by Hugh Hewitt
I referred to Bill Maher as the "Gollum of American politics" Monday night on Sean Hannity's Great American Panel, and that generated some interesting reactions.
Of course not everyone knows the story of Gollum or how he came to be the shriveled, desiccated horror that he was throughout Lord of the Rings, and how the desire for power had consumed him from within.
Bill Maher's desire is to be noticed, and especially to be taken seriously as a political and social commentator. In this sad exchange with Jake Tapper (see below), Maher is retreating to the "I'm just a comedian" defense of his misogyny and bile, a surrender of any claim to be anything like a voice of influence. All those books, movies and speeches? Never mind. Just a stand-up comic making a living.
The most telling part of the Q-and-A? When Maher tells Tapper that "[a]nd through it all, I have defended Rush’s right to stay on the air!" As though that matters. As though anyone cares what Bill Maher has to say about whether Rush stays on the air. But the self-importance displayed in that closing line smashes Maher's "comedian" defense if it had any substance for anyone to begin with. Simple comedians don't take to the ramparts to defend anything. They tell jokes.
In this case, Maher has himself become the joke, and though he may yet have many seasons to run on HBO and will play Vegas until he meets his maker, no one has any real doubt about his real views or his real contribution. Yes, he has become toxic for a time, but the left will resurrect his career a few months down the road when the obviousness of the double standard fades. But he will still be a hater of women, of those who believe in God, and of many, many groups and individuals.
JAKE TAPPER: Bill, thanks for doing this. I just wanted to make sure that
as I cover this debate about appropriate language and such, I’m not
excluding any points you think should be made.
BILL MAHER: I don’t really know all the “points,” but as I said on my show
last Friday, I’m a pottymouth, not a misogynist.
TAPPER: So with all the criticism of Rush Limbaugh for his comments
about the Georgetown Law student, conservatives claim that there’s a
double standard, with President Obama, Democrats and the media far
more tolerant of offensive language when wielded by liberal or
progressive media figures against conservative women. Is that a fair
comparison? You have certainly used offensive words to describe some
politicians you don’t like.
MAHER: I’m a comedian – not just a guy who says he is, like Rush, but
someone who – well, you saw me do stand-up last year in D.C. There’s a
big difference between just saying you’re a comedian and going out and
getting thousands of people to laugh hard for 90 minutes. And the one
I’m compared to most is Carlin, who also had these kind of problems.
Edgy is my brand – everyone wants that, but they say, “but never
go over the line.” It’s like telling Tom Brady, ‘Throw into coverage
40 times a game every game but never throw an interception.’”
TAPPER: How do you know when you’ve gone too far?
MAHER: I let the audience be the guide. The bit I did about Palin
using the word c—, one of the biggest laughs in my act, I did it all
over the country, not one person ever registered disapproval, and
believe me, audiences are not afraid to let you know. Because it was
a routine where that word came in at just the right moment. Context is
very important, and it’s also important to remember that stand-up
comedy is the final frontier of free speech. Still, I stopped doing
that routine, but I would like someone to replace that word if it’s so
awful with another one that has the same meaning for a person – not
just women, it’s a word you can and lots do (all the British, for
example) use for both sexes. It has a very specific meaning.
TAPPER: And that’s not comparable to what Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke?
MAHER: To compare that to Rush is ridiculous – he went after a
civilian about very specific behavior, that was a lie, speaking for a
party that has systematically gone after women’s rights all year, on
the public airwaves. I used a rude word about a public figure who
gives as good as she gets, who’s called people “terrorist” and
“unAmerican.” Sarah Barracuda. The First Amendment was specifically
designed for citizens to insult politicians. Libel laws were written
to protect law students speaking out on political issues from getting
called whores by Oxycontin addicts.
TAPPER: What about all the clips of you saying rather “edgy” things -
offensive to many people, no doubt – from your show on HBO, “Real
Time”?
MAHER: Of course if you take out of context over 10 years snippets
inside comedy bits you can make anyone look bad – and sometimes, I
have been! Not perfect, but not misogyny. In general, this is an
obvious right wing attempt to dredge up some old shit about me to
deflect from their self-inflicted problems. They are the kings of
false equivalencies.
And through it all, I have defended Rush’s right to stay on the air!
Not what he said, that was disgusting – but the right to not disappear
because people who don’t even listen to you don’t like what you said.
That really bothers me. I never hear Rush Limbaugh unless a guy in the
next truck at a stop light has it on; it would be arrogant for me to
say “he has to disappear” and deprive the people who do listen to him
of what they like. We all have different tastes and different
opinions, that’s America.
