious article is useless to me. I will be voting for Warren and probably will watch Chapelle, Burr and Mahr several times before google visits your shit upon me again.
Eat your own vomit, I simply can’t stomach a liberal that can’t take a joke..
Knock knock
Who’s there?
Unbearable twat
I wanted to just click the like or love button but theres no option. While you’re out there realizing you can watch a comedian while still being a Democrat throw some stanhope into the mix I think hes even better than the 3 guys you mentioned.
mate
Thank you for another good article Alan. Exposing the media establishment bullshit one article at a time! You’re an inspiration, regards Paul
You’re a white nationalist
Anyone believing they can change things electorally is living in a fantasy world. America’s one-party state with two wings affords voters no choice at all – no matter what candidates represent them at all levels of government.
“Just think of how stupid the average American person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!”
George Carlin
Very interesting and shocking article.
If “liberal” means he has liberated himself from dogmatism and is free to think and say what he wants, then yes, he’s a liberal. If it means that he must agree with everything you think, then no he’s not, I guess.
Spot on. Maher’s job is to lead naive liberals or progressives to the right. He’s quite enamored of his own stable genius, which is a laugh, as he’s deeply ignorant about much of the stuff he drones on about. Yeah, I went to Cornell, too: you have to do more than that to be considered “smart” which is apparently a retaining wall in his self image.
He can be acute and funny, but he’s drifted ever further to the right, which is the usual trajectory, and not just for fanatical, ignorant New Atheists. (Yeah, I’m a lifelong atheist, too: you have to do more than just announce that to be considered “smart,” etc.)
Has he drifted to the right or has the party gone to the left? Most Democrats from the 70s 80s and 90s are moderates that were focused more on workers rights and union laws for Americans not for illegal immigrants (I have no issue with immigration) who cant even vote for the politicians that are fighting for them
Great job, alan. You should get a raise for this article. I never thought that this guy was funny, anyways. I used to watch rt; until he had Milo on there. His show is just a total trainwreck. No real progressive would ever want to go on there, anyway.
He is a comedian. Fuck you
Bill Maher is always extremely clever and always very funny.
He reminds me of the way Dennis Miller sold his soul to the right wing devil. Bill Maher is well on his way to being the next Dennis Miller. HBO should sell his contract to Newsmax
He has become more angry and bitter as he has become older.I would not be surprised if he does not yell at neighborhood kids to “get off his lawn”
Anyone complaining about this article are missing an important point.
Just because they like Bill Maher doesn’t mean they aren’t liberal if they want to be one.
It’s just that Bill Maher is not a liberal and he said so himself.
And Bill Maher’s general message is “liberals, if you stopped being liberal more people will like you.”
I personally don’t want to go back to the days where every Democrat imitated Republicans.
What a bad bad take on his show. I disagree with plenty he says but at no point do I not think hes a liberal. This is the left’s version of trump supporters calling John McCain a rino, you dont have to agree on everything to be in the same political party and this is also why theres a huge gap between each side if Democrats are split amongst themselves and so are Republicans the fringes of both probably aren’t that against the civil war trumps egging on
What a bad bad take on his show. I disagree with plenty he says but at no point do I not think hes a liberal. This is the left’s version of trump supporters calling John McCain a rino, you dont have to agree on everything to be in the same political party and this is also why theres a huge gap between each side if Democrats are split amongst themselves and so are Republicans the fringes of both probably aren’t that against the civil war trumps egging on
You provide a clip to support your claim that Mahr defended the arrest of the Dallas student who built the clock, but right at the beginning of the clip, he says “this kid deserves an apology, no doubt about it, they were wrong.” He didn’t compare the kid to an ISIS fighter, he said that the clock looked like a bomb, and that the wrong overreaction didn’t mean that the administrators were wrong to react at all. That’s a debatable point, but your comment disingenuously and dishonestly colors his remarks. Mahr says some controversial and objectionable things that warrant questions about his purported liberal stance, but distorting his own words in service of that point is wrong, and seemingly at odds with your own goal of challenging media bias. Perhaps you need to interrogate your own biases a bit more vigorously, lest you end up being yet another outlet for overreaction and distortion, rather than an anecdote to it.
