Not that there's anything wrong with that . . . Actually, Bill Maher didn't add that Seinfeldesque qualifier when describing Republican affection for Ronald Reagan. Maher was a guest on this afternoon's "Hardball." In the course of taking a cheap shot at Fred Thompson, this Cornell alum [what is it about my alma mater, which also churned out Keith Olbermann?] had this to say:
BILL MAHER: It amuses me so much that the Republicans now are talking about the great charisma of Fred Thompson, basset-hound faced Fred Thompson. The Republican party has this campy fixation with Ronald Reagan. It is almost gay about the way they are talking about him and obsessing about him.Let's play WIARSHI. What if a Republican had said that Dem fixation about a given Dem icon was "almost gay"? Cue the shrieks from the predictable quarters about homophobia.
Aside: Dem presidential contenders bolted from a Fox News-sponsored debate and the MSM didn't make a peep. The Dems got not-Dem unfriendly Brian Williams for their moderator. And whom do the Republicans get to moderate their first national debate? Jimmy Carter's former speechwriter.
Aside Deux: If I were Fred Thompson, I'd take Maher's snide shot as a compliment, reflective of Maher's fear of a Thompson candidacy
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
Update: Noel Sheppard points out that this isn't the first time Maher has said this.
Update: The video is below for your viewing pleasure
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Let's play WIARSHI. What if a
May 1, 2007 - 18:57 ET by NewsbusterbrownLet's play WIARSHI. What if a Republican had said that Dem fixation about a given Dem icon was "almost gay"? Cue the shrieks from the predictable quarters about homophobia.
He's just needling religious Christians. Nothing more and nothing less.
Sorry, but you didn't play
May 1, 2007 - 19:03 ET by Mark FinkelsteinSorry, but you didn't play the WIARHSI game. What if a Republican had said the Dem affection for a Dem icon "was almost gay"?
Yeah we know what that would bring.
May 2, 2007 - 00:28 ET by SportPoliticsYeah we know what that would bring. The upside is, that's all Maher has to diss Reagan republicans with. Libs have a problem coming up with cheerable rip's on Reagan, their pot is rather empty.
Mark, I wasn't disagreeing wi
May 2, 2007 - 14:38 ET by NewsbusterbrownMark, I wasn't disagreeing with you. I was just stating that Maher did what he did just to P.O. conservative Christians, that's all. That was his only motive. He wasn't trying to make a serious observation.
Maher is a clown and a fool. Every time he opens his mouth, he proves that.
Bingo.
May 1, 2007 - 19:11 ET by GregEBingo.
derranged lunatic....
May 1, 2007 - 19:05 ET by sembyderranged lunatic....
Tsk. There goes Billie agai
May 1, 2007 - 19:08 ET by Trix RabbitTsk. There goes Billie again trying to be a psychologist.
Reagan was a great father figure. Dough-faced Billie despises Reagan and has a campy fixation about him because Billie suffers from an Oedipus Complex as well as penis envy.
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. George Orwell
Bill Mahr is one of the mos
May 1, 2007 - 19:15 ET by GregEBill Mahr is one of the most fortunate people around. He's not funny (and that matters because that's a big part of him and his show/appearances), he's fairly boring, and his presentation of whatever he's trying to say is not good at all, yet he has his own TV show. Of course, that's all my opinion, but I think he's a very fortunate individual considering the quality, or lack thereof, of his work.
Mine too--don't watch him or
May 2, 2007 - 04:09 ET by Andrew H.Mine too--don't watch him or listen to his swarmy commentary and certainly do not waste my time with Matthews.
Liberalism is a convenient lie.
I heard the whole insane segm
May 1, 2007 - 19:28 ET by bigtimerI heard the whole insane segment.
What bothered me most was this new talking point word for Thompson as bassett hound-faced...
These leftist critters are really going over the leftist hard line as possible, they are too arrogant to be afraid...the more they are moving to left, the more we have a great chance to take back Congress and the Presidency...they are serving to the man who feeds them.
We should be grateful...and fight like heck.
So keep it up Maher and Matthews...please.
And this from a guy whose fac
May 1, 2007 - 20:12 ET by Gat New YorkAnd this from a guy whose face looks like an avocado. Maher is an example of what happens to people who are bullied when they are young.
