It was an excellent new rule segment from Bill Maher, but let’s not forget that he, too, has fallen victim to this reasoned critique of liberal America. It could be simply couched as don’t be an “a**hole.” The HBO host was appalled by the nasty vitriol directed at Cheryl Hines, the wife of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is best known for portraying Seinfeld creator Larry David’s fictional ex-wife on the show Curb Your Enthusiasm. Hines is no fan of Trump and likely did not support her husband’s decision to drop out and endorse the former president. The Left, like the hordes of Mordor, flooded social media with heinous attacks on Hines for essentially stopping he husband from helping Trump win.
The comedian then read a tweet by actor Bradley Whitford, which was atrocious. Maher added that there’s nothing more pathetic than mansplaining to a woman but not to her face.
“You want to know why I have a bug up my ass about the Left more than I used to; it’s s**t like this,” Maher said. “There’s an ugliness they never used to have—the liberal I grew up respecting; none of them are like this. Going after the wife? Even the Mafia doesn’t do that,” he added.
He then goes on to torch the “liberals in theory,” those who rail about bullying but not when they do it. He quipped that Whitford, who ironically is married, failed to recognize one fundamental truth about the institution: “You have to swallow some s**t” to preserve the union.
What Maher found so galling is that Barack Obama addressed this nastiness infecting our politics at the Democratic convention. Bill Clinton had the same message: don’t scold, shame, or out-yell the other side. He later quipped that Whitford maybe visited the restroom when this segment came on the television.
The HBO host, who prefaced this part by referencing what gives people the “ick” today, highlighted how the incessant whining, faux victimhood, and bullying of those with whom you disagree is what gives people that impression about liberals.
Sure, he calls Trump terrible, but the best way to combat him is to not be like him, whether you agree with Maher’s politics or not—the message is simple: quit acting like a bunch of jackasses. Stop telling people to sacrifice their marriage, as they did with Hines, over a political disagreement.
Social media is great in many ways, but one of its darker aspects is that it has allowed people to think they can navigate through life like total a**holes without consequences.
While a pretty good commentary, keep in mind one thing: Maher called Sarah Palin a 'c**t' in 2011.