Well said and spot on Bob.
“FAIR: Challenging Media Bias Since 1986.” Despite your slogan, this is one of the most opinionated articles you can write. You ARE the media bias.
I call bullshit on this article. You prove Maher’s point on liberal purity. Some of these quotes were sarcastic. His quotes about Reagan and Goldwater were positive in context of the lunatic that’s in the White House. At least you could understand the old country club Republicans greed. So because Maher can’t tick off every box on the lefts agenda he’s not a liberal? That’s bullshit.
No. Once again, it’s the MSM’s practice of turning to Bill Maher INSTEAD of other “liberals” that is the main point of the article. Having Maher’s opinion presented is not a problem at all. But he’s more often than not cited as a “liberal” when other MORE liberal voices are ignored or not cited at all. I guess you just read the headline, eh? Point stands – if a “news” organization or opinion writer is going to cite the viewpoints of “liberals” Bill Maher alone does not suffice and in fact, on many issues, including anti-war, pro-Israel, is not a “liberal” by my book.
Sorry, a number of the quotes you have presented here do not prove your assertions.
His comment about dealing with Hamas is like dealing with a crazy woman does not warrant yor concluing that, “As that last comment suggests, sexism and rampant Islamophobia are also constant features of Maher’s ideology.” Constant features? Really? Looks like you’ve done some nice cherry-picking here.
I think Bill frequently drops little “bombs” to stir up controversy and provoke outrage. There are times I am appalled at his comments, especially sexist jibes. Overall though I love the program
Neo-liberal? WTF is that? Look, there are three issues that define conservatism in America today: Anti-abortion, pro-guns and pro-religion. (even fiscal conservatism is now out the window thanks to Trump) As long as Maher is on the opposite side of those, he’s a fucking liberal. I see you guys on here bashing capitalism… is that you’re idea of being a progressive? Please, let’s be realistic. The Democratic platform at the last convention was as progressive as you could hope for, thanks to Sanders and Warren. There’s going to be no Worker’s Revolution any time soon. Maybe we could see Bernie’s voter revolution, but I’m not holding my breath. How about a little corporate oversight and maybe even break up the biggest ones. How about a little accountability for our tax dollars? How about drawing down our military presence around the world and decreasing the defense budget rather than always escalating it in preparation for the next war? How about a healthcare system that is about health and not profits? These are Liberal principles. Bashing Maher for his views is not furthering your progressive causes. As El Roy said he’s still a comedian who sometimes says wildly outrageous things in both directions. But he’s the ONLY voice we have to counter the Jones/Levin/Limbaugh/Hannity daily all-out assault on liberal values. Give him a fuckin’ break!
Thanks for justifying my visceral distaste for Bill Maher.
Why is it that almost every pro-Maher comment here is rife with typos and grammatical errors? Many of them can’t even get his name right (e.g. “Mahr”), even though it’s in *the title of the article*!
The anti-Maher comments are generally much better written.
Just an observation.
Speak for yourself my wife and her girlfriends get together every Friday night to watch him
Right on the money Alan. He insists on a conservative Democrat being our nominee because,obviously, we were so successful with that in 2000,2004 and 2016. Obama ran as a progressive in 2008 so he doesn’t count. Unfortunately, Obama,like Bill Clinton,who also ran as a progressive, governed as a moderate Republican. Maher insists Americans really want a centrist despite electing an extremist nut-job in the last election. Wake up Bill,Americans want someone to blow up this entire rigged system.
Maher is in fact a liberal..this is one look of American/European liberalism .He resembles closely his good pal , and fellow professional asshole PJ Orourke .PJ has has played Ed McMahon to Mahers Johnny Carson on “Real Time”, many times…(a loose analogy..Ed McMahon always knew when to shut up and Johnny Carson was actually talented and funny)..Like it or not this is bourgeois liberalism…Rich people whining that they aren’t “free” enough , that they are expected to pay taxes and laughing at “ethnics” and hating on poor people…
Why is overthrowing a fascist dictator not a progressive policy?
