Real Time with Bill Maher: Your Delegate Sensibilities
By Nicole Belle Friday Apr 04, 2008 6:30pm
On Real Time with Bill Maher this week, Bill Maher had some strong words for those who feel that the Democratic nomination race should be decided already.
Download | play 
Download | play (h/t Heather)
And finally, new rule: If voting can destroy the Democratic Party, then the party isn’t very democratic. Democrats need to stop freaking out about how this long primary battle between two popular candidates needs to be “settled yesterday! Because the candidates are bloodying each other! They’re causing irreparable harm! Mommy and Daddy are fighting!” Hey you people need to reach into your teenager’s knapsack and pull out a Paxil or Prozac and chill out.
Democrats, your task is not just to choose between this pair, it’s to grow a pair. Now, I know the idea of a very close race brings up some pretty bad memories for Democrats, but these are Democratic primaries. There are no Republicans in this race, so there is nobody organized enough to actually steal the election. What is so terrible about a long, drawn out contest? A season of American Idol is, what, 87 weeks? That’s a lot of time just to pick out a cruise ship entertainer. This is the presidency we’re talking about. I understand that a lot of Democrats feel passionately about their candidate, and that’s great. But then their passion gets the best of them and they go on websites like DailyKos, and post stuff, like the Obama supporter, who wrote, “I will vote for Hillary, but then I will leave the country.” Yes, because who could live in a nation that elects the person that you just voted for?
And that is what is so great about the internet. It enables pompous blowhards to connect with other pompous blowhards in a vast circle jerk of pomposity. But that doesn’t mean I’m throwing my hat in for Hillary. For one thing, she would say I was shooting at her. And I know she’s going to have a tough time catching Obama, because he’s black and she’s not that fast. But this is America, we don’t call the election before we know who the real winner is. That, after all, is the job of the Supreme Court.
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Yeah and I really hope all the idiots who say they won't support the nominee if their candidate doesn't win are just full of shit.
MagnificentAppendage @ 1:
That's the problem. I seriously don't think they are. This is a campaign like no other. It has been truly vicious. *cough* Mainly from Hillary's side.*cough*
Speaking of "pompous blowhards" Mr. Maher.....
We're in the New Techno Age of instant gratification no surprise patience and poise are a lost art form.
Guitardedkev @ 3:
Yeah but didn't your inner voice suddenly pop up and say, "He's Right" for a nano second?
Billy Maher says, "Democrats, your task is not just to choose between this pair, it’s to grow a pair."
Is there no other way to suggest that democrats should have backbone, show courage, stand for something?
Does he have to rely on referring to male genitalia?
.
America is one big joke in the process.
.
Like Maher or not, he always hits the nail on the head. As for me, I don't want the elites to crown the nominee. the delegates should vote for who their constituents choose.
Ann Coulter has balls???
I KNEW IT!!!
Kudos Bill! Thank you for saying what needed to be said.
Arrow @ 2:
Yeah. Obama has been a real angel.
"Obama's anti-war reputation is a fairy tale." ---- RACIST RACIST RACIST
"It took political leadership to put Martin Luther King's ideas into law." ------ RACIST RACIST RACIST
Right on, Bill Mahr. I'd like to add that the yellow journalism Ms. Huffington now slings like hash is also quite tiresome also. Once again, thank you Mr. Mahr, Mr. Stewart, and Messr. Colbert for keepin' it real.
Here's Bill Clinton’s Ultimate Pitch to the Superdelegates
cd @ 9:
I'll bet that woman doesn't have enough estrogen to pass an olympic gender exam.
This is why she attacks women and women's rights. She can conceive on her own and this is the closest thing she'll ever get to feeling like a real woman.
I hate being 15th is a crisle jerk;(
Don't pick on Ann Coulter, guys. After all, it must be tough being one of the most despised women(?) in the US of A.
Luther @ 6:
Apparently he does. It's what turns him on.
Personally, I like the sound of "Democrats, your task is to show some tits and ass".
