On the latest installment of Real Time with Bill Maher, all things Republican were bashed, especially the current favorite target, Sarah Palin.
John Fund suffered the slings and arrows of Left-wingers Janeane Garofalo, Salman Rushdie, Roseanne Barr, and Paul Begala.
From WorldNetDaily:
From the start of the HBO show, Hollywood activist Janeane Garofalo, a Barack Obama supporter, expressed agitation over the overnight national popularity of GOP vice presidential nod Gov. Sarah Palin, who has helped running mate John McCain pull within the statistical margin of error of Obama in many polls.
Garofalo ridiculed her as an empty pantsuit who lacks a firm grasp of the issues.
Fund defended Palin and her experience and warned that such Palin-bashing will only create a backlash in the heartland against Democrats. "Keep it up," he taunted Garofalo and other critics on the panel.
"You guys are the kings of petty, nasty rhetoric," Garofalo snapped at Fund, who writes for the Wall Street Journal.
She then slammed the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as a gathering of "small-minded, very petty (and) mean" delegates and speakers who simply grinded out "red meat" for the "dopes" in the red states.
Garofalo not only disagrees with Republicans. She hates them.
Continuing her rant, Garofalo asserted that Republicans believe in nothing decent and should all be locked up.
"There is no evidence to support that the current incarnation of the Republican Party-hyphen-conservative movement has any tethering to decency, kindness, tolerance (or) open-mindedness," she said. "What do they stand for? Torture as a policy. They stand for homophobia. They stand for no reproductive justice. They stand for denying global warming."
A flabbergasted Fund, who was sitting next to her, asked: "So what should we do, jail them?"
"That would be great!" Garofalo exclaimed with a straight face.
After host Maher winced and offered, "That wasn't helpful," Garofalo claimed she was only joking.
Still, she claimed that compared to Republicans, "Democrats as people are fundamentally more decent."
Maher accused Fund of being "cynical" for suggesting he believes Palin has the qualifications to assume the presidency in a crisis.
Another panel guest, Salman Rushdie, joined in the Republican-bashing, saying, "They've been running the country into the ground the last eight years."
He then launched into a personal attack on Fund: "Smugness is an unattractive characteristic."
The debate got so heated that at one point, Fund knocked over his coffee mug, spilling liquid across the table. Garofalo proceeded to make fun of his mishap.
Astonishingly, Rushdie, who only recently has come out of hiding after a decades-long fatwah on his life, described the Islamic attacks on 9/11 as "brilliant."
Osama "bin Laden made a brilliant ... statement," he contended.
Yes, I, too, often reflect on the brilliance of bin Laden.
Good grief!
Garofalo drew cheers from the Los Angeles studio audience when she proclaimed Republicans stole the previous two presidential elections.
"George Bush didn't win either election," she said, suggesting Republicans tampered with "touch-screen voting" machines in 2004 to deny Democrat Sen. John Kerry victory.
Right. Bush didn't win either election. Republicans tampered with Democracy to steal the presidency. Sure. That's what happened.
Speaking of stealing elections, I'd like to hear Garofalo comment on the activities of ACORN, Obama's ally.
...The weekly HBO show also featured Democratic operative Paul Begala by remote feed and actress Roseanne Barr as a late panel arrival, both of whom also took the opportunity to rip McCain, Palin and Republicans.
These liberal extremists are filled with hate.
It's no surprise that it's really boiling over now, with Barack Obama and Joe Biden seeing their lead in the polls erased by John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Such Obama supporters don't help his election effort when they speak of Republicans in such demeaning terms. They couldn't be more polarizing.
That's counterproductive. Their attacks help McCain-Palin more than they help Obama-Biden.
One can't help but come to the same conclusion about the Obama campaign's own current strategy of employing personal attacks against McCain and Palin.
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UPDATE, September 25, 2008: "Bill Maher's Nasty Circus of the Stars," by Bill Steigerwald
7 comments:
I didn't take anything out of context.
Do you know what I think is absurd?
It's absurd for you to tell me what I should think.
It's absurd for you to pontificate that women should not support McCain-Palin simply because you don't share the values of millions of other women.
As a woman, I don't buy into Obama's liberal policies, especially his extremist position when it comes to botched abortions. Absolutely horrific.
I don't want big government. I don't want higher taxes that will cripple the economy. I don't like his Jimmy Carter-esque foreign policy approach. I believe that his positions are bad for the country. That includes women.
I am far more comfortable with McCain's vision and his moderate policies as opposed to the sort of same old, same old liberal "change" that Obama is selling.
It's absurd for you to question "what kind of American" I am.
It's stunningly absurd for you to call Garofalo "one of the most brilliant feminist thinkers this country has ever seen." Stunning.
I think you might be less angry if you take the time to personally research McCain's record regarding women's rights.
McCain isn't against equal pay for women.
"I am all in favor of pay equity for women, but this kind of legislation, as is typical of what's being proposed by my friends on the other side of the aisle, opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems," McCain told reporters yesterday. "This is government playing a much, much greater role in the business of a private enterprise system."
McCain isn't some kind of Neanderthal when it comes to women's rights.
I know that's what the Obama campaign wants women to believe, but I suggest that you look at McCain's record on the issues.
I also suggest that you really look at Sarah Palin's record. She's the governor of a state! She's not the idiot that so many are unfairly making her out to be. Remember, Bill Clinton had no foreign policy expertise.
I don't think you're being fair to Palin, or the people of Alaska who elected her, when you speak of your horror at "at what this could mean for smart female politicians who want to be taken seriously."
The fact is Palin deserves some respect. Disagree with her on issues, but at least show her some respect.
How did she manage to get elected governor if she's such an idiot? Are the people of Alaska dolts?
Palin is an accomplished woman. As a woman, perhaps you might consider giving her a little credit for what she has achieved rather than belittling her.
amityb -
I can engage in a legitimate debate between libs and conservatives...but why do silly libs have people like Roseanne Barr and Jenine Garofalo as their spokespeople?
Do you think anything was accomplished by their foolishness? They both appeared as misinformed and like Maher replace substance in a debate with snippy jabs that rouse the audience.
That was perhaps the most ourtageously arrogant display of hatred and bile I think I have ever seen on television. Or anywhere else. And the irony of it really comes out when Garafalo starts going off on how the Republicans are the party of smear, evil, and mean. They can't see their noses in front of their faces.
Fortunately, I think John Fund is right. It's turning people off. I hope to God they keep it up.
With all of the conspiracy crap dripping out of Garafalo's mouth, why, oh why is this commedian turned actress taken seriously?
As for AmityB's comments - I'll just say what my friend Morgan says when confronted (again) by the bulletted talking points of the Left against conservatives:
"Yeah, we look pretty silly when people pretend we believe things we don't believe."
And the irony of it really comes out when Garafalo starts going off on how the Republicans are the party of smear, evil, and mean.
Exactly.
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