The presidential nomination campaigns are heating up. We
also had some heated debate on HBO’s Real
Time with Bill Maher on the January 15, 2016 show. As usual, when there are
two Republican guests on the show, the debate devolved into a screaming match
to the point where I couldn’t make out what was being said.
Here are the
highlights of Real Time with Bill Maher,
back after a hiatus for his first show of the New Year.
Obama to be a Guest on Real
Time?
No point
burying the lead in this recap and review of the show. Maher has one burning
desire—he wants Barack Obama to be a guest on Real Time before his presidency
ends.
Maher feels
slighted. Obama has given an interview to pretty much every other show—every
late night show, every daytime show, every web podcast. Maher reminded Obama
that he has been a supporter both with his comments on the show (plus with a million
dollar campaign contribution which he didn’t mention last night). Maher mentioned
that Real Time has 4 million
viewers—a sizeable audience-- and according to Maher these viewers are the
“absolute best.” (“The viewers are informed, engaged, and smart enough to steal
cable.”)
So Bill Maher wants you to sign the petition. Obama
instituted a program at the beginning of his presidency. If 100,000 people sign
a petition within a 30-day period, the government will address that petition.
The website is petitions.whitehouse.gov. This link will take you directly to
Bill Maher’s petition. As of this writing, less than 24 hours since the show aired,
there are already over 30,000 signatures. Click the link to add your signature.
After you sign, you will receive an email to confirm your signature.
Click the link in the email and your signature is added to the petition.
Maher tied this request to his 60th birthday
celebration. He did the request as the final segment of New Rules at the end of
the show. In the last minute if the show, a mariachi band marched onto stage
singing happy birthday. There was even a balloon drop. Maher looked completely
surprised and also moved.
Candidate Commentary
Maher began
his monologue with jokes about the candidates. He said the Republican Debate should
be called The Hateful Eight,
referring to the new Quentin Tarantino movie. He called the Republican Party
“the party of impotent white rage.”
Chris Christie caught incoming for saying Obama is
an” impotent child.” Maher said this came from “the man who needed surgery to
give his stomach a time-out. [BTW, despite the surgery, he is still really,
really, fat. Also, apparently desperate to get some attention for his failing
campaign. He is trying to be the angriest white man on the stage.]
Ben Carson is just the opposite. Maher described
him as a “human screen saver” for his painful slowness [Also, when is going to
stop rubbing his hands together? It is a really creepy gesture.]
Donald Trump was cited for talking about
“foreigners sneaking into the country. “ To which Maher added, “But enough
about Ted Cruz.” [That one was a twofer.]
Ted Cruz insulted an entire state with his
derisive sneer about “New York values.” Maher couldn’t resist showing the front
page response from one of the most popular New York newspapers, The Daily News. And I can’t either.
 |
| Here is what New York thinks of Ted Cruz. |
Is Ted Cruz eligible to be President of the United States?
The panel
didn’t discuss the issue about whether Ted Cruz is a “natural born citizen or
not so I will.
Cruz keeps
saying he is eligible because he is a citizen of the United States even though
he was born in Canada because his mother was an American citizen. (His father
was a Cuban citizen at the time.) But “natural born citizen” does not mean the
same thing as “citizen.” If it did, the Constitution would just say “citizen.”
Based on what I have heard from legal scholars, I think natural-born means born
in the United States (born on United States soil). Natural-born could be
construed to mean not only born on one of the states but also born in a U.S.
territory or even a U.S. military base or consulate.
I’m not sure
Cruz’s mother was a citizen at the time of Cruz’s birth. She may have become a
Canadian citizen. Her name has been found on Canadian voter rolls. In Canada,
there is a monthly “family allowance” paid to the parents of children. Did she
ever collect this money? If yes, did Cruz’s mother have to be a Canadian citizen
to collect this money or could she have collected it just because her child was
considered to be a Canadian citizen I
couldn’t find any information on this. I assume we’ll get the answer when the
law suit is brought as it surely will be if Cruz wins the nomination and maybe
if he even starts to come close.
Finally, Cruz
was a Canadian citizen--he had dual-citizenship allowed under Canadian law--
until May 14, 2014.
Cruz is showing his mother's birth certificate. That is just done to confuse the issue. No one doubts that Cruz's mother was born in the U.S. I would like to see Ted's birth certificate. Does it give his mother's nationality on his birth certificate.
Cruz likes to
point out that no other presidential candidate with circumstances similar to
his was ever challenged on his eligibility. But these candidates never became
president. Further just because no one brought suit doesn’t mean a suit could
not be brought now.
Finally, Cruz
keeps saying it is settled law. ”Settled law” is a term used when the Supreme
Court has ruled on an issue. The Supreme Court has never ruled on the meaning
of “natural born.” In fact, no court has ruled on this issue. There have been some
rulings on the qualifications for “citizen,” but never “natural-born citizen.” The
scholars say that according to the doctrine of “original intent,” Cruz is not a
natural born citizen.
Donald Trump has said that he will not sue Cruz on this. I
think that is a wise position. Trump can do (and is doing) enough damage to
Cruz just by bringing up the issue. And if Cruz wins or even starts to look
like he is winning, Trump can change his mind. In the meantime, Having Cruz in
the race keeps all the other potential challengers to Trump from gaining
ground.
No matter what the outcome, I would like to see this go to
court so we can have a definitive ruling.
Bernie and Hillary
The race for the Democratic nomination in Iowa and New
Hampshire is very close. The idea of Bernie winning made panelist Nicolle Wallace positively giddy with
joy. She was literally jumping up and down with joy like a little kid (or maybe
someone who just found out they won the Powerball lottery). She was cackling
with glee. Wallace is a former communications chief
for George W. Bush and is currently a political commentator and novelist. Her
most recent novel is MadamPresident: A Novel.
