Bill Maher Disses The Daily Show Rally for Sanity

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Last night, Bill Maher criticized last week's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, saying, "If you're going to have a rally: you might as well make it about something," before detailing his specific problems with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's efforts. I think some of what Maher observes as shortcomings with the rally are completely valid, especially this idea there is craziness on both sides of the aisle. And even Jon Stewart told Chris Wallace last week, MSNBC can't come close to doing what Fox News is able to do.

“Try not to pretend the insanity is equally distributed through both parties. Keith Olbermann is right: he is not the equivalent of Glenn Beck. One reports facts, the other is very close to playing with his own poop. And the big mistake of modern media, has been this notion of balance for balance's sake. That the Left is just as violent and cruel as the Right, that unions are just as powerful as corporations, that reverse racism is just as bad as racism. The message of the rally, as I heard it, was that, if the media stopped giving voice to the crazies on both sides, then maybe we could restore sanity. It was all nonpartisan and urged cooperation with the moderates on the other side -- forgetting that Obama tried that and found out: there are no moderates on the other side. When Jon announced his rally, he said the national conversation was dominated by people on the Right who believe Obama’s a Socialist and people on the Left who believe 9/11’s an inside job, but I can’t name any Democratic leaders who think 9/11’s an inside job. But Republican leaders who think Obama’s a Socialist? All of them.”

Video will not embed. Clicky here.

Comments

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

We all know that Becks equal on the left is Ed Schultz.

I think it's a toss-up between Schultz and Mr. "Tingle-Up-My-Leg" Matthews

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

Well, now, the National Inquirer DID pull off a couple of investigative reporting exclusives over the eighty-four years of its existence - John Edward's dalliance and Tiger Wood's secret sweetie.

That shuld be worth at least one pullet surprise. ;)

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

Not a chance in hell.

Matthews has his quirks, but he is far closer to a hard news guy than Beck. By a fucking MILE.

Schultz, I distinctly remember, saying that he thought it was OK to cheat to win an election--cause it's what the Republicans would do.

That was when I wrote Schultz off as a Fox news guy who was on the wrong channel.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

You aren't Frank.
Unless you recently became a congressman and gay....

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

It's odd that he's a a conspiracy theorist, but kicks out 9/11 Truthers from his audience, you'd think a fellow conspiracy theorist would be sympathetic to such people.....

And I don't think anyone would call Maher *humble* but that doesn't make him *wrong*

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think the point of a government is to establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.

Re: Spinelessness is the Democrats' strong point

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

Incorrect. The Dems are all heart and no brain and no spine. Reps are all spine and no brain and no heart. Libertarians are all brain with a little spine and a little heart.

[prader.livejournal.com]

I disagree with you, the purpose of our government is "to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

This could be argued to mean "facilitate society", I suppose.

[prader.livejournal.com]

Haha.

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

I didn't attend the rally or watch much of it on youtube, but the sense I had was that it was less about making the left and right moral equivalents and more about urging all of us beyond the heated rhetoric that is, at least partially, a media construct.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

Said it before and will say again: the Republicans were instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Like it or not, they did a lot more for the bill than the Democrats from south of the Mason-Dixon.

Yeah, they made it a dirty word...

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

I call myself a liberal - with no apology.

...and Napoleon defeated Wellington at Waterloo

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

I was an adult in the early 1960's, and active in the civil rights movement. You have been misinformed.

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

Stewart at least makes an effort to be evenhanded in his vicious abuse.

Yeah, that's kind of to entirely miss Maher's point.

Re: ...and Napoleon defeated Wellington at Waterloo

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964#By_party

More Republicans voted for the House version than did Democrats. The CRA was a regional bill, not a party bill, and Republicans helped greatly in its passage.

Re: ...and Napoleon defeated Wellington at Waterloo

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

*sigh* been over this so many times it ain't worth it to do it again...

Re: ...and Napoleon defeated Wellington at Waterloo

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Facts are hard.

Re: ...and Napoleon defeated Wellington at Waterloo

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

I know WHY they did it. They basically got caught between their previous pushes for largely-symbolic, toothless civil rights bills in the '50s and in 1960 and the administration's push for actually useful bills. Whereas before it was mostly a useful idiot to split the Democrats from the Dixiecrats, they got caught and forced by their previous support to support the new bill. Then many changed their stance when women's rights were added to the bill.

But they still voted for it.

Re: Spinelessness is the Democrats' strong point

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

lol

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

lol @ pullet surprise :) Well done :)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

IAWTC

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

Matthews has his quirks...

Yeah, I guess in this case one person's "quirk" is another person's annoyance. He's just as disgusting as Olbermann. If he weren't working for MSNBC, he'd probably be able to get a job in the White House as Obama's official leg-humper.

[new-wave-witch.livejournal.com]

This might be the sick burn it was intended to be if the left cared as deeply for media reinforcement as the right seems to.

[evildamsel.livejournal.com]

So government serves no purpose beyond police? Shall be dismantle the roads and the utilities and the schools then?

[evildamsel.livejournal.com]

Cheater.