Fareed Zakaria Exposes Bill Maher's Complete Ignorance of Politics
For the second time in two weeks, a devout liberal exposed just how little Bill Maher actually knows about politics.
When the "Real Time" host arrogantly told his guests that people voted for Republicans this past Tuesday because President Obama "didn't back the public option" during the healthcare reform debate, Time's Fareed Zakaria marvelously informed the comedian just how wrong he was (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BILL MAHER, HOST: I thought it was interesting the Blue Dog Democrats who, that’s a nice term, Blue Dog. What it really means is Democrats who act and vote more like Republicans. Very conservative Democrats. They lost on Tuesday. Those people who said, “You know what, I’m not with Obama. I disavow him even though he’s my president in my Party.” They lost. What does that tell you? You know, it tells me that this election was lost when Obama didn’t back the public option. To me, that was the one key thing that said to the people, “You know what? This is no different than Al Gore Democrats, the old Al Gore playbook. Let’s run from our achievements, and let’s not stand for what we believe in."
FAREED ZAKARIA, TIME AND CNN: I think it stretches imagination though Bill to think that fundamentally, if you look at this election and what happened, basically as you, as you mock them, Independents broke, broke for the Republicans. It’s difficult to imagine an Independent saying, “I’m going to vote for extremely right-wing Republicans because Obama wasn’t left-wing enough.” Right? You see what I’m saying? They’re saying, instead of saying, “I’m going to vote for Obama who was left of center, I’m going to go to the extreme right of the political spectrum.” I think it’s more plausible to say that they perceived rightly or wrongly that he had moved too far left. My view, the going doing healthcare itself gave people a signal he was concerned about the kind of things Bill O’Reilly was saying: social justice. Because look, fundamentally, 85 percent of the country has healthcare and worries about cost. Fifteen percent doesn’t and worries about access. What he did was he dealt with the issue of the fifteen percent before he dealt with the issue of the 85 percent.
MAHER: Among that 85 percent that has it, a lot worry that they will lose it.
ZAKARIA: They may.
MAHER: If you lose your job you lose it.
ZAKARIA: They may.
MAHER: Or if the insurance company chooses to screw you because of a spelling error, you lose it. In fact, the public option, the public option in January of ’09 polled at 73 percent approval, wanted the public option. A year later, 53 percent because the Republicans…
ZAKARIA: The healthcare plan was generally speaking not very popular from the get go.
MAHER: That’s not true. That’s still not true.
ZAKARIA: It had between 40, 48 percent support. It never really crossed 50.
MAHER: That’s not, I don’t believe that’s true. I think…
CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA, (R-CALIFORNIA): Those darned polls, they just lie.
ZAKARIA: You think if he had done a single payer system, all these guys who voted for right-wing Republicans would say, “Hallelujah! This is what we wanted. Now we don’t like Christine O’Donnell?” It just doesn’t make any sense!
DANA GOULD, COMEDIAN: No. He campaigned on the healthcare program. He campaigned on healthcare.
ZAKARIA: But why would they vote for right-wing Republicans? They would vote for people who were more left-wing than Obama not people who are right-wing. They would have to be truly confused.
Almost as confused as Maher.
Of course, this wasn't the first time this season that Maher has been made a fool of by a liberal guest. On October 23, actor George Clooney exposed the HBOer's ignorant hatred for conservatives.
Two weeks before that, On October 9, Maher found himself on the wrong side of a religious discussion wherein the liberal Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times and the equally liberal Joshua Green of the Atlantic disagreed with him. In the end, Maher said "Oh f--k you all" and moved to another segment.
On the conservative side of things, Andrew Breitbart just two weeks before that exposed Maher for being a phony Libertarian.
Add it all up, and in the past six weeks, Maher's been taken down a peg by five different guests.
If this keeps up, he might have to make this a solo act.
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Comments
He'll be OK if he just brings
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:32am.
He'll be OK if he just brings in some playboy bunnies, a couple of drug dealers, one or two of the people who keep him coherent enough to get to his gig, and maybe some unemployed, or soon to be unemployed, lib TV commentators....................
He did bring them in. Those
Submitted by gadropout on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:41am.
He did bring them in. Those were the morons applauding Maher's anti-American chatter.
Darrell Issa is a Republican
Submitted by JeffC... on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:53am.
Slight mistake.
A very smart and important Republican to the new congress.
Submitted by CT on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:45pm.
Let the investigations begin.
Here's my take. Democrats
Submitted by deerjerkydave on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 1:23am.
Here's my take. Democrats took control of congress in 2006 when voters realized the Republican party was full of liberals. Obama won because the liberal media worshiped the guy (creating uninformed voters) and because John McCain was a liberal Republican representing Bush's third term.
Obama and the Democrats didn't hear the American public. Instead they heard the cries of the special interest employee unions and worked to spend spend spend in their favor. It was the complete opposite of what the public has been saying for years now. And now the Dems got spanked and so did some more liberal Republicans. I suspect we will see more of this in two years as Americans clean house in Washington.