I am conservative And Religious. I’m not quite the target audience for Bill Maher but I usually Watch his show. Why? Because unlike even some people on my side (like the Hannitys, Rushes, etc.) he lets both sides have a voice, even though he may disagree with them. He has had Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee on! Those are people I agree with on a lot, and he probably disagrees with about almost everything. But he gives them a chance and that’s what I enjoy.
Bill Maher is a well known supporter of Israel and the Zionist destruction of the Palestinian people…he is far from a liberal.
The irony of something this woke stupid being published on a site called Fair.org is palpable. Maher is right that woke idiots like you are dangerous. Just because he doesn’t toe your purist party line and sometimes criticizes liberals for things they should be criticized for he isn’t a liberal? Articles like this destroy the credibility of the entire premise of your site.
Advocating Medicare for All does not constitute “far left”. Medicare for All is as centrist as it gets.
It’s interesting the idea of how conservatism vs liberalism approach a problem. The problem is conflation of these terms. Do you even know where conservatism kind of gets its main idea of small federal government? It’s from a book published in 1790 by Wilhelm von Humboldt called “The Limits of State Action”. But that’s where everyone (liberals included) stop reading it. Conservatives quote him but don’t read him. Because he was a classical libertarian which is more of a socialist on the fence to becoming an anarco-syndicalist. Point of these big words is both liberalism and conservatism present doctrine is based on economic theory not on liberty. That’s why these terms are fake period. Listen BM only cares about his $10 mil a year salary. To do that he has to keep up his 4 mil an episode viewership. And by reading some of these comments it obvious he reaches across the aisle to do his reach arounds. He’s a rich white dude who gets listened to. So he obviously is patriarchal and chauvinistic and a bigot. Is that really a surprise? The problem with your article FAIR is you aren’t digging deep enough. It’s not just BMs fake liberalism. It’s the country’s. No one is talking about liberty just how much money the country spends and on who. There’s no real meat here. Are we self realizing beings that inherently are free or do we have to be subjected to the actions of the state which are the few? Are we free to live our lives to become the best we can be or are we meant to be placed where others want us? Any other discussion is trite. And these consistent use of liberalism, conservatism, libertarianism terms out of context to entice readership is jingoistic. Even Adam Smith, the father of Capitalism, said everyone -everyone!!! – had to be absolutely free 100% before free markets would work, not the other way around. But you have to read to page 432 in Wealth if Nations to learn it.
Bill Maher is a Zionist. A hardcore brainwashed racist supremacist Zionist. He doesn’t hate Islam because of his dislike of religion. He hates it because the majority of Palestinians are Muslims and they are resisting the genocide by Israel. That’s why he lightly “criticizes” Judaism and Christianity but pretty much calls for an ethnic-cleansing of Muslims. In order to understand Maher you must understand the racist, supremacist misogynistic nature of Zionism.
Also, he says he loves Israel, an entity that claims to have created a country out of religous dogma, yet he claims to be against religion. How is this not hypocritical?
And most Boomers don’t really understand what being leftist is anyway. Most of his audience are white, centrist Boomer males who think sitting on a couch and calling people names online is “resistance,” although most of their lives have voted for imperialist and capitalist candidates who have kept up the status quo that has destroyed much of the world leading us closer to mass extinction.
So this article is spot on and after reading the comments you can definitely see his pale Boomer legion coming to his defense because the centrist, and even right-wing, status quo has served them well. They don’t want or like change. They want the status quo.
1) He has also said that it is morally reprehensible to have a for-profit health care system.
2) He is a humanist who believes in a society that is open to the complexity of the human character. That means mobs of group-think are dangerous – especially when they have the power to “cancel” people for their inevitable flaws.
3) He is a tactical realpolitician who understands that adults in a pluralistic democracy must often compromise with their ideological counterparts to advance their policy agendas and maintain social harmony.
These are all liberal positions that people born before the age of social media outrage culture can understand. In your quest for purity and emphasis on labels, you allow the real enemies of democratic institutions to flourish. Please stop sowing faux mistrust of our media with “stories” like this. It is full of sound and fury, but it signifies nothing.
excellent commentary on notorious phony bill mahen
“more in keeping with a right-wing shock jock like Rush Limbaugh.”
The above line from one of your commenters may be somewhat correct but he honestly reminds me more of leaning progressive, except about women, Howard Stern.
