What about Bill Maher?

[tiredtoo]

is he a friend here? Asking this question because it appears Michael Moore and Bernie Sanders are not well liked here. Just curious.
Personally, I support anyone that supports Democratic values. May not like everything they say but do support them on general principles.

[OnDoutside]

1. Are you asking for a friend ?

[BumRushDaShow]

10. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JHan]

40. rofl

[Bradshaw3]

2. I would say most like him

But members of groups of the easily offended don't. A lot of the other vitiriol directed at Democratic supporters you see here is refighting the 2016 primary.

[Hortensis]

52. The misunderstanding lies in what constitutes

"supporting" Democratic values.

Some of those who love what they consider "democratic values" nevertheless despise Democrats and use talk of values as delivery vehicles for attacks on Democrats. Some feel that's a strange way of "supporting" since Democrats are the largest bloc by far of those who believe in and fight for democratic values.

For an example of "support" that people disagree on, how about Moore's recent claim that Obama told parents in Flint that it was okay to give their children poisoned water?

Maybe you wondered why he did that? I did not.

Moore's been doing that kind of thing constantly for years, just usually far less blatantly. I saw him for about a half minute on O'Donnell on election night and he was already smearing Democrats right out of the gate, first sentence or two. His "poison water" thing must just have been giving in to temptation, because it displayed his dishonesty and hostility against mainstream Democrats so baldly that it's hard to imagine anyone could miss it.

And that's the reason, btw, all these names are mentioned together. They all share the same general idea of what "support" for values is.

[hlthe2b]

3. Unnlike the RW, Dems do not march in lockstep and are capable of tolerance to a spectrum of views

Bernie and Michael Moore are progressives with whom we sometimes disagree, but progressives nonetheless. Maher is a Dem-leaning libertarian, with whom we can frequently find common ground-- and he is a comedian first and foremost.

[vi5]

4. Moore, Sanders and Maher are liked here.

There are obviously vocal voices who don't like, 1, 2 or all 3 of them but they are by no means the majority. Most on here support anyone who supports progressive values. Many of us feel that way and also would prefer they all always support the Democratic party but are resigned to the fact that they may not and do not think that makes them bad people or enemies. And some will support anything, as long as it has a D after it's name no matter how bad they might otherwise be and hate anything that does not.

Personally I'm in the middle group.

[world wide wally]

5. I like them all, but I don't idolize anyone

Except maybe Eric Clapton

[violetpastille]

6. I'm not a fan of his Libertarian White Male Privilege or his Opening Monologue.

I think it's a tacky show with occasionally good panels, but to each their own. I don't share his views on Christianity or Islam.

I stopped watching and got that hour of my life back.

Now I watch shows about English people searching for real estate in the Midlands and sleep a bit better.

[Trumpocalypse]

7. I like Maher, Sanders and Moore

but will call them out when they say something I disagree with. But we must remember that they are all independents who have their own agendas which at times conflict with the goals of the Democratic party.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

14. Same here - Bill Maher is funny. n/t

[Funtatlaguy]

17. I like all three. They are ours. But all 3 can be wrong and annoying at times.

[Trumpocalypse]

36. They are not ours.

The are independents.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

31. I agree

They are wrong on some things but mostly have their heart in the right place.

[Wounded Bear]

8. Most of the people around here who "don't like" Bill Maher...

started out by assuming he was a Democrat. He never was. He is a comedian first and a libertarian second.

Thing is, he's not a Big "L" libertarian like the Paul Ryans of the world. He's a libertarian that has some common sense left. He'll never agree with progressives 100%, but he definitely makes fun of people who deserve it most of the time. He also seems to understand that there are things that need to get done and the government is the only organization that can do them.

One confusing thing for people who watch his show is that his audience tends to be much more liberal and progressive than he is. They seem to groan at something he says at least once every show.

[violetpastille]

12. True. It was a crack at Native Americans that made me switch off.

Re Trump:

"Even Indians can run a casino."

The audience groaned, I said, "Fuck that." and haven't been back.

[themaguffin]

48. No, he's not a fucking libertarian. Wow, just wow.

[Wounded Bear]

50. You feel very strongly about this, apparently...

My opinion is evidence based, according to things he has said and done over many years.