Maybe Maher is fixated on male genitalia as being symbolic of personal power, because he's never been in love with a woman who has her own. The Goddess Energy is true power, and American media and entertainment choose not to show it. That's where the real fixation lies, on the patriarchal sociaty paradigm.
Wow, a lot of negative energy in here.
Did he just call me a pompous blowhard or was he talking about yous guys?
Thank You Bill!!!
Some of the folks I've seen in various comments on sites and blogs need to grow up and get over themselves, stop demonizing the other candidate and don't burn your bridges with either one before we've actually won this thing!
I would love to see both Hillary and Barack spending the duration of the primary season (although I do hope it'll be decided before the convention) tag-teaming McInsane.
There's going to be disappointment and hurt feelings once the candidate is actually chosen (although some of us will feel a sense of relief), and we are so close to losing this thing we don't "grow a set" -- now is the time to start turning down the rhetoric and focus on November.
I'd be fine with the primary lasting this long if Obama and Clinton would spend more time competing by attacking McCain rather than each other. That's part of what this contest is for, right--to see who would be best at beating McCain?
And piss on the people who say they won't vote for the other candidate if theirs doesn't win! This is one thing we need to learn from the Republicans; they'll get behind their delegate no matter what, and that's one of the reasons they've won so many elections in the past. If you think either Hillary or Obama are the antichrist and have committed unpardonable sins, you will find out just how fucking naive you were when McCain is president and we go to war with Iran.
Zenrage @ 14:
Do a little research and you'll find she has two legal birth dates.
From what I've heard that's not uncommon for someone born intersexual.
Is Billy Maher still screwing Ann Coulter? Just asking.
Cool! Bill Maher reads my posts!
LOL Albatross.
Luther @ 6:
Yes, a pair of balls,scrotes, bags, teabags, kiwis, or nutsacks is funnier than, say, a pair of eyes.
But he's right, the dems need to sack up sooner or never.
bennyp @ 15:
Dude, i got plenty . I can still throw two-footers.
The general concensus is the Dems have no Balls, and it's sad but true. Bush should be impeached immediately. Just remembering the Repugs antics over Monicagate makes me sick. Now look at what we have now. No money, no future, two wars and a tarnished reputation. What the Hell?
Epic.
“I will vote for Hillary, but then I will leave the country.”
LOL
StirFry @ 27:
"The Democrats need to grow a clitoris" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
MagnificentAppendage @ 32:
How old are you three. 13?
Anyone who thinks the Clinton and Obama campaigns wouldn't reverse their positions on pledged delegates, the peoples' right to vote, etc etc on a dime if circumstances required is truly living in cloud-cuckoo land. Which is getting overpopulated anyway.
Since Hillary began touting McCain's experience over Obama's, she's left a bad taste in my mouth. MMMMMM-Mendacity. But I'm going to vote for her in November, if that's what I have to do. The Supreme Court, the selling-off of the National Parks, the War the War the War--- we don't have the luxury of punishing her, not right now. Later!
So proud to have joined the circle. Everybody! *Will the circle*Be Unbro-ken* By-and-By, Lord, By-and-By.....
L.A. Confidential @ 33:
I meant 2 not luther sorry.
P.D. @ 29:
Yeah, you have to give the republicans credit on sticking together and "gettin' R done." They sure can destroy a country in unison.
StirFry @ 36:
And they aren't even finished.
L.A. Confidential @ 33:
Old enough to know a good joke when I think of one. Now I'd love to stay and troll with you but I have to get some sleep for my newspaper route in the morning.
Bill Maher is one hundred per cent correct. This is America and we have the right to support anyone we choose. But if you go to DU and even so much as hint that you are a Hillary support the hate and vile thrown at you would make someone throw up. And on another site they call you goofy for supporting Hillary.
Isn't it odd that the obama supporters are the only ones I see calling names. If you check Hillary supporters post about their GIRL but they don't flame and slur the obama supporters. I guess it is the type of supporters. And again the last time we checked you are free to support who you want. bush hasn't taken that away from us yet.