“Politically Incorrect” was on ABC, not Comedy Central.
It was first on Comedy Central.
I am a Jewish liberal who loves Israel. It pains me that the Democratic Party professes a pro-Palestinian position while claiming it is not anti-Semitic. I get where Bill Maher is coming from. He is honest and truthful in slamming haters, bigots, racists and anti Semites regardless of their party affiliation. Oh, and he’s funny as hell.
Obvious hit piece.
Bill Maher is a liberal. You implying he supports white nationalism and racism will not change that.
He’s the liberal, YOU are the phonies.
Maybe this Alan MacLeod is the boss of the church of liberalism and has written its principles and so he can say to the other people who is liberal or who is not…… pathetic. This MacLeod is pathetic and a lot fascist
What exactly is “liberal” about ANY of his views, aside from his claiming to be an atheist? What else is “liberal” about him and “his good friend” Anne Coulter?
His speaking for ending corporate welfare, working to legalize marijuana, being staunchly anti war, supporting Obama, basically eveything about him is lib/dem.
Who cares about Coulter in this situation? We aren’t discussing her politics are we?
No, we are not.
Staunchly anti-war? Come again?
Perhaps you should read up a bit on who we are talking about.
If you ever heard Maher talk you would know that he is the vilest kind of racist: an advocate of the master race’s exterminating the inferior race.
Do you have a single shred of fact to back that claim up, or are you just lying?
there are 500 “real time” episodes..have you sen any of them ?
Alan, How do I express to some kid like you without the predictable overreacting. None of you, as far as I have seen, do not:
-provide actual facts, (unless it is a partial fact that supports your agenda)
-have the one thing that each and everyone of you need in order to be a soothsayer, and that is Life Experience.
You are too lazy to do the necessary work required to use a logo such as “Challenging media bias?” you are biased! how is it you can’t see that about yourselves? Your site isn’t any better than Fox, CNN, The Guardian, Michael Savage, etc. So, the subtext to your “articles?” is impossible to ignore. The truth about this group is obvious to any reader including small children and the blind: ” We lack the maturity to understand and convey our message with knowledge, dignity, neutrality, and integrity.
We only post about our feelings, our hatred, especially those who disagree with us.
We do not have the discipline to listen to another’s viewpoint even if the person is making sense and behaving rationally.
We believe in freedom of speech for other like-minded people, everyone else must be censored.
We are nothing more than self-centered, irrational, children (either by age or behavior).
We believe that people who say anything that offends us should be forced into exile.
We never question, we are never fair or unbiased, and we will ignore any law that gets in the way of our relentless witch hunt for impeachment of President Trump.
So, Alan, I ask that you spend some time and find the courage to challenge yourself with what I am about to request. I want you to imagine that you are someone who the majority of people hate, you are despised so much that people keep plotting for a way to get you kicked out of our society. But, you really haven’t done anything other than boast and brag and be obnoxious and embarrassing. So, one day you find out that you are scheduled to face the death penalty for no viable reason. Someone has set you up and notified the police that you committed murder, the Police have no way to verify who this person is and whether or not this is only a prank. Now, would you not expect the Police to go about their day due to lack of evidence? In this scenario they don’t, they hand cuff you and throw you in prison for several months until your arraignment. You finally get to speak with the defense Attorney and he or she tells you nothing can be done because the majority of people want you dead based on only on their their feelings of contempt of you, facts or evidence to prove you are not guilty are tossed out. You are now scheduled for the electric chair in 2 days. The beloved and respected constitution of the United States does not apply to you. You are sentenced to death for no other reason other than “Feelings”. Does that seem reasonable to you? You have no advocate who will fight for your freedoms, and your inalienable rights. You start to panic as the count down begins, You have a priest appear at your cell to pray for you and that’s it. someone offers you your last meal of either Oreos or Cheetos but you are too busy puking from paralyzing terror, and your false bravado vanishes in 2.2 seconds as you hear your cell door slide open and the guard must drag you to the electric chair because your legs are numb from an inexplicable terror, you start shaking uncontrollably and pissing yourself as you are strapped to the chair. You feel like the three year old boy you once were and you sob in vein while you scream for your mommy. A hood is placed over your face and the last thing you hear is the executioner pulling down the lever and for more than 5 seconds you experience the paralyzing agony. I am being this gruesome to you not because I think you, or anyone deserves it, but because I wanted you to be troubled enough by the mere thought of it. Stop attacking people, give up the pointless witch hunts and stop promoting yourselves as unbiased and fair. You all would be better human-beings and so much happier in your lives if your agendas were to make a real contribution to the world that you share with billions of people, who, by the majority, do not agree with anything you have said or done.