[themaguffin]

59. I've watched him for nearly 20 years. I don't agree with everything he says

and nor should I or anyone else feel compelled to, but he's simply not a libertarian.

[Wounded Bear]

60. Are you defending Bill Maher, or libertarianism?

Not sure why you singled my post out.

I don't see how BM is a liberal. Apparently your definitions are not aligned with mine.

If you were to categorize Bill in some way, what would it be?

[themaguffin]

75. I'm saying that he isn't a libertarian. That's all.

[treestar]

71. how come?

What has he said to indicate he is anything else?

[themaguffin]

76. Where has he said that he is? Where has he said that he wants tax cuts and

to eliminate gov't programs like Medicare etc. , the EPA and on and on.

Where did he say that?

[meadowlander]

61. Maher spent years calling himself a libertarian

so it's not that far out there to take him at his word.

Of course, mostly that was because he wanted marijuana legalised, but he does still hold some libertarian views.

https://www.salon.com/2001/08/01/maher_4/

In either case, we're all on the same side here so why don't you take it down a notch?

[AlexSFCA]

9. love bill maher

rational voice. I like Moore too.

[Squinch]

11. Does your opinion depend on the answer? If not, why do you care?

[tiredtoo]

13. Thank you all for the replies

restores my faith in this site.

[LanternWaste]

15. Friendship or dislike of pop culture figures is irrelevant to policy making.

...as well as irrelevant to platform.

Responding because it appears you conflate a personal friendships with Democratic values.

[tiredtoo]

16. Not really

Perhaps friend was not the correct term. Maybe I should have said accepted or something along that line.

[Iggo]

18. Oy vay.

[still_one]

19. I would NOT put MM/Bill Maher in the same cateogry with Bernie Sanders. To me that is an insult to

Bernie Sanders.

MM and Bill Maher are essentially entertainers, and political satirists.

Bernie Sanders is an ELECTED Senator, who aligns with the Democratic party in the Senate. While there may disagreements among some with Senator Sanders, you are going to find that with any elected representative. In the end Senator Sanders is accountable to his constituents, and obviously his constituents agree mostly with his views because he keeps getting re-elected.

MM and Bill Maher are not accountable to anyone. I think it would be quite interesting if MM and or Bill Maher ran for public office. I am skeptical that they would get much support.

[tiredtoo]

21. MM/Bernie have both been slammed on this site.

I have not seen any derogatory remarks aimed at Bill Maher. That is reason for my query. Not a big deal, just a question.

[unc70]

25. Maher has been slammed here, too

Bernie gets slammed a lot more here than MM or Maher. A lot of that criticism is left over still from the primaries, then helped along by some troll or disrupt or types.

[still_one]

27. I have made derogatory comments about Bill Maher. The airtime and softpedelling he gave to the

qwack who said he cured AIDS with goat milk was outrageous. He also borders close to being an anti-vaxer which I am critical of.

Other criticisms against Maher, which I concur is his borderline anti-Muslim rhetoric.

So to answer your question, yes there have been derogatory remarks toward Maher here

[dembotoz]

20. i prefer them over many....just leave it as that

[Proud Liberal Dem]

22. Bill Maher- like Michael Moore, Bernie Sanders, et. al

are a mixed bag. I enjoy/support some of what they say, think they're out of line on some things, etc. Bill Maher is occasionally not very "woke" on some issues, acts privileged sometime. Moore is good and I appreciate his activism, but occasionally he's too much of a "Debbie Downer" and harsh on the Democratic Party for me. Most of what Bernie says is fine but occasionally I feel like he acts like too much of a "know-it-all" and don't like him lecturing a political party that he is not personally part of. All of them are mostly on the right side of things- morally and politically, however.

[scheming daemons]

23. Bill Maher is a Democrat... and donates millions to *DEMOCRATS*

Bernie Sanders is NOT a Democrat.


Michael Moore *IS* a Democrat, but he is often overly critical of Democrats. But he at least supports the party.

[violetpastille]

26. I agree about BM, he is a Democrat. And a generous donor.

BS is an Independent.

MM is a registered Independent.