First of all, Bill Maher ISN'T a Democrat, so he couldn't care less. Second of all, he's a comedian
(I guess--but often you can't tell it from his material) so he would miss all of this fighting that is tremendous fodder for his lame monologues. Ditto for Leno, Letterman, Kimmel, et. al. That's his REAL motivation. Plus he loves saying we Democrats have no balls; it's part of his shtick.
Fuck! I'm not a blowhard. Just pompous!
MagnificentAppendage @ 38:
Okay don't forget to throw the paper at the door. Not the neighbors bushes.
Yeah, nothing like a bunch of old, fat, white, rich homophobes with an R next to their name to tell the unwashed masses their there for them!
Marge @ 39:
Do you want to read some Obama bashing? Read some of the comments here!
http://www.hillaryis44.org/
He might be right. I'm grabbing the money bear, and don't have time for Rodham-Clinton, Obama, or Maher.
I admit to having flip-flopped on the idea of supporting the presumptive nominee, whomever he might be. And if he is not the presumptive nominee, then I'm not sure who I'll vote for.
On a personal note, and all politics is local, as they say, my problem is that I feel as though I know Bill Clinton well. Indeed, he was good friends with Bill Elder, now pastor of Mountain Top Community Church here in Birmingham, AL. Supposedly a non-denominational church, Mountain Top is clandestinely Baptist.
Mr. Elder started the church with noble intentions, but my family left when we realized Elder had taken nearly $500,000 in loans from Richard Scrushy, former HealthSouth CEO. Elder refused to give the money back, saying that it was God's money now. Scrushy spread his money around to lots of places, knowing it was a matter of time before the Feds got to him.
Acquitted once, Scrushy was later sentenced to prison, tied to a corruption scandal involving then-Alabama governor, Don Siegleman. As a man who voted for Governor Siegleman once, I found him to be a most typical southern politician. In my opinion, he was not a good Governor, nor a good man. If he is acquitted of charges, then I'm sure he has many skeletons in his closet that could send him to jail based on other crooked deals he cut.
Again, I was talking about Siegleman, not Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton.
God's money paid for a brand new building for Mr. Elder, as well as the edifice complex that goes along with it.
So my dislike of Bill Clinton comes from the fact that I feel as though I understand him well. I wouldn't go so far to say that I can know him by looking into his soul, but rather I understand sleazy Southern politicians fairly well. And I also understand Elmer Gantrys when they appear.
Edit:
I voted for Siegelman twice.
Well Bravo Mr Maher. The only thing that I could take issue with about his rant on the Democrats is the part of their anatomy that needs enhancement. I'd say they should work on their pre-frontal lobes. Whatever ass thought up the idea of superdelegates could have used a swift kick in the nads. Aside from the fact that they are fundamentally undemocratic anyone who ever ran for class president in public school could have foreseen the disastrous consequences that this would lead to in a tight race. Apparently nothing was learned from 1968. Now they are stuck with a corporatist voting structure with non-voting shares (Michigan and Florida), regular voting shares and enhanced voting shares (superdelegates). Anyone with the slightest knowledge of corporate governance knows that companies with this sort of structure spend an inordinate amount of time in court sorting out rights instead of doing what they are supposed to.
The harsh reality is Bill is absolutely right about growing a "pair".
Hillary has a CONSTITUENCY in the Democratic party that SOLIDLY support her whether some people BELIEVE this or not.
Obama also has his own SOLID support especially among young voters.
He has however done himself serious damage with some of us because of his POLITCAL SUPPORTERS in Florida and Michigan who fought hard to DISENFRANCHISED 2.3 MILLION "human beings" who have that trait called Emotion...He honestly should not boast about having the lead popular vote after this development.
There will be consequences for the Democratic Party in these two important BIG states that have a VERY large electoral college tally in November. Anybody thinking after DOING this, it's going to be "kumba yah" and we will just "kiss and make up" is just deluding themselves.
I have seen us loose two past presidential elections NOT for lack of trying. In the run up to this latest one, we have actually damaged our own prospects all by ourselves. It is something that can be remedied, however I fear it may already be too late.
Just FORGET about sitting around a table and SHARING the DELEGATES of those two states based on the input from the two campaigns. At the end of the day, it's not about how Hillary or Barrack feel about ANYTHING. It's about US the voters and how we feel.