Gat,I'll see your avacado and
May 1, 2007 - 20:50 ET by BlondeGat,
I'll see your avacado and raise you a pineapple.
A la Noriega.
Touche. Only a face a mother
May 1, 2007 - 20:56 ET by Gat New YorkTouche. Only a face a mother could love. Maybe that is the basis of his psychological deviance.
I just noticed that Alan Colm
May 1, 2007 - 21:01 ET by Gat New YorkI just noticed that Alan Colmes has the same head. It must be a left wing thing.
I'd trust a basset hound befo
May 2, 2007 - 09:44 ET by mattmI'd trust a basset hound before I'd trust a weasel - which is what the Demonic-Rats are
mahr
May 1, 2007 - 20:05 ET by zoro7957Greg hit the nail on the head....not only is Mahr the prototypyical leftist,he is boorish,not at all funny,and never has anything new to add to serious debate.
And what would you call some
May 1, 2007 - 20:25 ET by dahliatraversAnd what would you call some Democratics' obsession with Bill Clinton??
Which is al the more irrational, by the way, in view of the fact that, as President, Clinton betrayed about 95% of the Democrat party platform.
OK Fred Thompson has a bass
May 1, 2007 - 20:36 ET by radiofitz34OK Fred Thompson has a basset hound face. So what. I think a pic of Bill Maher's face would go well when placed on a dart board.
Not that I'm advocating viole
May 2, 2007 - 03:03 ET by Indiana JoeNot that I'm advocating violence or anything, but I think it's high time someone used Bill Maher to beat Rosie O'Donnell soundly about the head and shoulders. Hold the little wimp by his ankles and just swing away.
Just seems like poetic justice, pure and simple.
Maher was soooo ugly as a bab
May 2, 2007 - 12:12 ET by vietvet67Maher was soooo ugly as a baby that his momma used to feed him with a slingshot. :-)
Maher is so ugly that his mot
May 2, 2007 - 12:50 ET by Gat New YorkMaher is so ugly that his mother couldn't breast feed him until she got drunk.
So ugly, his mama had to tie
May 2, 2007 - 12:53 ET by MightyMouthSo ugly, his mama had to tie a pork chop around his neck to get the dog to play with him.
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Maher is so ugly the National
May 2, 2007 - 13:38 ET by Gat New YorkMaher is so ugly the National Pro-life Alliance should use his face on posters to promote abstinence.
So ugly, Helen Thomas won a
May 2, 2007 - 13:40 ET by MightyMouthSo ugly, Helen Thomas won a beauty contest against him.
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
MM - Can't beat that one. Can
May 2, 2007 - 13:57 ET by Gat New YorkMM - Can't beat that one. Can't get much uglier than Helen Thomas.
What do you call it?
May 2, 2007 - 06:32 ET by kbworkmanHow about Lewinsky-ish.
They just can't get enough of that man!
No, of course not
May 1, 2007 - 20:52 ET by acumenNot that there's anything wrong with that . . .
No, of course not...People's personal sexual preferences are nobody's business but Bill Mahers and their own.
Just one question Mark - Is Maher saying all Republican fans of Reagan are single, thin, neat men that get along well with women?
1st aside - Ooops, just one more question. Say what?!?!?! Why do fair and balanced when you can opt for fixed and biased.
2nd aside - Could be a case of typical Conservative Derangement Syndrome.
Everybody needs to take one g
May 1, 2007 - 21:04 ET by ZoneDaiatlasEverybody needs to take one good look Bill Maher, because Bill Maher pays for sex...
ZD...Maher would have to....c
May 1, 2007 - 21:20 ET by bigtimerZD...
Maher would have to....can't imagine him getting it any other way...lol!
Good, let's hope the Pamela Martin list is fully released
May 2, 2007 - 00:41 ET by SportPoliticsGood, let's hope the Pamela Martin list is fully released, so we can watch the dirt get cleaned out of DC.
( Pretty surprised by how many "moral majority" republicans have suddenly decided the Ma'dams list should remain private forever).
And the people he pays afterw
May 2, 2007 - 01:14 ET by zfAnd the people he pays afterward demand that HE take his money back...
Well geez Bill, as long as we
May 1, 2007 - 21:16 ET by JPR1Well geez Bill, as long as we're being sophomoric....
Better a Basset hound than a Weasel.
This seems oddly familiar...
