Real Time with Bill Maher #369 10/30/2015 “It’s War”

by Catherine Giordano

David Spade

I expected all-out war on Real Time with Bill Maher on the October 30, 2015 show. There were two very outspoken Republicans on the panel and one outspoken Democrat. However, everyone behaved themselves and the debate did not get out of hand like is sometimes does.

The CNBC Republican Debate

The Republicans are at war of each other. The latest debate (on October 28) pitted the candidates not only against each other, but it pitted the moderators against the candidates. And these moderators are hosts on a network (CNBC) which generally leans Republican. (I don’t watch the network much, but when I have all I heard was Obama and Democrat bashing.) Maher said that CNBC is for “wannabe masters of the universe." "They are not the liberal media.”

The moderators asked rude and insulting questions—I was shocked by the disdain they expressed towards candidates. I presumed these were the candidates that they did not like. They did not act like responsible journalists and the candidates are right to be angry. I’m a Democrat and this may be the first time I have said, “The Republican candidates are right.”

I also thought the moderators wee not well prepared. They did not have the facts at hand for follow-up questions to use when candidates lied. In my mind I contrasted this with Hillary at the Benghazi hearing. She had a binder in front of her and was able to immediately find the page with the facts relevant to every question she was asked. The moderators could learn something from Hillary.

In the monologue, Maher dismissed the debate saying “None of them got suddenly smart.”

Maher also said “The other big loser of the night was CNBC. They [TV stations] put on the debates for ratings.” He discussed how the desire for good ratings leads not to an attempt to get a serious debate where the candidates can state their stands on the issues, but instead leads a desire to generate conflict that will get them tweets and retweets. He added that they asked “stupid nasty questions” and gibed, “What do you think? This is the Benghazi hearing?”

The Republican Candidates—Ben Carson

The first to fall victim to Maher’s wit was Ben Carson. Maher said if you haven’t yet decided who you will go as for Halloween, you can go as Ben Carson by taking a few Xanax. (Or you can put the Xanax in somebody’s drink and do as Bill Cosby.) Later Maher added that Carson talks like he’s moderating a golf game. He mimicked the slow monotone of a golf commentator while speaking Carson’s words.

Back to Carson. Maher remarked, “Carson told a whopper about his involvement with Mannatech.” (Even the far right National Review called him out on this.) He has had a ten-year paid relationship with this dietary supplement company which was convicted of false advertising. Maher said the Carson has claimed that Mannatech cured his prostate cancer, but he had the prostate surgery anyway because he wanted to be a role model. Maher mocked him for this obviously ridiculous statement.

Ben Carson has a book; sometimes his campaign seems more like a book tour than a campaign. His book is A More Perfect Union: What We the People CanDo to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties

The Republican Candidates—Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush was mocked in the monologue also. Maher told us that Bush has told us that his campaign is “alive and well.” Maher took aim and scored with “He said the same thing about Terry Schiavo.” He added that Bush might wake up to find Dr. Kevorkian at his bedside. He added, “This is the smart Bush?”

The panel also had some attacks for Bush. Panelist Maxine Waters, congresswoman (D-CA), said, “He doesn’t know who he is.” She later added, “Bush is a wimp. He doesn’t know how to fight.” [My impression is that Bush is angry that he has to fight for the nomination. He doesn’t like having to do the things a candidate has to do—he’d rather be doing “cool things.” He thinks he should just be crowned president.]

During the debate, Marco Rubio successfully deflected Bush’s attack on him about his habit of not showing up for votes in the Senate saying Florida needed to be represented by both of its senators. This led to Maher telling us the “Bush family invented dirty tricks. Remember Atwater and McCain’s black baby.”

Even conservative attack dog, Roger Stone, former senior adviser to the Donald Trump presidential campaign, political operative for Nixon, Reagan, and Dole, said,  “And we thought W was  the dumb brother.”

There was a discussion about whether Bush’s last name was helping or hurting him. Stone who is the author of several books. including his latest book, The Clintons’ War on Women, an opportunistic exposé rehashing old scandals, rumors, and lies, tried to compare the Bush dynasty to Hillary Clinton becoming president 16 years after her husband. Maher slapped him down telling him three generations of Bushes (We have to include Senator Prescott Bush, grandfather to Jeb and W.) is not the same as Hillary who has been a Senator and Secretary of State and who worked closely with her husband when he was president, wanting to be president in her own right. [And I’ll add, at least so far, she is not trading on her name. In fact, she is disavowing some of Bill Clinton's policies something the Jeb won't do with respect to his brother.]  

Jeb Bush Outed

Jeb Bush also has a book It is a collection of emails and it seems like a rushed, made for the campaign book. It is called Reply All. [I remember when Jeb Bush was so anxious to show how transparent he was that he released all his emails--but didn't bother to redact people's personal information, like their social security numbers. You might be better off reading this book: Jeb Bush Outed: Who He Really Is and Why He Should Never Be President  Jeb likes to talk about how successful he was as governor of Florida; the truth is that he was a disaster. (Just like his current presidential campaign.) 

The Republican Candidates—Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio is the “Do-Nothing” candidate. Not only does he not show up in the Senate but even conservative panelist Grover Norquist, founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform (an organization that opposes all tax increases) criticized him saying, “He has never done anything.”

Marco Rubio has his campaign book too: American Dreams: Restoring Economic Opportunity for Everyone

The Republican Candidates—Donald Trump

Norquist said he likes Trump’s tax plan (Norquist is the author of several books. His latest book is End the IRS Before It Ends Us: How to Restore a Low Tax, High Growth, Wealthy America. His other books have similar titles.) If Norquist likes the tax plan it can’t be any good. Maher said, “Trump’s plan would blow a hole in the budget.”

