Two largely unheralded accomplishments by President Trump right out of the gate -- first, his mere presence in Washington compelled countless women to get more exercise in one day than Michelle Obama could persuade them to exert over eight years. And second, inducing liberal court jester Bill Maher to question the sanctity of a major federal bureaucracy. Not bad for Trump's first weekend in office.
Maher conspicuously deviated from his practice of including at least a token conservative or Trump supporter among his guests on Friday night's season opener of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, opting instead to go unchallenged with a group of like-minded leftists who nodded vigorously in agreement. A safe space indeed for a man who once touted his politically incorrect bona fides.
About halfway through the Trump bashing came this uncharacteristically rational observation from Maher --
MAHER: But that's interesting because I didn't realize that (the Supreme Court) wasn't always nine justices. But there are some things that haven't been around that long and we treat them like they are. One of them is the Department of Education. It's only been around since 1980. So, I'm not 100 percent sure we need a Department of Education. I know we need good education, but how did we get along with it all the way up to 1980 and it seems like education has only gotten worse since. I'm just saying (amid smattering of applause) I would have more respect, I'd have more respect for Betsy DeVos who obviously is just a billionaire nincompoop who had a month!, she obviously didn't know anything about the Department of Education, she had a month to bone up on it before the hearings, couldn't even do that! OK, OK, I would have more respect if she had just got up there and said I don't think this department should exist.
HISTORIAN JON MEACHEM: Well, that was what Ronald Reagan wanted to do, so their hero wanted to get rid of it. It started under Carter, he wanted to get rid of it (Reagan, not Carter) and by that time, as happens in Washington, you know, as President Reagan also said, the closest thing to life on earth is a federal program.MAHER: But I'm just saying, look on the bright side, there is something to fresh eyes, even if they're sometimes ignorant, looking at sh**. Not everything has to be there just 'cause it always was there.
Great insights, Bill, really. But would you be so quick to dismember this particular bureaucracy if it was still being run by fellow liberals?
As for Meacham's attribution of a quote to Reagan, what the Great Communicator actually said was that "a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth."
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