If ANY candidate think they CAN win the nomination by Default (it's all about party rules..blah blah jazz jazz etc) and NOT actually go out to EARN the votes of MILLIONS of people in ALL the 50 states is just kidding themselves.
Everybody VOTE HAS to COUNT if there is going to UNITY. Pure and simple.
i'm with Mrs. Polly at #34... ... er, except for that song...
"...Theres a better home awaiting, In the sky lord, in the sky..."
i'm not ready for THAT!
i really like bill maher; he's one of america's preeminent political satirists. he's got more than a little voltaire in him.
having said that, i find it a little disconcerting that he doesn't seem to grasp the difference between hillary clinton and barack obama.
obama's the only democrat in the race. democrats don't vote the way hillary did on the bankruptcy bill, or how she voted on cluster bombs, or for the war in iraq, or for kyl-lieberman.
true democrats represent labor, they don't support nafta, which hillary's husband implemented.
true democrats don't let mark penn, who's firm works for both mccain and blackwater, run their campaigns.
and i'm sorry, but i do believe maher is also going to ultimately eat crow for his volunteer work as a 9/11 gatekeeper.
(not intended to start flame war.)
My sentiments exactly, and I'm an Obama backer.
What's more, I consider anything fair game, so long as it is not designed to mislead the voters (yeah, right.) - with one other qualification: Publicly stating, whether implicitly or explicitly, that the Republican Candidate is better qualified for the job than your Democratic opponent IN ANY WAY is crossing a line that should not be crossed. What's more, if that line is crossed, then it should carry serious consequences with the so-called "superdelegates." I don't care whether you believe it or not. You want to endorse the Republican? Drop out of the race and join him. You want to compete for the Democratic Nomination? Campaign AS A DEMOCRAT.
I wouldn't tolerate it from Obama, and I'm not accepting it from Hillary. Fortunately, it seems to have diminished lately. I certainly hope it stays that way. If it doesn't, she ought to get hammered hard. I'm sure no small portion of that 38% is the result of those kinds of tactics.
Beyond that, hey, have at it. If Obama can't take it, he won't make it. If Hillary can't take a huge head start and beat the Man who came out of Nowhere in the Primaries, then she sure as heck will not be the most competitive nominee in the general.
When it is all done, everyone should pick one of the two remaining legitimate candidates who remain, and support them. This election is too important to spend it sulking.
Abby @ 49:
That is just total B.S. You want to level charges like that, you better come with a 6 page report with footnotes, because blaming your primary issues on Obama is like blaming your oven when you leave the cookies in too long.
Little mystery surrounds the phenomenon of Hillary's ownership of the Moron Constituency.
bullfrog @ 51:
Whatever
don't florida and michigan get to VOTE in NOVEMBER?
give it up... drop the b.s. and move on... so tired of the cheatin'...
if it came down to another actual vote between obama and clinton
in florida and michigan, i'd wager hillary would want to change
THOSE results too...
Abby,
If this "disenfranchisement" was such a big deal, why did HRC wait till now to complain? Really, not a peep from her before either state voted, even though the party's rules and the consequences were clear at the time. Her complaints, mirroring those made in your post, appear more motivated by self interest than by any genuine concern for voters' rights.
That being said, Maher's right. Let the race continue and the votes be counted.
DHSmd @ 53:
Oh come now. Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, so of course it's all his fault...lol....perhaps all these "Hillary supporters" should maybe take a step back and look at their candidate. What's she done? Lied about her healthcare. Lied about Bosnia. Lied about a pregnant woman getting refused treatment. Lied about her charity donations (they went to her own family corporation)...and topped it off with recommending the opposition party's candidate over her challenger in her own party. Oh ya, no wonder she has all those Bush backer supporters. She is their type of candidate.
bullfrog @ 51:
Obama is as full of shit as Clinton or anybody.
He didn't just support Lieberman - he CAMPAIGNED for him.
He co-sponsored a bill in the Senate which called the Iranian Guard a "terrorist" group - same as Kyl-Lieberman.