Stone defended Trump. “You can’t buy Trump. You can’t bully him. He's not coached. He’s not scripted. He’s real.”  

By the way, all of the Republican tax plans would blow a hole in the budget. Independent analysis of the plans has proven it. Some of the candidates even advocate doing away with (or reducing) Social Security and Medicare. Most want some form of a flat tax. A flat tax with only three rates sounds good, but it would make the poor pay more and the rich pay less. Don’t be fooled when Republicans say they will cut taxes. They mean they will cut taxes for the rich and super-rich, not for the rest of us.

Donald Trump has been touting the Art of the Deal. Now he has a new book to tout: Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again. The co-author (ghostwriter?) is Tony Schwartz. 

The Interview—Tulsi Gabbard

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a Congresswoman (D-HI), serving since 2014. She is the first American Samoan, first Hindu, and one of the first female combat veterans elected to Congress.

Since Gabbard is vice-chairman of the DNC, Maher asked her about the election. He asked, “Which Republican candidate do your fear the most?” She responded with an incredulous look on her face and gave a one word answer, “Fear?” I think that was the best deflection of that question I have heard from anyone.

Since Gabbard sits on the Committed on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Maher asked her about Syria. She said, “In Syria we need to know what the mission is and who the enemy is.” [I don’t think anyone knows that.] “Overthrowing Assad will strengthen our enemies.”

Maher said our choices were “between bad and worse.” And then he was off on the one of the topics that set him off into a tirade. He says the mid-east factions don’t want Americans in their war. According to Maher, they are telling us, “If you morons would get out of the way, we would gladly kill each other.”

He next attacked barbaric Islam practices and liberals who are too pc to condemn them.

You may be right on both issues, Maher, but we have heard it all before.

[I don’t know what my opinion is, but I am glad Obama is the one making the decisions. We’ll have WW III if a Republican gets into the White House. Each candidate constantly tries to prove, (except for Rand Paul) that he (or she) will be tougher and more belligerent than the others.

The mid-show comedy segment

Maher said that every week a toddler shoots someone. (Why would anyone leave a loaded gun where a toddler could get it, but they evidently do.) He said, “The NRA says that they only thing that can stop a bad toddler with a gun is a good toddler with a gun,” So he brought out a book for toddlers named “Every Baby Shoots”. He read it to us. It had the simple rhymes and rhythm of a Dr. Seuss book. One of the verses was

                       

Forget dressing your dollies
Or playing with blocks.
You need to have lugers
And shotguns and Glocks.                       

Mid-show interview—David Spade

David Spade

I’ve seen David Spade on TV and in movies, but I have never seen him interviewed. Sometimes when I see an actor I really like do an interview, I realize that I like the character they play more than I like them. It was just the reverse with David Spade. I like him more after this interview than before.

Spade is a comedian, actor, and author of a new memoir, Almost Interesting: The Memoir. He had a quiet presence and spoke mainly about his issues with his height. [He’s short.] He said some actors who are short get a pass because they are good looking implying that he wasn’t good-looking. I don’t think there is anything wrong with his looks—I would call him good looking. I guess the ladies think so too because they spent quite a bit of time talking about how to get rid of your one-night stands the morning after.

Maher thinks that the ones who don’t get a pass are older men who dare younger women. He’s 60 and he was obviously talking about himself.

New Rules—Nag Reflex

Bill Maher is perpetually on the warpath against liberals who are overly political correct. (And I mostly can’t say he’s wrong.)

Tonight it was about Halloween costumes that some people find offensive. Maher pointed out that you can get offended by any costume if you try hard enough. Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz—that could be offensive to victims of real tornados. A vampire—offensive to those who think “Drac Lives Matter.”

One of the hottest costumes this year is the Caitlyn Jenner costume. Bill argued that it is not offensive to transgenders and it sends no message.

Maher complains that this barrage of rants from the pc police is what makes people vote Republican. The liberals just nag too much.

The message Maher wanted to send is that Halloween is a fun holiday. He said, “I love a holiday that celebrates ghosts and mythical beings. It ranks right up there with Christmas.

BTW, David Spade said he is going as ‘pizza rat.” That’s a little sad.

I’m going as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. That’s a little sad too. She’s the mother of dragons; I will have to be the grandmother of dragons. 

Bill Maher’s Guests October 30, 2015

The Interview: 

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: Congresswoman (D-HI), serving since 2014  She is the first American Samoan, first Hindu, and one of the first female combat veterans elected to Congress. Rep. Gabbard sits on both the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and is a Vice Chair of the DNC.

Mid-Show Guest:

David Spade: Comedian, actor, and author of a new memoir, Almost Interesting: The Memoir. From 1990-1996, he was a cast member on Saturday Night Live and will be performing stand-up with Bill Maher on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Hawaii. He is best known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and his roles in some other TV shows (Just Shoot Me) and movies (Joe Dirt).

Panel:

Rep. Maxine Waters: Congresswoman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, member of both the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus. She was first elected to Congress in 1991.

Grover Norquist: Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes all tax increases, author of several books. His latest book is End the IRS Before It Ends Us: How to Restore a Low Tax, High Growth, Wealthy America.

Roger Stone: Former senior advisor to the Donald Trump presidential campaign, political operative for Nixon, Reagan, and Dole, author of several books including his latest book, The Clintons’ War on Women, an opportunistic exposé rehashing old scandals, rumors, and lies.