Ok boomer
Bobby Rlocksinhead:
Maher is a Liberal like you are an intellectual.
Wow.
You resort to kindergarten level of namecalling and then you go with questioning MY intellect?
Nice one. Whats next, calling me a doo-doo head and trying to steal someones crayons?
Just sit down. Adults are talking here.
Ok grandpa.
“His choice in naming the two figures whose mission was to upend the liberal order, often through appeals to racism and white nationalism, is telling.”
I guess you’re forgetting that David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the KKK, ran for president as a democrat in 1988, after Reagan.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Democratic Party was seen as the party of “racism and white nationalism,” and is still viewed as such by many.
LOL!! when was the democratic party seen as the “party of white nationalism” ??? .LOL!!
I guess if 1858 is “not so long ago”……..between the history channel and the internet historical dilusion is becoming the latest fad
The left isn’t liberal. The left follows corporate media to the T and is intolerant about too many alternate beliefs to be liberal. The left is the borg! The borg isn’t liberal!
are you a Ruskie bot, by any chance? Yes, a zillion years ago, the Dems were on the wrong side of history re. race…. the Repugs have won the hate, racist war big time…and the Dems have seen the light..not perfect, but comparitively, they are. If you’re going to bring up history, at least try to be honest about it. Name something in recent history the Repubs have done for black folks, gays, women, anyone of color… What a phony, ignorant remark.
You’re dumb
The blacks have been greatly helped by the improvements to the economy, for one.
Ed is a big fan of the Blacks
So, the latest apostate to be purged by the Left is Maher, in the grand Soviet tradition. Show trial by media. A digital purging. The formats change but the Marxist song remains the same. Note to Alan MacLeod, be careful Alan, one day perhaps sooner rather than later, it’ll be your turn. That’s the thing about revolutions, they go nowhere except in circles.
This post is being sent to the gulag for being such a shitty post.
Praxis!
A dude that wrote about manufacturing consent, should understand that trying to bury people on your own side is probably the opposite of producing consent. You will eat each other out. Fine by me, btw.
“You will eat each other out”
Steve b hornypostin up in here
Hey look. another article written by an ignorant leftists that is to stupid to figure out that they are the problem and that they are everything they accuse other people of being. Bill is a liberal, he has not moved, you guys are the problem.
Maher is a complete liberal. He’s not a cultural marxist. A pomo critical theory POS like you.
Okie Dokie Boomer
He is liberal, nice try Fair.
“Comrade Maher does not match in lockstep with us! He dares formulate his own opinions! He must be purged!”
The height of intolerance is this new Ultra-Left who despise the basic liberal for not being all the way over to the left with them. This past year, many of ‘them’ have tried to paint Maher as an alt-Right something. WHat a bunch of malcontent children who cannot deal with Real Life.
Ok boomer.
It seems Maher’s TV cult members are confronted with some disturbing facts.
Wow! The right wing trolls are spewing garbage (and evidence free garbage at that) as fast as their pea brains can type it out. The article was FILLED with quotes and examples of Maher’s right wing conservative views along with his confessions of being a Reagan conservative Zionist who hates Palestinians, Muslims and progressives like Sanders and AOC. Yet, these pea brain jerk-offs babble on as if they never read the article. Oh, yeah… I forgot. They probably didn’t read the article but just responded to the list of article postings that they were assigned to smear. You guys are transparent and quite hilarious in a pathetic way. Bill Maher, and his “good friend” Ann Coulter, are millionaire mouthpieces hired to confuse and distract the gullible and uninformed. Wake up folks.
Exactly so, Crimsonwolf. Thank you for calling out the moronic trolls defending Maher, who is nothing more than a third rate “shock jock” comedian spouting libertarian trash. I recommend that FAIR delete these sort of responses that are obviously spewed from bot/troll farms.