He sponsored a bill that would increase emissions of greenhouse gases by 50% in Illinois - kissing the asses of the coal industry.
Etc. ad vomititum.
Abby @ 49:
oh, god. parroting all the hillbot talking points, i see.
let's see if i've got this right. you literally believe the michigan results should stand, even though no one but your gal rodham's name was on the ballot, and even though the rules were agreed to by all well in advance?
got "baghdad bob syndrome"?
and one more thing, please do us all a favor and hit the preview button before you blurt out your inner reality -because unless english is your second language, there's no excuse for your high level of grammatical and spelling errors.
hey, none of us use the queen's english, but you are all over the map.
Uh, Bill, if you really want to speak of a circle jerk of pomposity...
Peterson, A. @ 58:
I also heard he kills kittens, and his daughters aren't allowed to answer reporter questions on his past having anything to do with his credibility. Meanwhile, Hillary ended Apartheid, The IRA war, the Soviet Union, brokered peace in the MidEast, solved world hunger, cured AIDS, AND is currently working on "welcome to earth" platform for the alien invasion!!
Peterson, A. @ 58:
never said obama was perfect, just the best of the three remaining candidates. and the only democrat left in the race.
Paul's Bunions @ 24:
Well he screwed her pretty good in this episode.
Platformless Hussein Obama is on TV speechifiying about something or other.
My question is why don't politicians look us in the eye when they speak? Obama looks toward the ceiling as he spews bald face lies. Fuck, you'd think this snake oil charlatan was counting lights or asbestos tiles.
Fuck it. This crack head is a self ingratiating piece of shit that fainting idolizers swoon over without checking his gutless, soulless, solutionless voting record... 'Present' is not a position.
Any poster here that places 'Hussein' as part of their tag is truly a sheep's dirty asshole.
Piss on it. I have to go. My $150.00 twenty year old whore is in need of a backrub so she can collect to feed her four kids.
katy @ 55:
exactly. anyone who threatens to vote for mccain if hrc loses to obama, let 'em go. let their kids reap what they sow when they vote for 100 years of war in iraq.
it's time dems grew some spines and stood up to the neocon agenda; that much i absolutely agree with maher on.
i just don't think that's going to happen with hillary rodham clinton, who voted for the war in iraq, and who's campaign manager, mark penn, runs a firm that represents both john mccain and blackwater.
bullfrog @ 59:
I see we are taking classes in the English language now here on this blog.
I have passed my message across. That's all that matters Mr English Professor!
Keep up the abuse and name calling Son. That's all you are good at.
Elliot Ate My Pie @ 64:
At least he isn't "dodging" sniper fire, eh? LOL.
.
They're all fucking whores!
...but i can't stay mad at them.
i know they're all just trying to achieve the American Dream
at my expense.
The Clintonites have made a career of telling unelectable candidates to drop out of Presidential races, the claim being that internal division on the left makes it harder to defeat the Republicans. Now that Hillary has no possibility of winning either the popular vote or the majority of delegates, she should accept her own argument and drop out of the race.
bullfrog @ 59:
Grammar and spelling notwithstanding Abby's analysis is correct. She did not say that the delegates from Michigan and Florida should be seated as currently elected. That would be unfair. The failure to correct this problem in a timely fashion will serve no one's purpose. If it is your view that Senator Obama will not need any of the votes of people who currently support HRC to be elected President then by all means continue to insult and scorn them all. It is such a winning strategy.
Peter G @ 70:
Michigan are neither Hillary or Obama's fault....it is their own party problems...they all knew it too...so if they are all that pissed about being disenfranchised, do something about it and vote the bums out...but they won't.
Abby @ 49:
the only message i've received is that you're as emotionally unstable and dishonest as the candidate as the candidate you represent.
and i'm certainly no english professor, i just think your emotional ALLCAPS ranting makes you seem a little flaky, like "baghdad bob".
try taking a deep breath and hitting "preview" before "submit comment".
elliot @64 seems quite experienced with sheep's hind ends...
thas nasty!
ConcernedCanuck @ 71: