Bill Maher had some more advice for Democrats during his New Rules segment this Friday: "stand your ground" and take ownership of the Affordable Care Act, and while you're at it, quit throwing President Jimmy Carter under the bus when Republicans attack him as having a "failed presidency."

Bruinkid at Daily KOS has the transcript: MUST-SEE: Bill Maher calls on Democrats to stand up and DEFEND Obamacare:

And finally, New Rule: Crazy idea division. Since there's an election coming up, Democrats might want to say something about what they're proposing to do for America sometime between now and November. Crazy idea.

Everyone is predicting disaster for Democrats in the midterms, and their response seems to be, "Yeah, sucks to be us right now." Well, maybe that's because their basic talking points always start with an apology. Like, "Obamacare is far from perfect, but...." NOTHING'S PERFECT!!! But you don't start with pointing that out about something you're supposed to like!

"Hey Bob, how's your wife?"

"Well, she's not perfect, but she beats masturbating alone." [...]

Now last week in this space, I congratulated Democrats for finally learning how to use the right words to sell their ideas. This week, I'm going to ask for something in return — that they actually own those ideas. Stand your ground. when a Tea Partier says Obamacare is a government takeover, say, "I wish!" Because that would mean Medicare for all! [...]

And you know, Medicare is hugely popular in America. So let's see. Getting behind something that's hugely popular, for all. No, too hard a sell.

A year ago, Kaiser polled Americans on what they thought of Obamacare's individual provisions. 80% liked the idea of exchanges. 76% liked kids staying on their parents' plan. 71% liked Medicaid expansion. Two-thirds liked the ban on pre-existing conditions. Half the people in the survey were like, "Hey, why don't we get Congress to do these things?" Oh, you mean the things the Democrats had already done, but are keeping it a big secret?

No wonder the Republicans have such an easy time selling their argument about Obamacare, which is basically, "Hey, we tried it, and it was a big failure."

How about volleying that one back with, "WHAT?! We're still signing people up, for Christ's sake! How can we even know if it's a failure?" What we do know is that Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum said it would kill their children. No, you guys are thinking of assault rifles. [...]

The Republicans run ad after ad of Obamacare horror stories, but where are the success stories from the Democrats? You just need someone who's seen a gynecologist, not Bigfoot! [...]

Shoot a college kid on your phone! "Hi, I'm Tony, I got the clap on spring break. Good thing I was on my parents' plan, cuz now it doesn't hurt when I pee. Thanks, Obamacare!" Read on...

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