Exactly what you would expect from a pseudo-liberal of today. We should censor all of these opposing opinions so nobody can be subject to discourse. Let’s all spout off a bunch of ridiculous claims that can’t actually supported by what he said if read in context. The left wing is great at pulling soundbites out of context in an effort to demonize and silence others opinions. You morons don’t even realize how bad your behavior hurts the party you purportedly support.
I agree with Crimsonwolf. No-one mentioned censorship except you. Alan certainly didn’t. I
you don’t have a clue about you’re talking about. Bill Maher isn’t perfect. But he sure as heck is a liberal and someone who in spite of his success and wealth, can empathize with the working class and the poor.
Yeah famous champion of the proletariat Bill F*cking Maher
Dude is an elderly hack and a bore. He should be locked in a cage to fight Dennis Miller to the death after the revolution. At least then maybe anyone under the age of 50 would pay him the attention he so desperately needs.
You? A progressive? Who ever thought such a fucking stupid thing?
FAIR is fantastic, as usual!!
Ken Laufer, WBAI listener
Bill Maher Makes $1M PAC Contribution To Get Dems In Senate
https://deadline.com/2018/08/bill-maher-1-million-senate-pac-contribution-democrats-1202451234/
what ? well-to-do- liberals aren’t allowed to make big donations to the Dems? Only the far-wealthier Repugs get to do that. That’s really fair, FAIR.
Yup, you’re really dumb
Bill Maher is a crude, vulgar asshole who says funny things once in a while. Bill’s popularity says more about Americans taste than much else which is sad kind of like Trump being president.
This guy is not funny and he’s not a liberal.
you say that as if it’s true…. a few of us disagree
Articles like this is exactly why I turned my back to the left. A man can think for himself and got his own views “Oh no, he goes against the official party line, he’s a white nationalist, burn him at the stake”
You know, mature people don’t need to follow a certain set of ideas, they combine the stuff they like into their own personal ideology. You will learn that when you grow up, Alan. Maybe you should try to keep an open mind and listen to his arguments, when he say stuff you don’t like. And do that in general, even when those “evil” right-wingers speak. Thats how you learn and expand your world view.
Nah, it’s more important that they appear Woke… that is the all and everything now. Total conformist and cowardly behavior and no respect given to anyone who does not share their idyllic political views.
Ok boomer.
Articles like these happen when comedians are taken out of context. For instance, before writing about the recent discussion on Kavanaugh, the author needs to go back and watch the Real Time shows that aired when the actual Kavanaugh controversy happened to see where Maher is coming from. Most of the claims in the piece do make sense when read from a blind perspective that is completely oblivious to the kind of show Maher has been putting since 25 years. You could not be phony and still keep attracting respected liberal commentators on the show for so many years. However, Maher is certainly not the kind of personality to be adored by snow flakes.
“But he also has a long history of repeatedly taking reactionary positions on many subjects, especially war.’ >> Quite ironic since the piece itself is a bit reactionary.
I recommend a much better and well-researched piece to the readers of this article: https://quillette.com/2019/09/16/understanding-americas-cultural-and-political-realignment/
Haha yo this mothafucka just linked a quillette article. This mothafucka is Serious!
If your writing is any clue about your politics, I would say Mahr is a liberal and you are a progressive.
First and last article I read on Fair or by this guy. What, Maher doesn’t meet your litmus test?
What a joke.
Bill is a self-professed Libertarian, just like Jeff Bezos, and just as much a profiteer who preaches to a liberal crowd when it is profitable to do so. Why doesn’t anyone take him at his word?
An excellent expose.
As I can see real time is about the absurdity of some beliefs. People like to judge things they do not have the depth of knowledge to give an informed opinion about. But they do it anyway. Due to the Information Age they speak with one generic one size fits all voice without the human duplicity and experiences to make a complete assessment in real time. So everyone is far game on a program like that.
Nice job, Alan. Thanks for setting the record straight.
Maher is a hack, he is an atheist except when it comes to israel & the torah; he belives god did really promise a real-estate to someone.
