Bill Maher: Obama ‘is a lousy socialist’:

Despite conservatives’ best efforts to paint Barack Obama as a “radical socialist,” Real Time host Bill Maher isn’t buying it.

Maher ended Friday night’s “New Rules” segment by calling out the Right’s ridiculous mischaracterization of the President.

“…Newt Gingrich called Obama the most radical Leftist President in history. Senator Marco Rubio called him the most divisive figure in American history. Michele Bachmann said Obama is the most radical President we have ever seen in the history of the country …John Bolton said Obama just doesn’t care about national security. Honestly, there are Mexican drug mules who don’t pull this much stuff out of their ass,” Maher said.

And as Mediaite noted, the rant started out as an attack on Ted Nugent and his recent tirades going after President Obama: Bill Maher: What Exactly Has Obama Done That Has Made Conservatives So Angry?:

Bill Maher finally got around to Ted Nugent in his final New Rule of the night, but used the rocker’s recent tirade against President Obama to ask the larger question about conservative outrage over the president. He argued that the country has really not changed that much from the George W. Bush era and, in fact, Obama has been making concessions that have not exactly pleased liberals. So what, Maher asked, are conservatives so angry about?

Here's more from Maher's rant in the segment above.

MAHER: Now, it somehow became an article of faith that on the right that Obama is the most extreme president in American history. Although when they say that, I think what they really mean is, he's black. Let me give you some examples. Newt Gingrich called Obama the most radical, leftist president in history. Sen. Marco Rubio called him the most divisive figure in American history. Michele Bachmann said Obama is the most radical president we have ever seen in the history of the country.

And when has Michele Bachmann ever been known to misjudge a man?

John Bolton said Obama just doesn't care about national security. Honestly there are Mexican drug mules who don't pull this much stuff out of their ass. And my question is, how can this same guy, Barack Obama, make these same people feel that America has changed so completely and yet make me feel like it's barely changed at all? I travel all over this country doing standup and since Obama has been president, what? It's still the exact same Kentucky-fried country it has always been.

I see it. People driving their cars to the mall. Buying stupids shit. Stuffing their faces, taking pictures. The only difference is we bump into each other more because we're all texting. We haven't lost our freedoms.

I'm pretty sure the only things Obama has killed are Osama bin Laden and Donald Trump's last shred of dignity. [...]

So the question remains, how can you guys be so unhappy with Obama when I’m so unhappy with Obama? You think you got coal in your stocking? I wanted single-payer health care, a carbon emissions bill, gun control, and legalized pot. If you get to carry around all this outrage over me getting that shit, shouldn’t I have gotten it? So, just admit it. This isn't about what Obama did.

It's about what you need him to be because hating him is what gets you up on the morning. And Ted, you don't have to fear what happens if the Democrats are reelected, because they don't have any ideas anyway.

I can understand your paranoia that they have a secret plan, because they sure as shit don't have a public one. Can anyone tell me what the Democrats want to do? The best I can come up with is, elect us we're lame, but the other guys are nuts.

While I share some of Maher's frustrations with both parties, that's an over simplification at best about what's wrong with our political system and the money required to stay in office and the extent to which we do actually have one party that still believes in governing and another that has decided to act like a wrecking crew with destroying what's left of our society and our social safety nets.