The politicians in Washington are running our nation into the ground. The Federal government was never intended to become the behemoth it is today. It is time to stand up to these politicians who have failed us for too long. It is folly to assume that a politician can be trusted with power and money. Their power needs to be limited to what the constitution says.
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"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the Federal Government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State Governments are numerous and indefinite. -James MadisonI hope you're right,
Submitted by UpNorth on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:49am.
Dave. If Mitch McConnell thinks he can get away with earmarks, and Lindsey Grahamnesty thnks he can reach across the aisle, they have to go. We don't need them, the people don't want them. I'd rather have a freshman R senator who goes to D.C. refusing earmarks, and refusing to reach across the aisle, as Rush said, winners don't have to compromise, the losers do. Where were all these people who call for "compromise" when Obama and the dems took over in '08?
Democrat's are the...
Submitted by okiehawk44 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:36pm.
Democrats believe they are the Sun around which all others revolve and if Republicans win they must move toward the Democrat position.
HUH?
That reminds me of "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine."
Republicans need to clearly state what their quite different position is and invite Democrats to embrace it -- period!
Democrats are nuts if they think they deserve 100% support of their own positions on any subject and at least 50% of the opposition's support.
There are two true statements in this clip
Submitted by Deskpilot on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 1:49am.
in the last two utterances by the guest on Fareeds' left. twice he repeats, "The voters are never wrong, the voters are never wrong."
The dems are now in the
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 7:04am.
The dems are now in the mental quandry of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz where she wakes up after coming back from Oz and having people around her saying she just had a dream. But Dorothy insists it was a real place.
The Liberals were in dreamland ever since obama burst onto the scene and now the country has just told them it was all a dream but they cannot accept that because it was SO REAL to them.
Too bad that when the Dems
Submitted by 26CX on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 7:19am.
Too bad that when the Dems woke up Pelosi's legs weren't sticking out from under the house.
But she has had a house
Submitted by MidAmerica on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 7:27am.
But she has had a house fall on her.... the newly elected Republican house.
We'll have to wait and see though if her magic is strong enough for her to survive.
She thinks she's going to survive & thrive!
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:14am.
The arrogance of that woman knows no bounds.
The first thing I hope John Boehner does, if Nanny manages to keep her leadership position, albeit in the minority, is to take away all of her perks, the biggest of which is the airplane. Give her a crappy office, too.
Too bad she can't pick and choose....she could have Charlie Crist as an aide. He's real popular these days.
We couldn't have scripted Pelosi any better if we'd tried.
Personally, I hope she survives and thrives. Because she'll never change, people already loathe her as an arrogant ass, and if she stays in power as the minority leader, she'll still be lightning rod for our side.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Nancy has the goods
Submitted by Beckiboo on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:13pm.
I am sure that she has the goods on many of those people, and is not afraid to use it. I think many dems will vote her in d/t fear of retaliation.
Good point
Submitted by Blonde on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:20pm.
She's a mean one, that's for certain.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I hope
Submitted by hbnolikeee on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:35pm.
Boehner beats her down from the git go. Let's her know it's a new day. Saying things like, "We won the house, time for you to sit down you fool".
Good grief, this man is dumb!!
Submitted by motherbelt on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 8:32am.
He really thinks that independents voted for Republicans (who are fiercely opposed to a public option) because a Democrat president didn't create a publc option?
Holy Cannoli!
Voters were confused
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 9:46am.
At the very end of the clip, Maher explains why voters went for conservative candidates when they obviously are in favor of a public option: The voters were confulsed!
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
So the argument is that if....
Submitted by Okieflyover on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:24am.
Everyone were put on Medicaid then we would have all voted for democrats this election? The public option is Medicaid. My health insurance went up 20% this year and I work for a fortune 50 company. We have less options, the cost went up per month and the deductibles and copays are higher. That's the issue. The big cost increases this year are "free" preventative care and insuring couch potatoes until they are 26 on mommy and daddy's plan. Did Obama really run with those things in his platform?Spread the wealth, baby!
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:26am.
I'm sure you're rich. You can afford to help a lib or two.
/sarc off
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
Attention
Submitted by JPP on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:00am.
It is time for us all to give Bill Maher the attention he deserves, none. Along with Jessie Jackson, Al Franken, Jimmy Carter and Al Sharpton.
I'm not even going to watch
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:40am.
I'm not even going to watch this. Every time I see a news article on Newsbusters where some lefty commentator gets corrected, the story is way overblown. At least this article didn't have the usual over-the-top headline you usually see on this site for articles like these.
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Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
Not to disappoint
Submitted by Kingfish17 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:52am.
How's this?
Bill Maher Schooled by Like Minded Leftist!
"You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas...on the taxpayer’s dime." Barack Obama
This website has had
Submitted by Rusty Shackleford on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:13pm.
This website has had countless articles where some socialist commentator was "slammed" by a guest and then I get excited to see how bad the smackdown was, watch the video and see that it's little more than some raging socialist making some grand point and the conservative makes this meek little, yet logical, response. Generally the response even seems to go over the socialist's head.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Matthews: The Joy Behar of MSNBC.
Bill Maher: The Joy Behar of HBO.
Paul Krugman: The Joy Behar of The New York Times.