Why is Wallace so happy over the prospect of Bernie winning
the Democratic nomination? It can only be that she, like most Republicans, thinks
he would be easier to beat.
Donald Trump has already called him “crazy Bernie.” Bernie
will be Gene McCarthy all over again, losing practically every state. I love
Bernie in the Senate, but America will not vote for a self-avowed socialist.
(He’s also a Jew and maybe an atheist, but people who won’t vote for him
because of his religion would probably be voting Republican anyway.)
I love Bernie’s ideas, but He never says just how he will
get it done. He will never get his ideas through Congress. Obama tried for
universal health care and even some Democrats wouldn’t vote for it. Bernie won’t
be able to get his other stuff through either.
I love that Bernie caucuses with the Democrats, but he has
never chosen to run as a Democrat. Now he wants to be the nominee of the
Democratic Party. Hillary, for all her faults, has been a Democrat all her
adult life, has served in a Democratic administration, and won her seat as
Senator from New York as a Democrat.
Cornell West, professor
at Union Seminary Theological College, political activist, and author of
several books including Black Prophetic Fire, also supports Bernie over Hillary. He said, “Sister Hillary is smart. She is sharp. But
integrity is not the first thing that comes to mind.”
I say, “At least Hillary is tested.” She has been viciously
attacked for 20 years. What will the Republicans come up with against Bernie?
They are holding their fire for now and only attacking Hillary so Bernie can win
the nomination. Let’s see how well Bernie does in a head-to-head matchup
against a Republican when the political attacks start.
Mid-show comedy—Celebrity endorsements
Maher began by telling us to vote for whoever is their
favorite celebrity. He showed a clip from the infamous Duck Dynasty add on
behalf of Ted Cruz.
He then launched into endorsement statements from various
celebrities and told us what they were really thinking
Jennifer Lopez: It’s
time for a woman president.
Trump will deport my whole family.
The Cake Boss: Chris
Christie will help small business.
You know I make cake, don’t you?
Seth McFarland: Bernie
is serious about climate change.
An old Jew in the White House--the jokes will practically write themselves.
George W. Bush: Vote for my brother, Jeb.
Then I will be only the second worse
president.
The movie 13 Hours, Benghazi,
and Iran
The mid-show guest was John Krasinski, an actor currently starring in the new
movie 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of
Benghazi. The movie may bring up the
issue of Benghazi again in the presidential campaign because the movie shows
that there was a stand-down order. However, both Maher and Krasinski both said
that the movie clearly shows that the stand-down order came from the CIA and
not from The State Department or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that
the order was given to civilians who were there to protect the CIA Annex (not
the U.S. consulate). Further, these guards ignored the order and ran to help.
It also showed that Ambassador Stevens refused the additional security the
State Department wanted to give him.
The movie shows that
Secretary Clinton was not to blame, but Maher and Krasinski wondered if people
would note these facts.
The show’s guests also discussed the flap over the Iran
incident. All of the Republican candidates for president sounded like they were
willing to start WWIII over this. I’m scared to death over the thought that one
of these people could be commander-in-chief.
The prisoners were well treated and were not harmed.
(Perhaps photographs of them should not have been shown, but compared to what
could have happened that was nothing. I’ve even heard Republican outrage
because the female prisoner was made to wear a head scarf. Really?! They want
to start WW III over a head scarf?!)
Finally, negotiations for the release of the prisoners began
immediately, and they were released the very next morning. I would say
President Obama and Secretary Kerry should be praised for handling this
extremely well and preventing a minor incident from escalating.
Our sailors were quickly released and were not harmed
because of the Iran deal that every Republican candidate vows to tear up on Day
One. Not only were there channels of communication, but Iran quickly released
the sailors because it did now want to do anything to jeopardize the deal.
Breaking News: Prisoners in Iran Released
I took a break as I wrote this on Saturday morning (1/16/16),
turned on the TV, and learned that five Americans who have been prisoner in
Iran for years were just released this morning. The timing coincided with the
formal release of the sanctions on Iran.
All those Republican candidates who have criticized the
president for not including the prisoners as part of the Iran deal now have to
eat crow. Obviously, the release of the prisoners was part of the deal. Once
again we see how diplomacy is a better option than military action. Will the
Republican candidates still continue to proclaim that they will tear up the
deal of Day One? Do they still want to nuke Iran? Their reckless foreign policy
ideas make them unfit to be the leader of the free world.
We all have a front row seat to the Republican view of the
future of the United States. It will be Hell. Literally, thermonuclear Hell.
They can’t wait to start bombing.
Interview
Al Gore is the founder
and current chair of The Climate Reality Project and was interviewed about
his work in the area of climate change. He is also the author of several books
including his most recent book The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change.
Maher began by apologizing for his support of Ralph Nader in
2000. “I was wrong,” he said. (Be careful, Bill, about your support for Bernie.
You may have to apologize to the whole country.)
Maher and Gore spoke about how the United States is the only
country that denies global warming. Maher said it was because the U.S. is too
religious, and too many of the religious think the world is going to end
anyway, so why worry about things that might happen in the future. Gore
countered with how Pope Francis has made a big difference in getting people to
act on climate change.
They also discussed solar energy vs. coal. Maher asked the
rhetorical question he has asked before: Why are coal miners fighting for their
jobs which are the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs when they could retrain for
better paying jobs that won’t kill them. Gore spoke about how the cost for
solar energy has come down to the point where it is now cheaper than coal. And
the cost of solar is continuing to go down.
Postlude
It is so nice to know that international tensions are
becoming less heated thanks to President Obama’s diplomacy. Now bring on the
mariachi band. I want to celebrate.
Bill Maher’s Guests: January 15, 2016
