Bill Maher Sorry the Assassination Attempt on Dick Cheney Failed

NewsBusters ^ | March 3, 2007 - 10:22. | Noel Sheppard

[MovementConservative]

In 2002, ABC made the decision to not renew Bill Maher's contract after he made some disgraceful comments on his program "Politically Incorrect" concerning America's military response to 9/11. After what transpired on "Real Time" Friday, the heads of HBO should be equally outraged, if not more.

As the discussion moved to the attempted assassination of Vice President Cheney last week, Maher asked his panel why it was necessary for the Huffington Post to remove comments by readers concerning their disappointment that the attempt failed. As the conversation ensued, Maher said one of the most disgraceful and irresponsible things uttered on a major television program since Bush was elected.

In a nutshell, the host said the world would be a safer place if the assassination attempt succeeded. And, he even had the nerve to reiterate it. Here’s the deplorable sequence of events for those that have the stomach for it (video available here courtesy of our friend Ms Underestimated):

Maher: What about the people who got onto the Huffington Post – and these weren’t even the bloggers, these were just the comments section – who said they, they expressed regret that the attack on Dick Cheney failed.

Joe Scarborough: Right

Maher: Now…

John Ridley: More than regret.

Maher: Well, what did they say?

Ridley: They said “We wish he would die.” I mean, it was (?) hate language.

Barney Frank: They said the bomb was wasted. (laughter and applause)

Maher: That’s a funny joke. But, seriously, if this isn’t China, shouldn’t you be able to say that? Why did Arianna Huffington, my girlfriend, I love her, but why did she take that off right away?

After some discussion about why Huffington should or shouldn’t have taken these comments down, the following occurred:

Ridley: It’s one thing to say you hate Dick Cheney, which applies to his politics. It’s another thing to say, “I’m sorry he didn’t die in an explosion." And I think, you know…

Maher: But you should be able to say it. And by the way...

Frank: Excuse me, Bill, but can I ask you a question? Do you decide what the topics are for this show?

Maher: Yeah, I decide the topics, they don’t go there.

Frank: But you exercise control over the show the way that she does over her blog.

Maher: But I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow. (applause)

Scarborough: If someone on this panel said that they wished that Dick Cheney had been blown up, and you didn’t say…

Frank: I think he did.

Scarborough: Okay. Did you say…

Maher: No, no. I quoted that.

Frank: You don’t believe that?

Maher: I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact.

Wake up, HBO: one of your hosts said the world would be a safer place if the Vice President of the United States of America had been assassinated.

[msnimje]

He didn't say the word faggot in the same sentence did he?

Because now THAT would really be offensive.

[proudofthesouth]

God only knows how much I dislike the Clintoons, Gores, Carters, Kennedys and other libs but I only wish for them to stay out of the public life/service.

I've never wished their deaths.

[PGalt]

Thank you for posting. BTTT!

[JennysCool]

And these are the same people who get livid when Ann Coulter tells a harmless joke about John "Breck Girl" Edwards.

[TommyDale]

Can you imagine if someone had said this about Al Gore during the Clinton Administration? They would have been hauled away to prison and the IRS would have audited their taxes for the past 5 years.

[proudofthesouth]

P.S. Actually, I have wished that they spend the rest of their lives in Levenworth or on some deserted island away from the rest of the world. (Final confession!) :-)

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

I just don't words to describe my thoughts on this sorry excuse for humanity.

[Paleo Conservative]

Maher is a sorry POS!

[DCPatriot]

Well, I have.

[brivette]

Maher is a two bit has been.

[Ping-Pong]

So did I - I just want them to go away, never to be heard from again (and take Jimmy Carter with them). I'm from the south too.

[Thrusher]

Regardless of your opinion of what Coulter said, you cannot deny the obvious double-standard.

Everyone knows if Maher had said the exact same thing about any Republican on his show, he'd get a standing ovation, and anyone who dared object would be told to lighten up.

[dc-zoo]

What a worthless low-life a-hole.

[bad company]

Gee. How can you post this? Aren't freepers supposed to have their panties in a twist over Ann Coulter right now?

[Sybeck1]

HBO is anti Bush. No need to complain about the VP, after Abu Grab and Katrina, and Baghdad ER hit pieces.

[johnny7]

BRAVO!

[ShawTaylor]

"Maher: But I have zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn’t be dying needlessly tomorrow"


Question for Bill Maher: Did the 300,000 innocents that Saddam slaughtered and the Kurdish women and children that Saddam gassed(all before Cheney became Vice President) die needlessly because Dick Cheney was in power?
What of the 1 million women and children that were brutally butchered in Rwanda while BJ Clinton and the UN stood idly by?
Did that occur because Dick Cheney was Vice President?
To call Bill Maher retarded and stupid would be an insult to retards everywhere.

[Tallguy]

First thing I thought of...

[Condor 63]

I'm not sure about that since the leftists always make sure to take care of their own aka Dixie Chicks @ the Grammy Awards. He will always have a job until the left tires of him.

Maher is an intellectual lightweight though and everyone knows it.