Well, maybe you ought to check this one out
Submitted by Galvanic on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:43pm.
For one thing, Zakaria is no conservative; he's a liberal, as exhibited by his description of Republican victors as "extreme right wing.'
What Zakaria does effectively is dissemble Maher's illogic, mainly that Blue Dog Democrats lost because they forced Pelosi and Obama to drop the public option.
Zakaria fires back what anyone with common sense would understand: Voters don't show their presumed-liberal displeasure with Blue Dog Dems by electing 'rightwing' candidates who want to repeal the whole health care bill.
Zakaria is one of those MSMers who whine that Obama is not left enough. But I think in this case, he couldn't sit there and let Maher spout nonsense unchallenged.
Convoluted Logic
Submitted by Cactus Kurt on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:51am.
Seriously, how dumb do you have to be to think that Independents broke for Republicans because Democrats weren't far enough left? For crissake Maher, put down the bong and get tested for syphilis.
It's a combimation of
Submitted by Newsbusterbrown on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:46pm.
It's a combimation of stupidity, ignorance and pure spin.
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” - Ronald Reagan (1964 Republican Convention)
another way to look at it
Submitted by Tjexcite on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 12:53pm.
They voted against Obama because he did not stop the wars and close Gitmo. SO they voted for people who want the wars to continue and expand Gitmo so that those there never leave.
Yeah that make sense.
Hate
Submitted by wingnut55 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 2:19pm.
Just how full of hate is this guy? His life must be as miserable as he seems to be on his show. The next question. Why do you give credence to this guy? He is only an entertainer and not a very good one at that.
I agree...
Submitted by jimbo297 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:36pm.
...Fareek is evil--you can see it his eyes!
It's the "Individual Mandate", stupid!
Submitted by Phryj1 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 8:39pm.
The reason most people want to get rid of Obamacare is the Individual Mandate, or as I like to call it, the health tax. Obamacare literally puts a tax on being healthy! Maher will never admit it, though, as he's one of those socialist leaning types who simply refuse to accept that people just don't like socialism. Maher actually believes that the only reason people don't embrace socialism the way he does is because they aren't as smart as he is.
Progressives seem to be completely averse to facts and logic. Apparently, reality has a conservative bias.
The individual mandate is not
Submitted by NL207 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 8:51pm.
The individual mandate is not the only egregious trampling of individual liberty in Obamacare. I want the whole damn thin repealed. There are a flock of new taxes in that law. It allows the government to decide what kind of care is appropriate and under what circumstances. It creates a whole new entitlement, etc, etc. There are many reasons to despise Obamacare. It MUST be repealed, or the relatoinship between the state and the citizen will be forever changed to the detriment of liberty.
And a whole lot more
Submitted by Boudin on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 9:23pm.
I want the whole damn thin repealed
Along with about 500 agencies of the rest of the Fed. It is time for the States to start to assert themselves.
We need to confiscate all of the law books from the Judges and give them a Constitution, Bill of Rights, and a Deceleration of Independence. The Fed is nothing more then an army of lawyers compromising our rights,,,,, as we pay the Bill.
but remember, Maher also
Submitted by michiganruth on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 10:59pm.
but remember, Maher also recently admitted that he too was leery of Muslims on planes...since that is considered heresy in lefty-land, it must have taken some courage to say it. especially after what happened when Juan Williams tried it!
He says it so it must be true...
Submitted by jimbo297 on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:29pm.
Bill Maher is alot like Paul Krugman. They both have their facts all twisted up, can't see the common sense that is needed to understand the situation, and would prefer, almost pathologically, to insulate themselves from the obvious realities in the world by forming twisted opinions and perceptions and then refusing any alternative theories to sway their point of view.
Childish.
And of course, what;s even worse are the venues a "celebrity" like Maher will get to spew his ignorance. Pretty sure I saw him somewhere on election night because he's such a shrew politico. Laughable
Guests that won't disagree
Submitted by Hippopaulimus on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 11:54pm.
I guess Maher could always use Olberman's guests now.
They never disagree with lib-tard lunitics.
White - does not mean racist
Heterosexual - does not mean homophobic
Male - does not mean sexist
Maherred and Flawed
Submitted by Crash on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 9:02pm.
Perhaps it's time to change the shows title back to Politically Incorrect.
Darrell Issa
Submitted by Mystapitt on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 8:56am.
Why is Darrell Issa on Bill Maher??? He has a big job to do and can't be going on shows like this. Nothing good can come of it and he risks being made into a joke.
Hey, don't give the guy too much credit!!
Submitted by Patriot II on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 9:14am.
maher is dripping with confusion and ignorance...err...or is that drool? This foul mouth excuse for a human being has on one thing to say when pinned against the wall with his lies.....its "F--k you"..............wadda guy, what control of the english language......what a freaking baboon!!!
Never Thought I'd Admit...
Submitted by notinstl on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 11:10am.
...that Zakaria would be the most reasonable in the room. But listening to the other dunces, it wsan't hard to recognize. Maher refuses to acknowledge facts because it conflicts with his warped view of politics in particular and the world in general.
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