May 1, 2007 - 22:24 ET by AtheistRepublicanThis seems oddly familiar... its happened before hasn't it? Maybe a couple of months ago tops... maybe someone else but I don't think so..
Yeah, it did, and (unlike t
May 2, 2007 - 02:47 ET by sarcasmoYeah, it did, and (unlike this Maher interruption-fest) it merited a post from the masthead that time, as well.
JMR
Maher left the "funny&qu
May 2, 2007 - 00:59 ET by zfMaher left the "funny" stage of his career and entered the "creepy" phrase long ago. Now that he's decided to criticize Christians for being too "aggressve" when he is the one doing 98% of the attacking we can see he is now beginning his "asinine" phrase.
And why do bad comedians always think that a joke that was unfunny the first time will somehow be hilarious the second time they spout it?
"...beginning his "
May 2, 2007 - 03:08 ET by Indiana Joe"...beginning his "asinine" phrase." ??!?!?
Bill Maher has been asinine for as long as I've heard flatulence issue from his pie-hole. From the misleadingly-named "Politically Incorrect" to the present, I've never heard anything NOT "asinine" come from this man.
"Asinine" at the least!
Maher, a homophobe?
May 2, 2007 - 02:38 ET by Cool ArrowWhy does Maher think the Gay analogy should be offensive to Conservatives unless he believes homosexuality really is as repulsive as being a Conservative?
If the audience laughed, (and they did), aren't they also assenting to Maher's observation that 'Gay' is something to make fun of?
Should Gays accept Maher's premise that Conservative = 'almost' Gay.
Is he saying Conservative is 'almost' as strange as being Gay?
I guess I don't get the joke.
bill you are such a jack ass
May 2, 2007 - 05:09 ET by USA4freedombill you are such a jack ass
I guess it take one to know one.
this is what passes for entertainment.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc.
Ronald Reagn- 40th Anniversary of D-Day
Exactly!
May 2, 2007 - 08:03 ET by c5thenYou can infer from the statement that the analogy was ment to be something that is wrong / unnatural / to be ashamed of. The analogy that he used was "gay". Therefore for this statement to make any kind of logical sense at all, Maher and his audience MUST understand and know that "gay" is something that is bad and/or unnatural and/or to be ashamed of.
Isn't it amazing that the liberals are constantly showing how they are racisit bigots (Imus) and homophobes (Maher), all the while trying to court the very people that they seem to loath.
I guess that is why they are always trying to get laws passed to force people into a certain way of behaving. They themselves seem unable to exercise any kind of self-restraint in showing their prejudice and need all the help they can get.
Mat 7:20 - Therfore by their fruits you will know them
What dog does Maher resemble?
May 2, 2007 - 06:52 ET by rimskyWhat dog does Maher resemble? Maybe a gay dachshund? I mean look at that narrow, pointy nose face? And this pose, with that gay like wave? What do you think? JMHO
BILL WHO?
May 2, 2007 - 08:30 ET by Dude in IowaNobody really watches this monkey. The media keeps throwing his crap down our throat. I guess it is ok for him to use the "G" word and not get in trouble. Ask Ann Coulter.
Bill is a freak. A lonely old man!It's definitely a mystery how
May 2, 2007 - 08:30 ET by kathleenirishIt's definitely a mystery how this guy keeps doing it, lack of talent and everything. Maybe he does it the old fashioned way: sleeping with the boss? I can't imagine he's any good at that either, though. I can't think of any other reason why he has a career on t.v. Didn't he just imply being gay was a bad thing? That makes him a self-loathing homosexual then. It's okay to be gay-hating when you're a liberal.
I rather think he looks a bit like the Cat in the Hat...with his smug dough face. (What does he look like without 3" of pancake make-up on? Must be totally hideous!) He needs a good kick in the ass, but I like the idea of hitting him with Rosie the Hutt. Nice combo.
" 'Fred's Slacks' is a winner!!"
What he looks like?
May 2, 2007 - 10:03 ET by Dude in IowaHe is Andrea Mitchel without the 3" of makeup.
lets vote who is more funny :
May 2, 2007 - 09:42 ET by dostrowlets vote who is more funny : maher or Al franken? or is that an oxymoron?
Bill Maher
May 2, 2007 - 17:39 ET by Army BratOne must consider this...Bill Maher finds heroism in telling an 11 year old girl that she's a little pig. Happy Trails...