[blogslut]

24. DU is not a monolith.

The board has rules though. They're pretty easy to understand and follow:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice

For the record, IMHO:

Bernie Sanders - he's fine
Bill Maher - never cared for him
Michael Moore - good at painting a picture. not someone I turn to for policy

[Fullduplexxx]

28. Not a fan

[lunatica]

29. I'm not comfortable with DU's purity branch of the party.

It’s as bad as Trump’s demands of complete fealty and capitulation in its own way.

But I have no problem with people getting angry and blowing some of it off here. I suspect many people say harsh things that they don’t totally believe in. I’m no exception.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. Me either! We all have the same basic core beliefs. Some like Michael Moore

And Bill Maher provide constructive criticism and ideas. That’s why I know they don’t post here. The minute you do you get flamed or hidden despite it being allowable.

[Hoyt]

30. I'll be watching Maher tonight, like every Friday. If he says something I don't agree with, won't

laugh.

[Paladin]

32. I walked away from Maher after his 4th or 5th "Liberals Suck Because___" routine.

That, and the obnoxious shithead panelists he insists on repeatedly giving platforms to. Hey, the redeeming portions of his shows turn up here on DU; no point in listening to the bullshit.

[Power 2 the People]

33. +1

[stopbush]

34. The problem with all three of them is that they basically criticize Ds

working from either RW talking points or from fantasies that they themselves have devised.

No one says Ds can’t be criticized, but constructive criticism stems from facts, not fantasies.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

43. See that's subjective isn't it? The line between constructive criticism and

right wing talking points? Here’s an example...the right hates Pelosi. But, on our
side, everyone gets their panties in a wad if you suggest our party needs new blood leadership which in no way diminishes the respect and reverence you have for the current leaders.

[stopbush]

47. Perhaps that's because change for the sake of change isn't necessarily a virtue.

Nancy Pelosi has been an extremely effective leader. Success in politics is as much as knowing what not to do as it is what to do. She has been able to keep the caucus together through thick and thin.

I’m all for new blood in leadership positions, but I’m not for freshmen in the top positions. It’s great that we have so many new members coming in. They now have a chance to show their mettle and to prove that they deserve leadership roles in the House. In the meanwhile, they have the privilege of learning how it works from the best in the business.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

49. See..it's ok for us to disagree right. One can still

Appreciate a person's contribution and assets yet think it's time to change.

[GeorgeGist]

35. He runs hot and cold.

[krawhitham]

37. You've been here 9 years, you should know the answer to that question

[tiredtoo]

38. Like i said above

I have seen bashing of both MM and Bernie but not Bill Maher.

[uponit7771]

46. Bill Maher doesn't consistently bash democrats unfairly

[PDittie]

39. I don't watch him him any more

He gins up a lot of hate for Muslims and is a big fan of war. That makes him intolerable to me despite the rest. He comes off as a Libertarian (you know, Republican with a bong) who has moved into the Resistance. JMHO.

[JonLP24]

41. I like Michael Moore and Bernie Sanders

I am not a fan of Maher. I used to like him though in the mid 2000s but the show format changed and so many other things I stopped watching it.

[Demsrule86]

44. Updated...snarky reply! I don't care for MM or BS but there is support here. I find Maher funny

but not all the time. How are you feeling?

[tiredtoo]

58. feeling ok but

This morning i went to a meeting and wanted to get a few things at grocery on the way home. After meeting i was so short of breath i did not think i could walk to store from car. Put out call to children for help, fortunately they came through. Now back home sitting in lazy-boy waiting for daughter to bring groceries. I really hated to have to do this but needed some food for weekend.

[Demsrule86]

64. I am so sorry...It just sucks that you have to deal with this. Are there any treatments that help.

My mom had something similar and uses an inhaler. She is a candidate for a transplant but who knows. Sounds like you have great kids.

[tiredtoo]

67. I do have great kids, thank you

Inhalants are the only treatment available. My age precludes me from surgical repairs; transplants or lung reduction surgery. Just plugging along one day at a time. Trying to take advantage of every precious moment. Previous goal was to make it to mid-terms, accomplished. Next goal... Make it to general... will have better prognosis on this by Christmas.
Thank you for concern.

