The next time CNN denies having any liberal bias, it will have to explain having liberal Obama donor Bill Maher guest-hosting on Friday night during prime-time. Not only is Maher an avowed Obama-supporter, but he has made headlines spewing vitriol against conservative women – and still CNN has made him a welcome guest on multiple occasions.
On Friday's Piers Morgan Tonight, Maher hosted "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane for a liberal chat where both praised Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and lauded "great guy" Jimmy Carter, along with slamming the "culture wars" and the "outrage industry" on the right. [Video below the break. Audio here.]
Maher touted Franken as one of the "funniest senators ever," and MacFarlane called him a "good guy" and added that "you don't get a sense that he's sold out to the machine." In regards to Jimmy Carter, both adulated him and Maher claimed he "never fired a shot" in office. "[T]here's an example of guy who -- clearly we both have enormous respect for, very religious man," MacFarlane cooed.
MacFarlane also mocked some states' efforts to require ultrasounds for women before abortions. "What is it now, you have to view a hologram of Tupac before you can get an abortion?" he quipped.
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"[I]t's a mindset that's so foreign to me. I don't get it," he continued ranting. "And I have to think that a lot of it is – you know, you've talked about the outrage industry on your show. I think it's that we're just looking for things to rile people up about," said the creator of a show that has certainly riled up no shortage of people over the years.
MacFarlane also stood by his remarks about the government needing to force people to recycle. "[T]hat's the government's job, is to – is to, like it or not, force us to do things we don't want to do that will ultimately help us all," he insisted. Both he and Maher agreed that the government forcing higher taxes on the rich is "how bridges stay up."
A partial transcript of the interview, which aired on Piers Morgan Tonight on June 1 at 9:07 p.m. EDT, is as follows:
BILL MAHER: Let me ask you about politics, because I know you care a lot. I don't think it's any secret, you're for Obama, but most progressives are to one degree or another disappointed. That's what we hear all the time. Are you disappointed? What are you disappointed in?
SETH MACFARLANE: I feel like if I knew, if I was in those little rooms or those big rooms –
MAHER: If you knew what he knew.
MACFARLANE: If I knew what was going on, I would be able to more effectively answer that question. I don't know, because I – you know, I remember talking to Al Franken at one point, who said, you know, it's a lot harder than you think to get anything done. It --
MAHER: More than ever.
MACFARLANE: – like if I went in there, you know, and he's, in my opinion, one of the --
MAHER: Funniest senators ever.
MACFARLANE: Exactly. But he's a -- you talk to him and he's able – he's still – he's a human being and you don't get a sense that he's sold out to the machine. He's a good guy. And he's very candid about it. He says it's very hard to get things done. And so I don't know. I mean, I think in the simplest –
MAHER: But gay marriage, he turned on that. I mean, that was – that is one of your –
MACFARLANE: How much of that was our friend, Biden? I don't know.
MAHER: Right. Well, it was, a lot. But he – at the end of the day, he did seem to do the right thing, and I know that's a big cause with you.
(...)
MAHER: So what do you think about the fact that this election was supposedly all about the economy? But the culture wars, sort of reared their ugly head. I mean, we have a lot of discussion about war on women, but we talked about contraception in this election, which I never thought would come up in 2012.
MACFARLANE: Yep. What is it now, you have to view a hologram of Tupac before you can get an abortion? It's that what's --
MAHER: No, no, no, you're speaking about the vaginal probe.
MACFARLANE: Ah, yes, the vaginal probe.
MAHER: But really, I mean, this is -- I mean, there are laws that have been proposed in a number of states for things like that. What is your –
MACFARLANE: That's where I feel disconnected from the rest of my species. I don't – I can't begin to comment because I don't understand – it's a mindset that's so foreign to me. I don't get it. And I have to think that a lot of it is -- you know, you've talked about the outrage industry on your show. I think it's that we're just looking for things to rile people up about. I wonder how many people who are advocating those sorts of procedures truly believe that this is what we should be expending our energy on. I –
MAHER: And what should we – I would guess you would say the environment.
MACFARLANE: The environment.
MAHER: You care a lot about that. But I've also heard you say that the government needs to force you to recycle.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, I do think that. I – there are things that we know – it's the argument that -- relates to the argument that people make when you – that conservatives make when you say, gosh, we should tax the rich and they say, well then why don't you just write a check. You know? Well, because it's not enough. If every rich guy was going to do that, great, but it's not going to happen. Somebody – that's the government's job, is to – is to, like it or not, force us to do things we don't want to do that will ultimately help us all. And I'm sure I'll be called a socialist for that last comment.
MAHER: Conservatives hear that when they hear the word government needs to –
MACFARLANE: But that's how bridges stay up.
MAHER: Right. That's exactly how bridges stay up.
(...)
MACFARLANE: You know, Jimmy Carter, for example, born-again Christian –
MAHER: Great guy.
MACFARLANE: Great guy, who's a guy I –
MAHER: Never fired a shot.
MACFARLANE: No, no.
MAHER: As president.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. And I mean, there's an example of guy who -- clearly we both have enormous respect for, very religious man.