He is part of the campaign of history revisionists that are trying to spin the invasion & occupation of Iraq & Afghanistan as a good thing, and that bush is some sort of a good-intentioned misunderstood altruistic hero.
By all experts accounts the wars bush created out of nothing but lies, spread terrorism around the world, created chaos and death in west-asia (a.k.a. Middle East), and no amount of history revisionism will fix that.
Alan: “Decrying the supposed unelectability of the left is a favorite pastime of elite pundits—FAIR.org, 2/26/19, 7/2/19, 8/21/19.”
Does FAIR consider Bernie Sanders real Left?, since a lot of us leftwingers consider Bernie to be just another fascist.
Ok boomer.
Thank you for this article. I couldn’t understand why watching Maher kept making me angry. He is a phony and more of a centrist Republican than a “liberal” . We quit watching that jerk.
Meh. Done more for Democrats than the likes of YOU, Alan.
Ok boomer.
I am grateful for this articles. Bill Maher actually is disrespectful to some female guests and many of his comments as outlined in your articles are far from liberal. He often trashes liberals and can’t take the heat when he is confronted about it.
“Maher fully supports the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “I love Israel,” declared the celebrity atheist, professing his affection for the ethno-religious state.”
Maher is only an “atheist” when he is attacking Muslims and Catholics
Don’t get me started. War criminals like Colin Powell and Samantha Power do Real Time because they know it’s an easy interview. And he never ever discusses income inequality, because Bill likes his taxes right where they are: low. …. What is particularly galling is his self-anointment as liberal icon. “We liberals,” “I’m the woke liberal,” blah blah. He who knows does not say, and he who says does not know. In other words, our character and intelligence and courage are evaluated by others, not by ourselves.
Bill Maher is a pro-war libertarian who says the right things about two issues only, the environment and civil liberties. Other than that, he no more speaks for the left than I do for teetotalers.
If Maher still claims he’s a liberal, then his continual driving a wedge between secular and faith-based progressives is a super dumb-ass thing to do during an election cycle.
Baisically, after Bill got bitch-slapped & got his show taken away from him for what he said after 9/11, he never registered as a true liberal after he got his show back.
Political correctness was never a thing, especially not in the 90s and 2000s. Most people were conservatives back then. Bill Maher likes to portray himself as an independent thinker when in reality he’s as establishment as you can get. Most boomers and gen x ers agree with the way he thinks. That’s the opposite of being politically incorrect.
If the accusations made in this article are true, I am shocked, surprised, and disappointed by many of Bill Maher’s values, positions, and stances on various topics. However, I am somewhat incredulous about many of the accusations in this article. Is the author potentially bending the truth, conjecturing, presenting information out of context, or outright providing false or misleading information? I wish this article had included footnotes or citations so that I could fact-check all the accusations myself.
It’s telling, then, that Maher supports the Clintons as political leaders. This article is spot on regarding Maher’s political affiliations but is mute on his wholesale support of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Maher is a Democrat establishment stooge masquerading as a “libertarian”. He’s aiding the national political discourse firmly to the extreme right capitalism ignoring the populist upheaval toward a more representative socialist (read socially responsible) government. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
This should be titled Exposing the phony “Libertarianism of Bill Maher.” That’s what he’s always really claimed to be! He’s not pro-gun. He’s not anti-war (few Jews are) and he’s pro-Israel. That’s the real problem with him.
And you’re wrong about several things about Maher. But most notably, Brett Kavanaugh. You see, unlike Bill Clinton, Keith Ellison, and now Joe Biden, Kavanaugh had zero credible accusations of rape or sexual assault against him. (Hell, I can tell the guy really was a virgin until marriage just by looking at him. He’s a geek!) Who credibly accused him of any such crimes? A crazy-looking cat lady who looks like Garth from Wayne’s World? A couple of floozies represented by that creepy porn lawyer, Michael Avenatti? (Don’t make me laugh!) And why did the Democrats wait until the eleventh hour to bring forth these accusations? Why didn’t they do it when he was being confirmed to the second highest court in the land? It couldn’t be because that court doesn’t have any say over the supposed right to murder babies in the womb, could it?
P.S. I know this article is old, but garbage like this just pisses me off, so I hope that at least the author still sees my comment.