[Demsrule86]

72. Please save this message with your permission I will mail you so you have my name and

keep me posted...I am a the praying sort. I am pulling for the better prognosis by Christmas!

[Vinca]

45. I love Bill Maher.

He says something every so often I don't agree with, but I can't think of one human being I agree with all of the time. One big notch in his belt is being sued by Trump and Tiny producing a birth certificate in order to verify he isn't the spawn of an orangutan.

[Glamrock]

51. Oh no

He's not very well liked by some. Nor is Moore, Sanders, Randi Rhodes, Thom Hartman, The Young Turks, and anyone else that has any criticism of our party. Unless they profess that the party's problems all stem from Susan Sarandon and the Green party they are Persona non Grata.

Interestingly, these folks seem to just love them some Nicole Wallace and Steve Schmidt. Two people who have not only criticized the party, but actively worked against it to get Republicans elected.

[JenniferJuniper]

53. He's a comedian first and foremost

and often quite funny.

[gulliver]

54. Even having him in the primary would be great for Dems

He would be tough as nails. We need that example.

[Cosmocat]

55. He is one of our big guns

He has some prideful blind spots, but we need more people like him who don't back down and take the fight TO these assholes.

[realmirage]

56. A lot of people are too mentally weak to deal with

opposing views on even the most minuscule topic, so he’s not popular with everyone.

[meadowlander]

62. My issue is

if you give a Nazi a microphone so that you can "debate" him, you'd better make damn sure that you win the debate. And Bill Maher just isn't as smart or articulate as he thinks he is. So he invites along nasty mental midgits like Milo Yannopolous and Steve Bannon and sits there nodding away while they spew their bullshit without calling them on it.

That legitimizes their arguments.

[realmirage]

65. He definitely fucked up his

interview with that slob bannon. But there’s still enough to like about his show that I still watch

[obamanut2012]

69. lulz

[Tommy_Carcetti]

57. He's a smarmy unlikeable asshole.

Who frequently (but not always) makes good points.

I can take him or leave him.

[marlakay]

63. I like Bill, Michael and Bernie

I don’t always agree on everything they say but overall I think they help. We are a big tent and people need to remember that. Parts of our country are very liberal, parts very conservative.

Some states have a different cultural experience.

Michael and Bill have learned hard lessons and both last few elections say same thing don’t vote third party vote dem.

Bernie is great because he has energized the youth vote and he leans way left which brings a balance to so many going further right.

There is a major divide in this country between big cities and rural or smaller towns. I have lived in both and both think the other is making laws against them. In a way they are right because things that help a big city don’t necessarily someone in the country.

But cities need farming and little towns need the money, museums, stores from the city.

We just all have to stop and realize we need each other. Thats why in a crisis you don’t see red or blue. Our party needs to stop redoing 2016 and actively support all parts of the whole. Just like you need all major organs in your body, we need all types of dems.

[realmirage]

66. A voice of reason. Thanks

[obamanut2012]

68. I don't -- he is misogynistic, has made cracks about First Nation folks

Been anti-Muslim, and is BFFs with Ann Coulter. He also isn't a Dem, he is a Libertarian.

I can dislike whomever the hell I want to.

[tiredtoo]

73. yes you can

[treestar]

70. He's OK and funny

but not a Democrat. More of a libertarian.

[mtnsnake]

74. Maher is a genius. I'm glad he's on the side of the good guys.

I wish there were a hundred more people just like him. When it comes to politics and putting right wing assholes in their place, nobody does it better than him. He really is a genius.

[Cetacea]

77. "A slow moving coup"

[mnhtnbb]

78. FFS. Bill Maher puts his $$ where his mouth is: $1million to Democratic Senate

Super PAC for the 2018 election. AND $1million to Obama for his reelection in 2012

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/407727-maher-makes-2-million-donation-to-house-and-senate-democratic

Yes, there are people here who don't like him. He is not afraid to criticize Dems--individually or the party--and that doesn't sit well with some people. Personally, I enjoy his show--most of the time--and I've even been to two of his appearances when he came to Durham, NC. Does that mean I agree with everything he says? No. So what? He's a comedian. But he's definitely a friend to the Democratic party.